Listen to this articlePeking opera, also known as Ping opera, Peking opera, etc., is the most influential Chinese opera genre, centered in Beijing and spread all over the country.
Since the fifty-fifth year of the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty (1790), the four major Hui troupes that originally performed in the south of Sanqing, Sixi, Chennai, and Hechun [1] entered Beijing one after another, cooperating with Han tune artists from Hubei. Accepted some of the repertoires, tunes, and performance methods of Kunqu Opera and Qin Opera, and absorbed some local folk tunes, and through continuous exchanges and fusion, it finally formed Peking Opera.
Peking opera has a set of standardized artistic expressions in various aspects such as literature, performance, music, and stage art. The singing of Peking Opera is a variation of the style, with Erhuang and Xipi as the main voices. Peking opera accompaniment is divided into two categories: the literary field and the martial arts field. The literary field uses the Huqin as the main instrument, and the martial arts field uses the drum board as the main instrument. The roles of Peking Opera are divided into Sheng, Dan, Jing, Chou, Miscellaneous, Wu, Liu, etc. The latter three are no longer dedicated. Each profession has a set of performance programs, and the skills of singing, thinking, and fighting have their own characteristics. The main performance of Peking Opera is historical stories. There are more than 1,300 traditional repertoires, and more than 300 or 400 are often performed.
Peking opera is broadcast throughout the country and has a wide impact, and is known as the “national opera”. To Mei Lanfang named Peking, the Opera system is considered to represent the East theater system, one of the world’s three major performing systems. Peking opera is an important form of expression of the traditional Chinese culture, and a variety of artistic elements are used as symbols of traditional Chinese culture.
In May 2006, Peking Opera was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists. In 2010, it was included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List (Roster) Representative List of Human Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Origin period
Huizhou merchants are wealthy, and the success of a business has triggered a rise in cultural consumption desire. With the development of the social economy and the rise of the Kunshan accent of opera, one after another raised family class, role fighting skills, and worked hard to collect sensual singing and dancing for the south of the Jiangnan of Qianlong, and he did not hesitate to package Huizhou opera and color art, which objectively created the creation of Huizhou opera in Beijing condition. The Huizhou merchant gang, which has dominated the Ming and Qing business circles for more than 500 years, is famous for its salt merchants. The salt merchants in Shexian County, Huangshan are particularly famous, and the rich and the first.
With the development of the social economy and the rise of the Kunshan accent of opera, literati and wealthy businessmen from Jiangnan Jiangbei have raised family opera troupes. Anhui merchants who have already emerged in foreign business circles have followed suit. The opera troupe, which has long been used by a certain Huizhou businessman, is called the “Hui ban” by outsiders. The Huizhou merchants’ family class, and the local operas along the river in Anhui, including ancient Huizhou, also began to flourish. They sang Kunming, but they did not “single Wuyin” due to language differences, and sang a little inadvertently. Especially the Shipai Diao, born in Huaining County, Anqing City, Anhui Province is the most famous.
Huizhou artists brought their native accent to Yangzhou, and they received family patronage and heavy support from Huizhou merchants. They may haunt the wharf street or they may be accommodated by wealthy Hui merchants. With the development of skills, the local accent gradually gained the upper hand.
It is worth mentioning that the big merchants Shexian Chun Jiang, is of a very high taste opera connoisseur, he loves opera, often at home, ” Qu three or four, a banquet the same day points Pavilion Hall, off to number in the hundreds “. He gathered all kinds of celebrities together and allowed different voices to complement each other on the same stage so that the new force of the Hui class has an open pattern of learning from others. “Landan” sings indiscriminately. At this time, the most famous opera artists from Anqing, Qing Li Dou wrote in ” Yangzhou Painted Boat Records “: Anqing has the best color art, which is better than the local Luantan, so there are recruits in the local Luantan room. Huizhou merchants have further gained a firm foothold in the business world, and their relationship with the art of opera is getting closer. The “Huiban”, where a large number of opera artists have emerged, has also been further developed under the new historical conditions.
