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During the Mid-Autumn Festival National Day long holiday, Xiaoyu Qilin took over three scenes. He began learning Sizhou opera at the age of 8, singing Qiandan, that is, the male Danjiao. Xiaoyu Qilin is the stage name given to him by his grandfather, and his big name is Gong Jianqiang. The 20-year-old is a junior at North China University of Science and Technology. He has played the protagonist for more than ten years and is a non-hereditary person in Sizhou opera.
Recently, in an interview with the Yangtze Evening News Purple Cow News reporter, Gong Jianqiang said that in order to let a group of senior brothers who love Sizhou opera like him have opera and food, he also began to lead the troupe, hoping that the group of senior brothers who followed him "can eat and eat well."
At the age of 8, he appeared on stage to sing Sizhou opera
At the age of 14, he became a non-genetic inheritor
Gong Jianqiang's grandfather was a storyteller who had been nurtured since childhood, and he studied the piano book and the drum book with his grandfather. "He knows too many things, he's a literate storyteller."
One year, my grandmother's family sang a big play, Gong Jianqiang went to see the play, was surprised to find that he could actually understand it, learned that this was a Sizhou opera, and has been obsessed since then. Sizhou opera is an ancient type of local opera, originally known as La Soul Cavity. It originated from the Lunan region of northern Jiangsu and was introduced to the Sizhou area of Anhui Province with a history of more than 200 years. It has a certain "blood relationship" with the Liuqin opera in Shandong and the Huaihai opera in Jiangsu. Sizhou opera is one of the four outstanding operas in Anhui along with Hui Opera, Huangmei Opera and Lu Opera, with a profound mass foundation and rich cultural heritage, with beautiful singing voice and beautiful melody, singing on both sides of the Huai River, north and south of the river. At that time, there was no platform to display the singing piano book, and grandpa had not sung for many years. But Gong Jianqiang felt that singing was good, especially when he heard someone say that "it will be difficult to see Sizhou opera in ten years", he gambled in his heart and decided to learn Sizhou opera. At that time, he was not tall, "speaking like a little girl", the troupe saw that his conditions were okay, his voice, appearance and other aspects were good, so he let him learn to sing Hua Dan.
Gong Jianqiang performed on stage when he was a child
At the age of 8, Gong Jianqiang officially performed on stage and was called "eight-year-old red". Since then, he has embarked on this path, usually studying in school and going out to sing on weekends and holidays. Sizhou opera is difficult to learn, the flowers are messy, and the practice is very hard, but he is gradually familiar with it. At the age of 12, Gong Jianqiang went to Huaiyuan to study, and volunteered to sing a piece in a local place where Sizhou opera lovers gathered, and the teachers were amazed. He also got to know the old artist Mr. Hu Jiahong, and when he got guidance, his singing voice became more and more mature. Later, someone recommended him to a small Yu troupe in Huaiyuan to learn body performance with the teacher. Because there is no indoor venue, "I practice under the Huaihe River Dam on a snowy day, kicking my legs and waist, so cold that I can't stretch my hands, and the wind blows on my face like a knife." Gong Jianqiang began to sing the protagonist at that time, "Every New Year's festival singing, sometimes three times a day, one in the morning, two in the afternoon, and then fall asleep when I go back to stand tired at night." "If you come across a concert play, sing for several days in a row, the audience will be full.
Gong Jianqiang sings Sizhou opera
He once had the opportunity to join a professional theater troupe, but because of the role and economic problems, he gave up and had to go out to perform by himself. Winters are cold, and teenage children, with love and hope for life, drag large suitcases, sing in the fields, and their feet are often frozen to the point of unconsciousness. Once sang for nine days in a row, but only received 300 yuan, he cried on the street on the 28th night of the month because he did not earn the tuition for the next semester. Despite this, he always cherished his love for Sizhou opera and was reluctant to give up. At the age of 14, Gong Jianqiang became the inheritor of Sizhou opera intangible cultural heritage.
No less than 100 performances a year
He has participated in many Chinese opera competitions and won gold awards
Singing also did not affect his studies, and Gong Jianqiang was always at the forefront of his grades in junior high school. After entering high school, he sang less because of his busy studies, but he still tried to participate in some competitions.
