Opening the dusty archives of the Central Archives 64 years ago, Mei Lanfang's "Volunteer Book for Joining the Party" pulled out a little-known story of Mei Lanfang. From the king of the old society to the artistic laborer of the new society, how did he respond to the call of the communist faith?
Mei Lanfang joined the party volunteer book authenticity Central Archives
Autographed to the heart
In 1951, Mei Lanfang moved from Shanghai to Beijing, "the weather seen along the way is fresh and bright, and every station is welcomed by workers, peasants, and soldiers, and their sincere and warm attitude towards me cannot be described endlessly." ”
After coming to Beijing, Mei Lanfang successively served as the president of the China Academy of Opera, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and a deputy to the National People's Congress, which made him think about his social responsibility outside the stage.
In the early spring of 1959, Mei Lanfang wore a dark gray blouse and wrote carefully with her back door facing the window, which was the case for more than ten days. His dignified demeanor, fused with the tones of the study, seemed to be a solemn oil painting. Madame entered the room and asked softly, "Why don't you ask the secretary to take notes or sort it out?" Mei Lanfang put down her pen and solemnly replied: "No, this can't be ghostwritten!" ”
Although he had long wanted to join the Communist Party, when it came time to write a volunteer letter for joining the Party, he still repeatedly deliberated and pondered for a long time. This short 500-word volunteer letter for joining the party is a condensation of more than 10,000 words of drafts and "self-descriptions."
I was touched by the intention of joining the party
Mei Lanfang's desire to join the party naturally arose with the tremendous changes in New China that he had heard and witnessed after the founding of New China. In the summer of 1957, Mei Lanfang, then president of the China Academy of Drama, suddenly received a notice from the party committee of the academy one day, hoping that he would attend an enlarged meeting of the party committee. Participating in the party committee meeting was the first time in Mei Lanfang's life.
When Mei Lanfang arrived at the venue, she found that the meeting was originally an enlarged meeting of the party committee to discuss Comrade Cheng Yanqiu's joining the party, and in addition to the attendance of all party committee members, several well-known artists outside the party, including Mei Lanfang, were also included. Cheng Yanqiu's joining the party touched Mei Lanfang's heart greatly. After the meeting, Mei Lanfang began to seriously reflect and check her own shortcomings in work.
In the spring of 1958, during a performance in Zhongnanhai, Mao Zedong and Mei Lanfang had a conversation. Mao Zedong said he had seen Mei Lanfang's stills and letters to Xiao Changhua when she went to Shanghai for a charity performance in the old society. Mao Zedong said: "From your letter to Xiao Changhua, you can see the most precious thing for artists, that is, drama virtue. In the final analysis, the standard of talent that our Communist Party talks about is also morality, and morality is preceded by talent. From the perspective of red and specialized, morality and harmony are interdependent. Mei Lanfang listened very educated.
Completely change the heart of joining the party
Over the past decade and more, through her many contacts with Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, and other senior CPC leaders, Mei Lanfang has deeply realized the high style and bright festival of communists, and the leaders of the Communist Party are very different from the high-ranking Kuomintang officials he saw in the old society.
Mao Zedong received Mei Lanfang, Lao She, and Tian Han
Shortly after that, Zhou Yang, deputy director of the Central Propaganda Department, had another contact with Mei Lanfang, and in her conversation with Zhou Yang, Mei Lanfang euphemistically revealed her desire to join the proletarian vanguard organization.
He said: "The first half of my own life came through the old society, and only in the new China did I feel my own value. Chairman Mao's talk was red and dedicated, and it was very enlightening to me. I understand more that as an actor, it is not enough to have acting talent, you must have virtue to be a real actor. Therefore, I hope that one day I will also become a member of the Communist Party like Comrade Cheng Yanqiu! Although I feel that I still have many problems, I think that as long as the organization is willing to help me, I will definitely overcome my shortcomings and become a Communist Party member at an early date. ”
Premier Zhou was Mei Lanfang's introducer to the party
After Zhou Enlai learned the news that Mei Lanfang wanted to join the party, he was very concerned and talked with Mei Lanfang many times to improve his ideological understanding.
Mei Lanfang, Han Shichang, Bai Yunsheng and Premier Zhou took a group photo after the performance of "Dream in the Garden" by Beikun Jianyuan
On the eve of joining the party, Zhou Enlai once said to Ma Shaobo, who was then the general secretary of the party branch of the China Peking Opera: "In 1957, Comrade Cheng Yanqiu joined the party, and I became his introducer. Ma Shaobo consulted Mei Lanfang for this, and at this time Mei Lanfang's answer was already as firm and simple as a Communist Party member: "I am very touched by the premier's concern, but I think that many well-known people in the literary and art circles have joined the party. I am an ordinary person and should not be special. ”
Ma Shaobo reported Mei Lanfang's ideas to Zhou Enlai, and Zhou Enlai praised: "Comrade Mei Lanfang's ideological realm is very high, and he is really a good comrade!"
In this way, under the introduction of Zhang Geng and Ma Shaobo, two colleagues who joined the party earlier in the opera industry, Mei Lanfang's application to join the party after one year and three months of investigation, on March 16, 1959, after discussion at the party branch meeting of the China Academy of Opera, mei Lanfang's request to join the Communist Party of China was approved.
Mei Lanfang's application to join the party was signed
On July 1 of the same year, Mei Lanfang chose to take a solemn oath of joining the party on the party's birthday. On the front page of the People's Daily on the same day, the news that Mei Lanfang and others had joined the party was published. After Mao Zedong heard the news, he entrusted his secretary to call Mei Lanfang to congratulate her, which not only reflected his care and love for Mei Lanfang, but also reflected the spirit of the party's policy toward artists.
Mei Lanfang joined the party oath porcelain plate painting
After joining the party, he set strict demands on himself
After Mei Lanfang joined the party, she offered to cancel his monthly salary of 100 yuan at the Peking Opera House in China, and only received 336 yuan of the first-level salary of literature and art that he was then the director of the China Opera Research Institute. The Party organization agreed to this. At the same time, Mei Lanfang also proposed to hand over all her personal savings to the party organization. The party organization considered that protecting personal savings was the established policy of the party, and it could not require a person to hand over the deposits obtained from his personal legal income just because he joined the party, so he did not agree to Mei Lanfang's request to hand over personal deposits.
Politically, Mei Lanfang is particularly strict with herself, going to the unit every Saturday to participate in party day activities, and never taking leave until her death. Usually, he unremittingly studied Chairman Mao's writings. When he suffered from a heart attack and stopped his external activities according to the doctor's instructions, he often sat at his bedroom desk, wore flower glasses, and read Chairman Mao's books intently with a red pencil until he was seriously ill and hospitalized, and so every day.
Today, No. 1 Huguosi A, where Mei Lanfang lived, has been converted into Mei Lanfang Memorial Hall. Not far from the memorial hall, at the intersection of the bustling Financial Street and the quaint Ping'an Avenue, stands a building that integrates ethnic and modern styles, which is the Mei Lanfang Grand Theater.
In this way, people sing the story of a master of opera art, remembering the interaction between the great man and the artist.
Source: CCTV News, Xiangchao, Chinese Communist Party News Network
Source: Beijing Wenbo