In 1934, on March 29, 40-year-old Mei Lanfang was pleased to have a noble son (Mei Baojiu).
Although Mei Lanfang had 9 children in her lifetime, she had a son and a daughter born to her wife, and died prematurely; Mei Lanfang and her second wife, Fu Zhifang, gave birth to 6 children, most of whom died and only three grew up.
Now that Mei Lanfang has reached the age of confusion and has a son, it is very rare and naturally joyful.
Mei Lanfang encountered a happy event, and celebrities from the cultural circles of the Republic of China came to the scene to congratulate her.
But among these people, lu Xun's figure was not seen.
As we all know, Lu Xun lived in Shanghai since September 1927 and did not move away until his death.
Mei Lanfang moved from Beijing to Shanghai in 1932 and lived in the same city as Lu Xun.
However, the two are in the same water and fire, which can be described as the sound of chickens and dogs, and old and dead do not communicate with each other.
Why, because Lu Xun had formed a bond with Mei Lanfang ten years ago.
On November 11, 1924, Lu Xun wrote the famous "On Photographs and The Like", which ridiculed the phenomenon of men dressed as women on the Chinese theater stage, and said bluntly:
"The greatest and most permanent art of ours in China is for men to dress up as women."
"Because from the perspective of both sexes, they are close to the opposite sex, men see 'dressed as women', women see 'men dressed', so this is forever hung in the glass window of the photo studio, hanging in the hearts of the people." 」
In the article, Lu Xun sarcastically said with a spicy brushwork that the men of Chinese Peking Opera dressed as women made Lin Daiyu out of shape.
When I didn't see the photo of "Dai Yu Funeral Flower", I never expected that Dai Yu's eyes were so convex and her lips were so thick. I thought she should have a skinny sick face, but now I know that she has some blessings and looks like a magu.
The article also named Mei Lanfang by name:
"However, as soon as you look at the imitation of the imitation of the imitators who have succeeded, they are like children wearing new clothes, restrained and pitifully bitter, and they will immediately realize that Mei Lanfangjun is permanent, and his eyes and lips are covered out of necessity, that is, it is enough to prove that Chinese really has aesthetic eyes."
Lu Xun means that Lin Daiyu, who is graceful and beautiful and miserable under Cao Xueqin's wonderful pen, was spoiled beyond recognition in Mei Lanfang's "Dai Yu Funeral Flowers", causing people to get goosebumps.
Lu Xun's article, published in the ninth issue of the "Yusi" weekly magazine on January 12, 1925, caused a great sensation at that time, and Mei Lanfang not only heard about it, but also remembered it deeply.
Since then, a generation of literary masters and Peking Opera masters have formed a vendetta.
Nowadays, Mei Lanfang's family has added Ding, Lu Xun naturally will not go to congratulations, and Mei Lanfang may not welcome it.
However, later Lu Xun still sent an unusual "gift", but Mei Lanfang was even more upset after receiving it.
Lu Xun sent a "gift" to Mei Lanfang on November 1 of that year.
The gift was an article titled "A Brief Discussion on Mei Lanfang and Others," which was published in the magazine China Daily And Trends on November 1 and 6.
The pen name is "Zhang Pei".
Compared with the article ten years ago, Lu Xun's opinion is more sharp and the tone is more critical.
Mei Lanfang, who satirizes throughout the article, pursues the so-called "ya" in art, and the main character lin daiyu in Cao Xueqin's pen is acted out of style, or even smashed.
Lu Xun said in the article that he satirized Mei Lanfang, not to belittle Peking Opera but not to look at men dressed as women.
In the article, he wrote:
"Mei Lanfang is not born, it is Dan, it is not a royal offering, it is the favor of the layman."
Lu Xun's article unabashedly exposed Mei Lanfang's customs:
"The plays he made without the help of the scholar were naturally vulgar, even obscene, dirty, but sloppy and angry. When she became a 'goddess of heaven', she became noble, but from then on she was rigid and reserved. Looking at an immortal tiannu or Lin sister, I think that most people are better off watching a beautiful and active village girl, who is close to us. ”
In Lu Xun's view, Mei Lanfang is not right horizontally and vertically, "obscene and dirty" when not pursuing Ya; when pursuing Ya, she is "rigid and pitiful".
When the article was published, although it was signed "Zhang Pei", Mei Lanfang was not difficult to guess, because that kind of brushwork was unique to Lu Xun.
However, at that time, Mei Lanfang could only guess, and there was no real evidence.
In June 1936, "Lace Literature" was published, and Mei Lanfang sat down to scold her own people.
Because "Lace Literature" is a collection of essays by Lu Xun, which contains 61 essays written by Lu Xun in 1934.
It can be imagined that Mei Lanfang's mood when she learned that Lu Xun scolded herself.
More than ten years ago, Lu Xun began to scold himself, and he has not been able to return the scolding.
However, Lu Xun still "did not rely on it and did not spare", and "looked for fault" again and again, so how can people be relieved?
In October 1936, four months after the publication of Lace Literature, Lu Xun died.
Lu Xun was a cultural celebrity, and his death was a major event, and all the celebrities in Shanghai's cultural circles attended the ceremony to hold a grand funeral for Lu Xun.
But Mei Lanfang, who was close at hand, did not come to the scene to mourn, nor did she express any expression.
