Xi Xiulan's praise is a lot, like what "folk song queen", "after the minor song", "Hong Kong Liu Sanjie", "Hong Kong Huangmei a piece of heaven", etc., good guys, it seems to have returned to the feudal era. However, since she can be called a king, it shows that Xi Xiulan's strength is extraordinary—although some titles are obviously given to the people of the mainland—especially in Hong Kong, a modern city dominated by Cantonese songs, which relies on Chinese, and is a folk song and a minor key, and has been sung for more than 50 years, which is not an easy task, even Xu Xiaofeng, who sang the same way as her in the early days, could not do it.
What's more, Xi Xiulan's name, which was Chinese New Year's Eve night in 1984, was deeply rooted in the hearts of hundreds of millions of people in the land of Shenzhou...
(i)
Xi Xiulan's ancestral home is Xianghe Town, Quanjiao County, Chuzhou, Anhui.
It is said that his father, Xi Jia'ao, was a capable man who had been in Shanghai in his early years, and in the late 1940s, he and his wife Chen Yun went to Hong Kong. In 1950, Xi Jia'ao and his wife, who were doing business in Hong Kong, gave birth to Xi Xiulan when they returned to their hometown and passed through Nanjing.
There is another version of this matter, that is, Xi Xiulan only settled in Hong Kong in the early 50s after the birth of Quan Jiao.
No matter when and why Xi Jia'ao went to Hong Kong, one thing is very clear, that is, Xi Xiulan's childhood was spent in Quan Jiao, raised by her grandmother and aunt. Why would Xi Jia'ao abandon her daughter? I'm afraid there is only one answer - can't raise it, the Xi family has 9 children (Xi Xiulan is the seventh oldest), always have to "sacrifice" one or two to relieve the burden, Xi Xiulan was forced to undertake this task.
Is Xi Xiulan unfortunate? I have to say, not necessarily. The scenery of Quanjiao City is beautiful, a jiangnan scenery, the Xianghe River is clear and beautiful, the twists and turns stretch, compared with Hong Kong Island, it is a different environment. Moreover, if she had not stayed here, how could Xi Xiulan have come into contact with traditional folk songs and operas, including Huang Mei tuo, to lay the foundation for future development? Therefore, blessings and misfortunes should be viewed dialectically.
The Xi family's residence is located on the side of the Bawang Bridge in the southwest of Jiaocheng, with three tile houses and a small courtyard, facing Nanping Mountain, next to the Xianghe River, Xi Xiulan has lived here for 12 years.
Classmates recalled that Xi Xiulan had a tenacity since she was a child, kicking a shuttlecock less than two hundred at a time did not count; running could not get the first place and did not stop; occasionally in school, she did not eat... At the same time, she loves to sing, cutting grass in Nanping Mountain, playing by the Xiang river, all accompanied by songs, and often paints her face with red paper, wears flower sheets, pulls her cousin to accompany her, and sings "Seven Inverted Plays".
Such a day ended in 1962 when Xi Xiulan arrived in Hong Kong with her grandmother and was reunited with her parents.
Xi Xiulan was a child
As a generation of singers, Xi Xiulan has been given a legendary color in many things, just to Hong Kong, she has also been interpreted with a very story:
First, it is said that on the night before the customs clearance in Guangzhou, Xi Xiulan stayed at the hotel and imitated Zhou Xuan and sang a "Song of The Four Seasons", which caused the surrounding people to clap and applaud. It would be more perfect if a fortune teller pinched his finger at this time and said that she would achieve great things in this trip;
Second, due to the language barrier, especially the lack of English education, Xi Jia'ao wanted Xi Xiulan to start from the first grade of primary school, but she insisted on going to the fourth grade (in her hometown to the fourth grade), and after hard work, she rose to the fifth grade with excellent results, while her sister, who had studied in Hong Kong, stayed in the grade.
Whether the above is true or false, it is difficult to distinguish now.
After finishing primary school, Xi Xiulan entered St. Mark's School for secondary school, which is an English school, from which it can be seen that Xi Xiulan has really made great efforts in English, and her tenacity continues to play a role.