无石不成班
石牌 is an ancient market town in Huaining County, Anqing City. The “石” of “无石不成班” refers to this place, and also refers to Anqing and its thousands of ships. Merchants from Jiangxi, Fujian, Hubei and other places have set up offices here. At that time, in addition to residents, most Shipai boats and merchants were in the past. When the survival problem became easier, they began to build their own market culture.
Pai is available at the time of the theatrical stage show as many as 800, not only Me and garden, theater, as well as flower stage. There are three theaters in Shipai Town. The Changle Grand Theater in Hengjie, Shangzhen, can accommodate more than 600 audiences and is exclusively for Huizhou tune and leather spring performances. The theater is usually in the ancestral hall. The ancestral theater usually only sings big plays. Every year during the winter solstice festival, the clan’s promotion, promotion, and the clan’s birthday celebrations, troupes are hired to perform in the theater. Besides, when the ancestral hall has been overhauled, classes must also be invited to sing to show congratulations. The description of “Juju Fu”: “The Hui class loses beauty every day, it started from Shipai”. It shows that Anqing’s Huiban has had a glorious history. Many famous actors of Peking Opera are from this area, so there is a saying that “no stone can not make a class”.
Hao Tianxiu, Cheng Changgeng, Yang Yuelou, etc., have emerged in the small land of Shipai, who are the best in color art! “No class without stone (brand)!” “It was widely circulated for a while. Careful Peking opera fans can easily find that the pronunciation of many words in Peking opera singing is different from that of Beijing dialect. If you know something about the dialect of the Anqing area, you will find that These words are the same as the pronunciation in the Anqing dialect.
In the early days of the Republic of Anqing, there was a “popular” theater. At that time, the most famous Peking opera actors all over the country performed here. They all came to Anqing with a ” pilgrimage ” mood. The drama master Cao Yu went to Shipai Town, Huaining, and got off first. The sentence is “I am here for a pilgrimage.” Those who came out of the old class of Peking Opera, who did not perform in Anqing for ten days and did not sing even the original, were considered to be “horns” with no future at that time. The Hui Opera, which originated from the wilds of Shipai Township, Anqing Ancient Town, walked out of the ancient town to Beijing. The glorious historical aura of Huiban entering Beijing still covers the ancient town Shipai.
Anqing is one of the earliest cities in China that embraced modern civilization and is also a national historical and cultural city. At the same time, Anqing is also the hometown of the world-renowned, very local drama- Huangmei Opera. The Cheng Changgeng Memorial Hall, located in Qianshan County, Anqing, houses more than 300 precious objects and pictures, which reproduces the development and prosperity of Peking Opera art. Besides, there is Cheng Changgeng’s former residence for fans to pay their respects.
苏唱街梨园
Emblem class to Beijing starting in Yangzhou, great talent Yering who, before departure must be to sing in Sioux Street Administration pear bumper head, to discuss the schedule of departure and repertoire, and put in there with a figure, throwing two Put down the sleeves and raise a few round and jade singing voices. Sometimes just rehearsing a few excerpts, or ” Wandering in the Garden ” or ” Sifan “, full of voice, graceful and graceful. At that time, Su Chang Street was very lively.
苏唱街梨园 is the only street directly related to the troupe in old Yangzhou. The first Kunqiang class “Old Cuban” in Yangzhou, founded by salt merchant Xu Shangzhi recruiting Kunqiang artists from Suzhou, was on this street.
In the autumn of 1790, to celebrate the eighth birthday of Qianlong, Yangzhou salt merchant Jiang Heating (from Anhui ) organized a Hui opera troupe called “Sanqing Class” in Anqing, led by artist Gao Langtang into Beijing to participate in birthday celebrations. This Huizhou troupe mainly sings two reed tunes, and concurrently sings Kunqu, tune, and clapper. This time, Beijing’s birthday celebration performance is grand. From Xiamen to Gaoliang Bridge outside Xizhimen, a stage is set up every dozen of steps. The southern accent is tuned from the north to the north. Or sing a song, or sing a fan of dancing shirts. The front has not stopped, and the back has opened again. There is a gathering of groups of plays and all arts are competing for victory. In this art competition, the Sanqing Huiban, who entered Beijing for the first time, emerged and attracted attention. Gao Langtang of the Sanqing class is from Anqing, Anhui. He was only 16 years old when he entered Beijing. “Looking at the Flowers Now,” said: “It’s like a woman, and she’s not at all strong. You don’t need to sing, smile, and sit together, portraying the feminine expressions, almost turning away.”
四徽班进京
After the success of the third-celebration class in Beijing, another Hui class such as the Six class, Hechun class, and Chuntai class entered Beijing, and gradually became the crown jewel in the Beijing theater scene. This is the so-called ” four major Huizhou squads entering Beijing.”
The four major Hui classes have their own strengths. There are sayings of “Axes for Sanqing, Songs for Sixi, Stems for Hechun, Children of Chennai”. Axion refers to the continuous performance of the entire drama, and the tune refers to good at Singing Kunqu opera, refers to the use of martial arts to win, and the child refers to being known as a child performer.
In the capital city where the wind of holding Dan is very popular, Gao Langtang, who has extraordinary skills, is naturally favored. After arriving in Beijing, he took over from the original three-time troupe, Yu Lao’s four-handed troupe. He has done it for more than 30 years. At the same time, he also served as the head of the “Jingzhong Temple” organized by the Jingshi Opera Society. The garden was under administrative management, and he became the leader of Liyuan. After Gao Langtang, Cheng Changgeng, Xu Xiaoxiang, Yang Yuelou, Liu Ganesan, and others all held this position.
By the beginning of Jiaqing, Huiban had achieved a dominant position on the stage of Beijing opera. According to the “Menghua Suobu” record: “Xizhuang opera must be played by Huiban. Big ones such as Guangdelou, “Guanghe Building”, “Sanqing Garden”, and “Qingyuan” must also be based on the “Huiban”. The following are the “Huiban”, “small class” and “Xian”.
The four major Huizhou troupes entered Beijing to perform and opened the prelude to the magnificent history of Chinese Peking Opera for more than 200 years.
Faced with the omnipotent and omnipotent artistic superiority of the Hui squad, the artists of various vocal dramas in Beijing were unable to compete with them, and most of them turned to the Hui squad. Among them are famous performers of various vocal dramas on the Jingshi stage, such as Hubei Han opera famous Mi Xizi and Li Fenglin who joined the Chuntai Class, Hunan Luantan (Pihuang) famous Han Xiaoyu who joined the Four Xi Class, and Beijing Peking Opera actress Wang Quanfu who joined the Sanqing Class And so on, so a variety of vocal dramas gathered in Huizhou. For this reason, the Huiban gradually focused on the performance of Pihuang Opera from ” two pots ” and “three pots” to ” wind stirs snow ” in the process of melody.
Formation and spread
The predecessor of Peking Opera was the Hui class that was popular in the Jiangnan area in the early Qing Dynasty and mainly composed of singing, high-Piaozi, and Shuang. Husband has strong fluidity, frequent contact with other dramas, and exchanges in the tune of each other. Therefore, in the development process, it has also performed many Kunqiang dramas and has also absorbed Laoqiang and other miscellaneous songs. In the fifty-fifth year of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1790), the first Huiban (Sanqing Class) headed by Gao Langtang (a famous moon official) entered Beijing to participate in a performance celebrating the 80th birthday of Emperor Qianlong. “Yangzhou Painted Boat Record” contains: “Gao Langtang entered the capital of Anqing Flower Department, combined with Jing Qin Erqiang, and his class is called Sanqing.” Yang Maojian’s “Menghua Suobo ” published in the 22nd year of Daoguang (1842) also said: “And Sanqing precedes the Four Happiness. In the fifty-fifth year of Qianlong Emperor Gengxu, Emperor Gaozong’s eighty-year-old Wanshou entered the capital’s celebration box, which was called the sanding Emblem’, which was the originator of the Hui class.” Wu Zhu said in “Suiyuan Poetry” “In the commentary, it is more specifically pointed out that “The Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, Wu Nala, ordered Zhejiang salt merchants and Anqing Hui people to wish Li.” After that, many Hui classes continued to enter Beijing. The famous four classes are Sanqing, Sixi, Chennai, and Heche. Although Hechun was established in the eighth year of Jiaqing (1803) and later than the thirteenth year of Sanqing, later generations still call it “the four major Huizhou classes. Beijing”.
