1. A glorious farewell to an outstanding artist
On March 28, 2023, the rainy Beijing ushered in an endless drizzle. The sky was overcast and the rain was falling, as if nature was mourning the loss of an extraordinary life.
It was in this bleak early spring that the internationally acclaimed Peking Opera artist Sun Yumin left this world peacefully in Beijing, leaving behind a touching story of perseverance, courage and the power of the endless pursuit of art.
As a generation of Peking Opera masters, Sun Yumin's life is full of legends and has gone through ups and downs. She was born in Beijing in 1940 and grew up in an ordinary and warm family. At the age of seven, she was selected to enter the opera school and began her artistic journey.
Sun Yumin is a talented person who quickly rose to prominence in the school and was praised by the teachers as the lucky one favored by his ancestors.
In that youthful era, Sun Yumin had an enviable love, and her first love was the son of a wealthy businessman from a wealthy family. However, this beautiful relationship failed to continue for various reasons, and it came to an end when she was still studying.
However, fate did not completely abandon Sun Yumin, and after being admitted to the opera school in 1952, she met a classmate friend, an electrician from an ordinary family.
They fell in love with each other and eventually entered the palace of marriage, starting a challenging but dramatic life journey for Sun Yumin.
Despite the hardships of married life and the many persuasions of Sun Yumin to give up art and pursue other professions, she has always been firm in her beliefs and sticks to her dream of Peking Opera.
This persistent pursuit of art eventually realized her life's ideals, but at the same time, it also cost her a lot.
Sun Yumin's death is only her curtain call on this world stage, but the artistic spirit she inherited will forever be recorded in history. Let's look back at the life of this outstanding female Peking Opera performer, and feel her tenacious and courageous spirit, as well as her incomparable love for the arts.
Second, the favor and tempering of fate
In 1940, Sun Yumin was born in an ordinary family in Beijing. Her parents are hard-working and simple citizens, and although the family is not wealthy, they have high hopes for their daughter.
When Sun Yumin was seven years old, a favor of fate quietly came, injecting new vitality into this ordinary family. A discerning opera instructor discovered Sun Yumin's natural potential and recruited him into an opera school to study the art of Peking Opera.
It was at this moment that Sun Yumin firmly embarked on the dazzling road of art.
On campus, Sun Yumin quickly emerged with his keen artistic perception and diligent spirit, won high praise and deep love from teachers, and was known as the lucky one blessed by his ancestors.
Her skills have improved rapidly, her acting path is profound and solid, and she has shown great potential to become a generation of grandmasters during her time at school.
Sun Yumin, who is in her prime, once had an enviable love story, and her first boyfriend turned out to be the son of a wealthy businessman from a wealthy family. However, the good times are always short-lived, and this sweet love affair did not last after all, and it came to an end while she was studying.
However, the god of fate did not close the door to Sun Yumin. In 1952, she was successfully admitted to the opera school, where she met a classmate and best friend, an electrician from an ordinary family. The two had a good impression of each other, and finally tied the knot, and together wrote a challenging but dramatic chapter of Sun Yumin's life.
Although her married life was difficult and her husband repeatedly persuaded her to change careers to other industries, Sun Yumin always adhered to her original intention and wholeheartedly pursued her dream of Peking Opera. This unwavering belief not only made her brilliant life, but also made her pay a heavy price.
3. The road of art is overshadowed
In 1966, a frenzied revolutionary storm swept across the country, dealing a fatal blow to Sun Yumin's artistic career. As a prominent Peking Opera artist, Sun Yumin was labelled as a "bourgeois influence" and subjected to merciless criticism and harsh treatment.
She was forced into exile in the countryside and lived a harder life than the peasants.
During those dark and oppressive years, Sun Yumin had to bear heavy physical labor every day, and her originally slender and weak body was increasingly emaciated by exhaustion and hunger.
Verbal abuse and beatings became commonplace, and severe nutritional deprivation caused her health to deteriorate.
Even so, Sun's unwavering passion for art is still as bright as new. It was in the face of this seemingly desperate predicament that she chose to persevere with firm determination, resolutely resisted the oppression of the outside world, and never easily gave up the stage she loved in her heart.
Her husband repeatedly advised her to put aside her art career for a while and consider transforming into another way. However, Sun Yumin rejected it with a resolute and decisive attitude. In her eyes, Peking Opera is not only a personal pursuit, but also a treasure of the entire Chinese culture, and she must go all out without hesitation.
So, in the next few years, Sun Yumin lost almost everything. She was deprived of her most basic human rights and lived in extremely difficult circumstances. However, there is always a glimmer of hope burning in her heart, and her dedication to art is like a raging flame, which has not been extinguished despite countless hardships.
It was not until the early 70s of the 20th century, when the national policy gradually became clear, that Sun Yumin was able to return to the stage. However, at this moment, she is exhausted, so thin that it is distressing, and her once beautiful and moving face has been ruthlessly destroyed by the difficult years.
She gritted her teeth and struggled to recover like a race against death, and finally with the full support of her mentor and peers, she gradually regained her former style.
Fourth, the flame of art is rekindled
In 1979, fate once again brought a major turning point in Sun Yumin's life. This year, her husband died of illness, which put her life in an unprecedented predicament.
As the sole breadwinner of her family, Sun Yumin had to go back and forth between the stage and her family, struggling with poverty and the edge of her dreams. Every day, she has to find a balance between the two, living an embarrassing life of barely making ends meet.
Just when Sun Yumin was at a low point in her life, an old lover who had been silently in love with her for many years reappeared. This gentleman came from a privileged family and had always had a soft spot for her, and he proposed to her many times but was politely rejected.
Now witnessing the current situation of Sun Yumin's widowhood, he once again awakened the love in his heart and decided to give everything he had and offer his deep friendship.
In the face of this sudden change, Sun Yumin fell into a deep contradiction for a while. She clearly remembers the endless pain brought to her last marriage, but the pressure of real life makes it impossible for her to leave easily.
After a painful inner struggle, Sun Yumin firmly made the decision to enter the marriage hall again. She is full of anticipation that this marriage will give her a short breather so that she can devote herself to the art she loves.
The new family life has brought a ray of light to Sun Yumin. With the gradual improvement of the social environment, her art career has finally ushered in a turning point and is gradually on the right track.
In 1991, at the age of more than half a hundred, she was invited to become a teacher at the Beijing Opera School, imparting the rich experience she had accumulated in her stage career to the younger generation of students.
The students admired Sun Yumin, a Peking Opera master who was once popular all over the country, and regarded him as the embodiment of art. During her tenure as a school teacher, Sun Yumin personally taught many classic plays such as "Killing a Dog" and "Gong Zizhou".
She has a rigorous teaching attitude and profound acting skills, which can be called a generation of grandmasters.
Whenever students ask her for advice, Sun Yumin always shows off her exquisite skills without hesitation. Even in her advanced age, she is still able to wield freely, fully demonstrating the artistic attainments of the past.
The students were all fascinated by the style of this great artist.
Just when his career was booming, a sudden change touched Sun Yumin's heart again. In 2000, her ex-husband, who had been absent for many years, unfortunately suffered from a serious illness and was hospitalized.
5. The integration of art and life
Looking back on Sun Yumin's life, we can clearly see that her life course is a vivid portrayal of the perfect integration of artistic pursuit and realistic tempering. From an opera apprentice from a poor background, to a peerless Peking Opera master, and then to the baptism of the storm of the Cultural Revolution, all the twists and turns she has experienced along the way all demonstrate this dualistic interweaving characteristic.
For artists, life is often full of unknowns and hardships. Sun Yumin grew up in a poor family since she was a child, and her family was very difficult. Even after she stepped onto the stage and had a successful career, her income was often in trouble due to the special nature of the industry.
However, it was art that gave her the strength and determination to move forward with tenacity. Despite the difficulties of married life and the fact that her husband had repeatedly persuaded her to change careers to a more stable career, she always stuck to the artistic ideals and dreams she loved.
This unswerving and incomparably enthusiastic pursuit made Sun Yumin still shine brightly during the dark and turbulent period of the "Cultural Revolution"!
In 1966, the fierce and unrestrained storm of the "Cultural Revolution" poured like a storm, bringing the most painful impact on the talented Sun Yumin's life.
As an outstanding Peking Opera performing artist, she was ruthlessly criticized and abused in this cruel struggle, and was reduced to the margins until she was deported to the countryside, living a life of poverty far better than that of the peasants.
In the context of that oppressive and gloomy era, Sun Yumin had to bear heavy physical labor every day, and her originally weak body became more emaciated under the double pressure of exhaustion and hunger.
Unwarranted abuse and beatings were commonplace, and her health deteriorated due to extreme nutritional insecurity.
However, Sun Yumin's love and dedication to art have never diminished in the slightest. This perseverance is the most precious quality of Peking Opera artists. For them, art is not only a personal career pursuit, but also the inheritance of the entire Chinese culture.
They are willing to pay any price to protect this rich cultural heritage.
Sun Yumin resolutely chose to persevere, preferring to endure endless torture rather than give up the stage complex hidden deep in his heart. It was at that darkest moment in her life that her pursuit of art reached its peak.
This unwavering belief is the noblest character of Peking Opera artists.