I talk about the master of Peking Opera, the big boss Cheng Changgeng

I talk about Cheng Chang Gung

Cheng Changgeng has always enjoyed the titles of "Leader of huiban" and "originator of Peking Opera", Cheng Changgeng, name Chun, zi Yushan (a Yushan), stage name "Sizhentang", Chang Geng is his milk name, born in the sixteenth year of Jiaqing (1811) October 17, died on December 13, 1880 in the fifth year of Guangxu (January 21, 1880 gregorian calendar), Anhui Qianshan people, father Xianggui, grandfather Fa Qing, are huiban artists. In the early years of Daoguang, he followed his father to sell art into Beijing, and later entered Sanqing, and took art as a profession. According to the "Chronicle of the Dumen", Cheng Changgeng served as the head of the Sanqing class after Chen Jincai in about 25 years of Daoguang, and died. During the Xianfeng period, Emperor Wenzong rewarded him with the top of the Six Pins and held him as the head of the Jingzhong Temple, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs allowed him to take charge of all the Kikubu in Kyoto, enjoying great prestige in the Lingjie. He studied Han tune, absorbed Kunqu opera, Yiyang Cavity, Zizi and many other local opera nourishment, absorbed the strengths of all, united and played the role of contemporaneous excellence, pushed the art of emblem tuning to the peak, made Peking Opera stand out in the fertile soil of excellent culture, and then developed into a high level of art, concentrating on the aesthetic characteristics of traditional Chinese opera, and was praised by Chinese and foreign dramas. Therefore, looking back on his artistic process will undoubtedly have great enlightenment for carrying forward the excellent culture of the nation, so I have written this article. I will share my views on Cheng Changgeng from three aspects.

First, the relationship between morality and art

Virtue, that is, moral conduct, is the norm of people's common life and their behavior, and its superiority or inferiority depends on people's knowledge, sentiments, upbringing, etc.; art is people's talents and skills. The relationship between virtue and art, that is, the relationship between virtue and talent. Sima Guang said: "The talented person is also the capital of virtue; the virtuous person is also the handsome man of talent" ("Zizhi Tongjian"), which shows that virtue is the dominant and fundamental between the two. In this sense, the level of morality has a direct impact on people's career achievements, or on the artistic attainments of people. This point is not difficult to get valuable inspiration from Cheng Changgeng's artistic career.

Cheng Changgeng's moral conduct is "to be obedient to others, first of all, to cherish his fellow people, never to be selfish", "in the midst of national mourning, the eight tones are contained, and everything in the three celebration classes is still the same", "Cheng Ri arrives, from uninterrupted, and the money obtained is returned to the public" (according to the old sayings of the Pear Garden) and "there are no less than two thousand people, there are those who will flow as beggars, Cheng Changgeng worries, but with the accumulation of weekdays, Yimi gives porridge, to relieve the inedible people in the world" ("Qing Barnyard Notes." Righteous Heroes"). And he himself was dressed just like Mr. Xiang. What is particularly touching is that he leads by example, should not be outside, and strictly enforces the class rules. Cheng Changgeng said, "If I should be out of the loop, calling myself up, and sincerely planning, I am like everyone in this class!" ("Old Tales of pear garden"),Therefore, even if coerced and seduced, Chang Gung should not be killed. At the same time, experience tells us how a person's moral status has a lot to do with his or her cultural quality. According to the autograph "pledge" of Chang Geng in the second year of Tongzhi as the foreman of the Sanqing class to the Shengping Bureau of the Qing Court's Internal Affairs Office (see the "Archives of the Shengping Bureau" of the First Historical Archive of China), Chang Gung has a lot of cultural attainments. And "reading and literacy, the heart is different from the common man" ("The Old News of Pear Garden"), so "born heroic, often generous, although in the Book of Ling and has the style of a gentleman" ("History of Ling"). On weekdays, "with gratitude as the basis of imperial goods, what is done must be measured by their talents, the people of Enshi know the sense of knowledge, and the People of Weijia do not complain" ("History of Ling"). Mu Chen praised him for his "moral conduct, although the ancient sage zai chancellor is just also"; the Old Sayings of Pear Garden also says that "Cheng Changgeng has been famous for decades, and the commentators have used his origin to be the Qianshan of Anhui, and the emblem has 'two masters', which refers to Li Xianghou of Hefei". The authors of "Lingshi" and "Old Tales of Pear Garden" here compare Cheng Changgeng's conduct with Gu Zhixian and Li Hongzhang, which shows how lofty Cheng Changgeng's moral character and prestige are in the minds of the masses.

