"Beautiful crowd portrait, swaying posture, Gu Pan shenghui"
This is the audience's most intuitive impression of the 84th edition of "Journey to the West".
At that time, in order to restore the colorful immortal world, director Yang Jie searched for almost all the beautiful women in China, and constantly screened to determine the actors. However, what many people don't know is that the first actor to be identified at that time was Zuo Dayue, and Zuo Dayue was the actor of Guan Shiyin.
In many film and television drama works, there are not a few actors who have played Guan Shiyin, but Guan Shiyin, played by Zuo Dayu, has left the deepest impression on the audience. In people's hearts, the Guanyin played by Zuo Dayue is the image of Guanyin in people's hearts, and sometimes, when she goes to the temple to offer incense, she will be considered by the people around her to be really guanyin bodhisattvas.
However, although Zuo Dayue is well known for playing Guan Shiyin, her real profession is not a film and television actress, but a Xiang opera actress, and the reason why she was selected by director Yang Jie is because of a hobby of Chairman Mao.
We all know that Chairman Mao had a special love for opera throughout his life. In his later years, Chairman Mao was bedridden and unable to move, but he especially wanted to see the traditional Xiang opera in his hometown, so the relevant departments organized Xiang opera actors to rehearse a batch of traditional Xiang operas, and then let CCTV make a video and send it to Beijing.
In 1976, CCTV director Yang Jie came to Hunan to record the classical traditional drama "Chasing Fish", saw Wang Dayue's role of Guan Shiyin in the play, couldn't help but praise her one after another, and promised her: "If I have the opportunity to shoot Guan Shiyin's drama in the future, I will definitely ask you to act!" ”
At that time, Zuo Dayue did not take these words to heart, and all he thought about was Chairman Mao's illness.
After six years, CCTV decided to put the four famous works "Journey to the West" on the TV screen, and director Yang Jie did not forget the promise of that year and took the initiative to invite Zuo Dayue to Beijing to try on makeup. Zuo Dayue came to Beijing with the mentality of trying it out, and what he didn't expect was that as soon as Director Yang Jie saw her, he was surprised and said: "Like! So much like! You don't have to try on makeup at all! ”
After the broadcast of "Journey to the West", the image of Guan Shiyin played by Zuo Dayue was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, whether on the TV screen or in real life, as long as they saw her, people would be in awe.
Director Yang Jie also constantly praised her: "Not only is it like it, but it also performs well!" However, in the final analysis, the fate of Zuo Dayue and Guanyin was given by Chairman Mao.
It is worth mentioning that the fate of this "Guanyin" and Chairman Mao is more than this, and what many people do not know is that there is still a period of friendship between Zuo Dayue and Chairman Mao.
The story begins in 1956. In 1956, Zuo Dayue was 13 years old and was a young actor in the Hunan Provincial Xiang Opera Training Class. At that time, the training class received the task of going to Huai Ren Tang to perform for Chairman Mao, and when Zuo Dayue learned about it, he couldn't sleep excitedly all night. However, on the day of the performance, there was no Program by Zuo Dayue, so she hid behind the curtain with other small actors and secretly observed Chairman Mao sitting under the stage watching the play.
After the performance, Zuo Dayue and other small actors rushed up and scrambled to grab the chair where Chairman Mao had sat, as if to feel Chairman Mao's style.
The second time Zuo Da Yue met Chairman Mao was three years later.
In 1959, through continuous efforts, Zuo Dayue was already a well-known figure in the Xiang opera industry. One day, she suddenly received a notice to go to the Hunan Provincial Communication Office to play Wang Yuhuan, the protagonist of "Life and Death Card". Zuo Da Yue thought to himself, there must be some important person. Sure enough, during the performance, Zuo Dayue found that Chairman Mao was sitting under the stage, and she was so excited that she almost forgot the words. Fortunately, she still forced herself to calm down and successfully ended the show.
