A Hundred Turns, A Thousand Searches: Single Yangping's Artistic Photography

Author: Shan Yangping
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-06-01
Features: "A Hundred Twists and Turns---Shan Yangping's Artistic Photobook" has been published by Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House. This is a unique work dedicated by Shan Yangping, a first-class actress of Shanghai Yue Opera and a renowned Wang-style flower, to the and . The book was personally planned and written by Shan Yangping and took 15 months to finally be released. Unlike other artistic photobooks, this one is ingeniously designed with bilingual Chinese-English and divided into six parts.
Part one consists of three articles: "My Words" by Shan Yangping, "Who Is She?" by the famous writer Wang Xiaoying, and "Expressive Life" by the young director Liu Ping. These articles preliminarily reveal Shan Yangping's stage pursuit of "capturing the spirit beyond the form" and her expressive life.
Part two is titled "Gorgeous Skirts and Colorful sleeves," the core chapter of the book, integrating artistic elements such as photography, calligraphy, and modeling. Next to each opera character, Shan Yangping's concise and profound personal monologues are paired, vividly and exquisitely portraying her creative imagination and understanding of stage art.
Part three, "Time Leaves Dust," collects photographs of Shan Yangping's youth and her behind-the-scenes moments with many teachers and friends, including Wang Wenjuan, Xu Yulan, Qian Huili, and Zhao Zhigang. These photos are touching and extremely precious.
Parts four and five are titled "Urban Memory" and "Modern Era," respectively. Each image, whether nostalgic, modern, domestic, or international, outlines Shan Yangping's perceptions of time, life, and space, appearing elegant and profound in meaning.
Part six is Shan Yangping's "List of Major Works and Awards." Thus, this book is not just a simple photographic collection but a new performance by Shan Yangping, in a way distinct from her stage presence, with the mindset of "all things quietly observed find their own fulfillment."
It is not only a photobook of artistic images but also a unique autobiography of Shan Yangping's soulful breath, and a self-dialogue during her journey as an artist. In this path of both form and spirit, we can listen to the innermost thoughts of Shan Yangping between her smiles and frowns—about women and actors, reality and illusion, stage and life, childhood and growth, time and space, monologue and confession, and the evolution and insights between classical and modern. We can also appreciate her love for the stage, reverence for life, and sensitivity to humanity as a young artist.
As the saying goes, "simplicity clarifies ambition, tranquility leads to distance." After a hundred twists and turns, when looking back, one becomes deeply immersed in the pursuit. "Thirty years in the arts, a blink of an eye." This photobook is both a summary and a new beginning. Standing at the threshold of life's forties, as Shan Yangping states in "My Words," the book is her "way of giving herself an explanation free of confusion—not just telling others of her existence, but more importantly, giving herself an answer."