In the 8th year of the Republic of China (1919), Xun Huisheng came to Shanghai for the first time and starred in the stage of lao tian toad with the stage name Bai Peony, along with Yang Xiaolou, Tan Xiaopei and Shang Xiaoyun, who were known as "three small and one white" at that time. Xun Huisheng played Chunlan on September 9 with the drama "Flower Field Mistake". Shang Xiaoyun as Liu Yuyan, Shanghai famous Xiaosheng Li Guifang as Bian Jie. Xun Huisheng's appearance is handsome, the performance is vivid and lively, and the portrayal of the characters is delicate, which opens the eyes of the Shanghai audience, and suddenly became popular in the Shanghai opera circle, resulting in Yang Xiaolou and other performances returning to Beijing at the end of the performance period, xun Huisheng was still kept by the theater to perform.
At the end of the second year, Xun Huisheng was once again hired by Shanghai Stage to perform for a long time. The common stage was also invited subsequently, so that Xun Huisheng could not stop and performed in Shanghai three times. In particular, since August of the 12th year of the Republic of China (1923), he has been employed and performed on stage for 9 months, and Shanghai has also established a group of "White Party" composed of Sha Dafeng, Shu Sheyu, Yang Huaibai, etc. to praise Xun Huisheng. From the 8th to the 13th year of the Republic of China (1919-1924), Xun Huisheng, as an actor of The Beijing School Peking Opera, in the past five years, has cooperated with many famous masters of The Shanghai School peking opera, which has prompted him to carry out a large number of pioneering experiments in artistic practice, and the outstanding performance is that Xun Huisheng participated in the creation of a large number of new plays, which have obvious traces of the Shanghai School Peking Opera in performance and stage art. For example, in "Xun GuanNiang", which is known as one of the "Six Martial Arts Dramas of the Xun Sect", the improved softness of Xun Guan's transformation into men's clothing is from the hands of famous designers in Shanghai. And this special costume has been used in future performances. In other dramas such as "White Peony", "Xian Xi Shi", "Immortal World" (i.e. "Splitting the Mountain to Save the Mother") and other novel installations such as the popular Shanghai organ sets and fantasy lights. In particular, the "python dance" in "Immortal World" made the audience scream.
Gai Mingtian, who participated in the performance of the play, described it this way: "This big python has two large light bulbs on its head, representing the gaze; there are thirteen sections on the body, each section hides an actor, and everyone walks out in a low stride, at this time, the lights of the whole stage are extinguished, and the two python eyes suddenly sparkle and come alive." "The body is lying on its knees together, winding along." Xun Huisheng participated in a large number of performances of Haipai Liantai, and in these performances, the famous southern actors who have cooperated successively include Sanmazi (Wang Hongshou), Gai Mingtian, He Yueshan, Lin Shusen, Meng Hongmao, Wang Yunfang, Li Guifang, He Jinshou, Yang Ruiting, Li Yongli, Zhang Dejun, Miao Shengchun, Lu Lanchun, Bai Yukun, etc. In the play "Seven Captures of Meng", Xun Huisheng plays Lady Yang, and dances a modified dance with the green peony (Huang Yulin), who plays Lady Zhu, and in "Touben Zhuge Liang Beckons Relatives", he and Wang Youchen (Jingpai Xusheng, who also participates in the performance of Haipai repertoire), Yang Ruiting and other choruses "five-tone joint bomb" and "seven-tone joint bomb", which are popular among the population and are widely popular.
In the 12th year of the Republic of China (1933), he also performed "Pansi Cave" on the stage in Shanghai, as a spider spirit, and he designed a set of flesh-colored tights for the enchanted spider essence, with a large red embroidered belly pocket on the outside, showing that it wanted to be charming and seductive. He was afraid that this design would be difficult for the Beiping audience to accept, and after the revision of the Republic of China in 26 years, it was performed again on the Tiantou Stage, which was welcomed by the Shanghai audience, and only got the Beiping performance the following year, which was also recognized by the Beiping audience. Shanghai's performance practice played an important role in the formation of Xun Huisheng's artistic style.
Excerpt from: Shanghai Culture and Art Chronicle