Chapter 3 Mei Meng's Love

Meng Xiaodong settles in Beijing and learns from Chen Xiuhua as a teacher—Mei Lanfang frequently receives foreign friends, and Mei’s residence becomes a "diplomatic place"——Mei and Meng sing "You Long Xi Feng"——Mei and Meng are in love with each other, and love gradually grows ——Mei Lanfang had a wife, Wang Minghua before him, Fu Zhifang later, and Liu Xikui who died without a disease—Friends make friends, Mei and Meng get married, and choose a new house to live in Meng Xiaodong became an instant hit in Beijing with "Si Lang Visits His Mother", and quickly rose to the ranks of famous actors because of his collaboration with Mei Lanfang in "Si Lang Visits His Mother".Frequent performances and record recordings have greatly improved her financial situation.At this time, she thought it was time to bring her parents and family to Beijing.In fact, before she left Shanghai for Beijing, Meng Hongqun had already had the idea of ​​moving to Beijing.At that time, he said to Xiaodong, you go and see first, if you can gain a firm foothold in Beijing, we will come over.Therefore, Meng Xiaodong decided so eagerly that the whole family settle in Beijing. In addition to the fact that Beijing is the hometown of Peking Opera, the top figures in the Peking Opera circle are all in Beijing, and there can be better artistic development here, in the hearts of the Meng family, it seems that There are still simple concepts such as returning to the roots of fallen leaves and returning to one's hometown.

At this moment in the Meng family, Meng Hongqun seldom appeared on stage because of his health, and even if he did, he could only sing some small plays, with very few roles.Therefore, Meng Xiaodong has actually become the pillar of the Meng family.The whole family was counting on her acting income to make ends meet, and naturally, they should follow her wherever she was.Now that Meng Xiaodong has laid the foundation of her career in Beijing, they must follow her.Soon after Meng Hongqun and Zhang Yunhe cleaned up their home in Shanghai, they took their younger siblings Xiaodong to Beijing by train.

Before that, Meng Xiaodong bought a house in Dongtangzi Hutong, Dongcheng District, Beijing. It's a full stay.Meng Hongqun was originally weak, and due to the exhaustion of the journey, he fell ill as soon as he arrived in Beijing.So, the filial Xiaodong hired another maid to take care of cooking, shopping, cleaning and other chores at home. He also hired a doorkeeper named Hai Gongduan to take care of the three younger siblings.In this way, the house appears more crowded. Meng Xiaodong's piano master Sun Laoyuan doesn't live with them, but he goes to Meng's house every day to sing and play for Xiaodong.Loud noises here, clinking of pots, pans, and spoons there, siblings fighting, parents scolding, etc., the yard was extremely noisy.Thinking about it, it would not be a problem in the long run, so Meng Xiaodong was cruel and decided to move.At the beginning, there was another reason why Meng Hongqun made up his mind to let Xiaodong leave Shanghai to develop in Beijing, that is, Xiaodong's uncle Zhang Guifen also sang in Beijing.He is an old student of the Wang school, and his stage name is "Xiao Guifen". Although he can't compare with famous old students like Yu Shuyan, Tan Fuying, Yan Jupeng, and Ma Lianliang, he can still be regarded as a character.So Xiaodong entrusted Zhang Guifen to find a house.Soon, the Meng family moved again and moved to a large courtyard house in Dongsi Santiao.

After the house is settled, Meng Xiaodong is busy with apprenticeship after performing. According to the rules of the Beijing Liyuan Association, only after joining the guild, registering, registering, and being recognized as a Peking opera actor can one formally perform on stage as a Peking opera actor.The "guild" here refers to the "Zhengle Yuhua Association". To sum it up in one sentence, "Zhengle Yuhuahui" is an autonomous industry organization for Beijing opera artists.It was established in 1912 by Peking Opera actors Yu Yuqin and Tian Jiyun.The era background of its establishment is the time after the Revolution of 1911 when all walks of life in the country are on the road to reform.The purpose of its establishment is to spread new ideas and instill new knowledge to peers through its own group, so as to improve their cultural accomplishment, better shape characters on the stage, better play the educational function of opera, and practice the essence of opera. social responsibility.

Although the "Zhengle Yuhua Association" is only an industrial social group and does not have the nature of government functions, its authority is beyond doubt.Whether an actor can perform on the stage in Beijing must be reviewed, registered, and approved by the guild in advance.These include local actors who are new to acting in Beijing, and actors who come to Beijing from other places for the first time and want to be on stage, such as Meng Xiaodong, who fall into this category. The so-called review refers to reviewing whether the actor is qualified to perform on stage.In other words, his academic experience, his teacher's inheritance, his skill level, etc.Among them, "master inheritance" is a very important aspect.There is also an unwritten rule in Beijing Liyuan Tour, that is, foreign actors, no matter whether they have been in a department before or have studied with a teacher, after arriving in Beijing, if they want to perform on stage in the capital, they must also study with a teacher in Beijing.

At that time, most of the students who studied Danjiao worshiped Wang Yaoqing, who was known as the "Lord of Tongtian", and most of the Danjiao in general worshiped Wu Caixia, Ruxiang, Zhao Qixia, etc.; Zhang Chunyan and others, while ordinary old students mainly pay homage to Chen Shaowu, Zha Jinkui and others.At this time, Meng Xiaodong can be regarded as a character, so the first master she worshiped in Beijing was Chen Xiuhua. Since the apprenticeship at this time is a necessary procedure for joining the club, many actors who have just arrived in Beijing only regard the apprenticeship as a form of helplessness, which is very perfunctory. If you really go to learn, you will have the name of master and apprentice.Meng Xiaodong is different. She is one of the few who sincerely seeks to learn. She often asks Chen Xiuhua for advice and learns with an open mind.At this time, she seems to have found the right direction, which is the main worker Yu (Shu Yan) faction.In addition to learning words and singing with the teacher, every time Yu Shuyan came on stage, she would go to watch and observe carefully.Sometimes, she also asks fellow fanciers Yu Pai for advice.For example, Li Shike, who has a lot of research on Yuqiang, once taught her Yu school skills at the request of Meng Xiaodong.

After paying homage to his teacher and obtaining the membership of Zhengle Yuhua Association, Meng Xiaodong officially became a member of Beijing Liyuanhang. During this period, Mei Lanfang seems to have greatly reduced the performances of commercial operas, not for other reasons, but because he is no longer just an actor who makes a living by singing operas, but shoulders the responsibility of a cultural envoy for foreign exchanges.This "responsibility" is not imposed by the government or the official, but formed naturally among the people with his artistic talent and charisma. On July 15, 1926, at the Victoria Theater in Singapore, there was a unique western dance drama performance. The male and female protagonists were Ted Sean, the "Father of Modern Dance" from the United States, and Lou, the "First Lady of Dance". Mrs. Silk & #8226; St. Denis.Its graceful dancing posture and poignant love story deeply moved the audience. However, some Chinese audiences found that one of the dance dramas named "Wu's Wife is Farewell to Handsome" seemed familiar. In addition to the characters and stories, there even appeared a A field inspection officer stood aside holding a bamboo pole with leaves, symbolizing a tree, and then he removed the chairs and other objects on the stage.Isn't this consistent with the stage tradition of Chinese Peking Opera?What surprised audiences who are familiar with Mei opera most is that the costume with water sleeves worn by Mrs. Wu Shuai is very similar to what Mei Lanfang once wore.

In fact, "Wu's Wife is Farewell to Handsome" was based on Mei Lanfang, and the costume on Mrs. Wu Shuai was also given by Mei Lanfang. Just the year before, the Xiao En couple led the dance troupe on a one-and-a-half-year Asian tour.They could only stay for three days after performing in Beijing, so they couldn't spare time to watch Mei Lanfang's performance, but they yearned for Mei Opera very much.Mei Lanfang graciously brought his troupe to the theater, and as soon as their performance was over, they continued with a Peking opera performance.This not only overjoyed the audience, but also made the members of the dance troupe, including Xiao En and his wife, overjoyed. Before they had time to remove their makeup, they rushed to the auditorium to see Mei's demeanor.

After watching the play, the Xiao En couple said that "it was more exciting than imagined".Out of the sensitivity of dancers, they were greatly shocked by Mei Lanfang's beautiful hands, elegant figure, and graceful typhoon. They said, "I have never seen such a profound and touching exotic performance." The only real hope for Chinese dance".The next day, they paid a special visit to Mei Lanfang, and the three of them talked happily.Before leaving, Mei Lanfang gave Saint Denise a costume with water sleeves. Immediately after returning to China, the Xiao En couple adapted the transplantation into a ten-minute Western dance drama named "Wu Wife Farewell to Handsome", which premiered in Singapore. Since then, the drama has become the repertoire of the dance troupe.

When it comes to Mei Lanfang's contacts with international people, it can be traced back to 1915, when Mei Lanfang concentrated on rehearsing new plays in ancient costumes.In the second half of that year, he entertained a group of art teachers with his new costume drama "Chang'e Flying to the Moon".From then on, whenever foreign guests came to visit, Mei Lanfang's Peking Opera performances became a repertoire at reception banquets or evening parties.Before that, foreigners in China did not go to Chinese theaters or watch Peking Opera. In their eyes, theaters were full of vulgar noise and mixed crowds, and Peking opera was just beating gongs and drums and screaming.Mei Lanfang changed their perception of Peking opera. Even the American ambassador to China couldn't help applauding his plays and recommended them to his countrymen.As a result, more and more foreigners got acquainted with Mei Lanfang.

It is precisely because of this that Mei Lanfang was able to go abroad and introduce Peking Opera abroad.After two visits to Japan and Hong Kong, more foreigners knew and got to know him, and his exchanges with international people became more frequent. In 1926, he not only received the ambassadors and wives of Italy, the United States, Spain, and Sweden, but also performed on the same stage with more than 50 famous Japanese kabuki actors, including Morita Kanya (the XIII) and Murata Yoshihisa. order".According to rough statistics, in those years, he received as many as 6000 to 7000 foreign people from all walks of life, including literary and artistic circles, political circles, business circles, and education circles.Since the Beiyang government at that time was unwilling to pay for diplomatic expenses, or could not afford the money due to corruption, Mei Lanfang had to pay out of his own pocket every time he received foreign friends.No wonder the maid of the Mei family, Zhang Ma, once joked to Mrs. Mei, Fu Zhifang: "Uncle Mei spends so much money on tea parties to entertain foreigners. I think they will be poor sooner or later!" On November 29, 1926, the American Commercial Counselor in China, Julin Arnold, wrote an article summarizing the diplomatic activities of Mei Lanfang. people, noted with satisfaction that Mei Lanfang was willing to do his best to promote Chinese drama among foreign audiences. He dedicated his art to the people of his motherland so that they could enjoy it happily. At the same time, he was educating foreign audiences how to better Appreciating the power of Chinese theatrical performances may also make him proud. We wish him every success, because whatever he does in helping Westerners better appreciate Chinese culture and art will help Mutual understanding between East and West.” Since Mei Lanfang and Meng Xiaodong collaborated in "Si Lang Visits His Mother" in August 1925, many movie fans have been looking forward to the two collaborating again.But at that time, in commercial dramas, male and female actors could not be on the same stage, let alone play together.However, obligatory opera and hall opera are exceptions.Therefore, if Mei and Meng Ruo are on the same stage and perform together, they can only sing compulsory operas or hall operas together. In the second half of 1926, the opportunity came!Wang Kemin, chief financial officer of the Beiyang government, decided to hold a church meeting to celebrate his fiftieth birthday.With his status, those invited to the concert must not be ordinary people.So, Mei Lanfang came, and Meng Xiaodong also came. Someone suggested that Mei Lanfang and Meng Xiaodong should collaborate in a grand play after the dinner party.This proposal immediately attracted everyone's support.Mei and Meng did not express any objection.What are you singing?One student, one Dan, naturally sing the play of Sheng and Dan. After "Si Lang Visits His Mother" has been sung, then sing "You Long Xi Feng".Mei Lanfang has collaborated with Yu Shuyan many times in this play, and she