In terms of identity, he is neither a prince nor a nobleman, nor a literati warrior, and he has no skills to hand, let alone the honor of being able to move to the table; in terms of fame, the showbiz and theater circles in the Republic of China period are aware of his existence, although he is not a professional actor.
However, when he is mentioned, the most commonly talked about is his wives.
"Marry a famous woman" – this label has been with him all his life.
Indeed, his first wife, Huang Zongying, and his second wife, Shangguan Yunzhu, were both very famous actors at that time, and his last wife, Wu Yan, was a capable person with many legendary experiences.
As for him, Cheng Shuyao, it can be said that he lived under their light.
Of course, this is not to say that Cheng Shuyao has no talent at all, but his own brilliance is not dazzling enough for the three wives to attract attention.
It may be unfair to say this, but in the long history, there is never a shortage of literati, and the reason why people like Cheng Shuyao are not buried in the dust is more because of his wives.
However, his career aura was not shining enough, and he did not go much smoothly on the road of feelings.
If the mediocrity in his career is because he is not capable enough, his luck is not good enough; then the emotional unhappiness is because he is a good person.
In his marriage to Huang Zongying, he received the "Good Man Card" many times.
Figure | Cheng Shuyao and his son Lamp
<h1 style="text-align: center;" > abandon the whip and pursue theatrical dreams</h1>
In 1945, the amateur literary and art group "North and South Drama Society" spontaneously organized by intellectuals was facing a reorganization. Cheng Shuyao, as one of them, holds two positions as the general affairs director and actor of the drama club.
This is actually a condescending talent for people studying at Yenching University, after all, the drama club had just been reorganized at that time, and everything was starting from scratch.
With zero fame, unstable salaries and uncertain personnel, the situation in the early days of the reorganization of the North and South Drama Clubs was so depressed. However, for example, Cheng Shuyao's classmate Zhang Lansheng recalled:
"In fact, these people in the North and South Drama Clubs, if they don't do drama, they also have food to eat and can live, because their families are well off." They do drama, not for the box office, for the sake of earning performance fees, but out of love for art. They hope that through their plays in the chaotic world, people can get spiritual comfort, and at the same time express a kind of thinking about society and life. ”
It is precisely because of love that I am willing to start from scratch. Even if they are looked down upon, they will swallow this pain and continue to bury their heads in the performance.
It is said that before the troupe's performance, Cheng Shuyao and other main creative personnel "paid homage", that is, went to the local police station and the competent department to give gifts and ask for attention. After the "bye-bye", it is necessary to register the performance script, and after review, you can get a license to appear on stage.
During this period, the management staff once scorned Cheng Shuyao and his entourage: "I don't understand, you college graduates, what is not easy to do, you have to do this?" ”
Obviously, he did not understand the ambition of a man of ideals.
The existence of the North and South Drama Clubs carries the dreams of all members. They have seen the sunset, crossed the landscape of Wancheng, and tasted the hardships of the world, just so that one day, the flowers will bloom and the dreams will bloom.
Moreover, some people have struggled all their lives and have not been able to get the entrance ticket to build dreams. Cheng Shuyao started out the same way.
In 1942, Cheng Shuyao, who graduated from university, wanted to go to Shanghai to continue his acting career, but due to his father's opposition, he had to obediently obey and rely on the help of his relatives at home to find a teaching position at Jinan Municipal Middle School.
Less than a year after teaching, Cheng Shuyao was appreciated by the then director of the pseudo-education department Yu for his singing performance at the party, and was promoted from the position of middle school teacher to the "inspector" of the "Education Department", and then from "appointed inspector" to "recommended inspector".
A year after successive promotions, Cheng Shuyao was promoted to the "Compulsory Education Committee" as the director.
In the eyes of others, continuous promotion is a great joy, and everyone can't ask for it. However, Cheng Shuyao did not think so, and at the beginning he was unwilling to come to Shandong to do education, and he also had to obey the orders of the puppet regime in this work, which was not good to say. Secondly, during the period of education, Cheng Shuyao still remembered acting.
With a heart of love, he no longer cringed, and his obedient heart gradually began to rebel.