There have been many names. It includes Luantan, Reed Tune, Beijing Spring, Beijing Second Spring, Pi Spring (Pihuang), Two Spring (Two Yellow), Big Opera, Ping Opera, Old Opera, Chinese Opera, Beijing Opera, Beijing Opera, etc.
Gestation period
Huiqin Confluence
In the early Qing Dynasty, Kunqu Opera and Jingqiang ( Qingyangqiang ) prevailed on the opera stage in Beijing. After the mid-Qianlong period, Kunqu opera gradually declined, and the prosperity of the Beijing accent replaced Kunqu opera to dominate the Beijing stage. In the forty-five years of Qianlong (1780), Qin opera artist Wei Changsheng moved from Sichuan to Beijing. Wei’s double celebration class performed Qinqiang “Gun Lou”, “Back Baby Enters Mansion” and other plays. Wei Changsheng looks handsome, has a sweet voice, tactful vocal, and exquisite workmanship. When “Gun Lou” was released, he made a sensation in Beijing. The Shuangqing Class is therefore known as the “Kyoto No. 1”. Since then, Beijing Opera began to decline, and the six famous classes in Beijing Opera, Dacheng, Wangfu, Yuqing, Yuqing, Cuiqing, and Baohe have not been involved, and they have joined the Qin Opera to make a living. In the 50th year of Qianlong (1785), the Qing court used Wei Changsheng’s performance to be offensive. Qin Opera was banned from performing in the capital and Wei Changsheng was expelled from the capital.
In the fifty-fifth year of Qianlong (1790), after the Sanqing class settled in the capital (the class is located in Hanjiatai Hutong), there were also Sixi, Qixiu, Ni Cui, Chennai, Hechun, Sanhe, Songzhu, Jin Yu, Dajinghe and other classes also performed in the Dashilan area. Among them, Sanqing, Sixi, Hechun, and Chuntai have the best reputations, so they are known as the ” Four Hui Classes “.
According to the time when the Chuntai squad entered Beijing, according to the famous Han tune master Mi Ying before the end of Qianlong, when he served as the pillar of the Chuntai squad in Beijing, it proved that the squad entered Beijing earlier than Sixi and Hechun. Chennai Ban is located in Baishun Hutong.
The Six class came to Beijing at the beginning of Jiaqing. Hui opera and Kunqu opera are performed concurrently, especially Kunqu opera, so there is the phrase “a new row of peach blossom fans, and the spread of the four happy classes” everywhere. The class is located in Shaanxi Alley.
The Hechun Class was established in Litieguai Xiejie in the eighth year of Jiaqing (1804). The class is good at martial arts. Disbanded in the thirteenth year of Daoguang (1853).
The performances and performance styles of the “Four Hui Classes” each have their own strengths. Therefore, they have the reputation of “Axes for Three Celebrations, Songs for Sixi, Stems for Hechun, Children of Spring Terrace”. In addition to singing the Hui tune, the “Four Hui Classes” also use Kunqiang, Chuqiang, Siping tune, and Bangzi tune. In the performing arts, he is widely recruited to absorb the strengths of various dramas and integrate them into Hui Opera. Besides, the lineup of performances is neat and the performances are rich, which is quite popular with audiences in Beijing. Since Wei Changsheng was forced to leave Beijing, Qin Opera has been sluggish, and Qin Opera artists have joined the Hui squad to make a living, forming a fusion of Hui and Qin Opera. During the confluence of Huizhou and Qin Dynasty, Huiban extensively took in the essence of Qinqiang’s singing and performance and transplanted a large number of scripts, which created favorable conditions for the further development of Huizhou opera art.
