Sixty years of a life in the performing arts

Author: Zhao Rongchen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-10-01
Features: This book was written in 1993, where the renowned Peking Opera master Zhao Rongchen reflects on his six decades of experiences in the world of Peking Opera. It reveals many little-known historical facts and anecdotes, recreating the activities of numerous political figures and cultural celebrities over the past half-century, reflecting the changes in Chinese society. Zhao Rongchen came from a scholarly family with a lineage of four generations of scholars and literati. Li Hongzhang and his three generations of nephews and grandsons were all married into the Zhao family. In the early 1930s, driven by his passion for Peking Opera and his pursuit of the then-new art of Cheng Yanqiu, he, enrolled in Shandong Provincial Theater and immersed himself in the. After the founding of New China, he was invited multiple times to Zhongnanhai to perform for Chairman Mao Zedong. At Zhou Enlai’s state banquet, he performed alongside Deng Yingchao, who sang a section of the old role opera "The Story of the Black Pot." Zhao Rongchen not only frequently performed traditional school plays such as "The Sword of Qingfeng," "The Story of Dou E," and "The Jade Hairpin," but also adapted and created unique works like "The Flame Horse," "The Life and Death Ticket," "Wan Niang and the Swallow," and "The Emperor and the Prostitute," enriching the essence of Cheng-style art. In his later years, while dedicating himself to teaching and passing on his art, he also immersed himself in writing, summarizing his artistic experiences and recording his distinctive journey in the world of art.