After the performance is the dance party. Zuo Dayue was still immersed in the anxiety she had just experienced, and she did not have the heart to participate in the next activities, and just as she was about to take off her makeup and go home, someone secretly told her: "Chairman Mao may come to dance." As soon as she heard this, she gave up the idea of going straight home and went straight to the ballroom, looking forward to seeing Chairman Mao again.
Zuo Dayue had not learned to dance, and this was the first time in her life that she had entered the dance hall, and her mood would inevitably be a little nervous. After entering the dance hall, she found a small corner and sat down, and after a while, a female comrade found her: "You are the one who played Wang Yuhuan, right?" Zuo Dayue nodded. The female comrade went on to say: "Chairman Mao likes your performance very much, and you will accompany him to dance when you stay!" ”
Being able to get Chairman Mao's affirmation and see him in person is something that Zuo Dayue did not dare to dream of. Although this was a very rare opportunity, Zuo Dayue was still hesitant. The female comrade guessed that Zuo Dayue might be hesitant because she couldn't dance, so she said to her: "You can't dance yet, right?" I'll find someone to teach you, don't be afraid, it's easy to learn. ”
Subsequently, the female comrade called in one of Chairman Mao's guards. Zuo Da Yue followed him and danced in the middle of the dance floor for a while, quickly figuring out the doorway.
The two were jumping, and the lesbian came over again and said, "Learned?" Before Zuo Dayue could reply, the female comrade pulled her over to Chairman Mao.
Before he was mentally prepared to meet Chairman Mao, Zuo Dayue was so excited that he couldn't even speak, and his face was even red like a red apple. Chairman Mao saw her nervousness and said with a smile: "Doll, you can't just stand dancing, you have to move!" Zuo Dayue smirked, and the original nervousness was gone, and he jumped up with Chairman Mao. But she still did not dare to look at Chairman Mao, and the whole time she bowed her head, a dance came down, and Zuo Dayue sweated.
After that, whenever Chairman Mao came to Hunan, he would ask Zuo Dayue to sing, dance, or chat with him. Gradually, the two became more and more familiar with each other and became friends with each other.
Once, Chairman Mao smiled and asked Zuo Dayue, "Why is your surname Zuo and not Right?" Zuo Dayue didn't know how to answer, so he had to say, "My father's surname is Zuo, and my surname is Zuo." ”
Chairman Mao asked again, "Then why are you called Zuo Da Yue (fen)?" Zuo Dayue listened and quickly explained: "Chairman, you have read the word white-eyed, this word does not read 'fen', it should be pronounced 'bin'." ”
Chairman Mao couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Doll, you go back and ask your father, can this word be pronounced 'fen'?" ”
Every time Chairman Mao came to Hunan and held a dance party after work, he would invite Zuo Dayue to dance. Chairman Mao's guards were afraid that he would be tired from too many dances, so they assigned Zuo Dayue a task: "The chairman likes you very much, and after you dance with him, you will go to the sofa in the corridor to rest for a while." ”
During the second break, Zuo Dayue saw that all the tea leaves in Chairman Mao's teacup were upright, so he asked curiously: "Chairman, what kind of tea are you drinking?" How come all the tea leaves are in the cup? Chairman Mao replied, "Doll, you don't know this, this is Yue Yang's hair tip, it is a fine tea!" ”
"Chairman, I want to try your tea too." Zuo Dayue looked at the tea in Chairman Mao's cup and said with a smile.
Chairman Mao handed over the teacup, smiled and said, "Drink it, let's drink a cup of tea." ”
Another time, Chairman Mao was resting in the corridor with Zuo Dayue, and it happened that Wang Renzhong came to report on his work, and Chairman Mao asked Zuo Dayue, "Do you know who he is?" Zuo Dayue shook his head, and Chairman Mao continued, "He is Wang Renzhong, secretary of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee. Subsequently, Chairman Mao introduced Zuo Dayue to Wang Renzhong: "She is Zuo Dayue, an actor at the Xiang Theater. ”
After Wang Renzhong left, Zuo Dayue picked up Chairman Mao's hand like a child and looked at it carefully, and Chairman Mao was very confused. Zuo Dayue smiled and said, "Chairman, let me see how many luo you have in your hand." ”
"How many radishes do you have in your hands?" Chairman Mao asked rhetorically.