is already familiar with it; Meng Xiaodong is a little confused, because although she has learned it, she has never acted it.For the first time in this play, she was about to cooperate with Master Mei, which really made her break out in a cold sweat.But at this time, she was already 19 years old, her mind had already matured, she had traveled to the pier many times, and she also had rich stage experience. In addition, she became famous at a young age, and she was somewhat arrogant, stubborn and unwilling to admit defeat.In front of outsiders, how could she admit that she couldn't sing.Thus, the repertoire of their second cooperation was determined in this way. "You Long Xi Feng" is also known as "Meilong Town". The main idea of ​​the story is: Emperor Zhengde of the Ming Dynasty pretended to be an officer to travel. To lure her, he teased her with words. When he and Sister Li Feng entered the house, he refused to come out again. He was afraid that Sister Li Feng's yelling would disturb the local government, so he revealed his true identity and made Sister Li Feng a concubine.There were still several legends about Zhengde and Sister Li Feng circulating in Datong, Shanxi at that time. One said that Zhengde brought Sister Li Feng back to Beijing, but when she reached Juyongguan, Sister Li Feng died of illness; another said that when Zhengde left Sister Li Feng, Sister Li Feng was pregnant, but after Zhengde returned to Beijing, he forgot about Sister Feng. Sister Feng had been selling fried cakes near Datong for a living. Although this is a well-known child's play between male and female, the person who proposed Mei and Meng's cooperation in this play seems to have other motives.It can be seen from the story content of the play that some plots in the play are inevitably erotic.Many years later, Mei Lanfang clearly stated in his "Forty Years of Stage Life" that there were some "vulgar and trivial performances" in the play.For example, in one scene, Zhengde came out from the lower gate, walked behind Sister Li Feng, and hugged her waist.There are also some scenes, which are very provocative.Previously, when Mei Lanfang collaborated with Yu Shuyan in this play, he kept cutting out what he considered vulgar and trivial parts.However, due to the needs of the plot, there are inevitably details of the two flirting. In some people's minds, a man who plays the role of a female role, a woman who plays the role of a child, who has reversed yin and yang, flirts with eyebrows, flirts with each other, and even touches hands and feet in the play is something to look forward to and has a lot of room for imagination .What they want to see, or in other words, what they want to see is how Meng Xiaodong, the woman who plays Emperor Zhengde, teases Mei Lanfang, the man who plays Sister Li Feng.Therefore, although Mei Lanfang and Meng Xiaodong sang and acted in a strict manner, in the eyes of those who appreciate art, one of them is lively and playful, the other is suave, affectionate but not lustful, but in the eyes of others In their eyes, what they saw was another scene. Looking at it, someone suggested, why not match them into a couple?Such a proposal, just like when someone proposed to let Mei and Meng cooperate, immediately attracted responses.The marriage of people in the Liyuan is in line with the tradition of "pairs of families", that is to say, people in the Liyuan marry each other. The bad habit of "children who sing opera can only be engaged in singing" is a manifestation of discrimination against artists.That being the case, who is willing to marry their daughter to an opera singer?Therefore, in the Liyuan world, intermarriage between artists has become a custom of last resort. Take Mei Lanfang as an example. His first wife is the younger sister of Wang Yulou, a martial artist, and Wang Minghua, the aunt of Wang Shaolou, an old student. His second wife, Fu Zhifang, also came from an opera background.However, Wang Minghua himself does not sing opera, and Fu Zhifang also sings in Tsing Yi. What kind of topic can the combination of Mei, Wang and Mei and Fu cause?But Mei and Meng are different, their contrast is too great.The husband in real life is a tender and beautiful woman in the play; the wife in life is a domineering and strong man in the play.Their performance in the play makes it easy for people to speculate and imagine the relationship between husband and wife in their lives.From an economic point of view, how much attention will be attracted to a couple whose yin and yang are reversed in the play? From the perspective of Mei and Meng, after two cooperations, they have a certain understanding of each other.At this time, Mei Lanfang, needless to say, was well-known, and he