These virtues of Chang Gung profoundly affected his outlook on life and aesthetics, and created his art. Therefore, its singing style is the same as its people, just built Shen Xiong, the atmosphere is magnificent, there is a Huang Zhong Da Yong can not simulate the general situation; the performance is the same, the spirit and demeanor, graceful and elegant. "Covered by the temperament, identity, and subtlety of the ancients, once they appear on the scene, they are nothing more than appearing to say, for the ministers are graceful and dignified, for the heroes are solemn, for the hermits are beautiful, and for the outside, they are idyllic," ("Old Drama Series"). It can be seen from this that the stage image of Cheng Changgeng's dignified and dignified positive character with his old life is in line with his noble character. After the Opium War, the great powers invaded our country, especially in 1860, "the Anglo-French coalition army entered the Beijing Division, Wenzong Hunted Mulan, Chang Geng cried bitterly, and was not agreed upon, in 1861 (Xin You), Wen Zongbang, Mu Zongyou, the two palaces listened to the government, returned to the Beijing Division, the nobles feasted as before, Chang Geng was in chaos and poverty, then the homeland was restored, the lonely and suppressed, and the adjustment was high" (Qing Barnyard Banknotes. Mentors"). The performance "Ancient Sages and Heroes such as Zhuge Liang and Liu Jizhilun, the founders of the country, are depressed and heroic, often making the four seats frightened, as for the loyalty and righteousness, they weep and weep, and the audience all weeps." ("The Old Sayings of Pear Garden") is not refined and insincere and cannot move people, because of Chang Gung's strong patriotic enthusiasm, sincerity, and different heart and mind from the common man, so the stage image of his performance of historical figures is deeply moving. Marx said: "Style is man." This is an inseparable relationship between Cheng Changgeng's virtue and his personal artistic attainments.

Cheng Changgeng's virtue not only created his personal art, but also made him the founder of Peking Opera more important. The talent of an actor is inseparable from an art group with like-mindedness and tacit understanding; the birth of a drama is a huge system engineering, and the long-term accumulation of needs is required. This determines that in addition to the special contributions of the founders, it is also necessary to have a large number of people, a sincere and united collective for a long period of joint efforts, the so-called three piles of a fence, a good man three gangs, although the peony is good, but also to support the green leaves, all from a certain side to emphasize the valuable point of the collective. It was precisely by using the unique function of his noble moral conduct that Cheng Changgeng, the founder of Peking Opera, played the role of an art group, or an artistic "think tank", and united a large number of outstanding people around him, such as Xu Xiaoxiang and Lu Shengkui, to push the art of Hui opera to the peak and to make Peking Opera born according to objective conditions.

The unique function of Cheng Changgeng's noble morality is mainly manifested in cohesion, because the formation of the Sanqing class art group is the result of a cohesive force produced by Cheng Changgeng's noble morality. Because Chang Gung treats people generously and is good at taming the masses. Therefore, he admired him as a person, so that the Sankei class could not be summoned, and the peers became more and more prosperous, and finally became a huge group of more than 100 people, ranking first among the major classes in Kyoto. Cheng Changgeng often said, "The reason why everyone has taken the Three Celebration Class is because of me Cheng Changgeng." "(Two Hundred Years of Pingju)." If everyone is for me, why do I feel that I don't look at everyone with my hands and siblings? This "seeing the multitude with siblings" is itself a manifestation of moral decency. Moreover, with this moral style, he won the position of the leader of the Sankei class and even the leader of Kikube.

Since Chang Gung has a huge independent class society, and is also the master of the class society and the leader of the Kikube of the Beijing Division, he has full right, and it is possible to find and select the ideal collaborators (screenwriters, main actors and organists, etc.) according to the needs of artistic development, such as Lu Shengkui, who is overwhelmed and can be choreographed and acting, and Xu Xiaoxiang, who is conceited and talented, and Xu Xiaoxiang, who is not a group, enters the Sanqing class, and jointly ponders, discusses, and formulates strict class rules to standardize the behavior of collaborators and actively engage in opera reform. Consciously or unconsciously, it has played a beneficial role in the formation of Peking Opera.

