A lifetime of fulfilling a promise for a lifetime of drama - a posthumous memory of the famous opera theorist Guo Hancheng

【Remembrance】

Guangming Daily reporter Han Yeting

On October 19, Guo Hancheng, a tenured researcher at the China Academy of Arts and a famous opera theorist, completed his 104-year life path. On October 25, the farewell ceremony for Guo Hancheng's body will be held in Babaoshan, Beijing.

Born in 1917 in Zhangjialong Village, Daicun Town, Xiaoshan County, Zhejiang Province, Guo Hancheng grew up listening to the melodies of Shao Opera and Du Ban (the predecessor of Yue Opera). All his life, he has been watching plays, commenting on plays, writing plays, and studying plays, and the fate of opera has accompanied Guo Hancheng's life.

Guo Hancheng information picture

China's academic circles have always believed that a qualified scholar must read thousands of books and travel thousands of miles. In addition to reading thousands of books and traveling thousands of miles, we must also watch thousands of operas and listen to hundreds of songs, so that we can fully appreciate the style of opera in various parts of Our country and all ethnic groups, go deep into the ontology of opera art, and feel the influence and charm of opera culture. In China, there are not many such opera scholars, and Guo Hancheng is one of them. In more than 70 years of opera research, Guo Hancheng has traveled all over the country. He visited troupes and made friends with cast members, and among the opera scholars of his time, he "watched the most plays and had the most friends in the opera industry". Chang Xiangyu, Red Line Girl, Fu Quanxiang, Ma Jinfeng, Wang Xiulan, Peng Linong, Shi Xiaomei, Xie Tao, Jing Xuechang, Feng Yuping, Zhou Yunjuan, Chen Li, Cai Yaomilling, Wang Zhenyi, Zhang Manjun, Sheng Heyu, Zhou Shiqun, Zhou Changfu, Zhang Hong... Guo Hancheng's friends in the opera industry cover all ages from the post-20s to the post-80s, including famous masters of various drama genres and genres, as well as young actors who are just starting out. After the age of 90, due to physical reasons, Guo Hancheng went out to participate in fewer and fewer activities in the opera industry. As long as anyone comes to visit, he always has to hold people's hands and let him talk about what new dramas have appeared recently and what new trends in the industry. In an interview at the age of 103, Guo Hancheng said: "I can't see with my eyes, I can't hear my ears now, I can't go out to do activities, but I always think about opera in my heart." ”

Guo Hancheng is a famous opera theorist in China, an important founder of the nationalization system of Chinese opera theory, the founder and promoter of the modernization of Chinese opera, and together with Zhang Geng, he is known as the "two big trees" in the field of opera theory.

As an opera theorist, Guo Hancheng opposed theoretical research on "air-to-air" and advocated seeking truth from facts and integrating theory with practice. Once, Guo Hancheng talked to the red line woman about the "red cavity red pie". The red line woman said that she did not understand theory, but designed different specific singing methods for the needs of shaping the characters, and did not understand how to produce a "red cavity red faction". Guo Hancheng told her: "There is nothing mysterious about theory, it all comes from practice, it is to guide practice, not to scare people." The birth of your 'red chamber' is inseparable from the need to create new characters. This is a theoretical problem. ”

Wu Qianhao, who served as the editor-in-chief of Peking Opera in China, was one of the first batch of opera graduate students brought by Guo Hancheng in the 1960s. According to his recollection, after the graduate study began, the first thing Guo Hancheng asked them to do was to watch more plays, "to enjoy with the audience, to compare when watching, to feel and discover in contrast." Guo Hancheng believes that there must be at least a thousand plays in the stomach of a researcher of opera theory, and the more the better. He often told his students, "Only by watching a lot of plays, your opinions will be more practical and feasible." Wu Qianhao clearly remembers that in the three years of graduate school, he and his classmates watched at least 200 plays every year, "Sometimes, we don't have money to buy tickets, and Guo Lao's own pocket also wants us to enter the theater."

Guo Hancheng's academic thought and theoretical achievements are reflected in a large number of literary and art reviews he has written. He believes that opera criticism should not be indifferent "other" comments, critics and playwrights and actors should be friends, and critics should not only be able to enter the work, perceive the author's voice, but also be able to be out of the ordinary, give the overall evaluation. Unlike some literary and art critics at present, who are either obscure and difficult to understand, or generally talk about the lack of true insight, many of Guo Hancheng's literary and art criticism articles are popular and amazingly beautiful texts, among which "The Characters, Styles and Techniques of Pu Opera 'Xue Gang's Anti-Dynasty'", "The Outstanding Achievements of 'After the Reunion'", and "The Historical Truth and Ideological Significance of ShaoJu 'Chopping Scripture Hall'" are particularly popular. As Fu Xiaohang, a researcher at the China Academy of Arts, said in an article: "The characters, styles and techniques of Pu Opera 'Xue Gang's Anti-Dynasty' have reached the extreme in terms of the majestic momentum of the pen, the rigor of logic, and the height of theory, which can be called the model of drama criticism." ”

Literary criticism is a mirror and a good medicine for literary and artistic creation, and is an important force to guide creation, improve aesthetics, and lead fashion. In reality, some critics are either divorced from creative practice, or their style is exaggerated, and the comments cannot be commented on the "ideas", which cannot convince the creators, resulting in the weakening of the function of literary and art criticism in judging and derisive, and lacking authority and guidance. In addition to theoretical research and literary criticism, Guo Hancheng actively participated in the creation of opera scripts, and successively created and adapted many works such as "Butterfly Double Flying", "Sea and Land Edge", "Heyin Medal" (in cooperation with Hansheng), "Qingping Sword", "Pipa Ji" (in cooperation with Tan Zhixiang), "Liu Qingti" and many other works, which have been moved to the stage many times, of which "Pipa Ji" is still performed to this day and has become a reserved repertoire of some theater groups. Because he personally participates in the practice of creation, when Guo Hancheng conducts literary and art criticism, he can always put himself in the shoes of the creator to understand the bitterness of the creator, without making empty arguments, and can provide the creator with specific and constructive opinions and suggestions. The combination of theoretical research, literary and art criticism, and creative practice is integrated, making Guo Hancheng a generation of opera masters.

In October 2020, the China Academy of Performing Arts celebrated its 70th anniversary. Guo Hancheng and six other teachers and students wrote a letter to General Secretary Xi Jinping, expressing their desire to contribute to the prosperity of opera. On October 23, General Secretary Xi Jinping replied to Guo Hancheng and others, putting forward ardent expectations for them to inherit and develop good opera art. After receiving the reply, Guo Hancheng was very excited, he said: "The inheritance of opera requires the efforts and intentions of generations of opera people. ”

Guo Hancheng once made a promise: "I am willing to dedicate myself to the cause of opera in this life." "The Scythians have gone. He truly spent his life fulfilling his commitment to opera.

Guangming Daily (04/10/2021)

Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily