The year 1937 was a common year, and it was also the year of the ox in the lunar calendar. At the same time, it was also the twenty-sixth year of the Republic of China; the fourth year of the puppet Manchukuo Kant; the twelfth year of the Japanese Showa; on the night of July 7, the Japanese army opened fire on the Chinese troops around the Lugou Bridge, and the 29th Army of the Chinese defenders returned fire, starting the gunfire of the all-out War of Resistance Against Japan, known as the July 7 Incident.
Taiyuan City after the fall
Ding Guoxian, who was determined not to play for the Japanese invaders, and her husband Ren Xiufeng were disguised in disguise. After passing through the interrogation of the Japanese blockade line layer by layer, he returned to his hometown in Xinzhou. I have spent eight extremely difficult years in this life. But these eight years have been a devastating disaster for an artist. Not acting on stage for eight years not only abandoned Ding Guoxian's stage art, but also destroyed her soul and lost her will.
At this time, Ding Guoxian was already a decayed village woman with yellow muscles and thin muscles and was bedridden all day. At first, Ren Xiufeng once kindly advised his beloved wife, asking her to take care of her body and asking her not to give up her stage art. However, slowly and long nights could not see the end, and Ding Guoxian had lost confidence in the opera career she loved deeply. As a scholar, Ren Xiufeng was also unable to bear the pain of the slaves of the subjugated country, and he slowly smoked a big cigarette. Two bitter souls, tormented in the chaotic world, struggling in the fires of war.
Slowly long night, when will it be dawn. After eight years of japanese invasion of China, the Japanese finally surrendered and returned.
If in the past, due to the fatigue of the performance on the stage, Ding Guoxian occasionally smoked a few big cigarettes to refresh her mind and eliminate fatigue, and after returning to the countryside of Xinzhou, she smoked a lot of smoke completely for the sake of bitterness, a kind of self-abuse, and a kind of mental decline. Slowly became addicted to big smoke, and over time it was inseparable from big smoke. The former famous King Xusheng of the Three Jins has now become a smoker.
Opium smoking Chinese
Finally, we looked forward to victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan. This year Ding Guoxian was just thirty-seven years old, which was the most glorious time for a Susheng actor: life and art had matured. However, due to the self-harm of life and the hopelessness of the chaotic world, Ding Guoxian's body had been very decayed. Although the couple returned to Taiyuan City, the two souls were still floating hopelessly, and their spirits were still anesthetized in the smoke. However, the masses of the people need their own artists, the audience needs guozihong, and the fans of the theater are eager to see Ding Guoxian's majestic style on the stage.
After eight years of war, the original members of the drama team died and were crippled, some changed their careers, and some went to Yan'an to defect to the Eighth Route Army. Ding Guoxian still supported his body with a large smoke. When she walked up to "Lion Black" Qiao Guorui, she said:
"Although Boss Joe looks a lot older, his spirit is still good."
Soon, an opera class led by Ding Guoxian was formed and began to act.
Because Ding Guoxian's body has been invaded by heavy smoke for a long time, the body needs both a long period of recovery and a need to continue to stimulate with large smoke to introduce the act. Whenever she came out to act, she always had to sit backstage and smoke enough cigarettes before she appeared on the stage. Without the big smoke, Ding Guoxian is a drama that is difficult to support. Even if she does not act on stage, she is also inseparable from the big smoke.
Such a vicious circle, such a struggle in an unhealthy state, made Ding Guoxian's body even more decayed. But the stage attracted her, and the art of opera attracted her. As long as she can be on stage, as long as she can act, she can throw everything away. Ding Guoxian said: "I was born for the stage, as long as I can act on stage, even if I die on stage, I am willing."
Ding Guoxian's stage art career was tormented for several more years in such pain, and the time reached 1949. The Communist-led People's Liberation Army conquered most of Shanxi and was ready to fight to liberate Taiyuan. After the People's Liberation Army conquered Taiyuan and entered the city, Yan Xishan's troops stubbornly resisted until a fierce street battle began. However, the army was defeated, and Shanxi, which Yan Xishan had been running for many years, was liberated by the People's Liberation Army like the whole of China.
