A Beijing tune, a robe, a pair of talking eyes, the vicissitudes of the world for thousands of years. The face in the mirror, the powder and ink thick makeup, the charm of Dan Junsheng, with the rhyme of ancient and modern to talk about righteousness and morality.
Chinese culture has always advocated "collecting the que literature of the hundred generations and collecting the relics of a thousand years". As an artistic expression of elegant and popular appreciation, Peking Opera is known as "National Opera". Starting from this issue, we will share the "Mei Lan Fanghua - Mei Lanfang Art Life Exhibition" exhibited at the National Museum of China in three series.
This exhibition uses photos, costumes, letterheads and other multi-dimensional exhibits to show Mei Lanfang's artistic practices in different historical periods. The exhibition is divided into eight units, such as "Qunying Spectrum Beijing Rhyme", "Mei Xiu Out of the Family", "Mei Zhan Hundred Flowers", "Mei Xin YuXuan", "Mei Xiang Chuan Wanli", "Plum Bone Proud Wind and Snow", "Plum Bao All Things Spring", "Mei Yun Exhibition New Sound" and other eight units, although it originated from the Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang, but the physical style it includes has far exceeded the scope of Peking Opera performing arts.
Qunying Spectrum Beijing Rhyme
People in the play, people in the play, a body of art, a lifetime of love, afraid to see Zhu Yanlao. That bright red face, under the brilliant light, has been shining for a hundred years.
In the fifty-fifth year of Qianlong (1790), the four major emblem classes- Sanqing Class, Sixi Class, Chuntai Class, and Spring Class, successively entered Beijing to celebrate the eightieth birthday of the Qianlong Emperor. Huiban and the Qin Cavity, Ge Cavity, Han Tune, Kunqu Opera, etc. in Beijing at that time constantly exchanged and integrated, and learned from the strengths of all in terms of repertoire and singing, and gradually formed a genre of drama with comprehensive performance as the core - Peking Opera.
Qing Dynasty traditional palace dress, red satin embroidered phoenix play peony pattern palace dress
Mei Lanfang costume, red satin embroidered phoenix play peony pattern palace dress
The flowers of Peking Opera are elegant and colorful, and the beauty is in its shape and sound. As a national essence, it not only contains the physical skills of dance, martial arts and acrobatics, but also compatible with the audiovisual aesthetics of music, literature, fine arts and other artistic disciplines, and the "four major kung fu - singing, reading, doing, and playing" and "four major trades - life, dan, purity and ugliness" in the performance process have unique artistic expressions. In terms of singing, Peking Opera is mainly based on the Xipi cavity and the Erhuang cavity, using the language and culture of ping and servant to interpret a fascinating dramatic story.
(Please rotate the screen 90° counterclockwise for the best viewing angle)
Thirteen absolutely the same light
Tongguang Thirteen Absolute (Partial)
The "Thirteen Absolute Works of Tongguang" on display in this exhibition is by the late Qing Dynasty painter Shen Rongpu, which paints stills portraits of 13 famous actors in the Tongzhi and Guangxu periods. The painter vividly depicts the visual characteristics of laosheng, wusheng, xiaosheng, qingyi, Huadan, Laodan, clown and other characters with the help of actors' appearances, facial expressions, costume accessories, etc., and the actors in "Tongguang Thirteen Absolute Perfections" are also the thirteen founders of Huiban's evolution from singing emblem tune and Kunlu to Peking Opera after entering Beijing.
Mei xiu out of the family
On the stage, the Art of Peking Opera, which is known for its non-physical performances, hides its joys and sorrows in the sound of gongs and drums, the opening and closing of fans, and the rise and fall of water sleeves. The love and soul of Peking Opera is the precious cultural heritage of the Chinese nation and the crystallization of continuous development of art, which not only embodies the cultural foundation of the Chinese nation, but also inherits the artistic essence of Chinese civilization.
Peking Opera has a history of more than 200 years, during which the pear garden in the land of China is in full bloom, the repertoire is like a forest, and famous artists have emerged, especially the Mei School pioneered by Mei Lanfang.
