Preamble:
How far are we from the truth?
Jiang Kun and Guo Degang, two of the most famous cross talk actors in contemporary China.
They once stood at the pinnacle of the Chinese cross talk industry together, but because of a misunderstanding, they became each other's hearts for many years.
Now, in the turbulent Chinese cross talk circle, rumors about the grievances between the two are still flying all over the sky, but the truth has long been hidden.
So, listen to how one of Hou Yaowen's apprentices and grandsons of the old artist personally broke the origin of the grievances between the two back then.
Perhaps, we are not as far from the truth as we imagined.
The starting point of his career: The small theater cross talk is on fire
In 2005, China's society was in a period of rapid development, with rapid economic growth after the reform and opening up, and people's living standards also made a qualitative leap compared with the past.
At the same time, people are also eager to have a richer cultural and entertainment life in addition to their busy work.
This provides a good social soil for the prosperity of various entertainment industries.
Guo Degang keenly seized this opportunity and chose to create a small theater called "Deyun Club" in Beijing.
This practice is very groundbreaking, because in the past, the venue for cross talk performances was either a formal grand theater or a temporary stage set up by a humble teahouse hotel.
No one has set up a cross talk performance in a small space that they have created and managed.
Guo Degang rented an old Hutong mansion and transformed it into a small space that can only accommodate dozens of people, allowing the audience to get close to the cross talk actors, fully mobilizing their various senses and bringing them an immersive performance experience.
This setting was unprecedented at the time, and it soon attracted a large number of audiences who loved cross talk.
People finally discovered that cross talk is not only an art form that makes people laugh, but also a part of a rich and colorful cultural life.
In this mode, Guo Degang quickly stood out, from an unknown cross talk actor to a new star in the entire industry.
In 2005, he was only in his early 30s, and he has become synonymous with China's cross talk industry, and the Deyun Club led by him is also on the road of rapid development, and is expected to lead China's cross talk industry to a new era.
However, this rapid momentum has not come without a cost.
In the small theater mode, the stage is very close to the audience, which requires the performance to pay more attention to interaction and effect.
Guo Degang used his keen sense of smell and comedic talent to bring these characteristics to the extreme, pleasing the public's taste.
However, in the process of pursuing performance effects, many programs in the Deyun Club Small Theater will inevitably bring some vulgar and even indecent content.
This attracted the attention of Jiang Kun, a cross talk person.
At that time, Jiang Kun, who was in his 60s, was already the Taishan Beidou of China's cross talk industry, he not only had profound performance skills, but also served as the chairman of the China Quyi Artists Association for many years, representing the image and direction of the entire industry.
As a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, he is a leading figure in China's literary and artistic circles.
In the autumn of 2005, Jiang Kun took the time to watch several performances of the Deyun Club Small Theater in person, and he sincerely admired Guo Degang's ability to package the ancient art of cross talk so young and energetic.
This is an important step for cross talk to get out of the so-called "cross talk world" and move towards a broader stage.
However, Jiang Kun, as a senior artist, also saw the price of the pursuit of speed in small theaters.
He believes that those vulgar content will damage the overall image of cross talk art to a certain extent, which is not conducive to the long-term development of the industry.
Jiang Kun's concern and suggestions
In fact, Jiang Kun's attention to the stylistic changes of Deyun Club's small theater itself reflects his keen judgment and responsibility as an artist.
We know that in the first half of the 20th century, traditional Chinese opera was deeply affected by Western modern culture, and once struggled on the margins of society.
The decline of national art and the loss of cultural self-confidence have worried generations of Chinese intellectuals.
Jiang Kun was the opera family that grew up in those difficult years, and this sense of crisis has long been ingrained in his bones.
In 2005, Chinese society was in a new stage of "money worship", and economic development and the spiritual world seemed to be drifting apart.
Jiang Kun is keenly aware that this may be a moment when the ancient Chinese art form is once again facing a crisis of faith.
While the small theater model is prosperous in cross talk, it also gives vulgar content the opportunity to "imperceptibly" affect the cultural taste of the public.
As a leader in the industry, he had to stand up and speak out.
In the end, Jiang Kun made a suggestion to Guo Degang euphemistically through Yu Qian, an industry insider, hoping that he, as the most popular cross talk actor today, can pay attention to the quality of cross talk content and reduce some vulgar content, which is very important for the healthy development of the entire industry.
Jiang Kun's suggestion comes from years of industry experience and responsibility as an artist, but Guo Degang obviously did not understand the painstaking work.
