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It was the eve of the Spring Festival in 2013, and the program selection of the entire CCTV Spring Festival Gala was in a critical period. At this time, Zhao Benshan, a legend in the sketch industry, rushed to the scene with his long-prepared script for review.
Zhao Benshan is full of confidence in his new work, and he believes that with the rich experience accumulated over the years, he will definitely be able to contribute a wonderful sketch program to the upcoming Spring Festival Gala.
However, when he submitted the script to Ha Wen, who was serving as the chief director of the Spring Festival Gala, he was met with an unprecedented cold reception.
Harvin only read Zhao Benshan's script hastily, and directly rejected the work on the grounds of "lack of sufficient educational value". This ruthless decision suddenly made Zhao Benshan, who had always been conceited, feel extremely angry and confused.
"In that case, then I will definitely not perform on stage at this Spring Festival Gala! In the future, as long as I am here, she will not appear, and vice versa. I saw Zhao Benshan striding forward, slamming the script in his hand in front of Ha Wen, and angrily issued such a declaration.
He then left the scene without looking back, leaving Harvin and the rest of the staff looking at each other.
Seeing this, the surrounding staff stepped forward to dissuade them, hoping to persuade Zhao Benshan to calm down and discuss a solution together. But Zhao Benshan was obviously completely enraged, and he resolutely rejected everyone's kindness: "Is there anything else to discuss? I have been working hard in the Spring Festival Gala for just one or two years, and as an actor, I understand the needs of the audience better than anyone else."
This is actually blatantly depriving me of my opportunity.
In the face of Zhao Benshan's tough attitude, Harvin and the staff were helpless, and could only watch the sketch master leave the scene angrily.
To understand why Zhao Benshan was so fiercely opposed to Harvin, we need to look back at his tortuous but brilliant artistic life.
In the spring of 1957, in the beautiful natural environment of Tieling City, Liaoning Province, a figure destined to emerge in the literary and artistic world was born, and he was later known as Zhao Benshan, who was later known as the "sketch master".
Zhao Benshan, who was born in a poor family, lost his mother since he was a child, and his life was in trouble. Fortunately, under the careful cultivation of the second uncle, he showed extraordinary artistic talent, proficient in suona, erhu and two-person turning and other rich performance skills.
In 1982, Zhao Benshan joined a local theater troupe with his outstanding business ability, and soon became the leading actor and business head of the troupe. Between 1986 and 1995, he starred in the classic work "Wrestling the Three Strings" that caused an uproar across the country, especially in the three northeastern provinces, and Zhao Benshan's fame also rose.
In 1987, Zhao Benshan and comedy master Pan Changjiang cooperated to perform the classic play "Daguan Lantern", and the tacit understanding between the two made the audience applaud.
Subsequently, Zhao Benshan attracted the attention of Jiang Kun, president of the Chinese Quyi Artists Association, and after his strong recommendation, Zhao Benshan was able to make his debut at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala in 1990, and since then he has formed an indissoluble bond with this prestigious stage.
In 2008, Zhao Benshan was once again invited to participate in the Spring Festival Gala with his new work. At this time, the organizing committee was faced with the dilemma of insufficient programs, and the director team was ecstatic to see the old artist like a life-saving straw.
Although there is only one month left before the opening of the Spring Festival Gala, Zhao Benshan decisively led the whole crew to rehearse day and night, and finally completed a masterpiece full of passion and innovation under pressure.
With its ingenious narrative techniques and touching content, this work won warm applause and praise from the audience as soon as it debuted, and won the highest award in the sketch category of the Spring Festival Gala that year.
However, this pinnacle of art also brought huge physical and mental pressure to Zhao Benshan, and the hardships of rehearsals and the tension of the performance almost crushed the old artist.
Despite the success, Zhao Benshan was not satisfied with the work. He believes that this kind of improvisation lacks the carving and perfection of the work, as He Qingkui, a senior screenwriter in the industry at the time, said, this work has shortcomings from the perspective of creation or performance.
The next year, Zhao Benshan decided to bring his disciples to the stage of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, and this plan received a warm response from the audience.
The above experiences are undoubtedly enough to prove Zhao Benshan's status and influence in the sketch world. With his solid foundation and outstanding talent, he has become a well-deserved "emperor" in the sketch industry, and is widely respected inside and outside the industry.
However, just as his artistic career was about to reach its peak, a conflict with Harvin was about to set off a bloody storm.
Just when Zhao Benshan's artistic career was about to reach its peak, a shocking storm quietly came.
In 2012, CCTV appointed Ha Wen as the chief director of the Spring Festival Gala, a decision that undoubtedly announced that Zhao Benshan's golden age on the stage of the Spring Festival Gala was coming to an end.