was just in his early thirties, handsome in appearance, elegant in temperament and personable, very gentleman.Such a handsome, famous man with considerable social status, which woman would not have a good impression of him?As for Meng Xiaodong, in his young age, he has big eyes, a straight nose, and full lips. From his facial features to the lines of his cheeks, amidst the roundness of a woman, there is also the rigidity of a man.There is often a hint of melancholy between the brows, and when sitting idle, it is full of virgin demure; when it comes to consciousness, it reveals a forceful heroic spirit.Her appearance is handsome and elegant, her posture is soft and masculine; her voice is high-pitched, vigorous, and full-bodied, without the softness and weakness of a woman, and it sounds unique.Sha Youtian, the editor-in-chief of Tianjin "Tianfeng Daily", admired Meng Xiaodong very much, and called it "Winter Emperor" in the article. This title was accepted by the public immediately, and the reputation of "Winter Emperor" spread rapidly.Such a beautiful and talented woman who has attracted widespread attention, is there any man who would not have a good impression of her?Therefore, it is reasonable that Mei and Meng are attracted to each other; as time goes on, it seems no surprise that the two gradually develop feelings for each other. However, at this time, Mei Lanfang already had a family and married two wives—— Mei Lanfang married Wang Minghua when she was 17 years old (that is, in 1910).At that time, Meng Xiaodong was only 3 years old.Wang Minghua is capable in handling affairs, able to endure hardships, good at housekeeping, and reasonable.When she first got married, the Mei family was not rich, so she had no intention of being poor, but did her best to take care of the housework.Her hands are also very skillful. Mei Lanfang has a sheepskin robe for the winter, and the leather panels are already torn because of wearing it for too long, but after her skillful sewing, Mei Lanfang can wear another one. winter.Mei Lanfang felt guilty and grateful every time he saw his wife sitting under the quilt on a freezing snowy night and mending stitch by stitch in the dim light. As Mei Lanfang became popular and his income increased day by day, and seeing that Wang Minghua was so capable, Mei Yutian, Mei Lanfang's uncle who was in charge of the Mei family, confidently handed over the accounts of the family's money transactions and daily expenses to Wang Minghua.Under her careful arrangements, although the Mei family is not rich, it is also comfortable. Wang Minghua and Mei Lanfang were very affectionate. In the second year of their marriage, they gave birth to a son named Dayong; a year later they gave birth to a daughter named Fifty. Both son and daughter were well-behaved.At that time, whenever Mei Lanfang came home from a show, he would always talk about the performance with his daughter-in-law, while playing with his children, indulging in the family happiness. Wang Minghua not only took good care of Mei Lanfang in life, but also gave him many useful suggestions in his career.For example, Chang Mo's costume in "Chang Mo Flying to the Moon", the old play is to tie a short skirt inside the jacket. Under Wang Minghua's suggestion, the creators refer to the pictures of ancient beauties and change it to a light red soft silk that is tied outside the breast jacket. White soft silk long skirt, around the waist are all kinds of floral aprons woven with silk ribbons, a ribbon tied with a wishful knot in the middle, and jade pendants hanging on both sides.This design later became stylized clothing.Wang Minghua also contributed to the style of Chang Mo's head.The style of the head and the face of Mei Lanfang and the others were also sampled from the paintings of beautiful women at first, but the characters in the paintings only have the front side, and it is rare to see the back.This problem was finally solved by Wang Minghua. Her design was to spread her hair in the back and divide it into two pieces, each with a velvet "head" near the neck, and a wig under the head Tie two wishful knots. Not only that, Wang Minghua is also very good at combing hair.When Mei Lanfang was acting in costume dramas in the early days, he always carried a wooden box with him when he went out to the theater.It contained the fake hair that Wang Minghua had combed for him at home, because that kind of combing method could not even be done by a professional hair comber.Before Mei Lanfang went on stage, he only needed to put a wig on his head, and the image of an exquisite ancient beauty appeared immediately.Over time, some people who didn't know the truth mistakenly thought that Wang Minghua personally went