In Kong Village, Zhengding County, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, there is a 73-year-old blind singer named Fan Honglan, who is 73 years old and has been blind in both eyes since childhood. When Fan Honglan was young, she would sing nearly 100 folk tunes, walk the folk by selling songs, and raise her 5 children in a difficult life.
In Fan Honglan's memory, the most sung is "Exploring the Clear Water River". Different from other versions, her singing "Exploring Qingshui River" is completely sung in the Hebei dialect, and there is a more detailed description of the story details that are not in the original version, which can be called a folk minor key with a unique charm.
scene
Recently, the reporter drove to Kong Village, located at the junction of Zhengding and Lingshou counties, accompanied by a whistling wind, and there were talking voices and dog barking in the east of the village, compared with this, the west of the village was much quieter. Fan Honglan lived in the west of the village.
Fan Honglan, unlike other old ladies, does not like to pull homely routines in her leisure time, but just sits in the corner and meditates on the sky. "People who always think about things when they were younger, who want to sing with me." Fan Honglan said that she is 73 years old this year, and her eyes have been black since she can remember. According to her family, she lost sight in both eyes when she was 4 years old due to measles and was not treated in time, which allowed her to spend nearly 70 years in the dark world.
"The peach leaves are pointed, and the willow leaves cover the sky, and this Ming Grandfather in his place listens carefully to what I say..." Fan Honglan picked up the allegro placed on the sofa in the room, slowly walked to the steps in front of the window, and trembled and sang "Exploring the Qingshui River" with her unique singing style. The reporter saw that her fingers were stiff, the skin of her hands was dry and cracked, and she was particularly flexible when she played the allegro. Although her teeth were about to fall out, her words were particularly clear when singing the song.
Listen carefully, Fan Honglan's singing of "Exploring Qingshui River" is different from the current version of deyunshe singing fire, the story she sang is still happening in the blue indigo factory outside Xizhimen, but it omits the firearm camp village, "green silk is like ink dyeing, flowers are full of lily, there are two willow eyebrows, and the apricot eyes are round and round." Fan Honglan also described in detail the appearance of the heroine Da lian. Fan Honglan told reporters that she remembered nearly a hundred folk tunes like "Exploring Qingshui River", such as "Little Cow Herding", "Zhao Huatai", "Sending Lovers", "Drinking Ten Glasses of Wine", "Daughter Filial Piety" and so on.
Neighbor Feng Ximing heard Fan Honglan's allegro voice and singing in his yard, and came from next door and said: "The old lady is a capable person, the song is very good, that is, in the early years, I went out to sing songs, and I didn't suffer less..."
tale
When it comes to the blind old lady who can sing in the village, the villagers know it, but when it comes to Fan Honglan's name, few people know it.
At the age of 30, Fan Honglan, who was not good at farm work, always wanted to earn some money to supplement the family, and also wanted to live independently, so under the recommendation of her father-in-law, she learned to sing a small song with a blind man in a nearby village.
"I sing all day out of town and don't go back to the village much, so few people know my name." Fan Honglan said.
Fan Honglan recalled the days when Master took her to sing songs abroad, and tears came out of the corners of her eyes. "After learning the music, life is also interesting." Fan Honglan told reporters that after less than two years with her master, she mastered the basic singing skills, and then began to go alone to various cities to sell and sing for money. "Every time I go to a place, I will learn some new singing methods, learn some new little tunes and minor tunes, and I will remember them all in my mind over time." Fan Honglan said.
Fan Honglan's memory is amazing, and the songs she sings are full of tone. She said she had never been to a blind school, could not read, and could only memorize and practice songs by hard memorization. When I walked around, I injected new souls into those folk tunes with my own understanding, and then deeply imprinted in my mind, singing small songs for more than 40 years, and most of the stories about the songs are still remembered.
From the age of 30 to 66, Fan Honglan has been singing songs in other places, and she is reluctant to use the money and loving clothes given by the audience, and she saves for a period of time and takes them home to her children.
"I have 5 children who were raised on the money I earned from selling singing." Fan Honglan said that she came over to eat a hundred meals and wear a hundred clothes, and she was fortunate to learn a skill at that time, and she could sing small songs in all corners of the city and village, accumulating over time, and the money from selling singing was accumulated little by little, reducing her family burden.
Fan Honglan, as a blind artist selling songs, walks in the folk by relying on a good voice and a pair of aged bamboo boards. "20 years ago, I took out the 70,000 yuan I saved and built a house in the village, which is also a good place for my children." Fan Honglan introduced that her husband had died at that time, and she personally did it from building the foundation of the house to putting tiles on the house. Although Fan Honglan had her own house, she still did not stop going out to sing until she was 66 years old, and she returned to the village and stopped going out. "I've been to southern Anhui, to the northwest, and to neighboring Shandong and Henan, and I don't dare to stop for the children to have a bite to eat."
Today, Fan Honglan's ears are not as sensitive as before, and her legs and feet are not good, but she still occasionally goes to the temple fair in the nearby village to sing, she said, as long as anyone is willing to listen, she will continue to sing.
aspiration
Near the afternoon, Fan Honglan sang "Little Cattle Herding", "Selling Dumplings", "Sending Lovers"... It was done in one go again, and the lyrics did not fall.
Different from the exquisite carving of Peking Opera fragments, Fan Honglan's "Little Cow Herding" is more casual and natural, her singing style is pitiful, her bronze face is mixed with stripes and wrinkles, the corners of her eyes are full of emotional tears, the thin body is firmly unmoving, but the head is slightly shaken, and the gentle singing voice carries the wind and frost experienced for more than 40 years.
Fan Honglan's life is getting better and better, and she begins to worry that these classic folk minor tunes she can sing will be lost.
"I hope the music I sing will be passed on, that's my last wish." Fan Honglan told reporters that he is a "miscellaneous family", where the small songs will be sung a few mouths, the songs in the brain are too much. When he was young, he was busy making a living and did not have spare time to take an apprentice.
For some of the folk minor tunes sung by Fan Honglan, Wang Weimin, president of the Hebei Social Music Research Association, said that such a unique singing method is also the first time to listen to it, except for "Little Cow Herding", the rest do not belong to Hebei folk songs, it is likely that they are left by folk word of mouth. "Among these songs, especially the Hebei version of "Exploring Qingshui River", few people will do it, the singing voice and tune are very precious, and after many years, the folk minor tunes that the old man Fan Honglan can sing may face being lost." Wang Weimin said.
■ Text/Hebei Youth Daily reporter Zhao Zimin
■ Photo: Hebei Youth Daily intern reporter Fang Zeyang
■ Editor / Yang Xuyan
The copyright belongs to Hebei Heqing Media Co., Ltd. and is prohibited from being reproduced without permission