Because of the like-minded art group, there was a new "big axis drama" that was close to the scene, easy to understand, and praised by the bo people, and because of the art group that cooperated with tacit understanding, the "Three Kingdoms Drama" of the Sanqing class was famous in Kyoto, "the group of materials gathered, and the one-step was alone" ("Old Drama Series"), and "Huo Lusu, Huo Zhouyu, Huo Cao, Huo Kongming, and Huo Zhangfei" were rumored for a while. In particular: "Zhi Xian (Xu Xiaoxiangzi) plays Zhou Lang, who is elegant and elegant, which makes people feel like gongjin in that year, he and Chang Geng co-starred in dramas such as "The Heroes of the Crowd" and "Take Nan County", which made people feel a sense of stopping", ("Old Drama Series"). There is a popular saying in the theater industry called "drama protector", in fact, drama can not only protect people, but also it can save an artistic group and save a kind of drama. After Daoxian, the Sound of the Sanqing Class vibrated the capital, which was related to the "Three Kingdoms Drama" written by Lu Taizi under the leadership of Cheng Changgeng. However, the script must be created twice by the actor and brought to life in order to produce social effects. That is to say, drama can protect people, but people can protect drama. Out of the play, the two complement each other. The reason is very simple, so that the "Three Kingdoms Drama" of the Sanqing class does not have this group of actors who cooperate with tacit understanding and perform superbly, and it is difficult for the same "Heroes of the Crowd" and "Take Nan County" to enjoy the reputation of living Lu Su and Living Zhou Yu among the audience. Some people associate the big axis opera with the growth of Pi Huang opera (Peking Opera), and this is indeed the case. However, I think that the success of the Da axis drama script, only the Sanqing class has an artistic group like the above, so that the performance forms a situation of stars arching the moon, reflecting the spirit of "a game of chess", thus ensuring the quality of art and winning the audience, in this case, the "big axis" drama is likely to fully promote the growth of Pihuang opera (Peking Opera). Therefore, the formation of Pihuang opera is inextricably linked to the noble morality of Cheng Changgeng, the founder of Peking Opera.

Second, the relationship between adaptation and adaptation

The relationship between change and adaptation, that is, the relationship between change, change and adaptation, and adaptation. Change and adaptation are two sides of the same coin. This is the art of opera must be constantly changed and innovated, And Qi Shu has said: "If there is no new change, you cannot replace Xiong" is this truth. However, the change must be carried out under the premise of "suitable", subject to certain conditions, there is an old Chinese saying, called "natural selection of things, survival of the fittest", which can explain the truth that "change" must be "adapted".

Dialectical materialism tells us that human beings are in constant change and development, and everything in the universe is constantly changing and developing, and is interconnected and mutually restrictive. Therefore, the art of opera as an ideology is no exception. It must change as humanity constantly changes. "Adapt" to the trend of the times, meet people's needs, and synchronize with human ideology and aesthetic fashion. The needs of mankind are the destination of all artistic activities, "change" is only a means, "adaptation" is the destination, and any old or changed art form that does not meet the needs of the people is not extinguished in the long river of history, or is replaced by another new art form, which is the law that must be followed in the change and development of all things in the universe.

Since the Golden Yuan, Beijing has been the political, economic and cultural center of our country, and during the Qianlong period, the imperial palace has held three grand celebrations, southern opera and northern opera, and have been summoned to Beijing one after another, and the Beijing opera circle has become a place where flowers and ya compete for victory, and all kinds of random bombs are gathered. In such a big atmosphere of the rise and fall of opera and mutual contact, Chang Geng knew that "the change of literature is stained with the world, and the rise and fall of the world is related to the chronology" ("Wenxin Carved Dragon") is also applicable to the truth of opera, so he used the Sanqing class as a base to lead and participate in the innovation of opera, thus forming a new artistic form that adapts to the interests of the majority of audiences and truly reflects social life and makes the people close - the birth of Peking Opera art.

First, from the perspective of the industry. Before and after Qianlong, first of all, Kunqu opera dominated the Kyoto opera circle because of its elegant style, and then qin cavity was "The smear of Dan color to take the Yan Zhenjing Division, Cheng Changgeng won the Dan color when he was the master of the Sanqing class, Wei Changsheng and his subordinate Chen Yinguan, etc., because of the fashion of Ye Yan, there was a suspicion of defeat, and it was banned by the Qing court's imperial history. Having been defeated for a long time, the Qin Cavity only remained in Beijing, although there was none. After Daoxian, in view of the defeat of the Qin Dynasty, Cheng Changgeng took the opportunity of the general manager Jubu to change the vices of the drama world by "calling the world with the old students", so as to revitalize the social trend and adapt to the trend of the times and the audience's social mentality of seeking newness. Masao Aoki of Japan once spoke highly of this. He said: "With the old life calling the world, the birth is easy to get by, the drama road is gradually becoming positive, and the reason why this skin is yellow is great!" ("History of Modern Chinese Opera"), here the "old life call the world" and "Pi Huang dacheng" are closely linked, which shows that Cheng Changgeng's reform has a role in the formation of Peking Opera. The same is true of the fact, because "calling the world with old students", the result is that the opera stage has changed from the chongdan corner to the rebirth corner, and the various parts of the big system of opera have also changed accordingly, resulting in a new typhoon and performance, which is welcomed by the audience, one of which is that the performance content is expanded. Specialized Danse can only perform small dramas of life, while the big dramas of historical themes must be pure and ugly, and the industry is complete, especially the raw horns. After the Opium War, national strength was mixed, the powerful were humiliated, internal and external troubles were worried, and the people's feelings were indignant. In this situation, those life dramas that do not know the hatred of the country are affected by the times, and the audience is becoming narrower and narrower, and the situation is getting worse and worse; and the way of the fake ancients, the timely works that write about the rise and fall of the country, come into being and flourish in the Kyoto drama scene, which is inevitable. "Articles are sung for the times", the old life drama, based on the story of the loyal and righteous heroes in history, worried about the country and the people, under the historical conditions at that time, this kind of old life drama that borrows the ancient metaphor of the present and vents the anger of the people has been carefully shaped by the artists to shape the character image, deepen the plot, and be welcomed by the audience, it is not surprising. Daoguang's 25-year-old book "Dumen Jiluo" records that at that time, the four major emblem classes performed publicly, mostly with famous old students hanging up performances, ranking first in the list, which is a clear proof.

Second, from the sound cavity. The history of the development of Chinese opera is actually a history of the rise and fall of the vocal cavity. For example, Peking Opera is an emerging sound cavity system formed by the decline of Kun, Yi and Qin, and on the basis of the booming of Hui opera, it melts many opera vocal cavities and gives them To Jingyin. In the process of the fusion and transmutation of these various vocal cavities, a large number of excellent people emerged. Cheng Changgeng is an outstanding representative of these outstanding people. Therefore, the "Yanchen Ju Shadow Record" has a record of Cheng Changgeng "melting Kun, Yi sound in the skin and yellow, ingenious creation, and then becoming a grand view". Cheng Changgeng dissolved the chanting techniques of the Kun Cavity in Pi Huang, which not only improved the singing techniques of Pi Huang and transformed the strong dialect color of the emblem, but also made the original rhyme of Kunqu opera retained in Peking Opera, laying a solid foundation for the maturity of Peking Opera language. Zhongyuan phonology is the standardized living language of the people of the Central Plains in ancient times, which is more "suitable" for people in the vast area of the north and south of the great river than the dialect of Beijing. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Chen Yanheng said: "Today's skin is yellow, which is changed from Kunqu opera. It was Cheng Changgeng who dissolved Kunqu opera in Pi Huang for the broad audience, so that Pi Huang became the evidence of Daguan. At the same time, Pi Huang became Peking Opera, and there was also a process of "Jingyinization" in the middle, because it was a necessary measure to adapt to the tastes of Beijing audiences. Yiyang Cavity flowed into Beijing in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and gradually combined with the common language of Beijing to form the Beijing Cavity, cheng Changgeng dissolved the Yiyang Cavity in Pi Huang, which is actually a means of "Jinghua" of Pi Huang opera.

