On the night of Chinese New Year's Eve in 1983, Beijing was covered in a thick layer of white with fine goose feathers. In the CCTV station, the lights are bright, the backstage is bustling with people, a young cross talk actor Jiang Kun is sweating profusely, he is wrapped in a heavy cotton jacket, the wind is blowing under his feet, and he is hurrying through all corners of the backstage.
As one of the hosts of the first Spring Festival Gala in the history of CCTV, Jiang Kun was under heavy pressure. Seeing the time pass minute by minute, and the show is still a big blank, the front of the stage is deserted, and there is no scene where the show can be staged.
Jiang Kun knows that as a host, the success or failure of the show lies all at this time.
He was resolute, braved the wind and snow, fastened his padded jacket and gloves, and rode his bicycle to the major theaters nearby. Shuttling through the dim streets, Jiang Kun's mind was full of ideas on how to find excellent programs.
Finally, with his unremitting efforts, Jiang Kun found a group of well-known cross talk and sketch actors at that time, such as Chen Peisi, Zhao Benshan, etc. With the joining of these powerful actors, the Spring Festival Gala was successfully held as scheduled.
Despite its flaws, the success of the first Spring Festival Gala set the tone for decades to come. And Jiang Kun, who is at the core of the party, has established his important position in the cross talk industry with this outstanding performance and opened a new chapter in his legendary artistic career.
The bane of Guo Degang's "non-three vulgar" movement
It was a cold winter day a few decades ago, and there were few pedestrians on the streets of Beijing, except for a few wisps of smoke rising from residential buildings. Master Majchin sat in his home, looking out the window at the bleak scenery, and fell into deep thought.
At this moment, a young and handsome young man came uninvited and stood in front of Ma Jiqin without any image. Ma Jiqin looked at him, his rough palms, calloused and full of energy.
Then the young man began to talk eloquently, gushing about his love and reverence for the art of cross talk. Ma Jiqin was impressed by his persistence, so he decided to take him as an apprentice and train this young man with little future into a generation of grandmasters.
This young man is Jiang Kun, under the careful teaching of Ma Jiqin, he gradually got better, and finally became a popular superstar on the cross talk stage. However, no matter how ambitious Jiang Kun is, he always keeps in mind the teachings of his ancestors: cross talk art is the crystallization of wisdom, and it should guide the audience to be upward and good, and not to degenerate into vulgarity and low-level.
Decades have passed in the blink of an eye, and a wave of the "non-three vulgar" movement has made waves in the cross talk world. Its initiator is a man Guo Degang, who claims to be a "non-famous cross talk actor".
He is quite charismatic and has a unique performance style, but he often mixes some fierce and sharp jokes in cross talk, and even loses his purlin and is vulgar.
Faced with Guo Degang's practice of doing the "three vulgarities" in the name of "anti-three vulgarities", Jiang Kun was extremely sad in his heart. As the successor of Ma Jiqin's Taoism, how could he sit idly by and watch the art of cross talk be polluted by this turbidity? But at the same time, Jiang Kun also knew that art was inseparable from innovation and could not rest on his laurels.
So, Jiang Kun chose restraint and tolerance. In the face of Guo Degang's fierce criticism, he never reacted to it in any way, but sincerely expressed his expectations: "I sincerely wish you can continue to improve and achieve greater achievements in the field you are good at."
It was a cold night a few years ago, and the atmosphere in the Dongdan Folk Theater in Beijing was in full swing. In the center of the stage, a middle-aged man in a costume was talking endlessly, and the audience laughed and applauded.
This person is Guo Degang, a "non-mainstream" cross talk actor who has risen to prominence.
As a grassroots folk artist, Guo Degang's struggle is very difficult. He went to the capital three times to chase the dream of cross talk, first at the temple fair to make a living, and then sang cross talk in the teahouse, and finally worshiped the cross talk master Hou Yaowen as his teacher in 2004, which can be regarded as the dawn in the art world.
Guo Degang advocates that the art of cross talk should be down-to-earth, close to life, and not limited to stereotypes and bad habits. He often mixes some witty and humorous life jokes in his performances, which not only pleasing the audience, but also thought-provoking, and can be called an expert.
However, his performance techniques are often criticized as "three vulgarities" and low-level vulgarity.
On the contrary, Jiang Kun, as an important promoter of the country's cultural undertakings, has a more noble pursuit of the concept of cross talk art. He advocated that the main purpose of cross talk should be to promote the artistic concept of social progress, guide the audience to establish correct values, and never resist vulgarity and vulgarity.
There are fundamental differences and contradictions between the two in the positioning and development direction of cross talk art. This kind of incompatible philosophical difference is destined to fall into the dilemma of discord and dispute between the two in the future.
Sure enough, as the "non-three vulgar" movement continues to heat up, contradictions are inevitable. Once on stage, Guo Degang bluntly and explicitly shouted in front of the attention of everyone, "I am the three vulgars", "I often go to the meeting to go straight to the city of washing feet" and other ridiculous remarks about Jiang Kun, openly satirizing and refuting Jiang Kun's concept of "anti-three vulgarities", which caused an uproar in the audience.
As a result, the differences between the two sides were completely made public and self-defeating. Escalated from personal grievances to ideological disputes, the feud between Jiang Kun and Guo Degang intensified, and it will eventually set off stormy waves in the cross talk art world.
Balance the lookout
The fate of Jiang Kun and his wife Li Jingmin is like a good story. Back then, the two were still young men and women in love, and they hated to see each other late and got along day and night. With the passage of time, they finally formed a happy little family and entered the palace of marriage.