In March 1945, Cheng Shuyao resigned from all the work of the "Department of Education" in Shandong Province and resolutely joined the Nanbei Opera Society.
The dreams that were forcibly abandoned in the past are back.
Figure | Young Cheng Shuyao
<h1 style="text-align: center;" > gently pounced, sincerely changing the good guy card</h1>
On the way to pursue his dreams, he met his first love, and the other party was Huang Zongying, who was known as "Sweet Sister".
Before falling in love with Cheng Shuyao, Huang Zongying had a marriage between Huang Zongying's brother Huang Zongjiang and Cheng Shuyao's classmate Guo Yuantong.
Huang Zongying and Guo Yuantong met on the drama stage, and after getting along day and night, the two fell in love together and married at the end of 1943.
However, the sky is unpredictable, and people have bad luck. 18 days after the marriage, Guo Yuantong died suddenly due to heart disease.
The festive atmosphere of celebrating the new marriage has not yet completely dissipated, and the sound of mourning the deceased has already been played.
Overnight, 18-year-old Huang Zongying became a widow.
In fact, Huang Zongying knew that Guo Yuantong was not in good health. On the day of the wedding, Guo Yuantong still needs help to complete the wedding with her. Therefore, for Guo Yuantong's physical condition, Huang Zongying is clear. But no matter how clear it is, it is impossible to accept his sudden death.
The newlyweds soon became widows, and it was unbearable for any woman to fall into. Huang Zongying was the same, not believing that Guo Yuantong had passed away, her spirit was severely damaged, and because her family and brother were not around, she had to follow her Mother-in-law who believed in Christianity to Beiping, and she was widowed all day.
Cheng Shuyao couldn't bear to see his friend's sister so lonely, so he took the initiative to contact her letters, listen to her depressed knots, and accompany her through the difficult times with silent comfort.
Dark clouds will always disperse, sunshine will always come, accompanied by Cheng Shuyao, Huang Zongying ushered in a new career opportunity.
In 1944, at the invitation of the Shanghai Opera Troupe, Huang Zongying returned to the drama stage, performed more than 100 performances of "Sweet Sister", and joined the Nanbei Opera Society the following year.
The aura of the former "Sweet Sister" has returned to Huang Zongying.
Figure | Huang Zongying
Before getting married, she was a member of the center of the stage and was famous in Shanghai Beach. Now that she has returned from the North Pacific Film for half a year, her Avenue of Stars has become smoother and smoother.
In addition to his successful career, Huang Zongying also ushered in the second spring of love.
Under cheng Shuyao's meticulous care, Huang Zongying couldn't help but feel good about him, and the two went along with each other in this way. Soon, Cheng Shuyao and Huang Zongying entered the marriage hall hand in hand.
In this way, it seems that the two of them have walked together because of their feelings. As everyone knows, this marriage is just a "whim" for Huang Zongying.
Huang Zongying once wrote in her memoirs: "... On a whim, I married Cheng Shuyao in Beijing. Shu Yao was a good man, but we didn't have anything to say. He always wanted to take me to a friend's party, but I didn't bother to socialize. He works as a manager in a bank, and whenever he leaves work, I'm nervous. ”
As she said, Cheng Shuyao is indeed a good old man.
After entering the bank, he was assigned to the Big North House arranged by the bank, which could be divided into three rooms. One of them belonged to him and Huang Zongying, and the other two were arranged by Huang Zongying to live with her mother and eldest brother and sister-in-law. Cheng Shuyao had nothing to say about this, sometimes Huang Zongying's relatives and friends came, and he didn't mind them coming to stay for a while, anyway, everything listened to Huang Zongying.
Unfortunately, his obedience to his lover did not make the other party feel sweet or at ease.
In Huang Zongying's eyes, Cheng Shuyao is just a good person, which is beyond doubt, and everyone will agree with this evaluation. However, being a good person does not mean that she is satisfied with this lover.
Of course, it's not that she doesn't love, it's just that she doesn't love deeply.
<h1 style="text-align: center;">if that is, if the divorce has changed, the husband and wife are strangers</h1>."
In 1947, Huang Zongying was very successful in the show business circle, not only successfully turned from the stage to the screen, but also starred in several popular films in a row, which was deeply loved by the audience.
On the other hand, Cheng Shuyao's life was not so smooth, first the North and South Drama Clubs had to close because they had not performed for a long time, and then Huang Zongying cheated and asked for a divorce.
The former, Cheng Shuyao has long been prepared, after all, since the victory of the War of Resistance, the North and South Drama Clubs have begun to decline, and the closure is a doomed end. The latter, Cheng Shuyao, was never expected, but at the same time he was caught off guard and felt that there were traces to follow.
In the spring of that year, Huang Zongying was invited to shanghai CLP No. 2 Factory to shoot the movie "Rhapsody of Happiness". After Cheng Shuyao learned of this, he objected for the first time, but Huang Zongying ignored his obstruction and insisted on participating in the filming of the film.
Later, when she recalled the incident, she explained: "Cheng Shuyao was very unhappy to know that I was leaving home. I said, 'Your wife is an actress and has her own career.' ’”
If you just engage in careers, then when Huang Zongying returns home after filming, Cheng Shuyao may also apologize for his obstruction. But Huang Zongying's trip to Shanghai is never returned.
"Rhapsody of Happiness" is Huang Zongying's second film to the screen, and the significance is not big, and it is not small. But for another protagonist, Zhao Dan, this film is very important.
This is the first film in which he returns to the silver screen after five years in prison, and it is also his engagement drama with Huang Zongying.
Figure | Huang Zongying and Zhao Dan
As early as 1939, Zhao Dan went to Xinjiang alone to develop his career, and he was inadvertently arrested and imprisoned by warlords. The five-year prison sentence not only made his career stagnate, but also caused him to lose his wife and children.
Zhao Dan had a family in 1935, and his wife Ye Lucy gave birth to a son and a daughter for him. Originally a happy family of four, they dispersed after Zhao Dan was imprisoned.
Ye Lucy mistakenly thought that Zhao Dan had died in Xinjiang, and she was so sad that she wanted to cut herself off at the first time and committed suicide. But thinking of two children, she perked up again and instead married the writer Du Xuan.
Later, Zhao Dan was released from prison, and when he learned that his wife had remarried, his heart was like a knife, but he still held a glimmer of expectation and begged Ye Lucy to return to him. However, he came too late, and by this time Ye Lucy was already pregnant with Du Xuan's child.
At that time, Zhao Dan refused to give up, knelt down to Ye Luxi on the spot, cried, and said: "Beat the child in the belly, follow me back..."
Some things, once they happen, are hard to recover. In this matter, if Ye Lucy promised Zhao Dan, she would not be able to stand Du Xuan and the child in her belly; if she refused, it would be Zhao Dan who would be hurt.
So, in this election, there will always be one person injured.
Zhao Dan was that person.
Ye Lucy still rejected the former pillow person, saying: "One family has been destroyed, and I don't want to destroy a second family." ”
Zhao Dan, who could not find his wife, had to go back to the house and leave Ye Lucy with his two children. The loss of his wife was a big blow to him, so when Huang Zongying first met Zhao Dan, he saw a scruffy and mentally ill man.
But it was such a person that made Huang Zongying's plain heart beat again.
Figure | Huang Zongying and Zhao Dan stills of "Rhapsody of Happiness"
Zhao Dan's appearance caused the rift between her and Cheng Shuyao to grow larger and larger. As a married woman, Huang Zongying's mind has always been on Zhao Dan, and as for Cheng Shuyao, who is far away from home, she doesn't care much anymore.
Slowly, Zhao Dan and Huang Zongying gradually fell in love because of the filming of "Rhapsody of Happiness", and the fake drama was really done. After shooting the last set of shots, Zhao Dan simply broke through the ambiguous window paper and confessed to Huang Zongying: "I can't leave you." We can't be separated anymore. You should be my wife. ”
At this time, Huang Zongying did not care about worldly ideas at all, and responded: "Wait until I return to Beijing and get divorced." ”
If you do not evaluate Huang Zongying's approach from a moral point of view, some people may praise Huang Zongying's true temperament, dare to pursue true love, and be a courageous woman.