The formation of an actor's performance style and the vocal cavity art of a drama cannot be unaffected by specific historical eras, social trends and audience interests, and it must be in tune with the times and adapt to the audience's hobbies in order to survive and develop. Otherwise, it will inevitably lose the audience and lead to exhaustion and decay. The reason why Cheng Changgeng's high-pitched and straight singing voice is praised by the society and is respected as "Huang Zhong Da Lu", I think this reflects that his singing voice is related to the "fashion" that adapts to the "fashion of yellow and thunder". At the same time, the formation of Peking Opera, Chu tune (Han tune) artists from Mi Yingxian to Wang Honggui, Li Liu, until Yu Shuyan's grandfather Yu Sansheng and other people have contributed, because they have successively introduced Chu tune to Kyoto, Chu tune singing voice, singing method have merit, there was a good story of "Jing Shi Shang Chu Sheng". In order to adapt to this fashion, Cheng Changgeng on the one hand in the "Huguang tune (another name for Chu tune (another name for Han tune)" created a kind of "Jing Er Huang" that "listened to people and entertained the gods", and I think that the advent of "Jing Er Huang" was an important part of the formation of the two major cavities in the formation of Peking Opera.

Third, from the perspective of the repertoire. Excellent repertoire can not only produce an actor, there are many actors in history who are famous through his masterpiece repertoire, and the rise and fall of the same genre is also inseparable from whether it can have a number of repertoire that is popular with the audience. The reason for the later decline of Kunqu opera, of course, is that there are many reasons, which will not be elaborated here, but one of them is because the repertoire it stages mostly belongs to desk works that are more important than the rhythm of words, the sense of the times is poor, the atmosphere of life is weak, and it is difficult to make the people close. Therefore, Mr. Mei Lanfang once said: "There are also a few people in Kunqu opera who are trying to preserve it, and the rise and fall of helpless opera is determined by the majority of the audience." That is, taking Mr. Mei himself as an example, his "Luoshen" and "Daiyu Funeral Flowers", which are his representative repertoire, even though the appearance is handsome, the costumes are elegant, the song and dance are exquisite, they have brought a new breath to the Peking Opera stage, and won the appreciation of the literati and scholars, but Mr. Lu Xun has quite a criticism, he pointed out: "Ya is elegant, but most people can't understand it, don't look at it, always feel that they are not worthy to watch." "That is to say, it is too far away from the masses of the people, far from the needs of the people. However, as an artist with a mass perspective, Mr. Mei Lanfang soon changed this artistic tendency. During the Japanese imperialist invasion of China, with great patriotic enthusiasm, he wrote dramas such as "Life and Death Hate" and "Anti-Gold Soldiers", which fluctuated the patriotism of the broad audience. It can be seen that the fate of the repertoire is linked to the audience, the times, and the society, and the ancient and modern theories. The so-called "one drama saves a drama genre" is not nonsense. As early as before and after Xianfeng, Cheng Changgeng understood these truths, and thus made great efforts in the reform of the repertoire on the word "suitable".

Cheng Changgeng has made great efforts in the word "suitable", which is mainly manifested in the "big axis" play created by Lu Shengkui when he presided over the Sanqing class, and the so-called "axis of Sanqing" is to show that the "axis" represents the characteristics of the Sanqing class. Especially the Three Kingdoms drama I mentioned earlier, the Three Kingdoms drama of the Sanqing class is generally a clear distinction between good and evil, it not only has the loyal monarchical ideology of "Han thieves are not opposed, and the king is not biased", which is suitable for the appetite of the ruling class at that time, and is often used as a tool for "Kuang Shi Dao, Righteous People's Hearts", and the common people are very respectful of the loyalty of the characters in the Three Kingdoms Drama and the Three Kingdoms Drama, and the character of dying for "righteousness", but also like their superhuman wisdom and unparalleled ability, and the upright, frank, upright, and innocent characters in the play. The spiritual temperament of envy and hatred is also admired by the extreme of worship. At the same time, the "axis" of Sanqing is a multi-series of new and recent events, easy to understand, strong story, and a repertoire that has been performed for several days. In the play, it is a combination of two yellow and xipi, breaking through the frame of the qu card body, the majority of the audience is very loved, and at the same time, because the performance at the beginning of the Sanqing class entering Beijing is also mostly folk small dramas and some single folding plays with imperfect storylines, such as Gao Langting's masterpiece "Fools Become Relatives" Although sensational, after all, the audience can not see the reason. Therefore, these folding plays can not meet the requirements of the audience, but also affect the performance of the actor's skills. In short, the axis of the Sanqing class is based on the needs of the audience's appreciation, according to the relevant storyline in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", relying on the artists themselves, especially Lu Shengkui as the mainstay, Cheng Changgeng as the leader, while editing and acting, and finally become a complete story, the plot ups and downs, and the audience welcomes the big drama. These dramas require a complete range of roles and a majority of men, which not only promotes the development of shengjiao singing opera, but also greatly changes the social atmosphere of the Beijing opera circle. After the Opium War, it provided favorable conditions for reflecting the real life of society, thus adapting to the trend of the times.

Third, the relationship between inheritance and transmission

What I mean by the relationship between inheritance and inheritance is the relationship between inheriting tradition and cultivating people. Peking opera from conception, formation to prosperity is the merit of three or four generations. On the basis of Hui opera, Cheng Changgeng, the founder of Peking Opera, melted the essence of various sound cavities such as Han tone, Zizi, Kun Cavity, Yiyang Cavity and so on, and through the new synthesis of old materials, finally made Peking Opera come into being, that is, the experience accumulated by many predecessors of various dramas and the fine traditions created. After a generation of artists represented by Cheng Changgeng have effectively digested and absorbed, and established a set of new orders and new norms through their artistic practice, and their descendants have assumed their own responsibilities, according to their own conditions and experiences, the strengths of hundreds of families for their own use, and finally Peking Opera has presented a prosperous situation in which multiple genres and styles compete with each other. In my opinion, this is the basic trajectory of the development of Peking Opera art. Moreover, through this trajectory, we can observe the formation and development of Cheng Changgeng's artistic career in Peking Opera, and the background of the basic appearance in inheriting traditions and cultivating successors.

First, let's talk about inheriting traditions. Regarding inheriting tradition, Mr. Lu Xun said: "None of the new art suddenly occurs without roots and roots, and always has to bear the previous legacy" That is to say, the production of all kinds of new art has historical inheritance. Speaking of "tradition", regarding "tradition", China's literary and art theorist Gan Yang believes that it is a process that flows in the whole temporality of the past, present, and future, rather than an entity that has been condensed in the past, so the real foothold of "tradition" is precisely in the "future", not in the past, in the eternal production. (See his Tradition, Time and Future). For example, Dammel also said: "Tradition is not just a ready-made thing that we inherit, but we produce it." (See his "Truth and Method"). It can be seen that it is meaningful to look at tradition from the perspective of development. Inheriting tradition is not about copying the past, but about creating something that didn't exist in the past. According to historical records, Cheng Changgeng has always attached great importance to the inheritance of tradition, such as: Hui Tun Ben is good at Erhuang, Erhuang is "The Best of Anqing Color Art" ("Yangzhou Painting Record"), and at the same time, the first sanqing class to enter The Gaolang Pavilion in Beijing, people call him "Erhuang Qi Su", etc., all of which profoundly illustrate that the Erhuang vocal cavity is the fine tradition of Huitong, and later Cheng Changgeng absorbs the singing cavity and singing method of Han tone, and on the basis of Hui tone, creates a new cavity "Jing Er Huang", which is undoubtedly the same as the above Er Huang or er Huang ("Song Field Zhi Xiao Lu") called "The First Only Walk in Anhui". There are qualitative differences, and then take the "Renchen" rhyme created by Chang Gung (see "Kikube Series") as an example. "Renchen Rhymes" is one of the "Thirteen Ruts" that are simplified on the basis of more than a dozen rhymes in Zhongzhou Rhyme, and the formation of "Thirteen Ruts" is also an important symbol of the "Jingyinhua" of the Stage Language of Peking Opera. Moreover, the "Renchen" rhyme created, the large section of Zhao Yun's "Please Order Performance" in the play "Fengmingguan" has been preserved to this day. These are all "things that have never been seen before" in the field of opera vocal cavity in the past, and it is the result of Cheng Changgeng's optimization of the combination of traditions and the reproduction of traditions with a new look. This kind of optimization combination, both inheritance and innovation, relative to the old tradition, has become "not to be separated, it seems to be not phased", neither full phase nor all non-phase. History has proved that only such things can have irresistible vitality, and the master of Chinese painting Qi Baishi once warned us: "Those who learn from me are born, like those who die" Learning to paint is like this, and learning drama is not like this! I think that's the right attitude towards tradition.