(ii)
In 1966, Li's yingsheng was responsible for the famous director Bu Wancang, who held the first artist training class, which attracted more than a thousand young people to sign up, and Xi Xiulan was also one of them. Why is everyone's enthusiasm so high? The Gein training class can not only learn skills such as acting, singing and dancing, but also sign a contract after graduation and become a star, which is the dream of many people. As for Xi Xiulan, she has always liked to sing, how can she miss the opportunity?
In the end, after screening and competition, Xi Xiulan was admitted. It is rumored that when Bu Wancang was filming in Shanghai in the 1930s and 1940s, he met Xi Xiulan's father Xi Jia'ao, and it is not known whether he went through the back door.
Those who were admitted were Wang Mingquan, Sen Sen (Li Xiaobin) and others. You read that right, Wang Mingquan started from Li, in addition to her, Liu Songren, Wan Ziliang, Li Ming, Zhang Jiahui, were all once Li and later students of the ATV artist training class, the same as the water and fire of wireless and Li (ATV), in fact, many people are intertwined, it is difficult to distinguish between "enemy and me".
Group photo of Li's artist training class in 1966
Xi Xiulan and Wang Mingquan are not only students in the artist training class, but also learn to sing with the same teacher, and this teacher is Bao Peili. Bao Peili is good at singing folk songs and mountain songs, which is Xi Xiulan's specialty, so she has become Teacher Bao's most beloved student. Wang Mingquan was inevitably a little jealous of this, but Teacher Bao was equally kind to her, knowing that she was tight on her hands and sometimes did not charge tuition.
Following Bao Peili, Xi Xiulan's singing skills have made great progress, and the "queen" is not born, but the product of professional training.
The training course lasted for a year, and in 1967, it was time to graduate. The students are ready to sign a contract with Li, they are eager to try, excited, but Xi Xiulan is worried that after becoming a star, she will have conflicts with her studies, which is really a "sweet trouble". However, soon this "trouble" disappeared, because Tianbu Wancang told her that Li's intention was not to sign her because she was too young. "Niece of the world, you still have to study well, learn good knowledge, and only then will you have a future." What, don't let your dad find me, it's useless, this is the leader's decision. ”
Bu Wancang was right, this was indeed a high-level decision, but he did not explain that Li's non-signing Xi Xiulan was not "young", in fact, he thought she was tall.
How tall is Xi Xiulan? Approx. 1.67 meters. The one who said, this is normal. However, in that era, the aesthetic standard of Hong Kong people for women was about 1.6 meters, yes, that is, the height of Wang Mingquan, Sensen and "Li Sanhua" Liang Shunyan, Pang Biyun and Li Wanling, so that they were "small and lovely".
Li knew that because Xi Xiulan was tall and did not fulfill her promises, she told it to make people laugh, so she made up a reason for being "young" and sent her away. Xi Xiulan was indeed young, believed it to be true, and had no choice but to leave.
Wang Mingquan successfully signed a contract until he left in 1970, then went to Japan to learn dance for a year, and joined TVB in 1971 as a sister.
(iii)
Although Xi Xiulan was hit, don't forget that the tenacity in her body would not make her stagnant. No, li just told her not to sign the contract, and over there, she went to the "Hong Kong Amateur Singing Contest" held by Sing Tao Daily to register.
Founded in 1960, the "Hong Kong Amateur Singing Competition" is a veteran and authoritative competition that has injected a lot of blood into the Hong Kong music scene. In 1967, the same hidden dragon Crouching Tiger, fierce competition, as a result, Xi Xiulan won the Chinese group with a song "Green Island Serenade", and the band "The Swinging Minstrels" formed by Kwan Zhengjie and his classmates won the first place in the band group. In the same year, Sensen took off the title of "Queen of Hong Kong Song" in the "First Hong Kong Open Women's Singing Competition" held by Blue Sky Restaurant.
In November of that year, TVB opened the stage, recruited soldiers and bought horses, took a fancy to Xi Xiulan and Sensen, you think, as the two newly baked champions, everyone knows them, and invites them to the subordinates, "Singing champions help TVB, newcomers new station new atmosphere" Is not a good publicity? In this way, Xi Xiulan and Sensen signed a 3-year contract with TVB and became the basic artists of wireless, mainly participating in the performance of "Happy Tonight".