However, as a national-level artist, Jiang Kun has attracted much attention, has been very busy with work, and has been touring abroad for many years, rarely returning to his wife and children. I remember that one year, when the Spring Festival was approaching, Jiang Kun was ready to return to his hometown to reunite with his family.
Li Jingmin was full of expectations, and she was at home at all levels, waiting for her husband's return.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Kun quietly adopted a boy Jiang He without his wife's knowledge, preparing to take him home. When Li Jingmin saw the strange boy appear at home, he was immediately furious and angrily asked Jiang Kun the reason for the incident.
For a while, the atmosphere was tense, and the couple fell into a fierce quarrel.
Later, Jiang Kun finally explained to his wife the reason for adopting Jiang He. It turned out that this boy was born in a poor family and grew up in a welfare home, Jiang Kun looked at his devastated and lonely appearance, and decided to adopt him so that he could have a happy and warm family.
After listening to her husband's story, Li Jingmin let go of the doubts in her heart, and not only did not pursue it further, but strongly agreed with her husband's approach. Since then, Jiang He has integrated into this happy family and received the unreserved love and care of Jiang Kun and his wife.
The climax was foreshadowed
After becoming famous, Jiang Kun should have been proud and proud on the road of cross talk art. However, the reality is much more than that. In recent years, he has been overwhelmed by doubts and misunderstandings from all sides, and his once glorious achievements have been wiped out.
The first was the 2008 report that caused an uproar. The report claimed that Jiang Kun had publicly proposed to ban the small theater, and the wording was extremely blunt, which shocked Deyun Club and the majority of cross talk lovers, and they condemned and questioned it like a storm.
Curiously, to this day, there is no direct evidence behind the report, such as videos or pictures from the scene. It seems that this is nothing less than a well-planned malicious rumor-mongering.
In the face of such a surging tide of public opinion, Jiang Kun chose to remain silent and not say a word.
Some believe that this is due to his firm belief that the truth will eventually come out; Others say that this is an expedient cold treatment to avoid further deterioration of the situation.
But in any case, the silence did not free him from doubt, but only allowed more gossip to spread.
Soon, some critics accused Jiang Kun of "poor kung fu", "poor late season", "too much pursuit of fame and fortune", etc., which made this highly respected artist receive an unprecedented cold reception and slander.
For a time, all kinds of slander flew all over the sky, covering up all his once glorious achievements, and his artistic career seemed to fall into a dark haze.
Perhaps, these criticisms and doubts of public opinion are the most unbearable pressure and blows for Jiang Kun. In the face of all kinds of rumors behind him, although he never responded positively, the pain in his heart can be imagined.
How ironic and poignant it is that artists who were once sought after and admired are now questioned and ridiculed.
A generation of grandmasters was so obscure, surrounded by public opinion, waiting for the truth to finally be revealed to the world.
This is undoubtedly a major stain on Jiang Kun's artistic career, and it is also the most painful period of his life.
The contradiction between Jiang Kun and Guo Degang is no longer as simple as a simple personal grudge. The disagreement between the two on the development direction of cross talk art doomed them to be incompatible.
Guo Degang advocated that cross talk should be down-to-earth, close to public life, and pick up the joy of the market. Therefore, his performances are often mixed with some witty humor, vivid and interesting jokes, although they please the audience, they are often criticized as "three vulgar" and low-level vulgarity.
In contrast, Jiang Kun stands at a more lofty height of artistic concepts. As an important promoter of the country's cultural undertakings, he insisted that the art of cross talk should reflect the values of social progress, guide the audience to be upward and good, and never resist vulgarity and vulgarity.
At this point, the differences between the two can be described as a drop in the bucket, and the water and fire are intolerable. This is no longer a simple dispute of personal grievances, but a fundamental difference in artistic concepts and development directions, which is destined to cause turbulence in the cross talk world.
Sure enough, with the continuous fermentation of the "non-three vulgar" movement, the contradictions between the two sides intensified. Once on stage, Guo Degang bluntly shouted in public "I am the three vulgarities", "I often go straight to the city of washing my feet when I go to the meeting" and other sarcastic remarks, openly refuting Jiang Kun's concept of "anti-three vulgarities", and the atmosphere was tense for a while.
In the face of Guo Degang's fierce attack, Jiang Kun never made any overreaction. He sincerely expressed his expectations: "I sincerely wish you to continue to improve and achieve greater achievements in the field you are good at."
In fact, Jiang Kun is concerned about the revitalization of national culture, and he hopes that with his influence, he can guide the art of cross talk to the road of rejuvenation. Guo Degang, on the other hand, advocates breaking stereotypes and attracting audiences with free and uninhibited performance techniques.
The huge difference in their philosophical views eventually sublimated this debate into a social topic and became the focus of heated discussions. What kind of way should be adopted to develop the art of cross talk? The struggle between the mainstream and the non-mainstream, and the struggle between the new wave and the tradition, is not only related to Jiang Kun and Guo Degang personally, but also to the inheritance and development of the Chinese national culture.
Some commentators believe that the two sides should be tolerant and inclusive of such differences in values and artistic concepts. The mainstream needs to innovate and innovate, and the non-mainstream must also be restrained, and the two complement each other to promote the vigorous development of cross talk art.
All kinds of opinions have disturbed, but it is undeniable that this controversy is no longer limited to Jiang Kun and Guo Degang's personal level, but has risen to a major social proposition related to the inheritance of traditional culture, which needs to be discussed and resolved by all sectors of society.
In the final analysis, Jiang Kun and Guo Degang are both diligently pursuing and sparing no effort for the rejuvenation of the Chinese culture in their own way.