Sure enough, in the 2012 Spring Festival Gala, Zhao Benshan's figure once again failed to appear in the audience's field of vision.
In this regard, the explanation given by Zhao Benshan is physical reasons, but this is obviously only a superficial reason. Because on the Internet, there are all kinds of speculations, and some people point out that maybe it is Ha Wen who has become the mastermind behind Zhao Benshan's no longer appearing on the Spring Festival Gala.
This suspicion was confirmed in 2013. At this time, Harvin once again dominated the art feast of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, and Zhao Benshan came excitedly with his new works, but he encountered an unprecedented cold reception.
Harvin simply flipped through Zhao Benshan's script and rejected his work on the grounds of "lack of sufficient educational value". These words were undoubtedly like a thunderbolt from the sky, completely hitting Zhao Benshan, who had always been conceited.
In Zhao Benshan's view, "entertainment first" has always been the quality of an excellent sketch, and the main function of the sketch is to bring joy to the audience. In his opinion, the audience should be relaxed and entertained on Chinese New Year's Eve, but Harvin's view is contrary.
For an artist who has worked diligently for most of his life, this is undoubtedly a huge insult. is like a child who has been deprived of the right to education, Zhao Benshan did not choose to argue meaninglessly with Harvin, who does not understand the art of sketches at all, he just sincerely said that he will use his existing plan this year, and next year he will definitely create works that are more suitable for the theme of the Spring Festival Gala according to Harvin's requirements.
However, to everyone's expectations, Harvin was unmoved and still insisted on his own opinion.
Subsequently, Zhao Benshan left the scene without looking back, leaving Ha Wen and the others to look at each other. This shocking conflict completely uncovered the contradiction between Zhao Benshan and Ha Wen.
One side adheres to the traditional concept of "entertainment first", while the other party insists on the pursuit of "educational value", and the difference between the two in the concept of artistic creation eventually evolved into a-for-tat confrontation.
That year, Zhao Benshan really did not appear on the stage of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, and the audience was looking forward to it, but in the end they were disappointed. Surprisingly, just before and after announcing that he would be absent from the CCTV Spring Festival Gala due to health reasons, Zhao Benshan happily appeared on the stage of Liaoning Satellite TV's Spring Festival Gala.
This makes one wonder whether the "physical causes" he said are true.
Since that year, Zhao Benshan has completely withdrawn from the stage of CCTV's Spring Festival Gala, and the glorious chapter known as the "Zhao Benshan Era" has come to an end.
Without Zhao Benshan's sketches, the entire Spring Festival Gala seemed to have lost its soul, and the audience was looking forward to his appearance, but they could never wait.
The ratings of the Spring Festival Gala that year hit a historic low, and there was an uproar on the Internet, and there was a lot of speculation. Zhao Benshan himself only lightly explained that he was unable to participate because of physical reasons.
However, careful netizens soon discovered that Zhao Benshan, who had just announced his absence from the CCTV Spring Festival Gala on the front foot, happily appeared on the stage of Liaoning Satellite TV's Spring Festival Gala on the back foot, which undoubtedly aroused widespread suspicion from the outside world again.
"The Spring Festival Gala without Zhao Benshan is like losing your soul. This is the emotion of countless viewers. Zhao Benshan is indeed a well-deserved "emperor" in the sketch industry, and his tireless exploration and practice over the years have contributed many classic masterpieces to this field.
However, after he withdrew, the quality of the Spring Festival Gala sketches has deteriorated year after year, except for some "little fresh meat" and popular traffic stars, it is difficult for us to see those popular masterpieces in previous years, such as "Help or Not".
Looking back carefully on the development of the Spring Festival Gala sketches in recent years, it is not difficult for us to find that those works that have touched countless audiences, such as "Part-time Job Adventure", "So Packaged", "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow", "Selling Cars", "Selling Abduction", etc., are difficult to find after Zhao Benshan left, but the work "Help or Not" can still make people look forward to it.
Isn't this the most powerful evidence? Zhao Benshan's departure has undoubtedly caused the overall decline of the sketch art of the Spring Festival Gala. And the fuse of all this is Harvin's harsh judgment of "lack of educational value".
Today, Zhao Benshan has gradually faded out of the public eye, but he can still show wonderful performances in the years since he left the CCTV Spring Festival Gala. As he puts it, "There are no constraints, but there is more room for performance."
His classics continue to have a lasting impact on young audiences.
Whether the Spring Festival Gala sketch should aim to make the audience laugh, or must have far-reaching educational significance, there are still different opinions. But by observing the dilemma of the Spring Festival Gala sketches in recent years, it is not difficult for us to find the answer.
After Zhao Benshan left, except for the occasional highlights, the entire sketch world became more and more superficial entertainment, lacking the deep connotation of Zhao Benshan's "entertainment first".