In such a fierce artillery fire, Ding Guoxian and other artists naturally can no longer act on stage. In the eyes of an artist, Ding Guoxian saw the Communist Party's liberation war as a change of dynasty. Ding Guoxian, who was heartbroken, hid in the air raid shelter, smoking a big cigarette while listening to fate's arrangement.
When Taiyuan was liberated, Ding Guoxian was forty-one years old. Having been destroyed by the painful years of the past, Ding Guoxian had lost any interest in everything. Hearing the gongs and drums beating in the streets and alleys, singing and laughing, Ren Xiufeng persuaded Ding Guoxian and said, "Guo Xian, we should also go out to see how this world is changing?"
May 6, 1949, was an unforgettable day for Ding Guoxian. On this day, she was specially invited by the Taiyuan City Military Control Commission to attend a symposium in the cultural circles. At the meeting, the mayor of taiyuan municipal government of the nascent regime expounded the Communist Party's policy toward cultural artists and all intellectuals, and called on everyone to lift their spirits and make contributions to the new China.
The Communist Party has just moved from the mountains and the countryside to the cities, and has just taken over the power of China. The Communist Party, of course, did not allow his people to smoke a lot, especially for such an outstanding artist as Ding Guoxian. But after seizing power, the Communist Party was still very humane, and the government said that it was necessary to adopt a policy of unity and transformation for intellectuals. In the past, Ding Guoxian only heard people call them "dramatists" and "lingren", and they themselves never listed themselves among the cultural people, but the Communist Party called them intellectuals. Ding Guoxian knew in his heart that this was not just a matter of title, which showed that the Communist Party regarded the art of opera as a culture. The Communist Party did not allow people to smoke cigarettes, but it adopted a particularly tolerant attitude toward Jin opera masters such as Ding Guoxian. Ding Guoxian knew that the Communist Party valued himself, so he set strict requirements for himself and immediately made up his mind to quit smoking as soon as possible.
After a painful ordeal of life and death, after repeated tests of personality and intelligence, Ding Guoxian finally quit smoking. Ding Guoxian, who was in his early forties, had a rosy face and a lot more weight. She began to shout every day, practiced, and began to perform on stage. The new era gave her a new life, and the fruit was red again among the masses.
After 1949, many Famous Jin opera singers who had been exiled outside Saiwai, Zhangjiakou, Beijing and so on returned to their hometowns one after another, and they did not want to drift around anymore, but only wanted to sing in peace and tranquility in their native villages.
From left: Guo Fengying, Ding Guoxian, Niu Guiying
Niu Guiying, Guo Fengying, Ji Meilian and others have gathered in Taiyuan, and everyone feels particularly cordial and full of beautiful hopes for the future. In 1950, under the leadership and support of the government, the Taiyuan New Theater Troupe was established with Ding Guoxian as the leader. Ding Guoxian served as the regimental commander, and Niu Guiying, Bai Jinshan, and Ma Shoucheng served as deputy regimental leaders. This is a typical private professional troupe, although the government also sent cadres to guide the work, but the troupe does not reach out to the government for money, relying on its own performance income to operate and manage. This is actually a very scientific way of managing art, which is in line with the laws of art, that is to say, the artist's business is managed by the artist himself, and the government is only responsible for grasping politics and the legal system. It was also during this period that Ding Guoxian glowed with the radiance of youth.
Taiyuan New Theater Troupe group photo
Ding Guoxian in this period also discharged a number of popular modern dramas and historical dramas. Chen Kuaileg was a unique figure in Chinese society before the 1950s. In a society that does not advocate free marriage, it is natural to have someone to match the marriage between men and women, and this person is called a matchmaker. But how to play the matchmaker Chen Kuaileg well is not a problem for Ding Guoxian, the "King of Susheng".
With the help of Ren Xiufeng, after repeatedly reading the script and studying the characters, Ding Guoxian had a preliminary model for the character of Chen Kuaileg. Ding Guoxian believes that: First, Chen Kuaileg is an extremely shrewd woman, saying that the media is aimed at making money, earning the man's money and then earning the woman's money; second, Chen Kuaileg can speak happily and can speak the Tao; third, Chen Kuaileg is diligent and fast, and his behavior is neat. If you play a matchmaker Chen Kuaishi from the appearance, this is not difficult for Ding Guoxian. Ding Guoxian was more than forty years old at that time, and he had also learned Qingyi when he first learned drama, and a little makeup was a living matchmaker.
As soon as he appeared, the audience was full of applause and applause. But at this time, Ding Guoxian on the stage was very calm, and she knew in her heart that the audience was curious about her role as a matchmaker, because she had played either the white-haired White Maolin in the past, or the black-haired Tian Zhixian, or the haired Zhuge Liang. To this end, Ding Guoxian went deeper into the heart of the character to act, and the "fast-legged woman" observed and trained in life was more dance-oriented and opera-like, and the singing voice and dialogue were also integrated into the personality of the characters. Make Chen Kuaying typical and vivid, real and artistically interesting.
Modern Drama "After the Harvest"
After the successful performance of "Little Son-in-Law", Ding Guoxian threw himself into the rehearsal of the new historical drama "Qu Yuan". In order to portray the great patriotic poet Qu Yuan, Ding Guoxian participated in cultural study classes to further improve his overall quality. She also specially invited a professor from Shanxi University to give herself a lecture on "Leaving sorrows", Qu Yuan, and the history of the pre-Qin era.
The times have created artists, and artists have created the artistic style of an era. In the past, Ding Guoxian created many characters on the stage, but most of them were orally taught from the previous artists. After 1949, Ding Guoxian began to accept the director in her stage career, and only then did she understand the important role of the director in a play.
In October 1952, the Ministry of Culture held the first National Opera Observation and Performance Conference in Beijing, and the "four famous actors" of Jin Opera, Ding Guoxian (Ding Guoxian), Niu Guiying, Guo (Guo Fengying), Ji (Ji Meilian), Zhang Meiqin, Liang Xiaoyun, Liu Xianling, etc., gathered on the train, full of spring breeze and full of interest.
Coming to Beijing, Ding Guoxian and his sisters' mood has always been in a state of joy and excitement. Ding Guoxian is not the first time to come to Beijing, but this visit to Beijing is fundamentally different from the many times he has been to Beijing in the past. Walking on Chang'an Avenue, Ding Guoxian was as excited as the sea and sighed. Ding Guoxian not only performed his own repertoire, but also watched the performances of other major dramas in China at the same time. A hundred flowers bloomed, eclectic, and Ding Lao also praised the performing arts style of other dramas.
After the end of the performance, the delegation received a notice to enter Huairen Hall in Zhongnanhai to participate in the stage performance. In the zhongnanhai group stage performance, Ding Guoxian performed the Jin opera "Hitting the Golden Branch" and "persuaded the palace", and Ding and Niu cooperated with tacit understanding, integrated and penetrated, and reached a very high artistic realm.
After the party, Chairman Mao Zedong, Premier Zhou Enlai, and Marshal He Long received the cast members. When Chairman Mao Zedong walked up to Ding Guoxian, he shook Ding Guoxian's hand and said with a smile: "Mei Lanfang is called a master of art, because he is a man who plays a woman on the stage, and his charm is more feminine than that of a woman." And you, as a woman, play a man, more masculine than a man. Well, Shanxi opera has talents!
Chairman Mao cordially received Ding Guoxian
Premier Zhou shook hands with Ding Guoxian cordially
Ding Guoxian was excited for a moment and did not know what to say, and then Chairman Mao said: "This drama talks about the unity of the monarch and the subjects, the happiness of the people, the education of children, and the consideration of the overall situation, which is a good play for educating cadres." Afterwards, Chairman Mao Zedong took a group photo with Ding Guoxian and other actors. This precious photograph has always been treasured by Ding Guoxian.
After the reception, all the cast members were taken to the guest house of the General Office of the CENTRAL Committee to have a dinner party with Premier Zhou Enlai. Premier Zhou Enlai raised his wine glass in joy and said loudly: "Comrades, on behalf of Chairman Mao and the central leaders, I will give you a toast!"
It is: the years of hardships urge people to advance, the high art does not live up to the crowd, the dead wood is in the new spring, and the heart is concerned about the cause forever.
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