On October 16, 2017, an elderly man was buried at The Blessing Garden in Shanghai.
The famous host Cao Kefan delivered a eulogy speech, "Forever A Q, Miss Mr."
The famous theatrical performance artist Pan Changjiang delivered a memorial speech, "Forever A Q! All the way! ”
Zhu Rongji, former premier of the State Council, sent a wreath and delivered a condolence speech, "Deeply mourn Comrade Yan Shunkai!" ”
Yan Shunkai
This old man, a famous performance artist in China, has become a classic because of his performance in 1981's "A Q Zheng biography", which makes the elderly unforgettable.
This old man created the performance form of "sketches" of the Spring Festival Gala in one fell swoop. In the spring evening of our country, with programs such as "A Q's Monologue" and so on, it brought a lot of laughter to the national audience.
This old man was familiar to audiences across the country in the 90s of the last century for starring in popular works such as "Difficult Brothers and Difficult Brothers" and "Zhang Sanqiren".
The performance artist known as "Chaplin of the East" is Yan Shunkai.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" >, others disdain, he insists</h1>
After graduating from high school, Yan Shunkai chose to apply for the Drama Academy.
He first applied for the Shanghai Theater Academy, which is closer to home. However, due to Yan Shunkai's ordinary appearance and non-prominent facial features, he was brushed off during the last round of examinations.
Later, he once again participated in the enrollment of the Qinghai Provincial Repertory Theatre, but the registration was fruitless, and he still did not get the admission letter.
When the Beijing Central Academy of Drama came to Shanghai to enroll, Yan Shunkai also signed up. After being eliminated the first two times, this time Yan Shunkai did not hold out much hope.
At that time, there were 4,000 or 5,000 people applying for the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing, and only a few people were recruited.
Yan Shunkai felt that he had no looks and no good program, so he did not have great hopes.
Therefore, he went to the examination room with the mentality of trying his luck and undergoing a workout.
In the examination room, Yan Shun won the recognition of Bai Ying, the head of the acting department of the Central Academy of Drama, with a song called "Really Happy Death". Teacher Bai Ying believes that he has the cells of a theatrical actor. So Yan Shunkai was successfully admitted to the acting department of the Central Academy of Drama in 1959.
Due to the limitations of appearance conditions, Yan Shunkai played more comedy roles after graduation.
At that time, the comedy path was much narrower than other dramas, and many other actors disdained to do this, but only Yan Shunkai liked and insisted.
Every role, he likes to think, like to study.
In 1984's "The New Biography of A Mixed", Yan Shunkai played Du Xiaoxi (i.e. "A Mix"), a worker who mixed up his life in the background of the four transformations of the Great Cadres. When the film is performed in the theater in the form of a burlesque, Ah Chao is alone and sings a few words at the bird cage at home:
"Little bird, don't you bark, my mind is of anyone who knows, everyone hates me, everywhere people laugh, think about the real distress, think about the real distress."
When singing the lyrics, the facial features on Yan Shunkai's face are twisted, showing the distress and grievances caused by being rejected by others, which is Yan Shunkai's "birth from the heart".
Although Yan Shunkai plays "small people in the city", it looks big and inappropriate on the surface.
But in fact, he plays a special kind of small people: these people who pursue a stable life but lack personal ambitions, want to take advantage of others but cannot extinguish their shame. As a result, being at peace with others without being ridiculed by others gradually became their highest pursuit.
The theatrical effect of "The New Biography of A Mixed" was unexpected.
Li Qing, one of Shanghai's top burlesque actors at the time, played Ah Chao's father in this film (in fact, Li Qing was only 5 years older than Yan Shunkai) – the head of a factory.
Li Qing
In the play, there is a scene:
As the director of the factory, Li Qing wanted to beat Yan Shunkai, who could not advance, and Yan Shunkai lay on the ground and said:
"Dad, you can't beat me, the nature of your beating me will change, at home it is Lao Tzu who beats his son, and in the factory he is the factory director who beats workers!"
As soon as this remark came out, it immediately provoked an explosive laughter on the scene, and the laughter wave was higher than the other.
The path of burlesque actors is not only narrow, but also very demanding. Because it's a very difficult thing to amuse the audience.
In Shanghai, to be a burlesque actor, to become a one-man actor, and then to be a "famous artist", you must have profound basic skills:
Speaks thirteen dialects of South China and raps in Shanghai dialect.
At that time, some actors were longer than the former and shorter than the latter, and some actors were longer than the latter and shorter than the former. And Yan Shunkai, he will not do either. Yan Shunkai didn't even have the tongue twister as smooth as other actors.