backstage to comb Mei Lanfang's hair.It was passed on and on, and what was false became true. Wang Minghua probably decided to go backstage to help her husband comb his hair after hearing this rumor.According to the regulations at that time, the backstage seemed to be a sacred place, and women were not allowed to set foot in it.Wang Minghua dared to break the stereotypes of many years, of course it takes great courage, but also a glimpse of her character.The reason why Wang Minghua is like this is because Mei Lanfang needs to act in a costume drama. After all, it is not as good as doing it on the spot if it is prepared in advance; at the same time, it is because he wants to eliminate interference for her husband. After an actor becomes popular, it is like lighting up a summer night lamp, which inevitably attracts all kinds of insects and moths flying around.There are many examples of actors being harassed to affect their careers, and being tempted to go astray.On the one hand, Wang Minghua heard the teachings of Mei Lanfang's grandmother on this aspect, on the other hand, he was worried, so he resolutely took over Mei Lanfang's hair and make-up before the performance, so he was able to be by Mei Lanfang's side all the time.Madam came out, and Mei Lanfang's surroundings became much quieter. Mei Lanfang visited and performed in Japan for the first time, and Wang Minghua also went with him.So that success was also due to her.In order to be with Mei Lanfang for a long time, after Wang Minghua gave birth to a pair of children with Mei Lanfang, he did not think carefully for a while and had a sterilization operation hastily. However, Dayong and his fifty-two children died later because of the poor medical conditions at that time. They died one after another.From then on, Mei Lanfang returned home every night after playing, and he could no longer hear the cheerful laughter of the two children. The pain in his heart was unspeakable. Lying in bed, sighing and sluggish, he had to force himself to cover up his sadness and comfort his wife in turn.The strong Wang Minghua knew that such depression would definitely affect her husband's acting skills, so he comforted her husband: "Go and do your work, don't worry about me, I'm fine." This is how the couple supported and comforted each other through those miserable days.Although Mei Lanfang lost his children, he was sad and did not take deep responsibility for his wife, but after all, he had the important task of taking care of the two wives and carrying on the family line of the Mei family. Therefore, in 1921, he married again, and the bride's name was Fu Zhifang. Mei and Fu met for the first time at a church meeting in 1920. At that time, Mei Lanfang played "Si Fan" before and "Wujiapo" later. Puguan".Mei Lanfang had a good impression of the 15-year-old girl in front of her, and felt that she was very handsome, which could be described by Song Jiang in "Water Margin" when he met the mysterious girl, "natural eyes, upright fairy appearance", I also saw her "straightforward, courteous in dealing with others, and conscientious on stage".After careful inquiry, Fu Zhifang turned out to be Wu Lingxian's female disciple, and she was learning Tsing Yi from Wu Lingxian. From Wu Lingxian expressing his gratitude to the Mei family, he will not be careless about Mei Lanfang's marriage.What's more, Mei Lanfang is his mentor, and Fu Zhifang is his female apprentice, apprentice and sister, one school and two disciples, if they can form a marriage, they will be happy to be teachers.When Mr. Wu learned that Mei Lanfang also had a crush on Fu Zhifang, he went to Mei's house to borrow the copy of "Wang Baochuan" one day, and brought Fu Zhifang with him.The Mei family met the beautiful and quiet Fu Zhifang, and they liked it very much. They immediately asked Wu Lingxian to go to Fu's house to talk about matchmaking. The matchmaking process does not seem to be going very smoothly.Fu Zhifang was born in a bannerman family in Beijing. His father passed away very early, and he and his mother depended on each other for life.Susi, the mother of blessing, earns her living by selling toothpicks and other small crafts. Although she has been a widow for many years, she still maintains the character of self-respect and self-improvement of Manchu women. The daughter is not a concubine.The Mei family hurriedly discussed after receiving the reply, and then reported to the Fu family: It happened that Mei Lanfang was the second wife, and after Fu Zhifang entered the house, the Mei family would treat her as the same as the lady in front, regardless of size.Only then did Fu's mother agree to the marriage. In the winter of 1921, Mei Lanfang and Fu Zhifang became good friends