Since the first issue of "Happy Tonight" on November 20, 1967, Xi Xiulan is one of the hosts and actors of the show, and can be said to be a founding minister, she and Shen Dianxia, Sen Sen and predecessors Liang Xingbo, Zheng Junmian and other predecessors have formed the first generation of the show team, bringing joy to the audience.
Xi Xiulan is a "busy person" in "Happy Tonight". The program is broadcast five nights a week, one and a half hours a night, and because it is a live broadcast, every day at two o'clock in the afternoon, the script begins to be memorized, and the lines must be memorized. Broadcast every night, Xi Xiulan wants to "play" seven roles, a moment of hosting, a moment of singing, a moment of selling advertisements, a moment of playing a mother-in-law, a moment of playing a father-in-law, only one or two minutes of time to change clothes and hairstyles, watching her run in and out, even the hair stylist complained, Stella (Xi Zhi's English name), as soon as I see you are about to have a heart attack, do you know that the most I do every night is your hairstyle, a whole seven ah!
"Happy Tonight": Du Ping, Zheng Junmian, Xi Xiulan, Liang Xingbo
"Happy Tonight": Shen Dianxia (first from left), Xi Xiulan (second from left), etc
In December 1967, "Happy Tonight" celebrated the birthday of the full moon, Du Ping, Xi Xiulan, Chen Qisong, Pan Dihua, Zheng Junmian, and Liang Xingbo
Not only to memorize the lines, Xi Xiulan also has to work hard to correct her pronunciation, after all, she learned Cantonese after coming to Hong Kong at the age of 12, and her accent is not correct, so she is often laughed at by Liang Xingbo and Zheng Junmian in the show. She practiced biting words assiduously, and asked Liang and Zheng if they were right, liang and Zheng often replied, almost, louder can be. Years later, Zheng Junmian told Xi Xiulan that everyone had been lying to her, and it turned out that the entire program team did not allow her to speak standard Cantonese, and her accent was a joke of the show. Compared with Shen Dianxia, Xi Xiulan is too simple, and Shen Dianxia also has the problem of incorrect accent, but she deliberately does not change it, thinking that this is her own characteristic, just like she only combs a hairstyle.
Xi Xiulan has been busy for a long time, and slowly feels that something is wrong, yes, seven roles every night, it seems that there are many opportunities to show her face, it is quite valued, but these seven roles are small roles, and others refuse to play before it is her turn! Obviously, Xi Xiulan is "a good person who is deceived by others". Understand this section, what will happen to Xi Xiulan? Of course it will – not really. In her heart, there is only hard work, as to whether she is bullied, she does not pay attention to her heart, moreover, her ideal is to be like Deng Biyun, to be a universal flower Dan, this is the opportunity to exercise.
Young Xi Xiulan
Unfortunately, Xi Xiulan's tolerance did not bring good results, but made the director feel that she was weak, and once directly asked her: Is there anyone gossiping about me behind my back? Xi Xiulan listened, this is to find something, one to test me, the other to hit others, how can I sell friends for glory, then replied: Everyone chats privately, there is no reason to tell you what you said. The director was so angry that he deleted all of Xi Xiulan's work on the same day, leaving only a 20-second advertisement. Since then, the two have formed a bond.
And that's not all. Because Xi Xiulan won the singing competition championship, coupled with her outstanding performance in "Happy Tonight", some nightclubs invited her to perform on stage, and the director naturally did not allow it: everyone did not go, why only you go, destroying our image. The matter eventually reached the top of TVB, Shaw spoke, and the popular talent was asked to go as long as it did not hinder the work. Xi Xiulan was allowed to allow it, but TVB took 30% of the performance fee as a commission. Yes, this incident made the director hate her even more.
Discord with the director, Xi Xiulan can't stay in "Happy Tonight", so when the 3-year contract is full, she did not renew her contract, and she was threatened for this: you don't sign, no other company signs you.
(iv)
Is there really no company to sign Xi Xiulan? Of course there was, and it was Li who "abandoned" her in the first place. Li's this time can not dislike her tall, as long as the fame is high.
In 1970, Xi Xiulan signed a contract with Li, and soon opened a personal music program called "Xiulan Singing Everywhere". Opening a personal music program has a tradition in Li's early days, but not all cats and dogs can be opened, only red singers such as Xu Xiaofeng and Fei Mingyi can enjoy such treatment, which shows Li's trust and attention to Xi Xiulan.
So, how did Xi Xiulan become a red singer? Didn't you say before, she was invited to appear on stage in nightclubs, the performance was extremely successful, so it attracted the attention of Lifeng Records, in 1969, for her, released her first solo album "The Thief of Hearts", and then, a number of consecutive records were released, the popularity was extremely popular, and the establishment of "Xiulan Singing Everywhere" was a natural success.
When doing "Xiulan Singing Everywhere", Li's complete decentralization of Power to Xi Xiulan and let her play freely, so the program is basically managed by Xi Xiulan alone, while the director and assistant choreographer are idle rubbing mahjong.
Xi Xiulan paid a lot for "Xiulan Singing Everywhere", the so-called pay must be rewarded, so once the show was broadcast, it was widely popular, at most, there were more than one million TV viewers watching, and the ratings were 7 to 1 compared with TVB in the same period. The popularity of the program allowed advertisers to step through the threshold, and in just half an hour, 12 advertisements were arranged, and the competent authorities ordered rectification, and the program was extended to 1 and a half hours. TVB looked at the red eyes, dispatched Zhou Liang Shuyi as a lobbyist, wanted to pull Xi Xiulan back to the tricolor platform, Xi Xiulan's attitude was very firm: there was no door.
The reason for the success of "Xiulan Singing Everywhere", in addition to Xi Xiulan's personal charm, there is also an important link is to create an interaction with the audience, each show, Xi Xiulan will sing classic or current popular songs, what "Dream Garden", "Negative Heart", "Fen FeiYan", she sang a sentence, put the microphone down, let the audience sing, thus forming a chorus, the atmosphere is very warm. How can people not actively participate in and love to watch?
"Xiulan Singing Everywhere" is broadcast once a week, Xi Xiulan has more time to perform in nightclubs and song halls, and one day she sang 10 consecutive 60 songs, almost catching Up with Xu Xiaofeng's record of 13 performances a night.
Outside hong Kong, Xi Xiulan's performances in those years have expanded to Southeast Asia, North America and other places, and everywhere she goes, a folk song and a small tune wind have blown.
Since 1971, Xi Xiulan has been named one of Hong Kong's "Top Ten Singers" for seven consecutive years.
Top 10 singers in 1975: Ye Liyi (front row second from left), Xi Xiulan (front row fourth from left), Xu Xiaofeng (back row left), Sen Sen (back row fourth from left) and so on
In early 1979, she went to Korea to participate in the International Songwriting competition and won the Best Singer Award.
In terms of records, 1980's "He Rijun Again" and "Phoenix YuFei", 1981's "Suzhou Riverside" and "Alishan Song", 1983's "Xi Xiulan's Eighth Series • Chinese Film Song Collection", sales reached platinum; 1981's "Mo Negative Youth", 1982's "Xi Xiulan Minor Sixth Series", 1983's "Xi Xiulan's Ninth Series • Chinese Famous Songs Collection", sales reached gold records. In addition, the 1983 Gospel Hymn album "I Know Who's in Charge of Tomorrow - Xi Xiulan's Anthem Series I" also reached platinum sales.
The above sales are really amazing, the opening chapter has been explained, in the 80s Hong Kong entered the world of Cantonese songs, Chinese songs, or folk songs, minor keys, can sell gold records or even platinum, it is a rare corner, and Xi Xiulan has repeatedly achieved good results, proving that people really love her and her songs.
Of course, Xi Xiulan has also sung Cantonese songs, the theme song of the same name in Li's TV series "Cast Love" in 1975, and the "Love Unchanged", "Crying Rainbow", "The Brand of Love", "The Love of Iris", "Midnight Stranger Phone" in the 1988 album "Love Has Not Changed", are Cantonese songs, interested friends may wish to listen.
(5)
When Xi Xiulan was in the field of recording in the early 1980s, tv shows and stage performances disappeared, which was not that she was difficult to reconcile, but that she had other hidden feelings...
This matter should start with a young man named Xie Jialiang. Xie Jialiang, a native of Macau, is the fourth-generation eldest son of the "Xie Liyuan" Golden Shop.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Xie Jialiang's great-grandfather founded the "Xie Liyuan" gold shop in Macao, which then passed to his grandfather Xie Regeneration and carried it forward, in addition to the gold shop, he also opened a "bustling department store" shop and a "bustling silk" and "Li Fung rice shop" on the downtown street of Macao, which can be described as a big family.
