A century-old master——
Tan Xinpei: The king of the Ling world
Tan Xinpei (1847-1917)
His real name is Jin Fu, the word is respectful, and he is a native of Jiangxia (now Wuchang), Hubei. Peking Opera performance artist, founder of the first old-school genre - Tan School. At the age of 10, he went to Beijing with his father. At the age of 11, he entered the small Jinkui class to learn art, and after leaving the school, he changed to a martial artist because of "reversal". Later, he entered the Sanqing class and worshiped many seniors. In the sixteenth year of Guangxu, he was summoned to the palace and served as a foreign student in the Shengping Bureau. After 30 years of hard work, he was finally praised as the "King of the Lingjie" and had the reputation of "no tone and no learning Tan". Its singing voice has changed the straight and flat tone of the old vocal cavity, increased the flower cavity and clever cavity, created the flashing board and tricking skills, enriched the artistic expression and formal beauty of the old singing cavity, and opened up a new world for the performing arts of Peking Opera old students, with far-reaching influence.
Performing artist, writer and screenwriter Huang Zongying inscribed "Century-old Masters"
As one of the quintessences of China, Peking Opera was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage in 2006, which shows its historical origin and far-reaching and extensive social influence. As a real-time performing art, its enduring vitality is inseparable from the efforts of generations of Peking Opera artists, thanks to their tireless exploration and grinding off stage, the consciousness of drawing inspiration from life, and the wonderful presentation on stage.
In Peking Opera, Tan Xinpei is undoubtedly an unavoidable "mountain" in modern times. He stepped from the feudal dynasty into modern times, founded the Tan faction, and enjoyed the reputation of "Liyuan Taidou" and "King of Lingjie". His unique Tan style singing voice is widely spread and has a far-reaching influence, and his innovation in the art of Peking Opera has injected a new style into the classical aesthetics of Peking Opera, which has the role of carrying forward the past and forging ahead into the future. Following the reproduction of the four famous Dans, the biographical documentary "A Hundred Years of Masters" launched "A Hundred Years of Masters - Tan Xinpei" in a timely manner, aiming to present the audience with a full picture of the changes in modern and modern Peking Opera.
Yang Jingdao, the producer and chief planner of "A Hundred Years of Masters", took a group photo with Tan Xiaozeng, a descendant of Tan Xinpei
China in 1847 was still under the rule of Emperor Daoguang of the late Qing Dynasty. In the spring of this year, Tan Xinpei was born in Wuhan, the birthplace of Chinese opera. Influenced by his father Tan Zhidao, who loved Chinese opera and specialized in performances, he began to practice at the age of 6, and followed his father to run the land and water docks.
This period coincided with the continuous integration of the Hui and Han tones, which promoted the maturity of Peking Opera. mixed up in Tianjin, Tan Xinpei began to play tricks on stage when he was less than 10 years old, playing some insignificant roles. At the age of 11, he entered the Tianjin Jinkui class, studied the Kunchao martial arts and old students with Pi Huang as the main body, and left the department at the age of 15. In that era when the old students were the absolute protagonists of the stage, the fledgling Tan Xinpei's skills were still naïve, and he was not ambitious in the Tianjin opera troupe. For this reason, he secretly made a grand wish: one day he can sing on the stage.
Even though he is full of pride, in the face of the cruel reality, Tan Xinpei can only follow his father to Beijing to find opportunities, but the future is even more bleak. As a newcomer to Liyuan, his experience was full of humiliation, and he could only play the role of a ghost, and was trampled under the feet of other actors. He left Beijing in grief and indignation, and set up a grass stage team in the countryside between Beijing and Tianjin, singing to make a living, and was called the "porridge class period" by the academic circles.
Tan Xinpei has experienced a period of voice change, and his voice is hoarse so that it is difficult to sing, which is called "reversal" in the pear orchard world. was applauded by the audience and retreated from the stage, Tan Xinpei was ashamed, so he had to rely on being a bodyguard in a big family to make a living. But he did not lose confidence, and insisted on hanging his throat and practicing kung fu as usual. It is said that he later played Qin Qiong's dance in "Selling Horses" and Shi Xiu's knife in "Killing the Mountain", and the reason why he was so exquisite was due to the study of martial arts during this period.
Tan Xinpei's performance stills
As soon as his throat recovered, Tan Xinpei joined the Sanqing class, one of the four major Hui classes in Beijing, with his father. Here, he was able to sing supporting roles while watching and learning the performances of Yu Sansheng, Zhang Erkui, Wang Jiuling, Lu Shengkui and other old masters at close range, absorbing the strengths of others, gradually becoming his own style, and laying the foundation for the future establishment of the sect. During this period, Tan Xinpei worshipped under the class master Cheng Changgeng. After repeated struggles, he won the role of Zhuge Liang in the classic play "War of the Northern Plains". Cheng Changgeng affirmed his performance, but still gave the suggestion of "working martial arts". Tan Xinpei, who refused to give up the pursuit of faith, on the one hand, strengthened the rhythm of recitation and singing, and on the other hand, he gave full play to the advantages of his profound martial arts skills and began to focus on the repertoire of combining civil and military affairs.
In 1890, Tan Xinpei, who was 44 years old, was elected to the Shengping Department and became the "Inner Court Worship". His performances were so popular with the Empress Dowager Cixi that he was often invited to sing in the residences of the Qing royal family and high-ranking officials. His court performance career lasted for more than ten years, and played a positive role in the prosperity of Peking Opera and its promotion throughout the country.
