On April 14, Chen Yongquan's son released an obituary, and the famous cross talk performance artist Chen Yongquan died in Beijing at 8:48 am on April 14, 2024, at the age of 92.
Chen Yongquan, born in Beijing in October 1932, was born in a family of cross talk, his maternal grandfather Zhong Ziliang and father Chen Zizhen are representatives of Qingmen cross talk. Chen Yongquan excelled in his studies when he was a teenager, and studied with Bai Yunpeng, the founder of the Baipai Jingyun drum, and won the true legend. When he was 19 years old, he was taught by the famous cross talk artist Tan Boru, and he has a high rank in the cross talk industry, and he is a "treasure generation" cross talk actor. At present, the old artists of the "treasure generation" in the cross talk industry are still alive Yang Shaohua, Yu Lianzhong, Ma Zhiming, Chang Baoqing, Chang Baofeng and others. After the liberation, Chen Yongquan joined the Beijing Cross Talk Improvement Group initiated by Hou Baolin and others, and served as a clerical worker, and entered the Beijing Quyi Troupe in 1952. He participated in the creation of the country's first work "Morning Glory" that reflects major military themes in the form of cross talk, and once went to Zhongnanhai to perform for Chairman Mao.
Chen Yongquan has partnered with Li Jindou since 1979, and the old and young have a tacit understanding and are a perfect match, which is a model of cooperation in the cross talk industry. Chen Yongquan, Li Jindou, Liang Houmin, and Zhang Yunhua jointly performed the makeup cross talk "So Amorous", which won the first prize for the 30th anniversary of the founding of New China. The most famous of Li Jindou and Chen Yongquan's works is "Wu Song Fights the Tiger" in 1986, which also ushered in the peak of their cross talk careers. Chen Yongquan has quite a foundation in Peking Opera, playing "Wu Song" in the play, and Li Jindou "catching up with three" and playing several roles. In order to create this cross talk, the two of them also specially came to the door to ask the famous Peking Opera artist Li Wanchun. After Li Wanchun put forward his opinion, they changed the book eight times. "Wu Song Fights the Tiger" was very popular after its debut, and won many awards such as the first prize of the National Quyi New Repertoire Performance Award in 1986.
Chen Yongquan and Li Jindou have cooperated for nearly 30 years, performed more than 100 cross talks, and appeared on the Spring Festival Gala many times. Professor Wang Jingshou of the Department of Chinese at Peking University also invited Chen Yongquan and Li Jindou to give lectures at Peking University. Later, Beijing Normal University, the People's Liberation Army Art Theater, the Central Party School, and the Party School of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee also invited them to give lectures.
In 1990, Chen Yongquan was hospitalized for more than 40 days due to a heart attack, and then took a break for another year and a half. For this reason, he helped Li Jindou find a new partner, Li Jianhua. After Chen Yongquan recovered, he often participated in the weekend cross talk club organized by Li Jindou and talked about stand-up comedy for three or four years.
Chen Yongquan has always been concerned about the development of cross talk art. When cross talk was sluggish, he was worried that there would be no successor, but later he was very happy to see many young actors appear. He has many years of stage art practice, and has made high achievements in the performance, creation, theory and teaching of cross talk, and has made many contributions to the choreography, creation and performance of cross talk dramas and makeup cross talk. He is also committed to the summary and research of cross talk theory, and has published books such as "The Descendants of the Qing Dynasty". When he was nearly ninety, he also participated in activities in the cross talk industry, encouraged young generations, and put forward sincere opinions.
Upon learning of the news of Chen Yongquan's death, colleagues in the music industry and the audience expressed their condolences. Li Jindou, a famous cross talk performance artist, said in an interview with reporters that he was very sad, he said that Chen Yongquan is not only a famous cross talk artist, a senior in the cross talk industry, but also his teacher, old partner, and old neighbor. "The last time I saw him two months ago, I went to visit him at his house, and he was still talking and laughing, talking to me about cross talk creation, and sending us out of the house when we said goodbye. Li Jindou lamented: "Teacher Chen Yongquan is a lifelong achievement of quyi artists of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles. He was born in a family of cross talk, and he is also proficient in Peking Opera, whether it is stand-up comedy, stand-up comedy, group comedy or creation, he is very accomplished, especially for makeup cross talk, which has made a great contribution. He was honest all his life, very dedicated, and very good to his juniors. His death is a great loss to our cross talk world! We will always miss him!"
Jiang Kun, a famous cross talk performance artist, wrote a couplet to express his condolences to Chen Yongquan: "The art of the Qingmen family is self-respecting and self-respecting, and the cross talk is self-confident and self-reliant." Li Weijian, Li Mingyu and many other famous cross talk artists also expressed their condolences.
The audience and netizens also expressed their nostalgia and reluctance to Chen Yongquan in various ways, recalling their beautiful memories of listening to his cross talk. Yang Li, the fat brother of the audience, sighed: "It's really a pity! As a Tianjin person who has been listening to cross talk on the radio every day since elementary school, Li Jindou and Chen Yongquan can be said to be a pair of golden partners. Mr. Chen Yongquan is very low-key and down-to-earth. His praise is still vivid. Netizen @MayZhenjiang also recalled: "When I was a child, I often listened to the cross talk of Li Jindou and Chen Yongquan on the tape and radio, and I felt very happy! The old artist went all the way!" Netizen @天要雨_ fearless nostalgia: "The stand-up comedy "Junchen Fight" was my favorite when I was a child, and no one can match it now. May you go all the way. Audience Jingyuan Mingde left a message: "Good people often smile and warm their hearts, and leave joy in the world." ”