Mei Lanfang's letter to her grandmother
Mei Lanfang painted "Orchid" for her father Mei Zhufen fan photography
In 1894, Mei Lanfang was born in Beijing, a pear garden family, the Jinggongtang Mei family. His grandfather Mei Qiaoling was a famous dan in the "ThirteenTh Best of Tongguang" and ran the "Sixi Class" for many years. His father, Mei Zhufen, was also well known for his work, but unfortunately he died young. Uncle Mei Yutian is a famous violinist, who has been accompanying the veteran actor Tan Xinpei for many years, and Mei Lanfang's Qingyi singing voice is also more than carved and tempered by him.
Mei Lanfang's mentorship relationship
Mei Lanfang, name Lan, character 畹华, stage name Lan Fang. He began to study Peking Opera Tsing Yi at the age of nine, and performed on stage at the age of eleven, but he did not see his talent at the beginning of his studies. In order to break the prejudice of the master, Mei Lanfang got up early every day to hang her voice and spent all her time studying drama. As he himself said: I am a clumsy learner, not fully genius, all by hard work.
Shen Rongpu - Hongni Guan, Qing, color on paper
Shen Rongpu - Si Zhicheng, Qing, color on paper
The exhibition reproduces Mei Lanfang's family lineage and teacher inheritance relationship from the family chart, stills, correspondence and other physical exhibits, and this Kunqu opera "Si Zhicheng" painted by Shen Rongpu is also an image portrayal of her early performance repertoire.
Because of her limited talent, Mei Lanfang decided that there should be no trick in the process of learning art. Under this belief, he not only laid a solid foundation, but also formed a rigorous typhoon. With this persistence and firmness, Mei Lanfang, who entered the youth, had a sweet voice and a beautiful appearance, and finally came to prominence in 1912 when she co-starred with Tan Xinpei, the "King of the Lingjie", in "Mulberry Garden". In 1913, he performed in Shanghai for the first time, and he shined, and since then "Mei Lanfang" has become a household name.
Mei Zhan hundred flowers
The world is the greatest, the art is deep, like what I will know, it is really a drop in the ocean.
——Mei Lanfang
"One is on display, one is being shown" – this is Mei Lanfang's stage achievement. The "display" of the actors themselves is elegant, which not only interprets the image of the character itself, but also conveys the great beauty of this oriental drama as naturally as possible. The "shown" theatrical characters use the magic of "mystery" to hide the actors themselves in the roles and turn them into thousands of people in the play. With vivid interpretations, the actors and characters can be united and live on the stage, which has achieved the unique charm of Chinese Peking Opera.
"Odd Double Society" costume
Roselle costume
Stills from "Golden Mountain Temple"
In addition to singing, Mei Lanfang, who has never stopped, has always explored a broader stage performance. Not limited to the situation that in the past, Qingyi opera only focused on singing, Mei Lanfang unremittingly improved the traditional body, appearance, and choreography, and extensively studied the various lines of plays in Beijing and Kunming, while conforming to the aesthetic needs of the times, it also broadened the path of drama and laid a solid foundation for the compilation and creation of new costume plays.
The stills of the Kun opera "Golden Mountain Temple" displayed in this exhibition are Mei Lanfang's true record of the improvement of appearance. He changed the headdress "Fisherman's Hood" of Bai and Qing in "Golden Mountain Temple" to wear "forehead", and in subsequent performances, he reformed this outfit several times.
Shang Xiaoyun's letter to Mei Lanfang
Mei Lanfang's letter to Cheng Yanqiu (then named Yanqiu).
In 1917, Mei Lanfang was awarded the "King of the Drama Circle" voted by the readers of The Shuntian Times, marking the gradual succession of Dan Xing to lao sheng and beginning to lead the further development of Peking Opera art. The rise of Danjiao such as Cheng Yanqiu, Xun Huisheng, and Shang Xiaoyun not only pushed Danxing to the center of the stage, but also created the heyday of Peking Opera.
One voice and one tune sang out the national classics, and one laugh and one laughed out of the century-old charm. Life is like a drama that cannot escape the white head and twilight, only remember that Dan Feng can fall to the city as soon as he lifts it.
Mei LanFanghua - Mei Lanfang Art Life Exhibition, we will meet again in the next issue.
Eye Edge Art Chronicles Chapter 899 is dedicated to the artistic gift of life. If you need to reprint, please obtain authorization first, and please indicate the source after reprinting
Text Writing: Eye Art