Zuo Dayue skimmed his lips: "I'll just be a Luo, and a Luo is poor!" ”
"No wonder you always wear the same floral shirt." Chairman Mao noticed that Zuo Dayue wore a piece of clothing every time he saw him, and he quipped.
As he spoke, Zuo Dayue suddenly exclaimed, "Ah, Chairman, do you have ten Luo?" No wonder you can be the 'Emperor'! ”
When Chairman Mao heard this, he laughed again.
One day, Chairman Mao had a cold, but he did not take this seriously at all, thinking that it would be better in two days, and refused to take medicine no matter what, which made Li Yinqiao, the head of the guards, anxious, and when he saw Zuo Dayue, he had a plan in mind and gave her this task.
Zuo Dayue immediately moved a small bench, sat down next to Chairman Mao, smiled and said, "Chairman, why don't you take medicine when you have a cold?" ”
Chairman Mao replied: "It is only a small cold, it does not hinder things, it will be fine in two days, it is a three-point poison of medicine, and eating too much is not good for the body." ”
Zuo Dayue said, "I see that you are making excuses, I think the medicine is too bitter to say so, I am afraid of something, I will eat it for you!" ”
Chairman Mao was instantly interested, smiled and said, "You eat? Then you can eat it and show me!" ”
Zuo Dayue's eyes rolled and he put forward a condition: "Chairman, I can't take medicine in vain, for the sake of fairness, I take one pill, and you also have to take a pill." ”
Chairman Mao did not notice Zuo Dayue's routine for a moment and immediately agreed. In front of Chairman Mao, Zuo Dayue quickly swallowed a pill and brought boiling water and other medicines to him.
"Chairman, I'm done eating, and now it's your turn to take your medicine."
Chairman Mao reacted to this, but still did not want to take medicine. Zuo Da Yue saw the situation and said unforgivingly: "Chairman, you are a leader, you can't talk and don't count!" ”
Chairman Mao smiled helplessly and took the medicine from Zuo Dayue's hand.
During this time together, Chairman Mao and this 16-year-old girl became friends who had been friends for many years.
When dancing, Chairman Mao's long socks and socks were too loose, and he often slid down when he jumped and jumped, and every time Zuo Dayue saw it, he would crouch down to help Chairman Mao pull up his socks.
Chairman Mao loved to read and often taught Zuo Dayue to read more. Every time he returned to Hunan to see Zuo Dayue, he would say: "Those of you who are engaged in literature and art must strengthen your cultural study and cultivation." At the same time, he was also very concerned about Zuo Dayue's literary and artistic activities, asking them whether they often went to the countryside to perform and where they performed.
Once, when Chairman Mao came to Changsha, he did not see Zuo Dayue's figure, so he inquired about Zuo Dayue's whereabouts everywhere, and the staff immediately took Zuo Dayue back from the performance in Yuanling, Xiangxi Province.
After meeting Chairman Mao, Zuo Dayue immediately performed a cappella for Chairman Mao. Chairman Mao heard that Zuo Dayue's voice was a little hoarse, so he asked with concern: "Doll, are you cold?" No need to sing, take a good rest. ”
Zuo Dayue saw Chairman Mao smoking, and Shunshi said: "Chairman, smoking is not good for your health, for your health, it is better to smoke less." ”
Then, she asked for the excess cigarette butt in Chairman Mao's hand, extinguished it, and quietly hid it in her pocket and brought it home, where it was kept in a small exquisite box.