On the issue of cultivating descendants, a young history is a masterpiece. The various dramas of the Chinese opera system were originally similar and had some influences in a certain historical period, but later why some of them lasted for a long time, and some of them were short-lived. I thought that opera was created by people, and the rise and fall of a genre of drama actually rose and fell because of the rise and fall of talents. Those who gain talents prosper, and those who lose talents perish, the truth of eternity. For example, Huangmei opera was born in the countryside at the beginning of the struggle, and it was not originally a drama that could be climbed on the hall of elegance, but it could break into the city until it became a very influential drama in the country, because there was a generation of artistic essences such as Ding Lao liu Pan Zehai, career cadres, and there were performing artists Yan Fengying, Wang Shaofang, and a group of new music workers and playwrights with contemporary consciousness to join, so that a number of excellent plays such as "Heavenly Immortal Matching" and "Female Pony" came out, so that Huangmei opera became a new popularity throughout the country. Therefore, as the "national essence" of Peking Opera, after its formation, it can develop and flourish, and it is also the result of the first generation of Peking Opera actors paying attention to the construction of talents and striving to cultivate successors.

Among the first generation of Peking Opera actors, the one who has made the greatest contribution to cultivating descendants is Cheng Changgeng, because Cheng Changgeng has not only made many efforts for the formation of the second generation of Peking Opera actors, especially the "last three factions", but also made outstanding contributions to the formation of the third and fourth generations of Peking Opera actors.

The three latter factions, Tan Xinpei, Wang Guifen, and Sun Juxian, all enjoyed the reputation of "Hou Sanjie" because they received the guidance of Chang Geng. In particular, Tan Xinpei, who entered Beijing at the age of 16, worshiped Chang Geng as a teacher, and later entered the Sanqing class, starring Wu Xiaosheng, because of Chang Gung's appreciation, Fang often ordered him to play. However, considering that his mouth is large and it is difficult for him to become famous as a martial artist, he pointed out that "if the beard is suspended in the kiss, the flaws will be hidden, it is no different, and it should be accompanied by a singing voice, when there is no disadvantage." Later, Tan Xinpei obeyed the instructions and changed it to Wu Laosheng, Wen Wu Singing, or Martial Opera Wen Singing, and learned Wu Sheng, synthesizing the performance essence of the "Old Three Schools" and Wang Jiuling's singing skills to form a school of its own, becoming a representative of the mature period of Peking Opera, and the generation of masters of Lao Sheng's performing arts, all of whom achieved such achievements because of cheng's appreciation and guidance. Cheng Changgeng's appreciation and guidance is a major turning point in Tan Xinpei's artistic path.

Wang Guifen, seven years old to learn drama, because of the long-term practice of Chang Geng, for his singing, speaking, stepping, and doing schools, he has a lot of experience, and after his voice is restored, when he performs on stage, he is good at repertoire, singing, singing, and full of strength, and he is deep and thick, especially those pronounced as the back of the brain, which are almost the same as Cheng Changgeng. Therefore, it is said that Wang Guifen "one word and one tone, when it can enter the ear drums of people, get the remains of Cheng Ling, and think that this is the authentic product" ("Qing Dynasty Lingguan Biography").

Sun Juxian, born in Martial Arts, also because of his singing tone, was appreciated by Chang Geng and repeatedly advised Ju Xian to change his career and enter the drama world, and later through Chang Geng's teaching of secrets, his skills improved day by day. Therefore, not only is his artistic style indistinguishable from Chang Gung,but he also served as the head of the Sixi class, "the management method is also the same as Chang Gung", taking Chang Gung's method of standing in the world as his lifelong role model. After Chang Gung's death, he was the only one who was known as a "saint".

The artists who inherited Wang Guifen and Sun Juxian were Wang Xiaonong. Wang Xiaonong not only absorbed Wang Guifen's singing voice and Sun Juxian's singing style, but also created a new style of its own, and was famous for its screenwriting, which played a positive role in the maturity and prosperity of Peking Opera.

As the second generation of actors of Peking Opera, there are also Yang Yuelou and Jian San, who were apprenticed by Cheng Changgeng behind closed doors during the chaos. After Chang Geng's death, Yang Yuelou obeyed the instructions: "We must work with the Sanqing class", take over the Sanqing class for ten years, as always, for the development of the cause of Peking Opera, do our best until death.

