My three teachers Hou Xirui, Qiu Shengrong, Hou Baolin

Author: Zhao Zhiyuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: After reading "My Three Teachers, Hou Xirui, Qiu Shengrong, and Hou BaoLin" written by Mr. Zhao Zhiyuan, I couldn't help but think deeply and couldn't sleep. He used very ordinary language to convey profound thoughts. I am already over 70 years old, and as one grows older, memories tend to accumulate. This book has only deepened my reflections, so I want to thank Mr. Zhao Zhiyuan, Mr. Jiang Yuanrong, and Mr. Wu Ying. Writing a preface is not my expertise, as I am an actor. I can only write about what I remember, and I hope the readers will forgive me.
In 1946, after the victory of the War of Resistance, my father Mei Lanfang had endured eight years of hardship, and his mood improved greatly. At that time, I was studying at Panshi Primary School near our home at No. 87 Sishan Road in Shanghai, a French Catholic church (now the north-south elevated road of Chongqing South Road), where I also learned to act. I was the captain of the Boy Scouts and was responsible for the daily flag-raising ceremony at the school. The school was in financial difficulties at the time, so my father proposed that my older sister and I perform a charity show to raise funds for the school. I was only 12 years old then, and my sister was 16. My father passed on his life experience to us at that young age. The play was set as "Entering the Palace Twice," which was taught to me by Mr. Wang Youqing. Who should play Xu Yanzhao? My parents said almost simultaneously, "Ask Qiu Shengrong!" So it was decided. Mr. Qiu Shengrong performed regularly at the China Grand Theatre in Shanghai at that time. That day, Mr. Qiu came to our home, probably around 30 years old, and was in great spirits. My father was very polite to Mr. Qiu, saying, "Little seven and little nine are still young, so please look after them on stage." Mr. Qiu replied humorously, "Don't worry, I will make sure to support the two young masters well." Unfortunately, no records were kept from that time.
During my youth, I performed "Entering the Palace Twice" with Mr. Wang Quanquan and Mr. Wang Qinsheng many times. Currently, Li Shengsu and Zhang Jing's "Entering the Palace Twice" are performed in the same style I learned as a child. In 1947, at the Duzhai performance of the China Grand Theatre in Shanghai, Meng Xiaodong's farewell performance "Rescuing the Orphan and Saving the Widowed" also invited Mr. Qiu to support her. After the founding of the People's Republic, Mr. Qiu's artistry reached a level of perfection. "Ten (male roles) nine Qiu," everyone knows this—it was his destiny. We were not in the same troupe and rarely had the chance to meet. However, every time we did, he showed great concern for me. This was because he respected my father, and I deeply valued this sentiment.
Mr. Hou BaoLin was a national treasure and an outstanding master of the Chinese language. He was also an old friend of our family. The period when we interacted the most was during the later years of the Cultural Revolution, until the overthrow of the "Gang of Four," when he came to accompany my mother in conversation almost every day. Other frequent visitors included Ma Lianliang's wife and the famous actress Du Liyun. Our family members all loved listening to him talk. In the field of "linguistic literature," if Mr. Cai Yuanpei were still alive, he would definitely invite him to be a professor at Peking University. The amount of information he stored about various roles, genres, and schools of opera could rival today's Windows operating system.
What is even more memorable is that during the difficult period of 1961, he often came to our home for chats. At that time, there was little food, but listening to him talk was a spiritual sustenance that both taught and relaxed us. What is worth remembering is also the joy found in hardship during the food shortage years. At home, we once sang a section of "Sitting in the Palace," and the recording still exists today. Mr. Hou BaoLin's humor was transcendent, bringing laughter while inspiring progress.
Mr. Hou Xirui was a respected elder. In the late years of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty, my father joined the Xiliancheng Troupe, and Mr. Hou Xirui was a disciple of the Xiliancheng school, belonging to the Zonghuang (Runfu) style. My father said, "I once collaborated with Mr. Huang Runfu, and he has reached a level where he embodies the spirit of the Huang style, not just in appearance." In 1922, the predecessor of the Mei Lanfang Troupe, the Chenghua Troupe, was established, and he was an important member who collaborated with my father for many years. After leaving the Chenghua Troupe, whenever my father performed "Mu Kezhai," he would specially invite Mr. Hou Xirui to play Jiao Zan and Mr. Qiu Guixian (Qiu Shengrong's father) to play Meng Liang. My father said, "I also felt that performing with them made the play even more outstanding." In 1927, when my father performed "The Phoenix Returns to the Nest" at the Zhonghe Garden, he specially invited Mr. Hou Xirui to play Zhou Gong; when performing "Lady Xi," he specially invited Mr. Hou to play King Fuchai of Wu—examples are countless.
After the founding of the People's Republic, my father, as the president of the Chinese Opera Research Institute, organized the Beijing Opera Script and Direction Committee to publish a special album summarizing his life experience in performing arts. This allowed actors and amateur enthusiasts who admired the Hou style to systematically understand Mr. Hou and gain inspiration to improve their own performance skills. In modern artistic terms, the function of "body language" in Mr. Hou Xirui's performances is particularly prominent, almost unique, and worthy of reflection.
I hope that the opera fans in our circle and the "fans" who love Peking Opera will take a look at this book, worth reading, and savor its sweetness, bitterness, sourness, and (spiciness).