At that time, the secrecy work was very strict, as long as anyone who had met Chairman Mao had to keep it secret, let alone make a request for a group photo, so this half-cut cigarette butt became a souvenir of Zuo Dayue.
In 1974, Chairman Mao returned to Hunan to inspect the work, because he wanted to watch Xiang opera, the crew starred in the movie "Gardener's Song", which happened to be Zuo Dayue playing Yu Ying in this play. After many years of not seeing him, Chairman Mao still recognized Zuo Dayue at a glance, and he was very happy, stood up and took the lead in applauding.
Zuo Da Yue burst into tears on the stage and was very moved.
In 1976, Zuo Dayue became acquainted with Guanyin because of Chairman Mao and played the role of Guan Shiyin in "Journey to the West", and the role was very successful. However, when filming, there was still a little episode.
Since Zuo Dayue has been performing Xiang opera Qingyi on the stage for 30 years, his eyes have also been practicing, and the image of Guanyin Bodhisattva can certainly not be like this.
This made Yang Jie sigh, "No, no, no, your eyeballs are really too alive!" ”
Zuo Dayue immediately realized that filming is not the same as singing on stage. In order to play this image well, she often subconsciously controls her eyeballs not to turn alive, in addition, she also visits many local temples, carefully contemplates the magic of Guanyin Bodhisattva in the temple, and imitates Guanyin's movements and gestures.
Under her diligent practice and solid skills, Zuo Dayu portrayed the image of Guanyin Bodhisattva in a meticulous way.
In the past six years of filming, many "strange" things have happened, making everyone feel that Guanyin has become holy.
When the crew was filming in Chengdu Qingyang Palace, the weather was bad, and the rainy weather for several days delayed the shooting progress. The director was very anxious and opened a joke to Zuo Dayue: "Guanyin Bodhisattva, you will send mercy and give us a good weather to shoot!" ”
In order to cooperate with the director, Zuo Dayu made the action of Guanyin clapping his hands and recited Amitabha Buddha. Surprisingly, it didn't take long for the dark clouds in the sky to clear and the sun to come out.
Another time when filming in Mount Emei, the sky was originally raining, but when Zuo Da Yue came out, the rain stopped instantly, and what was even more amazing was that the sun also came out.
The successive coincidences made the crew feel that it was "Guanyin Manifestation", and the kind image of Guanyin played by Zuo Dayue made people think that she was the real Guanyin, and many interesting things happened during this period.
During filming, every time you go to a place, local farmers will send a lot of local souvenirs to the crew, saying that they are dedicated to the "Guanyin Niangniang". Once, Zuo Da Yue was filming, when suddenly a peasant fell to his knees in front of her, saying that he had waded through the mountains and waters before he took his son, hoping that Guanyin Bodhisattva would bless his son.
Zuo Dayue saw this and quickly helped the peasant up, explaining that he was a communist, not a bodhisattva. However, the peasants were unwilling to get up no matter what they said, except that Zuo Dayu was the reincarnation of Guanyin, who had come to save the suffering and the suffering. This made Zuo Dayue cry and laugh, so he had to follow him. Later, no matter where the crew went to shoot, as long as Zuo Dayu appeared to shoot the scene, there would be many people around, saying that they wanted to meet the living bodhisattva.
Once, zuo dayue went to the temple to incense, and after one person saw zuo dayue, he had to say that she was a guanyin bodhisattva and still put incense in front of her and bowed down, and some other people also knelt down to pray and pray for blessings.
Amazingly, ten years later, the sequel to "Journey to the West" was remade, and the director found Zuo Dayue with the mentality of trying it out. Originally, I thought that ten years later, Zuo Dayue's appearance and form would change, but what I didn't expect was that Zuo Dayue's appearance did not change at all. The director even said: "Your appearance has not changed at all, have you really received the elixir of Guanyin Bodhisattva's elixir protection body..."
In this way, Zuo Dayue went on to play the Guanyin Bodhisattva in the sequel to Journey to the West.