Fortunately, Yan Shunkai is from the class, he speaks Mandarin very standardly, at the same time, he is good at acting, good at pondering the character of the character.
He likes to drill deep into the characters, every action, every look, he can show it properly. Because of this, Yan Shunkai embarked on the Spring Festival Gala.
In 1983, Yan Shunkai first appeared on the stage of the Spring Festival Gala with "A Q's Monologue", and also created the spring festival gala "sketch" type of program.
At that time, CCTV gave Yan Shunkai full trust and let him play completely autonomously, which contributed to this classic work.
Since then, Yan Shunkai has been on the Spring Festival Gala for seven consecutive years, and the sketch is his "shelter".
In 1990, Yan Shunkai and Huang Hong cooperated in the "Difficult Brothers and Difficult Brothers" fire.
In 1993, "Zhang Sanqiren" went up to another level.
In addition, there are sketches such as "Loving Father Like Loving Son" and "Telling Stories".
Yan Shunkai's sketches are new in language, new in jokes, new in characters, and his sketches are always performing the small characters at the bottom, or his own true colors, he is full of sympathy and love for the small characters, and each role is thought-provoking.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > two, not A Q, better than A Q</h1>
As early as 1930, some people wanted to adapt Ah Q's biography into a movie.
Shaping the screen image of Ah Q is the long-cherished wish of Zhao Dan, a famous film actor in China, but unfortunately it has become an unfinished business.
At that time, some people also wrote letters specifically to solicit Lu Xun's opinion. Lu Xun replied: "'A Q Zheng Biography' really has no elements to adapt into a script and a movie, because once it is staged, it will only be funny... China's 'star' at this moment cannot be expressed. ”
However, Ah Q, whom Lu Xun considered to be "unable to express", was revived by Yan Shun after 51 years.
Lu Xun
In his collection of four-line poems, the poet Mai Mang once praised Yan Shun's "Ah Q":
Not A Q
Like A Q
A smile was on his face
My heart was crying...
However, Yan Shunkai's audition for A Q did not go well. He recalled, "It was harder than kao zhuangyuan!" ”
Before the audition, Yan Shunkai happened to be invited by the Shanghai Ballet to provide advice for the rehearsal of the ballet "A Q Zheng biography".
Yan Shunkai is also relatively familiar with Ah Q, and he was thinking about the image of Ah Q in Lu Xun's pen at that time.
Fan Cen was the director of the film "A Q Zheng Biography" at that time. After he learned about it, he quietly came to the theater with the assistant director, photographer, makeup artist and others, watched his performance, and was very satisfied with his acting skills.
Soon, Fan Cen and Yan Shunkai made formal contact. The two of them had a long conversation about Mr. Lu Xun's works, Yan Shun opened a conversation, and the answer was like a stream, and Fan Cen was very happy.
Immediately after, there is a series of sketches, styling, audition, video... It's like "passing five levels and slashing six generals."
Yan Shunkai confessed that he was asked to perform sketches and test shoots over and over again, but in fact, it was "quite hurtful to self-esteem", and he originally wanted to give up.
Finally, the third and fourth batch of samples tested were approved by the leaders of the Shanghai Film Studio: "It seems that Yan Shunkai's plasticity is very strong. ”
When he learned that he was recognized by the studio, Yan Shunkai's tears flowed down.
However, when the news came out that Yan Shunkai was going to play Ah Q, many people expressed opposition.
The reason for the objection is the same as when he was brushed up when he applied for the play: "He is ugly and not photogenic!" ”
Fortunately, director Fan Cen is very insistent: "Yan Shunkai does not act, I will not direct!" ”
Finally, the character of Ah Q decided to let Yan Shunkai play it.
Yan Shunkai, who was 44 years old at the time, held his breath and vowed to make a look: "I am sorry Lu Xun!" ”
At that time, some people advised Yan Shunkai not to work so hard, and only needed to spend one-third of his efforts on the main shot. Because there were some visions at that time, I couldn't see people. However, Yan Shunkai did not do this, and in more than six hundred shots, Yan Shunkai did his best to do his best.
Since the advent of Lu Xun's novel "The True Biography of Ah Q", people have had different opinions about the character of Ah Q, and there is no consensus. Yan Shunkai shared a few shots of his filming "The True Biography of Ah Q" and let everyone taste this complex character image:
Shot 1: Kick away
What kind of person Ah Q really is, and the first impression given to the audience is very important.
To this end, directors Fan Cen and Yan Shunkai repeatedly pondered and designed Ah Q's first "appearance" on the screen.
