In the Chinese Peking Opera circle, there is a pair of artistic couples who are both virtuous and artistic, they are the famous Peking Opera performance artist Li Weikang and her husband Geng Qichang. In addition to starring in many famous Peking opera works such as "Butterfly Love Flower", "Li Qingzhao", "Baolian Lantern", "Silang Visiting Mother" and so on, Li Weikang also played the heroine "Yun Mei" in the old TV series "Four Worlds Together", and won the Best Actress Award of the "Golden Eagle Award" of Chinese Television in one fell swoop.
Li Weikang was born in the same year as her husband, was admitted to the Chinese Opera School (later changed to the China Opera Academy) in the same year, graduated in the same year, and later became a colleague of the China Peking Opera House.
On the stage, once they have a lifetime, they are united; in life, they are like shadows, and they have walked through more than 50 spring and autumn together, tasting the bittersweet and bittersweet of "life is like a play, drama is like life".
In 1958, Li Weikang and Geng Qichang were admitted to the Chinese Opera School and studied art in the same class. Li Weikang is smart and perceptive, handsome in appearance, in the second grade, he "xiaohe exposed sharp horns", and got the all-round training of the school's strongest teachers, Tsing Yi, Hua Dan, Dao Ma Dan, dozens of plays have been performed and practiced; traditional plays, modern plays, dramas are colorful, especially the performance of Tsing Yi is more beautiful and full of spirit.
Li Weikang was not only very outstanding in business, but also had advanced political consciousness; he combined the three positions of squad leader, secretary of the league branch, and life committee member in one class; before graduating, he also joined the party; he also participated in the Beijing Municipal Congress of "Studying Mao and Selecting" Advanced Pacesetters. In the same class, perhaps Li Weikang is too prominent, and Geng Qichang seems a little more ordinary. But the male and female protagonists of the class are two people, although they have been cooperating, but the two are simple, and the same as the students around them, they are bent on learning and learning art, not to mention that they are young and have no love.
As the saying goes, "the tree wind comes from it", in 1966, when the movement came, Li Weikang, who was only 19 years old, was too "prominent", was drawn with the so-called gangsters, fought all day, and was posted with big character posters... Not only did no one pay attention to her, but some people even said harshly: "You are a black pacesetter!" Revisionist seedlings. Since then, Li Weikang has been isolated by the outside world, suffering loneliness and depression, and has no place to tell about his pain. One of the most frightening experiences was this: "Once, when I was shouting at the base of the main building wall, a large brick suddenly fell from my eyes, very close, and I thought that if it hit me at that time, I don't know what it would be like today." As soon as I fell, I looked up, and a small window on the 4th floor was open, and who was it, and I didn't pursue it later. Li Weikang said that he has always been relatively simple, and has a tolerant heart for the people around him and for this society.
Once, Li Weikang was dragged into the sun to bask and was criticized. How can a pure-minded, studious student be so tortured? Geng Qichang and a few classmates who often worked together could not see past it, so Geng Qichang took the horn to "seek justice" for Li Weikang: "Li Weikang is a student, and he should not even pull her out." In that situation, someone was willing to speak for himself, and Li Weikang was touched.
As Li Weikang's situation improved, there were more opportunities for contact with Geng Qichang. Once, Geng Qichang secretly wrote a note to Li Weikang, presumably hoping to be friends with her. It was a time of youth, and it was also common for people to fall in love, but Li Weikang thought about it at that time or gave Geng Qichang a note, which said, "To dedicate youth to the cause." ”
A few months later, Geng Qichang wrote a note to Li Weikang again, chasing after him and asking, "What is my place in your heart?" Li Weikang has always been grateful and sincere to Geng Qichang, so he replied to him with a "special position" this time. Slowly each other began to convey emotions with notes, and the reserved way contained a strong sense of pure love.
Although they are in love, they have very little time to spend together. At that time, the Chinese Peking Opera Troupe (now the China Peking Opera House) was on the side of Weigong Village, and Geng Qichang's Beijing Peking Opera Troupe (now the Beijing Peking Opera House) was at Hufang Bridge, and he rushed from the south to the west every week to find her, and rushed back the last train in the evening.