In fact, even if there is no festival, Mei Lanfang will not express anything about Lu Xun's death, because Lu Xun's article in 1924 has hurt him, and he has been "unforgettable".
In 1933, the British playwright and 1925 Nobel Laureate in Literature George Bernard Shaw visited China and stayed in Shanghai on February 17.
During this period, leading figures in Shanghai's literary and theater circles all attended the welcome banquet and meeting hosted by Song Qingling for him.
Lu Xun not only attended the welcome luncheon held at Song Qingling's home, but also attended the meeting at the World Academy that afternoon.
Although Mei Lanfang did not attend the morning banquet, she attended the afternoon meeting at the World Academy.
At the meeting, the two will definitely meet, because there are not many people in attendance.
But the two were strangers, and neither of them greeted each other.
Lu Xun has always been unaccustomed to acting in male and female costumes, nor does he like Peking Opera.
Turnip cabbage has its own love, just like today's young people, some people love to watch Korean dramas, some people love to watch Japanese dramas, some people have a special love for American dramas, and some people have a deep love for Peking Opera and drama.
This is described by Lu Xun in his novel "Social Drama" published in 1922.
Lu Xun preached in the first half of the article that he had seen Peking Opera twice in his life, and his impression was not good:
"Watch Xiao Dan sing, watch Hua Dan sing, watch Lao Sheng sing, watch unknown roles sing, watch a large group of people beating around, watch two or three people playing each other, from 9 o'clock to 10 o'clock, from 10 o'clock to 11 o'clock, from 11 o'clock to 11:30 o'clock, from 11:30 to 12 o'clock...".
Many people are puzzled by this, most of the spearhead of Lu Xun's attack is aimed at reactionary warlords and comprador bureaucrats and the shameless literati he considers; why would Lu Xun, a singer of Mei Lanfang, unusually criticize and write?
In fact, Lu Xun's article is not completely aimed at Mei Lanfang, but expresses a view of drama.
This view is that theatrical art should be oriented to the public, not always pleasing the powerful, and be "appropriated by the scholars and masters, and covered with broken glass."
However, in Mei Lanfang's view, she was very wronged, did not engage in politics, did not provoke anyone, but was repeatedly named and "scolded".
In fact, Lu Xun did not have any ill feelings toward Mei Lanfang himself, at best he only expressed his disgust at the phenomenon of Peking Opera men dressed as women.
Mr. Lu Xun once wrote an article entitled "Shakespeare" (see "Lace Literature") under the pseudonym "Miao Ting" to hold Mei Lanfang's grievances:
In fact, Mei Lanfang had not yet left, but Mr. Shi Jingcun had already designated him to bathe shirtless in front of the "proletariat". In this way, they have "gradually become tainted with the 'residual poison' of the bourgeoisie."
At that time, Mei Lanfang was going to the Soviet Union to perform "Noble Concubine Drunk", and the literary scholar Shi Jingcun objected, saying that Mei Lanfang's move was "the ugly state of literature".
Lu Xun read Shi Jingcun's article and stepped forward and wrote an article to defend Mei Lanfang.
However, Mei Lanfang is an actor, does not understand politics and does not understand essays, and has not carefully analyzed Lu Xun's unspoken meanings, nor has time to analyze them.
His attitude toward Lu Xun was only four words:
Never forgive.
After 1949, Mei Lanfang served as vice chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles.
At that time, activities were held every year to commemorate Lu Xun's birthday and death anniversary.
Mei Lanfang either excused her absence, or was silent at the meeting and never spoke.
Mei Lanfang and Lu Xun's wife, Xu Guangping, are both members of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and they often hold meetings, dinners, and group photos together.
But Mei Lanfang and Xu Guangping never talked and did not have any personal relationship.
What makes people feel strange is that most of the people who have been scolded by Lu Xun and those who stayed on the mainland after the founding of the Country are more embarrassed, but Mei Lanfang has unlimited scenery.
As early as 1946, the peace talks between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party broke down, and Zhou Enlai spent some time in Shanghai.
He had met Mei Lanfang at a friend's house.
On the eve of the liberation of Shanghai, the Chinese Communists also sent Xia Yan and Xiong Foxi, accompanied by Zhou Xinfang, to visit Mei Lanfang at his residence, hoping that he would stay on the mainland.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the government gave Mei Lanfang a high political treatment, making him vice chairman of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, head of the Xiqu Association, and a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
Not only that, Mei Lanfang's economic treatment is also very high.
In the 1950s, Chairman Mao's salary was 404 yuan and 8, Mei Lanfang was originally a freelancer, playing a show to get a penny, in 1956 the public-private partnership was changed to a monthly salary, Mei Lanfang took the initiative to reduce her salary twice and still reached 2100 yuan, which was 5 times Mao Zedong's salary.
On August 8, 1962, the first anniversary of Mei Lanfang's death, in order to commemorate this Peking Opera master, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of China also issued a set of commemorative stamps, a total of 8 stamps.
Including 1 portrait of Mei Lanfang and 7 plays, all of which are bright and bright pastel paintings. On the same day, a set of 8 toothless stamps with the same picture was issued.
This shows that Mei Lanfang did not receive a cold reception because she was accused by Lu Xun, but continued to become popular.
Now that Lu Xun has been ancient for almost a hundred years, Mei Lanfang has also died for a full 60 years, and their grievances have drifted away with the wind, and the only eternal thing is their name and the legend behind them.