In 1957, under the guidance of his father Mei Lanfang, the young Mei Shaowu saw a sentence:
In the imperial city, the killing was even more tragic, and whenever people were shot, a dozen people and a family were often pulled out and killed in a series of shots, so that the corpses were all over the ground, the objects were abandoned, and everyone stepped on the corpses...
At that time, Mei Shaowu only remembered that his father Mei Lanfang told him that this year, the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing, burned and looted everywhere in Beijing, and most of the theaters and tea gardens in the capital were closed.
He still did not understand what the Eight-Power Coalition invasion of Beijing meant for China, much less what it meant for their family.
Mei Lanfang pointed to this passage in the book and told him about the great events that happened in the Mei family more than fifty years ago.
The invasion of China by the Eight-Power Alliance not only plunged China into the rare catastrophe of war and plunder, but also the dignitaries and dignitaries living in Beijing and the poor people could not escape the doom.
That year, Mei Lanfang saw that her uncle had sold a lot of family property urgently to prevent it from being plundered by the Western powers.
Because there was no stage singing, his uncle Mei Yutian began to help people repair clocks and watches to subsidize the family in order to support the family.
The story is still not over, after the Eight-Nation Alliance rushed into the city of Beijing, not only robbed the treasures of the imperial city, but also robbed all the houses in the suburbs.
Mei Lanfang's family, which had just been relocated with her uncle, was once again plundered, and the young Mei Lanfang stood in front of her door and looked at the foreign devils who came to rob them, and simply questioned the foreign devils.
"How did you get here again?" I know you, have you been here four times? ”
Some precious clocks and watches in the family that others had given up for repair were also looted.
Later, Mei Lanfang's family really had no way, and relocated to the home of her maternal grandfather Yang Longshou to avoid disaster.
This time, almost the same nightmare, Mei Lanfang's maternal grandfather Yang Longshou stood at the door to block the foreign devils, did not expect the foreign devils to suddenly pull out a pistol from the waist, the older old man was suddenly startled by this move, not only failed to smash the robbery, but because of the fright, soon became depressed and died.
At the end of that year, Mei Lanfang's uncle sold his old house in Li Tieqiu Street and went to Baishun Hutong to rent a house, and the whole family of eight people, large and small, crowded in the three huts of Forced Er, living a slightly desolate life.
Mei Lanfang and her son Mei Shaowu told about the disasters of that year, and also told about the family lineage of the Mei family.
The Mei family can be regarded as a top celebrity at the end of the Qing Dynasty, and it is at least a popular insider now.
His grandfather Mei Qiaoling, by playing the role of Empress Xiao in "Yanmen Pass", began to become popular in the late Qing Dynasty Beijing Division, and was known as "Living Empress Xiao".
Empress Dowager Cixi, in order to facilitate his performance in the palace, specially granted him the privilege of entering and leaving the palace at will.
His grandfather Yang Longshou won the reputation of "Living WuSong" and "Living Stone Show" with his performances.
Mei Qiaoling's two sons, Mei Yutian and Mei Zhufen, although both love opera, they have taken two completely different paths.
Uncle Mei Yutian is proficient in the hundred schools, huqin, flute, drum are all good, his beautiful huqin is also the same as the ancestors, won the praise of everyone, Beijing's pear garden circles praised him as "Huqin mei".
His father Mei Zhufen and the eldest brother Mei Yutian's way is completely different, his short life is the most favorite of his father's performance of the popular "Wild Goose Gate Pass", some viewers who often watch the Performance of the Mei family, sometimes mistaken for Mei Qiaoling.
However, Mei Qiaoling died very early, and at the age of twenty-six, she died early.
Mei Lanfang was only three years old that year.
At that time, Mei Yutian was childless under his knees, and Mei Lanfang began to live with her uncle.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the country was in trouble, and the family was in trouble.
In her childhood, Mei Lanfang did not enjoy the opera talents taught by her parents personally, and her uncle Mei Yutian was good at instrument performance, not a traditional Pear Garden opera actor.
Therefore, Mei Lanfang, who was born in the Pear Garden family, could only learn from another teacher.
We may not imagine that Mei Lanfang, who came from a family of pear gardens and later became a master of opera, is a mediocre person.
The worshippers in the opera industry attach great importance to talent, ordinary people can rarely enter this profession, and the natural barriers in the industry invisibly exclude many people and reject many people.
Mei Lanfang's first visit to the teacher, only four old words, he has never been able to learn, even the invited master is greatly surprised, a child born in the Pear Garden family, how can the qualifications be so mediocre?
Teacher Father was furious on the spot and directly reprimanded Mei Lanfang:
"Grandmaster didn't give you this bowl of rice to eat!"
Not only that, even Mei Lanfang's aunt often ridiculed Mei Lanfang:
"Words are not outstanding, appearance is not amazing, eyelids are drooping, and people cannot speak when they see them."
"Talent is not smart, and looks are very ordinary."
"Eyes are short-sighted and sluggish; average physique, weak arms."
At that time, he was just an eight-year-old.
Perceiving the impermanence of the world, perceiving the warmth and coldness of human feelings.
Mei Lanfang's later riding dust has a great relationship with his personal efforts, no one's success can be casual, Mei Lanfang met her mentor Wu Lingxian at the low point of life.
Because of this, after meeting her mentor Wu Lingxian, Mei Lanfang began to practice her skills desperately, and the ice surface of Shichahai became the best stage for teenagers.
Stomping, kicking, kicking, running rounds...
Mentor Wu Lingxian knew that Mei Lanfang's qualifications were average, so in any skill training, he always had to tell Mei Lanfang not to be lazy, others practiced twenty times, he asked Mei Lanfang to practice thirty times.
Wu Lingxian is a teacher with strict teaching and gentle temperament.
He does not scold the students greatly, but every time it is a kind reminder, for most of the apprentices, he is a very good teacher, and he is very popular with the students.
Mei Lanfang's progress under his guidance is rapid, Wu Lingxian provides him with a huge stage for development, for a variety of performance opportunities, Wu Lingxian will always let Mei Lanfang top.
In 1910, Mei Lanfang and Wang Minghua entered the palace of marriage and opened their first marriage.
After Wang Minghua gave birth to a son and a daughter to Mei Lanfang, he underwent sterilization.
Unexpectedly, the two children died of early illness due to urticaria when they were young, and Mei Lanfang was a single line for the Mei family, and the heir issue became the most important thing for the Mei family.
In 1921, Mei Lanfang met Fu Zhifang, and the virtuous and well-connected Wang Minghua calmly accepted the reality and allowed Mei Lanfang to hide Fu Zhifang.
Fu Zhifang had a total of seven children for Mei Lanfang, and most of these seven children also died prematurely, only the fourth son Bao Chen, the fifth son Bao Zhen (Shao Wu), the old seventh Bao Yue and the son Bao Jiu.
It is worth mentioning that Mei Lanfang did not let his children embark on the path of Peking Opera.
The industry of Peking Opera actually has a high threshold, unless it has a congenital talent, unless the family is engaged in this industry, few people have stepped into this industry.
Natural industry barriers have inexplicably excluded many people.
Moreover, the hardships of this industry are extraordinary, and Mei Lanfang, who has experienced the bitterness and bitterness of this industry, is very reluctant to let her children embark on this road.
After his four children admitted one after another, Mei Lanfang paid attention to teaching according to his aptitude.
In addition to the fourth son Mei Baochen and the fifth son Mei Shaowu, the only ones who really embarked on this industry were her daughter Mei Baoyue and her youngest son Mei Baojiu.
The fourth son, Mei Baochen, graduated from the Polytechnic College of Shanghai Aurora University, and after graduation, he worked at the Beijing Architectural Design Institute as a senior engineer, and The repertoire of Huqin and Meipai became his hobby.
The fifth son, Mei Shaowu, graduated from Yenching University and has been engaged in English translation for a long time. His father Mei Lanfang's study of the performance system also became a part of his life.
Daughter Mei Baoyue is Mei Lanfang's only daughter, graduated from Shanghai Aurora Women's College of Arts and Sciences.
At a young age, she showed a keen interest and always followed her father to the theater to watch performances.
Later, Li Guifen, the sister of her mother Fu Zhifang, took a fancy to Mei Baoyue's voice and took the initiative to accept her as an apprentice, and Mei Baoyue became an old student of Peking Opera.
The youngest son, Mei Baojiu, because of his voice and appearance similar to his father, has followed his father to learn art since he was a child, and he has been deeply liked by his father.
At the age of 10, Mei Baojiu was officially appointed by Mei Lanfang as the successor of Mei Pai Peking Opera, and he focused on Peking Opera Danxing all his life, becoming the only descendant of Mei Lanfang's sons under his knees.
Mei Baojiu has been interning in Mei Lanfang's troupe for a long time, and will also follow her father on stage.
In 1959, Mei Lanfang took her young son Mei Baojiu and daughter Mei Baoyue to perform "Mu Guiying Hanging Commander" on the same stage, and the heroes of Beijing gathered and came to watch this rare performance.
In 1961, Mei Lanfang died of illness, and Mei Baojiu became the head of the Mei Opera Troupe, continuing to inherit the cultural heritage of her father.