In 2018, Gong Jianqiang went to Xinyi, Jiangsu Province to participate in the first Huaihai Economic Zone and Grand Canal City Children's Liuqin Opera (Sizhou Opera) Competition (also known as the Sulu-Yuwan Four Provinces Youth Soul Pulling Grand Prix) and won the gold medal. In 2020, Gong Jianqiang participated in the second Soul Pulling Grand Prix, was divided into the amateur category, and won the gold award. In 2021, Gong Jianqiang was admitted to North China Institute of Science and Technology. After going to university, he participated in the 12th "National Opera Cup" Student Opera Competition in 2021 and won the gold medal in the individual project of the amateur group outside Beijing.
Gong Jianqiang participated in the Chinese opera competition and won the gold award
After the college entrance examination, he began his beloved Sizhou opera performance, "In the past few years in college, there have been no less than 100 performances a year. This year, since the Spring Festival, he has performed more than 120 plays, of which sending plays to the countryside is the main part, as well as villagers' red and white happy events or temple fairs.
Traditional opera has a hard time surviving
I don't have a love for it
However, traditional opera struggles to survive, which worries Gong Jianqiang.
On May 21 this year, in the second group competition of the "China Bangzi Conference", Jin opera actor Zhang Junbo's performance was very successful. However, his monthly salary is only 1,500 yuan, and he has always been a temporary worker in the troupe, and his wife and three children are still in his hometown. In addition to acting, he runs online ride-hailing and food delivery to subsidize his family. The famous opera artist He Saifei learned of these situations and commented choked: "Such an artist does not protect, does not give basic survival, to whom?" This remark was deafening, aroused great repercussions and resonance, and quickly rushed to the hot search. As a new generation of actors in traditional opera, Gong Jianqiang also resonates very much.
The guarantee conditions of private theater troupes are very poor, because of professional barriers such as qualifications, even many tenders and competitions are difficult to participate, "In fact, we are not bad, but good resources tend to professional theater troupes, which is a great loss for private theater troupes." But in terms of inheritance, the private academy has done a lot of work. ”
Gong Jianqiang told the Yangtze Evening News Purple Cow News reporter that when he was a child, he had many opportunities to learn to perform opera, "Sometimes he could sing in one place for more than a month." Now there are fewer opportunities for traditional opera performances, "the more no one sings, the more no one listens, and the actors have to do something else, and slowly, the troupe may not be able to get together when performing." He went to the south to sing, "There you can also earn 200 yuan a day, and our leading actor only earns 150 yuan a day." If I didn't have this love in my heart, I would have stopped doing it a long time ago. ”
At the age of 19, he led the troupe and became the head of the troupe
Let the senior brothers follow me to "eat well"
Although there were many difficulties, Gong Jianqiang still met many young Sizhou opera actors. Young actors need to grow and learn, some troupes like people who can perform on stage immediately, do not have the patience to cultivate future generations, and many young actors have to leave the stage because of their meagre salaries for singing, which makes the inheritance of Sizhou opera more difficult.
Gong Jianqiang felt that these young Sizhou opera actors might not be able to stick to it if they were not brought with them, so he came up with the idea of leading the troupe himself. Singing and leading the troupe is destined to be a bumpy road, Gong Jianqiang loves Sizhou opera and the stage, and also wants the brothers who follow him to eat and eat well, "I often think about this problem until late at night." He finally made up his mind and started leading the troupe last year. As a regiment leader at the age of 19, he had never heard of it in the local area before. He used the money he had accumulated over the years to borrow some from friends and buy a theater box. The usual tuition and living expenses are also earned by himself, "I feel that I am not much powerful, but when I have the ability, I exercise myself more." ”
Gong Jianqiang and the brothers together
In addition to your own performance, you have to take care of a lot of things as a leader. If you want to find a way to take the performance, after receiving the performance, you must contact the stage, contact the actors, arrange the repertoire and characters, prepare costumes and props, and so on. Although no one taught him how to be a regiment leader, these abilities were all exercised. At present, the staff of his troupe is relatively fixed, with no less than thirteen or four people per performance, and about 20 people in the big performance. Everyone was scattered in Tiannanhaibei, and they gathered together during the performance. Before the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, Gong Jianqiang received three plays, rushed back as soon as the holiday was over, arranged various matters of the performance, and was busy performing on October 2 and 3.
Gong Jianqiang performed during the eleventh period
This year, he entered his junior year and began to consider whether to go to graduate school or return to employment after graduation. If he is employed, he plans to continue to be the head of the regiment. If you are going to graduate school, you are preparing to go to graduate school in opera. Gong Jianqiang said that the opera industry "really can't go far without love", but "it is a long way to come, and I am still on the road".
Purple Cow News Reporter: Song Shifeng
Editor: Wan Huijuan
Editor: Wan Huijuan
Editor-in-chief: Chen Dichen
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