When he arrived at his father, Xie Zhichao, the Raptor crossed the river and opened ten "Xie Liyuan" gold shops in the New Territories of Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories, and established four garment manufacturing factories. The business expanded and needed manpower, so Xie Zhichao recalled his son Xie Jialiang, who studied in the UK (majoring in computer science at Leith University) and worked in the British government department after graduation, to Hong Kong to take charge of the management of the garment factory.
After Xie Jialiang came to Hong Kong, he was sullen, and a classmate who stayed in the UK proposed that there was nothing to worry about finding a girlfriend, and I just happened to have a sister, so it was better to introduce it to you. This classmate's surname is Xi, yes, his sister is Xi Xiulan.
Xi Xiulan and Xie Jialiang
Xi's enthusiasm as a matchmaker was very high, and he soon invited Xie Jialiang to his home for dinner. The doorbell rang, Xi Xiulan opened the door, hey, how no one, the eyes moved down, only to see Xie Jialiang, suddenly dissatisfied, really brother, actually found a shorter than me. Xie Jialiang, only to see a pair of beautiful eyes, scanned his whole body, as if taking an X-ray, immediately full of numbness.
The two of them bowed their heads and finished eating, and when they came, Xie Jialiang said, I heard that you are a Christian, and tomorrow I will go to church to worship how. Xi Xiulan pondered, before the shooting is the flower before the moon, the church is still the first time, you can try. He agreed.
The next day at the church, Xi Xiulan and Xie Jialiang prayed together: God, if it is not this person, please take it away. Maybe God didn't hear what they were talking about, but neither of the two people was taken away anyway, and they happily fell in love ever since.
After talking for a year, Xi Xiulan and Xie Jialiang were ready to get married, but they didn't think about it, trouble came, and both families didn't agree.
Let's start with the Xi family. Xi Xiulan is the main source of income for the family, it is rumored that singing can buy a floor in a month, and after marriage, she has become an "outsider", it is not good to supplement the mother's family, then how to do it!
Let's talk about the Xie family. The Xie family is a famous and prestigious family, extremely heavy reputation, marriage pays attention to the door to the right, not everyone is not married, how can you find an artist? And the entertainment industry is more chaotic, feelings are like children's plays, in case of marriage changes in the future, affecting face. Therefore, when Xie Jialiang said that he wanted to get married, Xie Zhichao was furious: "Lao Tzu knows more singers than you eat rice, and this kind of thing must not be taken seriously." ”
Xi Xiulan and Xie Jialiang are stronger than Jin, and their parents' opposition cannot stop them from pursuing happiness. To this end, Xie Jialiang was expelled from the family business by Xie Zhichao, and when he left home, Xie Jialiang's account was only 7,000 yuan; Xi's mother told Xi Xiulan that after stepping out of the house, not a dime or a single piece of clothing could be taken away.
On April 12, 1979, Xi Xiulan and Xie Jialiang were married at the church. Out of saving, Xi Xiulan's wedding dress is sponsored by the wedding dress shop, on the condition that the photos of the two people are hung in the window for 3 months; in order to cover up the dilemma of no money to put on the banquet, the two claim that they are married on tourism, in fact, they spent 1500 yuan to go to Malaysia, and they repeatedly bargained for this price, which dropped by 100 yuan; the marriage room is a rented staff dormitory, with simple conditions and a small area...
Wedding
wedding
Well, the plot of the Cantonese fragment of that year was really played out on them.
After marriage, Xie Jialiang opened a garment factory, but no one provided him with cloth, where to fight haha, oh, really unfortunate, now the fabric is very tight, can not supply goods. The matter was too strange for him to become suspicious, and he inquired carefully before he understood the reason - the father informed the customers that he had left the family without any financial support, and if he wanted to do business with him, the consequences would be at his own risk.
Fortunately, an elder looked at Xie Jialiang pitifully and bought a batch of cloth from Japan for him to process, so that his career could start and gradually develop.
