"Sister Flower" Deng Xiaoling Deng Zhaoping: We must have the tenacity of the "red turban" and also have a personality

At the beginning of the 20th century, rural women in the Sanshui area of Guangdong Province crossed the sea to work on construction sites in Singapore, and they were called "red turbans" by locals because they used red turbans as tooling. They have self-respect, self-love, self-reliance, self-improvement, patriotism and love for the family, they are resolute and stoic, tenacious and hardworking, not afraid of suffering, overcome suffering and transcend suffering, they are infiltrated with the most simple truth, goodness and beauty. In such a group of women, we see the nourishment of Chinese culture, see the beauty of noble and calm personality, and their stories have also become a display and recognition of the Chinese spirit in the world.

In order to show the style of women in the new era, Guangdong Cantonese Theatre and Southern Metropolis Newspaper of Southern Press Media Group jointly launched the "Looking for the 'Red Turban' of the New Era" activity to find representatives of the "Red Turban" in the Greater Bay Area and pay tribute to them. Recently, Nandu reporters visited a pair of sister flowers in the art world - the famous painter Deng Xiaoling and the famous costume designer Deng Zhaoping.

Deng Xiaoling and Deng Zhaoping told nandu reporters about their choice and adherence to their profession. From compiling the "Cantonese Opera Dictionary" to writing and retaining the classic stories of 100 Cantonese opera celebrities with pen and ink, her sister Deng Xiaoling spent 5 years to draw "Cantonese Opera 100 Famous Lings". From foreign language translators to fashion designers, her sister Deng Zhaoping has experienced several different careers, and finally chose to return to the design industry and use fashion as a carrier to convey Lingnan culture. They continue the spirit of the "red turban" with persistence and tenacity.

Painter Deng Xiaoling (right) and designer Deng Zhaoping.

At the same time, Deng Xiaoling and Deng Zhaoping combined their own experiences to explain the spirit of the red turban in the new era, in their view, the "red turban" represents an upward spirit, and has a new meaning at the moment. "I think the red turban, as the spirit of our perseverance and not being afraid of difficulties, modern women must have this tenacity, but also have their own persistence, and can also have their own personality."

1. Sister blossoms

A design, a painting,

In the creation of the joint continuation of Lingnan style

Born into a family of designers, deng Xiaoling and Deng Zhaoping sisters did not choose the clothing industry at the beginning. They all insist on choosing their favorite industries, and at the same time insist on expressing their love for Lingnan culture in their professions.

Sister Deng Zhaoping began to "enter the industry" from translating the instructions of the equipment.

When I went to college, my sister Deng Zhaoping first chose a foreign language major, "When I graduated, I just encountered the reform and opening up, when there were a lot of clothing equipment from the United States and Japan, the first job was translation, translation equipment, every day with a very thick 'tome', although it was very boring, but I felt that I had to do a good job when I took over the task." ”

Translating equipment manuals must deal with maintenance masters every day, Deng Zhaoping gradually accumulated some experience in clothing production, and her personality of insisting on doing things to the extreme also allowed her to find the opportunity to return to the fashion design industry. "When I was young, I developed the habit of visiting the store every Saturday afternoon, communicating with consumers face to face, understanding their needs, and quickly designed clothes that were loved by consumers, and even walked on the road from time to time when older consumers called me 'Master Deng'. The accumulation of years and the solid foundation of mastering clothing have stimulated my growing interest in fashion design. So in 1992, I chose to return and spent 4 years on my second professional fashion design. After graduating, I was both a designer, a pattern maker and a model for the brand. ”

The bauhinia flowers that can be seen everywhere in spring and summer in Guangzhou, and the small barbarian waist of Guangzhou landmark have gradually become the eye-catching elements of Deng Zhaoping's clothing design, and traditional skills such as Lingnan's "three carvings, one color and one embroidery" continue to appear in Deng Zhaoping's design.

Traditional Lingnan elements often appear in Deng Zhaoping's designs.

Talking about why she unremittingly continues the Lingnan style in her works, Deng Zhaoping said: "As a Guangfu person, it is indispensable to like my own culture, one side of the water and soil to support the other, Lingnan culture, grow in my blood, genes. Although the fashion trend is changing with each passing day, the background color of Guangzhou people is eternal. I use the fashion design that I am good at to depict Lingnan. Spreading Lingnan culture and art is also my duty as a Guangzhou native. Over the years, I have always taken clothing as the carrier, extracted the elements of traditional Chinese culture and art, made it blend with fashion across borders, and intuitively conveyed the beauty of China to the world and spread Chinese culture. Deng Zhaoping said.

Deng Zhaoping said that she uses clothing as a carrier to extract elements of traditional Chinese culture and art.

