In the book "Running Dragon Set", published in 1998, Qin Yi explained his attitude towards performance: do a line, love a line, specialize in a line, fine a line, take every role seriously, every performance.
If life could be repeated once, I would certainly not live like this life, but since life cannot be repeated, then I will face reality.
As long as one's heart is big, then things are not big or small; as long as one's heart is heavy, then things are not important; as long as one's heart is sincere, then even if things are different in success or failure, it is somewhat comforting.
——Excerpt from "Running Dragon Set (Self-Prologue)"
The title "actor" was almost born with the new China, so I cherish it very much. I don't want to say that the performance work is too mysterious and how great it is, but I have to admit the complexity of the performance work and the deep meaning inherent in it. Everyone knows that the actor's task is to use his own thoughts, feelings, flesh, that is, all his body and mind to shape a variety of people in society. Sometimes people comment: "This actor is good, joy, anger, mourning, music, the performance is realistic." "But different people have different joys, angers, sorrows, and joys. Why? This "why" needs to be observed, experienced, felt, melted, and then reproduced with one's own life, ideological cultivation, comprehension ability, mind, and body. Because the actor's job is to create a living flesh and blood person, the exploration of this kind of work is endless. I still doubt whether I have really mastered this profession, because the times and society are moving forward, life is advancing, people's minds are also advancing, and the sixties of the eighties are very different from the forties, and the forties are different from the twenties. Every job brings me excitement and regret: the excitement is that there is another opportunity to explore, and unfortunately the actual results are not as good as imagined. However, decades of experience have taught me that the more regretful I am, the more I have to explore, which becomes a kind of happiness in pursuit of ideals.
Some comrades believe that opportunity is the most important thing, and when the opportunity is good, they can become famous in one fell swoop and ascend to the sky in one step. This exists in real life, but literature and art, which can stimulate people's thoughts and touch people's hearts, make me feel that the career ideals that a person really pursues have nothing to do with the fame, fortune, and honor that are generally pursued in society. There are always some people who have not been discovered and cannot exert their talents, but the lack of talent is an objective reason, and the presence or absence of talent is a subjective reason. Do any job, there are ideals, there are pursuits, there is happiness.
It was a coincidence that I became an actor, but because I "became famous in one fell swoop", I didn't know anything, so I couldn't become an actor who was completely commensurate with "being loved by the people". After decades of ups and downs, I truly understand and love this business. Although the elderly have ambitions and few years, they can also save some of the wasted years in the past, and they will not regret it for life.
The development of our social undertakings has brought us great joy and excitement and opened up broad prospects for us. If you stand still, you will "retreat if you don't advance", so you can't do without self-confidence; but it is even more dangerous to look down on people if you think too highly. Everyone has merits, and it's always better to learn from each other. Shanghainese have a local saying called "watching people pick up burdens without effort", that is to say, it is impossible to pick up heavy burdens if you try to be light and fast. We also often have a mantra in life called "rare opportunities", but I understand its meaning: when the career needs you, you can rely on all of your own to meet the needs of the work.
——Excerpt from "Talking about Actors"
In my long memories, there are countless difficult moments of life, as well as all kinds of wonders and wonders of nature. But, as Maupassant said, "The most beautiful scene in the world is when we miss our mother." ”
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After the filming of "Dreams Not Dreams", I took a deep breath and had a feeling of relief - this "burden" is the thick and fruitful, the most precious maternal love in the world.
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I love the character of Yan Wei, not only because I have a similar life experience, but also because what it expounds and excavates is the theme of love. I searched my "life library" for the prescribed scenarios and details of the characters. Isn't this also a portrayal of my life? I looked more from my "emotional library" for the cries of love that could not be forgotten, the desire for love, and the feeling of love that could not be named and excluded.
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Love is the most precious character and eternal proposition of artistic creation, let us always sing the song of love!
——Excerpt from "The Most Precious Love - Written Before the Performance of "Dreams Not Dreams""
Middle age is a good time to exert one's talents, an actor himself is a tool of work, and the passage of time means that artistic life is shortened. According to the requirements of the comrades, I proposed to shoot "Under the Roof of Shanghai", which I think will help improve the performance ability and artistic accomplishment of the actors. Here are the ordinary lives of ordinary people, in the shaping of characters, there is no need to pretend and pretend, but we need to live and deeply investigate in a real and ordinary way. Although I was a child in my thirties, these characters seem to live around me, and shaping them will help improve our business practices.
——Excerpt from "A Little Feeling of Shooting Under the Eaves of Shanghai"
From the beginning of the art to today, I have always acted no matter what role, and when I acted in drama in the 1940s, I acted in everything, and often went to "run the dragon set".
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I came to the conclusion that big things can't be done, and small things can be done well. If you can do small things well, why not do more small things?
I can give examples of my role in a scene or just one or two shots in a lot of films, and I'm quite satisfied with myself. In "Spring Peach and Plum", I played the role of the old principal, probably only two shots, but I still haven't forgotten that image. In "Distressed Laughter", I only had a short scene, playing an old actor, and I still haven't forgotten it. In the film "Zhang Heng", I played the role of an old lady, a scene, and only a few shots, but I also deeply remembered this image.
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I don't emphasize the "dragon running set" above all else, I just think that the "dragon running set" also has its significance. Indeed, in my long artistic practice, I feel that if the actors in each play are serious about taking themselves as an "important part", then the overall quality of the play can certainly be improved.
——Excerpt from "Running Dragon Set"
Author: Qin Yi
Editor: Fan Xin
Planner: Shao Ling
Editor-in-Charge: Xiaofang Xing
*Wenhui exclusive manuscript, please indicate the source when reprinting.