Hui Han Confluence
Han Ju popular in Hubei, its tune of two yellow, Sipi and Anhui Opera has a blood relationship. The two operas of Hui and Han had a wide range of artistic fusion before entering Beijing. In the last years of Qianlong, after Mi Ying, a famous Han opera artist, entered Beijing, at the beginning of Daoguang (1821), there were successively famous Han opera veterans Li Liu, Wang Honggui, Yu Sansheng, Xiaosheng Long Deyun, etc., entered Beijing, and took part in Huiban Chuntai and Chunban. Singing. Mi Yingxian is famous for singing Guan Yu opera. The Hongjing operas of Cheng Changgeng, the leader of the Sanqing class, are all taught by Mi Yingxian. Li Liu is known for his “Drunk and Scary Books” and “Sweeping Snow”; Wang Honggui is famous for “Let Chengdu” and “Drumming Cao”; Xiaosheng Long Deyun is good at performing “Yuanmen Shooting Halberd” and “Yellow Crane Tower” etc. Drama; Yu Sansheng has a full-bodied noise, beautiful singing, and both civil and military skills. He is famous for his performances such as “Dingjunshan”, “Shiro’s Visiting His Mother”, “When a Mace, Selling a Horse”, and “Bumping a Tablet”. After joining the Hui troupe, Han opera actors dissolve their vocal tunes, performance skills, and repertoire into Hui opera, making the singing style of Hui opera increasingly richer and more complete. Singing and chanting are more characteristic of Beijing’s pronunciation and are easier for Beijingers to accept.
In the twenty-five years of Daoguang (1845), all the famous classes were senior students as foremen. After the confluence of Hui and Han, the xipi tune in Hubei and the Erhuang tune in Anhui were exchanged again. The confluence of Hui, Qin, and Han laid the foundation for the birth of Peking Opera.
Formation period
From the 20th year of Daoguang to the tenth year of Xianfeng (1840-1860), Peking Opera was formed through the confluence of Hui Opera, Qin Opera, and Han Opera, and borrowed from Kun Opera and Beijing Opera. One of its hallmarks: the tunes are complete and rich, surpassing any of the three operas of Hui, Qin, and Han. The singing cavity is composed of a mixture of banging body and Qupai body. The sound tune is mainly composed of Erhuang and Xipi; the second, the performance is generally complete; the third, a group of Peking opera repertoires has been formed; the fourth, Cheng Changgeng, Yu Sansheng, and Zhang Erkui are the representatives of the early stage of Peking opera, and they are called “the three outstanding old students”. , ” Sandingjia ” namely: ” Champion ” Zhang Erkui, ” Leaguer ” Cheng Changgeng, “Tanhua” Yu Sansheng. They have their own characteristics in singing and performance styles and have made outstanding contributions to the creation of the main accents of Peking Opera, Xipi, Ershangshang, and the forms of Peking Opera and opera, as well as the speaking and pronunciation of the Beijing language.
The first generation of Peking Opera actors, there are older students Lusheng Kui, Xue Indian Xuan, Zhang Rulin, Wang Jiuling, etc; niche Ronde cloud, Xu Xiang; Dan Huxi Lu, Luo Qiaofu, Meiqiao Ling; ugly Yang Mingyu, Liu catch three; pantaloon Hao Lantian, TAN Zhi Road; net Zhu Cannabis seeds, Renhualian, etc., they all have unique creations to enrich the voice and performance art of various industries. Mei Qiaoling, who was later the host of the “Four Xi Class”, dared to break through the old rules of strict division of labor between Tsing Yi and Hua Dan, and opened a new way for Dan Jiao’s singing art.
“Thirteen Wonders of Famous Actresses in the Same Light ” is a color portrait of a famous actress in the history of Peking Opera, drawn by the folk painter Shen Rongpu in the late Qing Dynasty. He referred to the form of the opera figure paintings of “The Thirteen Wonders of Jingqiang” painted by the painter He Shikui in the middle of the Qing Dynasty, and selected 13 famous actors ( Cheng Changgeng, Lu Shengkui, Zhang Shengkui, Yang Yuelou, Tan Xinpei, Xu Xiaoxiang, Mei Qiaoling, Shi Xiaofu, Yu Ziyun, Zhu Lianfen, Hao Lantian, Liu Ganesan, Yang Mingyu ), depicting the characters in the play they played with meticulous brushwork, shows the author’s profound skill. This painting was purchased in the bookstore by Zhu Fuchang of the Evolution Society in the 32nd year of the Republic of China (1943), and it was published after a reduced photocopy, and a volume of “Thirteen Wonders of Tongguang Famous Actresses” was attached.