The beginning of a misunderstanding
However, what Jiang Kun never expected was that Guo Degang, who was in the midst of a bumper harvest in his career and fame at that time, had great disgust and dissatisfaction with his suggestion.
It is not difficult for us to imagine that a thriving young man, full of vigor and whose career has reached its peak, suddenly received a "kind reminder" from his seniors in the industry that there is a problem with the program, which is undoubtedly worse.
What's more, Guo Degang has always had the spirit of "pulling out the mountains and covering the world", and he is still a typical young man, with a great sense of victory and ambition.
It can be said that Jiang Kun's suggestion undoubtedly touched the most sensitive nerve in his heart.
In the winter of 2005, during a performance, Guo Degang suddenly broke out an astonishing sentence: "Someone in the palace (referring to Jiang Kun) gave me a substitute, so that I couldn't say those messy things...... From this moment on, the misunderstanding between Jiang Kun and Guo Degang officially kicked off.
In fact, this is just a very typical generational contradiction.
Jiang Kun stands at the height of a senior artist and industry leader, and his starting point is the responsibility for the entire cross talk career; And Guo Degang is a young man who just wants to show off his youthful sweat on the stage.
The values and footholds of the two are inherently different, and Guo Degang's personality is more impulsive, so this misunderstanding is unavoidable.
On a deeper level, it also reflects some of the dilemmas of contemporary Chinese society in the transition period: the conflict between tradition and modernity, the rise of new things and the decline of the old order, when everything seems new and interesting, who has the heart to take care of those things that are not so "cool"? This kind of generation gap and misunderstanding may be played out in every era.
And when we return to the specific relationship between people, it is not difficult to find that both the arrogance of the new generation and the opinions of the elders have their reasonable components.
What we need is a broad mind to listen and understand the pain behind every voice.
Many years later, as the apprentice grandson of Hou Yaowen's old artist, Liu Zhao recalled this past and couldn't help but sigh.
He believes that Guo Degang was young and vigorous at the time, and he was in the rising period of his career, so it was difficult to understand Jiang Kun's hard work as a senior in the industry.
"That's the case, he (Jiang Kun) is the chairman of the music association, can he be guilty of competing with a private team? He also hopes that everyone is good, because they are all in this industry.
Liu Zhao said.
Indeed, the reason why Jiang Kun stood up and spoke out was not because of any selfishness, but because of his concern for the development of the entire industry.
But Guo Degang obviously didn't understand it.
In the past 10 years, there have been various rumors about the grievances between Guo Degang and Jiang Kun, and there are even statements that "Jiang Kun suppressed Guo Degang".
And Liu Zhao, who has seen the ups and downs of the past, firmly defended Jiang Kun: It is really commendable for an artist in a high position to care so much about the development of younger generations.
If Guo Degang could be humble and understand Jiang Kun's hard work, the development of China's cross talk industry may have a different trajectory.
Epilogue:
Many years later, when we look back at this period of history, we can't help but ask, where is the direction of contemporary cross talk? Although the small theater model is novel and interesting, should it be at the expense of content quality?
Jiang Kun's advice as a veteran artist, in today's impetuous society of China's pursuit of speed and money, how many people still have time to calm down and listen?
In fact, this reflects not only the internal problems of cross talk, a form of entertainment, but some deep-seated dilemmas in the development of the whole society.
The emergence of new things is often accompanied by the breaking of the old order, but when we overturn everything and make drastic innovations, should we also cherish those voices that contain historical wisdom? The so-called "breaking" and "standing" are equally important in all cultural industries.
As a veteran artist who has been trained in systematic opera, Jiang Kun has the genes of traditional Chinese culture flowing in his body.
This kind of cultural self-confidence is the key to the vicissitudes of Chinese national art for a century.
And under the splendid appearance of Guo Degang's small theater model, is there also a hidden crisis of self-confidence? This is a question worthy of deep consideration by all of us cultural practitioners.
Just like a small tree that grows, the most important thing is still the root system that takes root in the ground.
This foundation not only includes the accumulation of artistic means and expression skills, but also the cultivation of the emotional identity of traditional culture.
We can't just rush for quick success and just look for external prosperity.
At least in Liu Zhao's view, the origin of cross talk represented by Jiang Kun - connotation and quality is the endless hope of this ancient art.
No matter how wonderful the packaging is, if it has no roots and no source, it will only be a flash in the pan after all.
This is something that all of us who are engaged in the entertainment industry should perhaps always keep in mind.