But in this matter, Huang Zongying did not do it properly, and she did not immediately inform Cheng Shuyao when she changed her mind. After the scene was filmed, she remained in Shanghai and refused to go home to confess the matter, and finally Huang Zongjiang's lover Zhu Jiachen came forward to bring her back from Beijing.
The origin and fall of fate, their love still ushered in the end.
<h1 style="text-align: center;" > fate is over and the good guy card is still there</h1>
Zhang Ailing once wrote: "I love you, for your happiness, I am willing to give up everything - including you." ”
This sentence may be most appropriate to describe Cheng Shuyao's feelings for Huang Zongying.
After Huang Zongying returned to Beijing, Huang's family knew about her love affair with Zhao Dan. Huang Jiamu's mother and brothers condemned her in front of Cheng Shuyao. In this regard, Huang Zongying accepted one by one and expressed his willingness to repent.
But being willing to repent is not the same as breaking up with Zhao Dan, on the contrary, she filed for divorce with Cheng Shuyao.
Huang Zongying once mentioned this matter in his memoirs: "I returned to Beijing and confessed to Shu Yao about my emotional status. Cheng Shuyao firmly disagreed with the divorce. One morning when I was going to work, I left him a note that said: 'I am determined to leave, don't look for me, let's get together and disperse.' ’”
Seeing that Huang Zongying was so determined, Cheng Shuyao did not say anything more, he did not go to huang Zongying, who was already living with Zhao Dan, nor did he agree to divorce, so he kept dragging his feet.
In the end, it was Huang Zongjiang and his friend Jin Shan, who was also an actor, who came forward to negotiate, and Cheng Shuyao agreed to discuss divorce with Huang Zongying face to face.
Huang Zongjiang recalled in his later years: "The little sister fell in love with Zhao Dan, I didn't know, but later when it came to divorce Cheng Shuyao, I really wanted to divorce Zhao Dan." I made a deal out of it, and I said to my old classmate Cheng Shuyao: 'That's it!' He simply agreed. Cheng Shuyao, this person, until now Huang Zongying also said that he was a good person, but their fate has been exhausted. ”
Although the fate is over, the two will still meet often after the divorce. It is said that the ex met and was extremely embarrassed, but this situation did not appear in the two of them.
Figure | Huang Zongying in his later years
It is said that after Huang Zongying and Zhao Dan married, Cheng Shuyao's mother also returned the dowry when she and Cheng Shuyao were married to Huang Zongying. And whenever the Huang family's relatives came to Shanghai, they would continue to run to find Cheng Shuyao, and Huang Zongying even left his mother in the Cheng family to let them take care of them for a while.
In this way, even if he becomes an ex, Cheng Shuyao is continuing to play the role of "good man".
After marrying Shangguan Yunzhu, he also kept in touch with Zhao Dan and Huang Zongying. In addition, Huang Zongying and Shangguan Yunzhu are both actors, so they often meet at the Cheng family to chat, and Cheng Shuyao does not feel embarrassed when he sees it.
"It is as if we are not seen, and it is merciless to have feelings." Compared with the couple who once died and became strangers after that, Cheng Shuyao and Huang Zongying's mode of getting along is also rare.
If cheng shuyao is generous, this is not the case. When Huang Zongying proposed a divorce, he was reluctant and even quit his job at the central bank to keep the other party.
Perhaps, as Huang Zongying and Huang Zongjiang commented, he was a good man, so good that he could even give up his love. Instead of his own happiness, he hoped that Huang Zongying would be happy.
Unfortunately, when Huang Zongying recalled his emotional journey in his later years, he did not mention Cheng Shuyao a few words, but said: "The most right thing in my life is to marry Zhao Dan." I now think that Zhao Dan is indeed worthy of my love. ”
As for Cheng Shuyao, his concessions were exchanged for only two words- good people.
He did forgive his lover for betraying him; he did not resent the initiators who ruined his peaceful life.
From beginning to end, he was dedicated to being a "good man".
Figure | Cheng Shuyao in the 1980s
Text | A thousand picks