Yuan Xuefen is a well-known Yue opera performance artist, the founder of yue opera "Yuan Pai", who is highly respected in the music and art world, and can be called "Yue opera taidou". She was born on March 26, 1922, to a poor peasant family in Dushan Village, Ganlin Township, Shengxian County, Zhejiang Province. His father, Yuan Maosong, was a private school gentleman in the countryside, who also did farm work when the farmer was busy, and his mother farmed at home. Because they were born with several daughters, the father hoped that Yuan Xuefen would be self-reliant like a man. When Yuan Xuefen was 6 years old, her father took her to a private school for 3 years, and she knew some words. Later, due to her family's poverty and the idea of preferring sons to daughters, Yuan Xuefen dropped out of school.
In the old society, families who gave birth to daughters were looked down upon. Yuan Xuefen's mother is a typical rural woman, industrious and kind, because she gave birth to daughters, she is very inferior. Yuan Xuefen has no intersection with Yue opera, which is the change of her sister's fate, which stimulates her to embark on the road of Yue opera. That year, Yuan Xuefen's third sister was born. As soon as the mother saw that she was a daughter again, she carried Yuan Xuefen's father on her back, tearfully spent a dollar, entrusted the mother-in-law next door to beg for food, and sent her newborn daughter to the nursery.
Yuan Xuefen knew that once her sister was gone, she would never see her again in this life. Her mother asked Yuan Xuefen to write down her sister's birthday and prepare to send her away. Yuan Xuefen cried and begged her mother: "This sister is raised by me, don't send her to the nursery." The mother choked and said, "How do you feed her?" Yuan Xuefen said: "I sing opera to earn money to support her." At that time, Yuan Xuefen had not yet learned to play, and her mother thought she was too naïve, so she sent her newborn daughter to the nursery. Remembering her sister's tragic fate, Yuan Xuefen cried loudly.
Maybe the mother will have a daughter in the future, Yuan Xuefen said to her parents: "I want to learn drama, and I will raise my sister in the future." "At that time, the social status of singing was very low, and parents with slightly better families were reluctant to let their daughters learn drama. Yuan Xuefen, who has a strong personality, quarreled with her parents and forced them to give in.
Shengzhou is the hometown of Yue opera, and in 1933, 11-year-old Yuan Xuefen entered the local Four Seasons Spring Yue Opera class to study opera. She is talented and knows some words, and began performing in Hangzhou at the age of 14. In 1938, Yuan Xuefen, who had already become famous in Zhejiang, went to Shanghai Beach to sing opera in Shili Yangchang and performed in many Yue opera troupes such as Xuesheng Theater Troupe and Dalai Theater.
After the economic conditions improved, Yuan Xuefen went to the nursery to look for her sister, but there was no whereabouts of her sister. Yuan Xuefen cried a lot, not knowing where her sister was.
Because she was born poor, Yuan Xuefen was very kind and loving. Although the income is not high, she often helps others, and when her peers have difficulties, she generously contributes. A violinist had a lung disease, and Yuan Xuefen sent someone over the money she had just received for recording the record. She also often leads her colleagues to perform charity performances and donate to charitable causes.
Yuan Xuefen's high wind and bright festival were not tolerated by the old society. In the 1934s, shanghai beaches were mixed with fish and dragons, and some evil forces persecuted her in every way. Once, she performed the Yue opera "Wind And Love" in the theater, and some bad people threw feces at her. Another time, three hooligans squeezed three months of silver from her, but Yuan Xuefen sternly refused. Yuan Xuefen does not sing church meetings, is not polite, refuses all kinds of social entertainment with vegetarianism, and devotes all her energy to the cause of Yue opera.
Yuan Xuefen's performance and singing voice are soft and delicate, simple and deep, mellow in rhyme, bright in rhythm, attaching importance to the portrayal of characters, and are highly sought after by opera fans. She participated in the collation and starring in the traditional dramas "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" and "Xi Xiang Ji", and choreographed and acted in historical dramas and modern dramas such as "Mulan Congjun" and "Red Pink Jinge". In 1942, she began to carry out yue opera reforms to adapt to the needs of the times.
In 1946, 10 years after the death of Mr. Lu Xun, Yuan Xuefen decided to adapt his masterpiece "Blessings" into Yue opera. In order to create the role of "Xianglin Sister-in-law", Yuan Xuefen went to the bookstore to buy the "Complete Works of Lu Xun" to read, and also visited Lu Xun's wife Xu Guangping. After "Xianglin Sister-in-law" was put on the stage of Yue opera, it was recognized as a milestone of new Yue opera.
In August 1947, Yuan Xuefen initiated the joint charity performance of ten sisters of Yue opera "Love in Mountains and Rivers", which caused a sensation. After liberation, Yuan Xuefen entered the Shanghai Yue Theater, and later served as the president and honorary president of the Shanghai Yue Theater, and the vice president of the Shanghai Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.
In 1953, Yuan Xuefen co-starred in "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" co-starring Fan Ruijuan, which was made into a movie. At that time, the relevant departments were preparing to make a black-and-white film, and Yuan Xuefen approached Chen Yi, the mayor of Shanghai at the time, and requested that the film be made in color. Mayor Chen Yi gave the green light all the way, and "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" became China's first large-scale color opera film. The film received rave reviews after its national release, and yuan Xuefen's "Zhu Yingtai" was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Her classic songs such as "Eighteen Phases" and "Building Platform Meeting" are still widely sung by fans. Yuan Xuefen also became popular because of this.
In 1978, the Yue opera "Xianglin Sister-in-law" was made into a movie, and Yuan Xuefen's "Xianglin Sister-in-law" became a classic. Her classic songs such as "Ask the Heavens" and "Crying Xianglin" also make theater fans tired of listening.
Yuan Xuefen spent her life with Yue opera, but her marriage was not happy. It is rumored that she and the violinist Zhou Bao are husband and wife, but in fact, this is a misinformation. Yuan Xuefen's husband, Zheng Huang, was a former reporter for Wen Wei Po. He was tall and talented, and also taught cultural creation at the Shanghai Municipal Palace of Culture, and later served as the deputy editor-in-chief of the Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House. Yuan Xuefen and Zheng Huang had 3 sons, but later divorced due to personality discord.
Behind the single body, there are many excellent men pursuing Yuan Xuefen. Promise that as long as you are with him, you can let Yuan Xuefen live a superior life. But emotionally broken, she did not get involved in feelings anymore, and was lonely until she died.
After Yuan Xuefen retired, she did not leave Yue Opera for a day. Because of her age and fewer performances, she wrote articles about the theory of Yue opera at home and ran for the cause of Yue opera. In 2010, Yuan Xuefen's condition worsened and she was admitted to the hospital. She didn't want to spend more money from the state, and when her condition stabilized, she was discharged home. On February 19, 2011, Yuan Xuefen died of organ failure in Shanghai at the age of 89.
Yuan Xuefen's 3 sons
Her mother had a deep affection for Yue opera, and she was accompanied by Yue opera all her life, and Yuan Xuefen's son donated his mother's "Magnolia" trophy and her manuscript to the Yue Opera Museum.
Yue opera master Yuan Xuefen came with a fragrance and sang Yue opera to leave. By 2020, she has been dead for 9 years, but her voice and smile, her classic singing segments, and the classic character image she has created will always be engraved in the hearts of fans!
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