The Paper's reporter Pan Yu
"The old naughty boy in the world, the art world is not old." The famous performance artist Mr. Li Jiusong has been away from us for nearly a year, which is an irreparable loss in the burlesque world, and it is heart-wrenching to look back on. On December 11, 2020, Shanghai's burlesque circles gathered together to commemorate the "old lady uncle" of Shanghainese with a Li Jiusong art seminar. Wang Rugang, director of the Shanghai One-Legged Opera Art Heritage Center and a comical artist, wrote an article entitled "The Art World Is Not Old" to commemorate the old partner who has cooperated for more than 40 years.
Li Jiusong
At the same time as the seminar, a commemorative special exhibition of Li Jiusong's burlesque performing arts, "Immortal Song of the Art World", will also be held on December 13 at the Shanghai Gong stage. The commemorative performance was jointly organized by the Municipal Federation of Literature and Literature, the Municipal Qu Artists Association, and the Shanghai One-Legged Opera Art Heritage Center. Famous Shanghai comedians Wang Rugang, Yao Qi'er, Gong Renlong, Tao Dexing, Gu Zhujun, Shu Yue, Qian Yi, Chen Liang, Pan Qianwei and Cao Xiong will gather in the special session. And the main actors in the "Old Uncle" crew led by "Old Aunt" Young Niang will also come to the performance to talk about their respective "old niang uncles". In addition, Dong Qifeng, a disciple of Li Jiusong and the director of the Hangzhou Funny Art Theater, also came to Shanghai to perform.
At Li Jiusong's art seminar, almost all the famous artists of the predecessors of Shanghai's burlesque circle came. Wang Rugang, Yao Yong'er, Mao Mengda, in addition to Li Jiusong's many old colleagues in the Shanghai People's Burlesque Troupe, as well as many of his peers and friends, everyone remembers Li Jiusong's burlesque art before his death.
"I remember Jiusong once asked me: 'Will everyone cry when I die?' "This is a question that I have difficulty answering. The reason is that he has been engaged in burlesque art all his life, and has created a lot of ridiculous artistic images on the stage and screen, such as the old lady uncle, Xiao Sanmao, etc., these are the classic characters who stir the laughter nerves of the common people. However, life and death, after all, is a cruel moment, who can laugh? The problem has always puzzled me, and now I think I have found the answer: it is the words of Master Li Shutong of Hongyi - the intersection of sorrow and joy. ”
Wang Rugang and Li Jiusong
This is a passage written by Wang Rugang when remembering Li Jiusong, he said: "I have cooperated with Mr. Li Jiusong for nearly forty years, getting along with each other in the twilight, winning the teacher and friends, his voice and smile are still in front of me, and I have never forgotten, with the passage of time, many details of getting along have become clearer." ”
In the 1980s, Li Jiusong and Wang Rugang formed a golden partnership for 40 years. As a "starter", he is articulate, tepid, and cute, the first collaborative work "The Head is the Tao", Li Jiusong plays Wang Rugang's "old niang uncle", and Wang Rugang jokingly calls the uncle's nickname "Taro Head", an interesting performance that makes the audience happy. Since then, the title of "old lady uncle" has accompanied Li Jiusong for most of his acting career.
In the mid-1990s, the TV sitcom "Old Lady Uncle" starring Li Jiusong had a great impact on society, and "Old Lady Uncle" became one of the favorite screen images of many Shanghai audiences, and also became a "textbook" for migrant workers from other places to understand Shanghai and learn Shanghainese.
At the seminar, some peers said that the image of Li Jiusong and the "old lady uncle" is so inseparable, "you have me, I have you", so that the audience thinks of the old mother uncle as soon as li Jiusong is mentioned, which is a particularly big achievement in the life of an actor.
Interestingly, the "old lady uncle" played by Li Jiusong in the play is an elderly venerable person who enjoys prestige and justice in the family and community, and in real life, he was the people's representative of Pudong New Area at the time, enthusiastic about public welfare activities, regardless of personal gains and losses, and the image on the screen is quite in line.
In the eyes of everyone, Li Jiusong is also a good person in the style of an "old lady uncle". His old colleague Zhang Dingguo, former deputy head of the People's Burlesque Troupe, said that burlesque had gone through a long period of lonely roads, the market was depressed, and it was difficult to push tickets, while Li Jiusong was already a well-known "old lady uncle" in Shanghai Beach at that time, and there were many invitations to various performances and programs. But he has never forgotten the troupe's performance tasks, theater performances, he must be the top priority, never absent, no matter how busy the shooting schedule, he will also let the TV crew vacate his schedule.
The reason why Li Jiusong has become an unforgettable old lady uncle is also because of his superior pursuit and achievements in burlesque performing arts.
Li Jiusong, who comes from an acting family, has served as an actor in the New Art Burlesque Troupe and the Popular Burlesque Troupe, and has successively studied art from the famous teachers Cui Wenxuan and Mr. Wen Binbin. In the 1960s, he starred in "Sanmao" in "Sanmao Student Intentions", which became an important representative work of his acting career.
After the reform and opening up, Li Jiusong joined the Shanghai People's Burlesque Troupe, stretching his artistic talents on the stage, shaping many roles, especially good at shaping the image of small characters, such as playing a small tolerance in the burlesque play "Suzhou Two Tolerances"; playing a low-energy child in "Filial Piety Son", the image is exquisite, the performance is just right, and the audience is impressed.
Lin Xibiao, a burlesque performance artist who has worked with Li Jiusong for many years, said that Li Jiusong's burlesque art can be said to be thick and thin, and he has very well inherited Wen Binbin's performing arts, especially the classic works of "Sanmao Student Intention", and now there are almost no actors who can inherit Wen Binbin's funny art like him.
"Born from the heart, Jiusong is wise and foolish, his heart is as bright as a mirror, and his facial expression is rich and colorful, which cannot be summed up in four words: joy and sorrow." Wang Rugang said that in his acting career, Jiusong used humorous and ridiculous language and funny and abrupt movements to make the audience laugh and open their mouths, and on the road of life, Jiusong passed on a good image and beautiful actions to the audience who cared about him and loved him. Today, Mr. Li Jiusong has been buried in the cave heaven and earth, the Si people have passed away, and the laughter will live forever in the heavens and the earth.
Editor-in-Charge: Zhang Zhe
Proofreader: Zhang Liangliang