Unlike her younger sister, her sister Deng Xiaoling chose the field of painting. Although the fields of choice are different, the sisters insist on continuing the Lingnan style in their works. In Deng Xiaoling's paintings, the most eye-catching purpose is the "Cantonese Opera Hundred Famous Lingtu", which gathers hundreds of Cantonese opera masters, and many of them are classic songs of the older generation of Cantonese opera masters, such as Luo Pinchao's "Jing Ke", He Feifan's "West Chamber", Lang Junyu's "Mulan", Chu Xiuyun's "Daiyu"...

Sister Deng Xiaoling is a famous painter.

In September 2004, Deng Xiaoling participated in the compilation of the Cantonese Opera Dictionary as an art editor, which brought together more than 30 old experts, scholars, and old Cantonese opera performing artists to participate in the compilation work, and the monthly expert meeting allowed Deng Xiaoling to gradually understand the Cantonese opera industry from an "outsider", and the Cantonese Opera Dictionary was finally compiled in September 2008.

Deng Xiaoling's "Cantonese Opera Love" series of works.

When compiling the Cantonese Opera Dictionary, Deng Xiaoling was infected and impressed, and later decided that the style of nearly 100 Cantonese opera celebrities was recorded with pen and ink, and this record was 5 years. Five years later, the "100 Cantonese Opera Celebrities" that published the exhibition for the first time in the 100 Cantonese Opera Famous Artists book has amazed countless people. Recalling her feelings when painting hundreds of famous artists, Deng Xiaoling said that many people touched her. For example, when Zeng Xiaomin rehearsed the first big drama "Hanjiang Guan", he trained hard for more than ten hours a day, and he could lose more than ten pounds after a play. Later, I created a painting for her, "The Belt Gradually Widens and Never Regrets". ”

"Cantonese Opera 100 Lingtu"

"No You're Good" series of works.

2. Sisters call

The "red turban" that conveys the spirit of Lingnan,

It's still valuable today

Nandu: Who are the female elders around you from childhood to adulthood, and their spiritual temperament has influenced you?

Deng Xiaoling: My idol is my mother, and she has created me today. In fact, every woman has her shining side, and I appreciate them.

Deng Zhaoping: My big sister has influenced me a lot. She is smart, understands all kinds of piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, is good at painting northern landscapes, and her calligraphy is also very good. Although she has a thick and introverted personality, she is not as personal as me. But in my sister, I learned what seriousness, focus, and persistence are. Today's achievements are inseparable from the words and deeds of parents and big sisters, and at the same time, as an artist, I am grateful to live in this prosperous world.

Sisterhood.

Nandu: We launched the "Looking for the 'Red Turban' of the New Era" activity on March 8th Festival, looking for the power of female role models around us through local newly created Cantonese opera "Red Turban" and other female theme works. Would you like to be a representative of that?

Deng Zhaoping: In my eyes, the "red turban" is a product of history. There are two very famous great migrations in Chinese history, one is to go to the Kanto and the other is to go down to the South China Sea. The "red turban" tells the story of the Lingnan people going to Nanyang. They are like a large number of city builders during the reform and opening up, they have made a lot of contributions to the city, I think they deserve singapore's commemoration and recognition, they wear "red turbans", wear tire shoes, engage in hard work, "red turbans" form a symbol: representing the upward, tenacious collective strength, this spirit still inspires us today.

Deng Xiaoling's "No You Good Drama" series of works.

Deng Xiaoling: Our lives are already richer than the "red turban" era, thank you for living in this good era. I will devote my life to creating good works that are contagious and inspiring.

Nandu: There is a special question I would like to ask Deng Zhaoping, in the data examination, we found that the "red turban" at that time had certain characteristics, such as they would make shoes with old tires, and make hats like "bachelor hats" with square scarves.

Deng Zhaoping: I think that red is the auspicious color that Chinese like, and red will be easier to identify in specific scenes. Their red turbans are square, and Nanyang is very hot and sunny, and its role is both iconic and functional, perhaps the red turban hat can cover the sun. Tire shoes also play a good protective role, which also fully proves the wisdom of Chinese.

Deng Xiaoling: I would like to add that I think there is actually another protective effect, because in the construction site, the sand and dust are rolling, and they can't wash their hair every day, so they use a red turban to wrap their heads.

Deng Zhaoping design works.

Nandu: What qualities do you think women should have in the new era to become the "red turban" we are looking for?

Deng Xiaoling: The spirit of the "red turban" is the quality of hard work in my understanding. Traditional qualities like this, each of us is a subtle inheritor. Of course, women in the new era must also have such qualities. The most important thing is to continue to learn from the strengths of all and improve ourselves.

Deng Zhaoping: The "red turban" was once a spiritual symbol of perseverance, and modern women must not only adhere to this spirit, but also give full play to their personality and talents. When you have the ability, you should take responsibility for the society within your ability, convey positive energy, become a role model for young people to learn, integrate resources, and lead young fashion designers to walk out of a relatively accessible road, "embracing the back wave and seeing the future".

Written by: Nandu reporter Lin Wenqi intern Chen Peihan