More importantly, in order to realize the lifelong ambition of "not to make Guangling scattered in the world", Cheng Changgeng personally founded the Sanqing Keban (also known as the Sizhentang Keban), trained such a group of famous actors who were currently tongling, such as Chen Delin, Qian Jinfu, Wang Changlin, etc., and made great contributions to the growth of the third and fourth generations of Peking Opera actors and the cultivation of Peking Opera descendants. Chen Delin, Xi Qingyi, is famous for his singing skills. Kunqu opera "Zhaojun Out of the Plug", blowing cavity "Qi Shuanghui", Peking Opera "Sacrifice River", "Luhua River", etc., are known as people. The older you get, the higher the rhyme, and the more you sing. Therefore, the "Jubu Cong Tan" said: "According to those who are in Kunqu, among the northern lingren, the Kunqu characters are round and round, and can be called a steady practitioner, but Delin is only one person." It can be seen from this that Chen Delin's teachings in Sanqing Keban cheng Changgeng are really not shallow.

Because Chen Delin is good at innovation in artistic practice, he has pushed the Peking Opera Tsing Yi line to a new realm and enjoyed the reputation of "Tsing Yi" Taidou. Taught under Chen Delin's door are Wang Yaoqing, Mei Lanfang, Jiang Miaoxiang... No less than ten people became famous for a while, especially Mr. Mei later became an outstanding representative of the heyday of Peking Opera, enjoying a famous name at home and abroad; Wang Yaoqing was known as the "Master of the Tongtian Sect", who "not only created the new trade of flower shirts, but also opened up the road for the development of Peking Opera Danjiao art" (according to Mr. Ma Shaobo's "History of the Development of Peking Opera"), but also trained more than 20 famous Dan people such as Wang Huifang, Xu Biyun, Zhang Junqiu, etc., providing sufficient talent resources for the prosperity of Peking Opera. The origin of this talent resource is the result of Cheng Changgeng's establishment of the Sanqing Science Class and the cultivation of such a group of descendants as Chen Delin. Cultivating people is essentially the cultivation of talents. The rise and fall of talents is one of the fundamental elements that lead to the rise and fall of opera genres.

In 1892, Chen Delin and Wang Lengxian, Tan Xinpei and others jointly rebuilt the Sanqing class, and Wang Yaoqing also successively took the stage in the Sanqing class, so the Sanqing class met with the audience through the descendants of Cheng Changgeng after Yang Yuelou's death, realizing Mr. Cheng Changgeng's wish of "not making Guangling scattered in the world".

Inheriting traditions and cultivating successors are two concepts in the same sense, and the two cannot be biased, because good traditions are passed on from generation to generation, multiplying and endlessly. If we cannot inherit the tradition, the cause will not have a good foundation for development, will be insufficient, and will not be able to prosper; if we cannot cultivate people, our career development will have no stamina, go downhill, and eventually lose our future and hope. Therefore, we must be far-sighted and do a good job in cultivating one of the successors to inherit the work.

Through a brief discussion of Cheng Changgeng's artistic career, there are many places worth learning from today's people:

As an actor, first of all, we must cultivate noble moral sentiments, improve the quality of spiritual civilization, understand history, gain insight into life, get close to life, and communicate with the people's breath, so that we can more deeply understand the role and create a full and popular stage image.

As a leader, you should lead by example, know people well, carry forward the spirit of cooperation in the art community, including playwrights, and anyone who simply emphasizes the role of the script or the actor-centered theory has a great deal of one-sidedness.

As a opera artist, we must constantly change and innovate on the basis of inheriting the fine tradition, Lu Xun said: "Neither imitation nor imitation can produce true art." The laurels of the founders of artistic styles will always belong to those who are far-sighted, courageous to innovate, and good at artistic creation. The development of art is obviously not like a clock that always moves forward to achieve some predetermined law, but there will always be a factor of contingency and randomness. In view of this, as an artist, we must keep a clear head, look for laws from various contingencies, and make theatrical art "must be brought close to the people" (Tolstoy) premise, change and develop, and assume the function of moral indoctrination.

This year is the 210th anniversary of Cheng Changgeng's birth, as ordinary people, we must learn Cheng Changgeng to lead by example, equal to people's morality; as art practitioners, we must learn his art ethics of keeping up with the times, serving the needs of society and the people, learning from his spirit of single-mindedness, respecting tradition and having the courage to innovate, and being able to gather, use, and cultivate talents, and be good at playing the role of the art group. This is of great practical significance for the revitalization of Peking Opera, the promotion of excellent national culture, and the resistance to the infiltration and erosion of foreign bad culture, especially in today's ever-changing international situation.