Initially, Yan Shunkai proposed to let Ah Q appear with a dry cigarette stick. The director said no, Ah Q is a farmer, can not give people a "flowing" feeling as soon as they play.
He also proposed to let Ah Q sing "holding a steel whip to beat you" to appear, and the director said that this action should be used later.
Later, Ah Q's "Spiritual Victory Method" inspired Yan Shunkai. When he saw the children playing at the stone bridge in Shaoxing Water Town, and the chickens foraging on the stone road, he thought: What would happen if Ah Q came over at this time?
Ah Q is not afraid of children, but he will never rebel against Ah Q. In this case, Ah Q will consider himself a "hero very"!
Right! Let Ah Q punch the child on the head for no reason and kick a few cocks in the way.
Yan Shunkai told the director his idea, and the director thought about it for a moment and said: "Ok"!
After the shooting, an old veteran of the film industry saw this shot and said, "Good! A Q kick chicken kick good! This is the reality of life, and kicked out a Q! ”
Shot 2: Walking to the execution ground
Ah Q's being escorted to the execution ground is the last scene of the movie "A Q Zheng Biography", and it also draws a conclusion to the life of Ah Q.
The success or failure of this play is quite important. Whether the audience can "smile on their faces and cry in their hearts" depends on this drama.
Therefore, the director's request for this scene is: "Let the audience sympathize with Ah Q and cause the audience to think deeply." ”
Along the way, A Q crossed the street in shackles. During this long journey, Ah Q saw a sea of people on both sides, and also saw his familiar Wu Ma.
Among them, there are both close-up and long-range views, as well as close-up shots.
At this time, in addition to some facial expressions and movements, there is only one line that can be said:
"Twenty years later, another good man!"
For this short cross line, Yan Shunkai pondered for a long time.
He believes that Ah Q is not a good man in the green forest, not a revolutionary who regards death as a homecoming, and even less a hero who can sing and cry.
On the verge of death, Ah Q can only be Ah Q, he has some fears, he also wants face. He had some grievances, but he was very ignorant, and when he was dying, he didn't know why he was beheaded.
It was a cry of a soul trembling and sobbing.
Therefore, the line "Twenty years later, a good man again", Yan Shunkai shouted out from the depths of his throat.
At that time, although Ah Q wanted to hold his head high and be stubborn and pretend to be a good man, he shouted this sentence but he was hoarse and weak, pale and low.
After the movie was released, many people said that he played Ah Q alive, and even some people said: "Yan Shunkai is the real 'king of comedy' in Chinese movies!" ”
In 1982, Yan Shunkai won the Chaplin "Golden Crutch" Award for "A Q True Biography", which was created in honor of the comedy master Chaplin, and its status is equivalent to the Nobel Prize in science.
Therefore, Yan Kaishun also won the reputation of "Oriental Chaplin".
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > three, a lifetime of dedication, burial park</h1>
Yan Kaishun has been dedicated all his life, both moral and artistic, never stealing dramas, and not pronouncing the wrong words.
Yan Shunkai's close friend Jiang Ping recalled that Yan Shunkai was extremely serious about doing things, in addition to filmmaking, he also had more important work - arranging stage plays, he was particularly serious, never said the wrong words, did not cause trouble.
Even though Yan Kaishun is already familiar with the whole drama, he never robs other people's plays. He said, "It is extremely immoral to steal a scene. ”
Yan Shunkai also hates people who don't act seriously. For those actors who don't memorize lines, carry seven or eight assistants, and use stunts for everything.
Yan Shunkai often went into battle on his own for the sake of acting effects.
In 2009, Yan Shunkai was at the age of 72.
He starred in his last work, My Ugly Daddy. When the director took the script to Yan Shunkai, Yan Shunkai felt that the script was very impressive, so he decided, "Shoot! Be sure to shoot! ”
The script began filming in Dalian. In the process of shooting, there is a shot that asks Yan Shunkai to stumble into the sea to pick up garbage, but also to walk desperately to the middle of the sea.
Yan Shunkai was old and frail and had difficulty moving. In October in Dalian, the sea was even cold, but Yan Shunkai still went into the water himself.
He once told the media that he usually did not even dare to go to the swimming pool and the river, let alone the sea.
But this time, in order to shoot the scene, Yan Shunkai didn't even remember how many times he went to the sea.
Fortunately, the director of the crew is also very concerned about Yan Shunkai, every time he goes into the water, the director will personally go into the water to test the water temperature, and also clean the stones in the water one by one to prevent Yan Lao from falling.