In this case, Xi Xiulan put down her work at hand, fully supported and helped her husband, and avoided regeneration with her in-laws, she could not go around on stage and "show her face". However, she still loves singing, can not give up, in order to solve this contradiction, she decided that although the performance stopped, but the record continued to appear, which is why for 5 years, Xi Xiulan "only heard its voice and did not see its people" .
In 1983, Xie Zhichao's business failed, the people rebelled and left, Xie Jialiang and Xi Xiulan put aside their grievances, took the initiative to approach the condolences, and the father-son relationship was restored. In 1985, Xie Zhichao continued the string, and the couple served as "witnesses".
In addition to his business and investment advisory career, Mr Tse has also served as a member of the Insider Trading Tribunal in the High Court of Hong Kong.
Xi Xiulan and Xie Jialiang have gone through the wind and rain, and their love is as good as ever, which is simply emotional and envious. In the early 80s, there was an award ceremony, Teresa Teng asked Xi Xiulan how to marry a good man silently, Xi Xiulan supported the move, when you and the boy pat drag even if engaged, do not talk, to keep your mouth shut. Maybe at that time, Teresa Teng was in the whirlpool of feelings with Guo Kongcheng, and did not know where to go, so she asked this question. However, in the end, Teresa Teng also failed to achieve her wishes.
(6)
Disappeared from the stage for five years, until 1984, Xi Xiulan returned to people's sights, and her "comeback" place and method were very special - Beijing, "Spring Festival Gala".
In other words, since Xi Xiulan went to Hong Kong at the age of 12, she has basically had little contact with the mainland. In 1979, on the eve of her marriage, Xi Xiulan, as Li's "goodwill ambassador", came to Guangzhou and filmed a TV special "Provincial and Hong Kong Family" co-recorded by Li and Guangdong Television, introducing the reform and opening up of the mainland.
This TV special had a great impact and made people in the mainland know Xi Xiulan. In 1981, the Hong Kong branch of xinhua news agency invited her to perform in the mainland, and Xi Xiulan, because of the inconvenience of taking the stage, politely refused because of the busy work of the garment factory, but left room for it, saying that as long as she had time, she would definitely make the trip. In the same year, Huang Wanqiu, the actor of the movie "Liu Sanjie", visited Hong Kong and met with Xi Xiulan, and the media reported that the two "Liu Sanjie" met in Xiangjiang, and Huang Wanqiu gave Xi Xiulan a box of pearls from Hepu, Guangxi, so that Xi Xiulan, the big name of "Hong Kong Liu Sanjie", was more familiar in the mainland.
In 1983, Xie Jialiang's business shifted from garment factory to financial trade, xi Xiulan had time, and her relationship with her father-in-law improved, and she planned to make a comeback, which she specifically informed the Hong Kong branch of Xinhua News Agency.
We know that since 1982, the issue of Hong Kong's return to the motherland has been put on the agenda, and this matter has attracted national attention, so in 1984, the Spring Festival Gala deliberately invited Hong Kong singers to perform. The two sides are exactly together, and Xi Xiulan's spring festival gala trip is logical.
When the Hong Kong branch officially invited Xi Xiulan to participate in the Spring Festival Gala, she was a little hesitant again, because many people advised her not to go, some said that the mainland had just opened up, it was still very backward, and it would be disappointed to go there; some said that after you went to the performance, you would be blocked by the southeast Asian and other places, and there was no hope for a comeback. At the critical moment, her father and husband gave her a reassuring pill, Xi Jia'ao left her hometown for many years, suggested that she go home to see, Xie Jialiang is a businessman, thinking that he can take the opportunity to investigate, saying that he is not allowed to dig up business opportunities.
In this way, Xi Xiulan carefully designed and made many sets of clothes and went to Beijing.
Spring Festival Gala rehearsal
Walking into the rehearsal scene of the Spring Festival Gala, Xi Xiulan took out the clothes and tried them on one by one, and the director team opened her eyes and went forward to ask, Miss Xi, how many sets of clothes have you prepared? Xi Xiulan replied, four sets, don't you let me sing four songs? You see, this set of national costumes is singing folk songs, this set of costumes is singing yellow plum tunes, and there is also a set of qipao. By the way, when I sing, I have to take a flower basket as a prop, and find a few people to dance with me. The director group is embarrassed, this, Miss Xi, we have to ask the above to see if we can pass.