Maturity
From 1883 to 1918, Peking Opera entered its mature stage from its formation stage. The representative figures were Tan Xinpei, Wang Guifen, and Sun Juxian, who was known as the “Three Outstanding Masters” at the time. Among them, Tan Xinpei inherited the artistic strengths of Cheng Changgeng, Yu Sansheng, and Zhang Erkui, and through creative development, pushed the art of Peking Opera to a new level of maturity. Tan used his art practice extensively, borrowed from Kunqu Opera, Bangzi, Drum, Peking Opera Tsing Yi, Hualian, and Lao Dan, and blended in his singing to create a unique singing style of ” Tan School “, forming the “Wu “Tong not learn Tan” situation. After the 1920s, Yu Shuyan, Yan Jupeng, Gao Qingkui, Ma Lianliang, etc. all developed into different art genres based on the “Tan School”. Wang Guifen, Yizong Cheng Changgeng, sang vigorously and depressedly, tragic and passionate, with a simple and unpretentious tone, and has a commentary of “tiger roar and dragon chant”. He has the reputation of “Chang Geng’s rebirth” because “the imitation process can be messy”. Sun Juxian, selected Wu Xiucai at the age of 18, is good at singing Peking opera and often sings at the box office. After the age of 36, he voted for Cheng Changgeng. He has a loud noise, high and low. The chanting of Bai is not limited to Huguang and Zhongzhou rhymes but uses Jiangyin and Jingzi, which sound kind and natural. The performance is generous and lifelike, close to life. The “Three Masters of the Old and the Young” have their own emphasis and different artistic styles. From a comprehensive balance, Tan Xinpei can’t resist the chaos of civil and military, and his artistic attainments and development of Peking Opera far exceed Wang and Sun. During the Guangxu period, Tan Xinpei was known as the “king of the acting world”, and his position in the theater world was like Cheng Changgeng.
In the tenth year of Xianfeng (1861), Peking Opera began to be performed in the court. From the sixth day of May to the end of the month of that year, the performances were divided into three celebration classes, four happy classes, Shuangkui classes, and outside classes (Peking Opera classes). In the 9th year of Guangxu (1883), on the 50th birthday of Cixi, 18 people including Zhang Qilin, Yang Longshou, Bao Fushan, Cai Fulu, and Yan Fuxi were selected as errands in the palace. They not only sang but also taught Peking opera and taught skills to the eunuchs. Since then, the “Shengping Department”, the institution in charge of performance affairs in the Qing Dynasty, has selected famous artists to enter the palace as errands every year. The three years of Xuantong’s settlement (1911) were Tan Xinpei, Yang Yuelou, Sun Juxian, Chen Delin, Wang Lengxian, and Yang Xiaolou. , Yu Yuqin, Zhu Wenying, Wang Yaoqing, Gong Yunfu, Mu Fengshan, Qian Jinfu such as health, Dan, net, the ugly famous palace had more than 150 people. Because Cixi loves Peking opera, and the famous Peking opera artists frequently perform in the palace, the momentum is growing. During the same period, the Guangde Building, Sanqing Garden, Qingyuan Garden, Zhonghe Garden, Wenming Garden and other theaters located in the Dasha area had daily Peking Opera performances, forming a unified situation of Peking Opera. In the mature period of Peking Opera, in addition to the “Three Outstandings of the Old and the Second”, the lifeline: Xu Yintang, Jia Honglin; Wu Sheng: Yu Jusheng, Yang Longshou; the net line: He Jiashan, Huang Runfu, Jin Xiushan, Qiu Guixian, Liu Yongchun, etc.; Xiaosheng: Wang Lengxian, De Junru, Lu Huayun; Dancing: Chen Delin, Tian Guifeng, Wang Yaoqing, Zhu Wenying; Ugly: Wang Changlin, Zhang Hei, Luo Baisui, Xiao Changhua, Guo Chunshan. During this period, the rise of Danjiao created a trend that Danjiao and Shengjiao went hand in hand. Wu Sheng Yu Jusheng was the first person who created Wu Sheng to stand on its own feet. He was called “the originator of Wu Sheng” by later generations. The above-mentioned famous artists have made innovation and development in inheritance, and their singing skills have matured day by day, pushing Peking Opera to a new height.