This made Yan Shunkai very moved, and he thought to himself, "I will bite my teeth and go on!" ”
But filming was still arduous, starting from eight o'clock in the morning to twelve o'clock in the evening. Yan Shunkai cried and laughed during the filming process, jumped and jumped, and his hands and feet were numb after the shooting.
Yan Shunkai persevered, but soon after returning to Shanghai, he fell ill.
While waiting for treatment, Yan Shunkai suddenly suffered a stroke in the cerebral infarction, and his left body was paralyzed. Fortunately, the rescue was timely and a life was saved.
But since then, Yan Shunkai has also had to make a home in the hospital.
In 2009, after Yan Shunkai was paralyzed by a stroke, he remained ill for eight years.
Mrs. Yan revealed that Yan Shunkai was sober-minded, but his language expression was poor. At the same time, he also has chronic bronchitis, heart concomitant diseases, constant infections in the lungs, and high blood pressure.
After Yan Shunkai fell ill, the head of the troupe and his disciples often visited. Shortly after the disciples gave him his eightieth birthday, Yan Shunkai passed away.
On October 16, 2017, Yan Shunkai died in Shanghai at the age of 80.
On October 30, Elder Yan was buried in Shanghai Fushouyuan Humanities Memorial Park. Many of Yan Shunkai's former friends, colleagues, and students totaled more than 70 people to attend the memorial service and bid farewell to Elder Yan.
In Fushouyuan, Yan Shunkai's son Yan Na donated the "China Academy of Film Performing Arts Award" (also known as the "Golden Phoenix Award") that his father won during his lifetime to the Fushouyuan Humanities Memorial Hall.
Yan Shunkai's monument was also unveiled at Fushou Garden. The monument is set against the backdrop of a stage curtain, and on it is a relief portrait of Yan Lao, which is the most classic "laughing" photo of his life. Below is a model of the Golden Crutch Award trophy, which represents the highest achievement of Yan Lao's life.
In the middle of the memorial hall, there is a huge portrait of Yan Lao, who is forever frozen in the moment when he smiles the most brilliantly.
Many people stood neatly in the hall, silently mourning. Everyone was dressed in black or dark clothes, their expressions were dignified, and from time to time someone sobbed quietly and covered their faces from tears.
Disciple Sun Shifeng appeared at the scene of the memorial service and sent his own TaishiGong on his last journey. During Yan Shunkai's serious illness, His grandson Shi Feng visited the hospital many times.
His former friend Gong Xueping came to give Yan Lao a last ride.
Weng Hong wiped her tears from time to time, blowing her nose dry, and her expression on the scene was solemn. She once played Yan Lao's "daughter-in-law" before he died.
Li Qing, who had gray hair and was on crutches, came to the scene of the memorial service with the support of everyone. He's going to give his friend one last ride.
The hall is lined with wreaths. The following is the link sent by Yan Lao's former friends, apprentices, colleagues, etc.:
Beloved disciple Zhou Libo delivered a memorial speech, "Teacher Yan Shunkai went all the way, and the student Zhou Libo and his wife respected! ”
Xiao Weng Shuangjie sent a letter to Shang Lianlian, "Deeply mourn Comrade Yan Shunkai! ”
Li Maoxin sent a letter to Shang lian, "Deeply mourn Comrade Yan Shunkai! ”
Shen Shuanghua sent a letter to Shang Lianlian, "Mourn Comrade Yan Shunkai with deep sorrow!" ”
Zhu Rongji, former premier of the State Council, also remembered this old artist with both moral integrity and art, and sent a memorial speech: "Deeply mourn Comrade Yan Shunkai!" ”
Outside the hall, there were many older generations of spectators, after learning the news of the death of Comrade Yan Shunkai, spontaneously took Elder Yan's cover magazine and came to the door to send a final journey for Elder Yan.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > summary</h1>
As the guests and relatives at the memorial service site came forward to bow to Elder Yan in turn, they bid farewell to Elder Yan on his last journey. Yan Shunkai's road to comedy has come to an end.
Comedy life, laughter on the road. The actor who played Ah Q is gone, and since then, there has been more laughter in heaven!
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > resources</h1>
Wang Liu, editor-in-chief. Dictionary of Chinese and Foreign Film and Television[M]. 2001 edition.
Chen Yiyi, Editor-in-Chief. Star image under Chen Yiyi's lens[M]. 2005 edition.
[3] Editorial Board of Yilin. Yilin Hot Words Shiwen Focus Character Volume 4[M]. 2018 edition.
[4] By Mai Mang. Two hundred poems of Mai Mang's four-line poems[M]. 2000 edition.
HOU Lei. Sound and color field[M]. 2018 edition.
LIU Run. Liu Run's Collected Writings[M]. 2016 edition.