After the broadcast of "Journey to the West", the image of Guan Shiyin played by Zuo Dayu was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and many people subconsciously believed that Zuo Dayu was born as a movie actor, and forgot that she was a famous Xiang opera actor.
In addition to "Journey to the West", the role of Yu Ying, a female teacher in "Gardener's Song", which Zuo Dayue once played, is also deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and Xiang opera has always been her hobby and strength.
In fact, when filming "Journey to the West", Zuo Dayue was already a famous figure in the Xiang opera circle, and also served as the leader of a troupe of the Xiang Theater in Hunan Province, and she also had to participate in the performance of Xiang opera while filming, and if the crew had a scene that needed her to shoot, she would call her a month in advance. Therefore, in the 6 years of filming "Journey to the West", Zuo Dayue often traveled between the two places.
When "Journey to the West" was filmed, the funds were limited, the actors' salaries were not high, and the actors may still be filming one second, and the next second they will go behind the scenes to help. Although it is very difficult, everyone is doing their best for the crew, never thinking about the remuneration of acting. Zuo Dayue believes that this is an important reason for the success of "Journey to the West".
For a long time after filming "Journey to the West", Zuo Dayue was still immersed in the plot, and she was also subtly affected by it, and she began to frequently enter and leave the temple and burn incense to pray for blessings. Once I went to Gulangyu Island in Xiamen, I also invited a statue of Guanyin to go home and offer it.
Since 2003, Zuo Dayu has withdrawn from the Xiang opera stage and devoted all his energy to cultivating Xiang opera reserve talents, teaching in the Xiang opera classes opened by hunan xiang theater and Hunan art vocational college.
In this batch of young students, Zuo Dayue saw the hope of Xiang Opera, who were young and lively, studied hard, and became her pride.
Zuo Dayue firmly believes that Strict Teachers are high disciples, and she has her own way of educating students. She is very strict about the late arrival and early departure behavior of students, and she herself leads by example, in order to achieve the rules she prescribes, she directly lives in the school dormitory. I wake up at 6 o'clock every morning, whether it is cold or hot, I have never gotten up late.
At that time, the drama was not in a slump, the Xiang Theater was more difficult to fund, not only the teaching fee was small, but also very tired, so some experienced old actors directly changed careers to film, only Zuo Dayue stuck to the campus, she said with concern: "If you don't cultivate students, do you want Xiang opera to be broken in the hands of our generation?"
After retirement, Zuo Dayue is even more focused on teaching, she has to attend more than 70 classes a week by herself, and the time for classes and rehearsals is as much as 10 hours a day, it can be said that in addition to eating and sleeping, there is no other moment of time that belongs to her.
To this end, her children also have opinions, often complaining: "The family is not short of money and does not worry about food and clothing, for the sake of theater art, it is still busier than before, the family obviously lives in a city, but they can only get together once on weekends." ”
Zuo Dayue knew that she was busy all year round and did not have much time to spend with her family, but for the sake of the Xiang opera career, she had to do so. Over the years, she sent away batches of students. They went all over the world to carry forward the Culture of Xiang Opera.
After the "Journey to the West" sequel was broadcast, Zuo Dayue never appeared on the TV screen again, and it was not until November 26, 2012 that everyone saw her again in the TV column of Phoenix TV's "Lu Yu You". Although Teacher Zuo Da yue's appearance is not as good as before, her kind smile can still arouse everyone's memories.
Today's teacher Zuo Da Yue is 79 years old, and while educating students, she is still enthusiastically doing public welfare, which is really admirable.
Teacher Zuo Dayue did not hesitate to give up a better future for the sake of the Xiang opera career he loved. She became a well-known figure in her teens, and such success was not achieved overnight, but was achieved through hard work.
When she was young, she made friends with Chairman Mao, and it was this precious experience that shaped her optimistic and selfless attitude towards life and influenced her life.
And the half cigarette she had smoked from Chairman Mao was still intact in that little box.