Li Weikang and Geng Qichang, as theatrical actors, have to practice in the morning, hang their throats, study in the afternoon, and perform in the evening, the performances are quite frequent, two to three times a week, and the two people basically do not spend the romantic time under the previous month.
From the establishment of the "special position" in 1967 to the entry into the marriage hall in 1975, Geng Qichang described the love process with Li Weikang as an "eight-year war of resistance". When they got married, because they were still in the late stage of the special era, a friend sent a pair of rose red curtains, and the teacher personally cut a big red happy character for the newlywed Yan'er, which was quite festive and conspicuous, and was also considered to have a "bourgeois atmosphere" and was criticized.
Although Li Weikang and Geng Qichang have their own artistic characteristics and representative repertoire, the tacit cooperation between the two of them once they have a lifetime and are in harmony is a good story for insiders and fans to raise their eyebrows. Li Weikang and Geng Qichang were admitted to the Chinese Opera School at the age of 11, and a year later they began to go to Zhongnanhai Ziguang Pavilion and Huai Ren Tang to cooperate in performing some famous traditional plays for the central leaders, and the two have been cooperating ever since.
Li Weikang said that she and Geng Qichang first had a drama and then a marriage relationship, and it was the common career pursuit that made them accompany them to today.
Li Weikang and Geng Qichang's height is very suitable, fat and thin is also moderate; the voices of both of them are the same, the original is the rise of F tone, and then the older, it dropped to F tone, now that people are old, they use E tone, the tone of the two people can be well matched together, if one of them lowers the key, the other does not fall, the audience sounds uncomfortable.
In 1978, Li Weikang visited the United States with the Chinese Art Troupe and gained some understanding of electro-vocal music, so he had the idea of using it to accompany Peking Opera. Unexpectedly, this idea was immediately in line with Zhu Yigong and others, and the "Southern Cavity and Northern Tune Great Convergence Singing" came into being. It is with this very simple courage and the urgency to revitalize Peking Opera that Li Weikang selected several fast-paced singing segments in the Peking Opera singing cavity to be accompanied by electric vocal music, so that the singing sections such as "Female Solution" and "My Cousin" were more widely sung.
They said that this was done to further promote the traditional national art and was a bold attempt to give new artistic life to the ancient Peking Opera. So far, in the well-known TV series "Four Generations Together", Li Weikang also successfully portrayed the heroine "Yun Mei" and won the 4th Golden Eagle Award for Best Actress.
Li Weikang and Geng Qichang have always been like shadows, sharing hardships and hardships. In 1995, Li Weikang underwent a major operation, and Geng Qichang stayed with his wife. In daily life, Geng Qichang embodies the care and care of being a husband everywhere: going out to the car to help, supermarket shopping to carry bags.
Li Weikang and her husband have always practiced a more avant-garde AA system, the two's salaries are put together for daily use, the other performance fees are fairly distributed, one person is half, and the couple has their own small vaults. If you want to buy something, you pay half the cost per person. In fact, the purpose of their doing so is not to be 'Westernized' by the influence of some Western ideas, but to save their minds, reduce the contradictions in life, make them spend more time and energy on their careers, seize the time to present more wonderful repertoire to the audience, and contribute more force to the revitalization of Peking Opera.
Whether it is a stage crotch or a life partner, Li Weikang and Geng Qichang are enviable. And the most enviable thing is that they have a good daughter who is sensible and obedient. The daughter who graduated from the Physics Department of Peking University and now works for a large financial company, what is rare is that in such a materialistic era, the daughter maintains a pure, virtuous, and tolerant heart, is kind to people in everything, never competes with people for a long time, and the daughter is undoubtedly the most comforting comfort in their lives.
The daughter has long been a mother, has her own family, and is very filial to her parents. Li Weikang and her husband had no worries in their later years. Every morning, they would clean up the house and change some water for the fish. Read books, write and write throughout the day, and listen to the news in the evening. Their home is only one street away from the Mei Lanfang Grand Theatre, and if there are any good Peking Opera performances there, the couple will go to see it together, and life is relaxed and comfortable.
In December 2019, Li Weikang and her husband have been married for 44 years, and the couple has been accompanied by storms, loved each other, supported each other, and was recognized as a model of a happy couple in the Peking Opera industry!