Although Tan Xinpei started as a martial artist, he eventually became famous all over the world for playing an old student. He not only brilliantly inherited the essence of early Peking Opera artists such as Cheng Changgeng and Yu Sansheng, but also developed in an all-round way with both civil and military skills, singing, reading, and playing. His slightly hoarse voice of "clouds covering the moon", the treble is rigid but not straight or hard, the low voice is soft but not unremitting, with flexible and changeable singing, melodious and tactful tone, and careful recitation, which has become an important feature of the Tan School and established the status of a generation of grandmasters.
Tan Xinpei also pays attention to the experience of the plot, emphasizes the portrayal of characters, and performs clearly and smoothly, and is known as the first person to reform the singing voice of Peking Opera. At that time, the literati praised his performance as "perfect, as far as everyone knows, the civil, military, and Kun chaos and work, and there are many dramas, which are unparalleled at that time." Liang Qichao praised: "Tan Xinpei, a person from all over the world, is as famous as thunder." ”
Tan Xinpei's early representative works include "The Empty City Strategy", "Tuozhao Touching the Monument", "Yuanmen Chopping", etc., and in the middle and later periods, he published "Shilang Visits the Mother", "Lianying Village", "Selling Horses", "Hongyang Cave" and so on. With the advent of the new century, under the impact and challenge of the trend of the times, his masterpiece "Dingjun Mountain" was included in the film in 1905. Although the film was later destroyed in a fire, leaving only a makeup photo for future generations, it marked the birth of Chinese cinema and established the solid position of "Dingjun Mountain" as a pioneering work in Chinese film history.
As the only martial artist in the "Thirteen Uniques of the Same Light", Tan Xinpei and Mei Lanfang's grandfather are the same generation. The relationship between the two families is deep, Tan Xinpei has always valued and promoted Mei Lanfang, and Mei Lanfang has admired and admired Tan Xinpei, and the two have cooperated on stage many times and jointly performed classic plays such as "Shiro Visits Mother". Mei Lanfang once specifically mentioned in "Forty Years of Stage Life": "The two masters in my mind, Tan Xinpei and Yang Xiaolou, are the two masters who have the most profound influence on me. "I think the performances of Tan and Yang show the performance system of Chinese opera, and the names of Tan Xinpei and Yang Xiaolou represent Chinese opera. ”
"The hero has a three-foot sword on his waist, and a five-car book in the belly of the Xiushi". This couplet hanging in Tan Xinpei's home not only summarizes his life from a martial arts hero to a stage showman, but also a true portrayal of his unique personality charm, he brought Peking Opera from the initial era into its heyday, and established a lofty and profound style in a conformist atmosphere to inspire future generations;
——The original article was published in the 23rd issue of the semi-monthly magazine "China Talent" in 2023
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Executive Producer | Houxuan
Art Editor | Magical conch
The concert of classic works of the music chapter of "Hundred Years of Masters" was held at the National Center for the Performing Arts
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The large-scale cultural project "Centennial Masters" is China's first large-scale series of biographical documentaries focusing on the masters who made outstanding contributions to Chinese civilization in the 20th century, and is jointly produced by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, China Central Radio and Television, Chinese Academy of Arts, China Literature and Art Foundation, and Centennial Masters (Beijing) Culture Communication Co., Ltd.
"Centennial Masters" is the "Chinese Excellent Traditional Culture Inheritance and Development Project" of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, the General Office of the State Council, and the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee, and has been selected as the "Record China" communication project of the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee (Information Office of the State Council) for two consecutive years, and is the key topic selection and planning project of the "14th Five-Year Plan" documentary of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the key documentary to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, and the "Record New Era" The Documentary Boutique Project and the Key Documentary Project (2018) are also major theme main publicity and key topic selection projects of CCTV, and are also funded projects by the National Arts Fund, the China Literature and Art Foundation, the China Art Foundation, the Cultural Innovation and Development Fund of the Beijing Municipal Government, the Beijing Culture and Art Fund, the Beijing Radio and Television Network Audiovisual Development Fund, and the Special Fund for the Support of Cultural and Artistic Creation in Xicheng District, Beijing. It has won 20 documentary awards.
From 2013 to 2017, the filming of the first season of "Hundred Years of Masters" has been completed, which is divided into fine arts, calligraphy, Peking opera, drama, music, and literature. The filming of the second season of "Hundred Years of Masters" with 57 masters has been launched in 2018, adding science and technology, education, sports, Chinese studies, architecture, traditional Chinese medicine, and opera.
The documentary "Hundred Years of Masterpieces" has been broadcast on 224 platforms at home and abroad, such as CCTV (one, three, four, nine, ten, fifteen, discovery channel, international channel), China Education Television, provincial satellite TV, overseas TV stations, etc., and has been widely praised and has repeatedly set new highs in the ratings of similar documentaries. "Centennial Masters (International Edition)" is broadcast to the world in 8 languages.
In July 2020, CCTV Market Research Co., Ltd. (CTR) according to the statistics of the CSM National Measuring Instrument, "Century-old Masters" has reached a total of 10.2 billion people.
The "Centennial Masters" series has been distributed to nearly 1,000 colleges and universities across the country by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the Ministry of Finance for three consecutive years as a study book for "Elegant Art on Campus".
"Centennial Masters" has become one of the most high-end phenomenal brands in the cultural field, and has built an important platform for disseminating excellent traditional Chinese culture, interpreting and demonstrating cultural self-confidence, and practicing the core values of socialism with its unique advantages.