Heyday
Since 1917, a large number of outstanding actors of Peking Opera have emerged, presenting a prosperous situation of various genres, from the mature stage to the heyday. The representatives of this period are Mei Lanfang and Yu Shuyan.
In 1927, Beijing “Shuntian Times” held a selection of famous actors of Peking Opera. Readers voted for election results: Mei Lanfang played “Taizhen Gaiden”, Shang Xiaoyun played “Modern Girl”, Cheng Yanqiu played “Red Whistle”, Xun Huisheng played “Dan Qing Yin” and won the ” Four Famous Dan” “. The emergence of the “Four Famous Danes” is an important symbol of Peking Opera’s prosperity. They created unique artistic styles, forming Mei Lanfang’s dignity and elegance, Shang Xiaoyun’s pretty and vigorous, Cheng Yanqiu’s deep and euphemistic, and Xun Huisheng’s petite and feminine “four major schools”, which created the “four major schools” of Peking Opera. The main pattern. After Yu Jusheng and Yang Yuelou, Wu Sheng Yang Xiaolou developed the performing arts of Peking Opera Wu Sheng to a new level, and was known as the “Master of Chinese Opera” and “Wu Sheng Master”. Among the old students, Yu Shuyan, Gao Qingkui, Yan Jupeng, and Ma Lianliang were called the ” Four Big Beards ” in the 1920s. During the same period, Shi Huibao, Wang Fengqing, Guan Dayuan, and others were also outstanding talents in life. At the end of the 1930s, Yu, Yan, and Gao retired from the stage one after another. Ma Lianliang, Tan Fuying, Xi Xiaobo, and Yang Baosen called them the “Four Mustaches”. Meng Xiaodong, a female beard student, has high artistic attainments and has the artistic style of his teacher Yu Shuyan.
In the autumn of 1936, Peking opera enthusiasts in Beijing universities and high schools and the broad audience wrote letters to newspapers, advocating for the election of Peking Opera children. Ye Longzhang, the president of Shifu Lianchengshe, and Jin Dazhi, the president of Peking “Liyanbao”, made a settlement. The newspaper issued a notice to receive votes from all walks of life. The number of votes was published in the newspaper daily, and several people from Yunshishe were invited to the newspaper. Supervision. It is stipulated that the voting date is half a month, and when the number of votes is due to check the number of votes, the heads of the China Opera School and the Fuliancheng Club and the “Real News”, “Facts Vernacular News”, “Beijing Evening News” and “Drama News” will also send people to check the number of votes on the spot. According to the results of the election, Li Shifang of Fulian Chengshe won about 10,000 votes and was elected “Chairman of Child Actress.” Health department champion Wang Jinlu, runner-up Ye Shichang; Dan horn champion Mao Shilai, runner-up Song Dezhu; net corner champion Qiu Shirong, runner-up Zhao Deyu; Harlequin champion Zhan Shifu, runner-up Yin Jinzhen. After the election, a celebration ceremony was held at Hufangqiao Fuliancheng Society, and a coronation ceremony was held at the Xianyukou Neihua Music Theater that night. Li Shifang and Yuan Shihai performed “Farewell My Concubine”.
After the election of child actors, Li Shibao was still presided over by Li Shifang, and Li Shifang, Zhang Junqiu, Mao Shilai, and Song Dezhu were selected as the “Four Little Names”, and the “Four Little Names” performed in Chang’an and Xinxin theaters. “The Legend of the White Snake” and “Four Five Flower Caves” to show congratulations.
On November 16, 2010, Peking Opera was included in the ” List of Representative Works of Human Intangible Cultural Heritage “.