The above has been approved: only one dress; only singing and not talking and moving; no props; no dancing companions!
Xi Xiulan was not happy, by what, I don't know how many performances there are, I have never encountered such a rule, this is disrespect for the stage, art and the audience.
The director's group said it would continue to reflect her opinion. In the end, after many requests for instructions to report, communication and coordination, the above agreed! In addition, other actors are also allowed to borrow some beautiful clothes from the Oriental Song and Dance Troupe. Some actors thanked Xi Xiulan for this, saying that her struggle and persistence were equivalent to giving the literary and art circles a green light and an "opening" in the field.
As for the accompaniment dance, the temporary choreography is already too late, it just so happens that there is a national dance of four people in the original program, simply combine the two, and there is no song and dance? The problem of dancing is solved.
On February 3, 1984, the lunar calendar Chinese New Year's Eve, and the second Spring Festival Gala and hundreds of millions of spectators appeared. When it was Xi Xiulan's turn to perform, she repeatedly sang four songs: "Why Are The Flowers So Red", "Heavenly Girl Scattered Flowers", "Alishan Girl" and "My Motherland". Her beautiful singing, dignified and generous manners, her longing for her hometown and grandmother in Anhui (the old lady moved back to Quanjiao from Hong Kong in 1980), as well as the props of "Heavenly Girl Scattered Flowers", the accompaniment dance of "Alishan Girl", the red qipao of "My Motherland", and even the substandard Mandarin, all left a deep impression on the audience.
Spring Festival Gala Stage
In the audience at the Spring Festival Gala
Singing "Alishan Girl"
That year's Spring Festival Gala, in addition to Xi Xiulan, there was another Hong Kong singer who was also invited to sing four songs, of which "My Chinese Heart" was full of excitement, he was Zhang Mingmin.
After the performance, Zhang Mingmin walked on the streets of Beijing, firing cannons while walking, accidentally lighting the weeds on the side of the road, he thought when he put out the fire, I want to be a hit and red.
Zhang Mingmin had a very good premonition, and he and Xi Xiulan passed through the Spring Festival Gala, and indeed became popular all over the country.
(vii)
Overnight, Xi Xiulan walked into thousands of households and became a veritable "celebrity".
Celebrities always have to return home. In April 1984, Xi Xiulan, her parents and husband returned to Quanjiao to visit her ancestors, and the local government warmly received them, and her father and fellow villagers warmly welcomed her. This time back to his hometown, the local television station recorded the whole process and made it into a program "Back to the Mother's House", and Xi Xiulan also performed "LoutaiHui" on the same stage with Huangmei opera actor Ma Lan.
Returning home to visit relatives
From July 21 to 23, 1984, Xi Xiulan held three concerts at the Capital Gymnasium, becoming the first Hong Kong and Taiwan singer to hold a concert in Beijing. This concert is a charity performance for the disabled, and all the proceeds are donated to the Welfare Foundation for the Disabled. The performance was full, the venue was full, and the total amount of funds raised was tens of millions.
In September, Xi Xiulan held three more concerts at the China Hotel in Guangzhou. Then, on the 27th, he performed five charity performances in Sichuan to rescue giant pandas.
In Chinese New Year's Eve 1985, Xi Xiulan participated in the Spring Festival Gala again, singing "Hometown Feelings", and released the album "Land Rejuvenation" in the mainland in the same year.
Xi Xiulan has a good relationship with the Spring Festival Gala, in 1995, she appeared for the third time in the Spring Festival Gala, singing a song "Unforgettable Tonight" with Zhang Mingmin, Fei Xiang and Yang Lan.
In short, after the Spring Festival Gala in 1984, Xi Xiulan performed frequently in the mainland, while Hong Kong and overseas did not fall, and the recording of records did not stop, xie Jialiang also set up a special Xie record company for her.
Xi Xiulan's popularity remained until the late 1980s. After that, it faded out of the music scene, and even if it was on stage, it was mostly based on church and charity.
In 2007, Xi Xiulan, who was nearly sixty years old, held a "Moving Shanghai" concert in Shanghai, which still attracted many fans.
It can be said that Xi Xiulan is the earliest Hong Kong singer known and loved by the mainland public, and her appearance has truly opened a door for us.