Story of the People - Written for Those Who Don't Watch the Opera

Author: Zhang Yihuo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-10-01
Features: I felt warm hearing it, he sang mournfully. The world of painted faces, fleeting and scattered, through the lives of opera performers, one sees the joys and sorrows of the world. Zhang Yihuo counts the joys and sorrows of eight famous opera performers, writing a grand drama for those who do not watch opera. Chinese opera art, like other traditional arts, is fading in a dazzling way, and the moving stories of famous opera performers in the last century are gradually fading from people's memories. In her new book "Memoirs of Opera Performers—A Grand Drama for Those Who Do Not Watch Opera," Zhang Yihuo records the past lives of seven opera performers—Shang Xiaoyun, Yan Huihua, Yang Baozhong, Ye Shenglan, Ye Shengchang, Xi Xiaobo, and Cheng Yanqiu—with a heartfelt touch. The people and stories described in the book are documentary, written for those who do not watch opera, so the focus is on the people rather than the performances. Performers are a special group, both brilliant and humble. Their expressions and gazes are direct reactions to the times. The tides of the era, the clarity or corruption of politics, lift them up or swallow them down. But there is a unique posture and spirit that remains and runs through everything. Opera performers, with their extraordinary skills and under the stars, fulfill the meaning and mission of a life lived in painted faces. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter, in a cycle of repetition. Just this alone is moving. This book records the touching stories of eight opera performers: Shang Xiaoyun, Yan Huihua, Yang Baozhong, Ye Shenglan, Ye Shengchang, Xi Xiaobo, Ma Lianliang, and Cheng Yanqiu, reflecting the and noble character of opera performers in various political movements.