of Qin and Jin. Wang Minghua knew that Mei Lanfang was responsible for the Mei family incense, he would only regret his recklessness at the time and lament the tricks of fate, he would not object to Mei Lanfang's marriage with Fu Zhifang, let alone complain about Mei Lanfang .She also knew that Mei Lanfang was a kind and righteous person and would not despise her.The careful Mei Lanfang had an insight into Wang Minghua's complex psychology. In order not to make her sad, on the wedding night, he accompanied Wang Minghua in his room and said, "You rest, I'll go over." Wang Minghua was originally a reasonable person, and seeing Mei Lanfang understand her mood so much, he was naturally very grateful, and said: "Go quickly, don't let people wait." According to the memory of descendants of the Mei family, after Fu Zhifang gave birth to her eldest son, she immediately proposed to adopt him to Wang Minghua, and even carried the son to Wang Minghua herself.Wang Minghua sewed a small hat for the baby, and sent the baby back to Fu Zhifang. She said to Fu Zhifang, "I am not in good health. Please take care of my sister and take good care of the descendants of the Mei family." Wang Minghua suffered from tuberculosis. There is no cure, and the body is very weak.Later, in order to recuperate, she went to Tianjin alone, and finally died of illness in Tianjin.When Fu Zhifang learned about it, she asked her son to go to Tianjin to welcome her coffin back, and buried her in Wanhua Mountain at the northern foot of Biyun Temple in Xiangshan Mountain, Beijing. The relationship between Mei Lanfang and Fu Zhifang is very good.In order to support her husband's career, Fu Zhifang gave up acting after marrying into the Mei family, and devoted herself to caring for her husband and raising her children.In her spare time, she reads and writes with the help of her husband.Mei Lanfang specially invited two teachers to teach her how to read, so that her literacy level improved to the level where she could read ancient Chinese, which also showed her intelligence.Therefore, she is no longer limited to the role of a good wife and mother, but has gradually become a good helper for her husband's career like Wang Minghua.She often accompanied Mei Lanfang to read books, draw pictures, revise and organize scripts, and often went to the backstage of the theater to do some work on makeup and costume design. Even when there were conflicts between actors, she also helped Mei Lanfang to make peace together. In addition to performances, Mei Lanfang's favorite place to go is Wanhua Mountain, perhaps because "Wanhua" is a homonym for his character "Wanhua".He bought a piece of land at the foot of the mountain, planted trees and built a house, and named it "Yuxiangguan Villa".In the early years, this was the place where he escaped from the troubles of the world and cultivated himself. Later, it was the burial place of his ex-wife Wang Minghua.One day in the late 1950s, he and his wife Fu Zhifang traveled here again.For some reason, he suddenly said, "I think I'd better be buried here after my death." Fu Zhifang thought her husband had said something casually, so she said, "You will be invited into the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery after a hundred years." Mei Lanfang said worriedly: "If I enter Babao Mountain, what will you do?" Upon hearing this, Fu Zhifang's tears almost welled up in her eyes, and she knew that Mei Lanfang wanted to be with her forever , have such an idea.Later, Mei Lanfang's cemetery was here, with his two wives on both sides. In addition to Wang Minghua and Fu Zhifang, before Meng Xiaodong, there was another woman in Mei Lanfang's life who was often ignored. She was Liu Xikui.Cao Yu wrote in 1980: "Liu Xikui is rarely mentioned in drama circles these days." The actress who sang the opposite stage.She was one year younger than Mei Lanfang and was born in Hebei in 1895. She studied Hebei Bangzi since she was a child, and later studied Peking Opera as well.When Mei Lanfang rehearsed a large number of new fashion plays, Liu Xikui also participated in many new plays in Tianjin, including "The Eunuch", "The Ghost of the Black Book", "New Camellia" and so on. According to the existing information, Mei Lanfang and Liu Xikui performed on the same stage for the first time in about 1915.At that time, Yuan Shikai's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lu Zheng, held a meeting and invited almost all famous actors in Beijing, including Tan Xinpei, Yang Xiaolou, Mei Lanfang, and Liu Xikui.The drama codes of the four are "Hongyang Cave", "Shuilian Cave", "Drunken Concubine", and "Flower Field Error".At this time, Tan Xinpei was very old, and Mei Lanfang had already emerged.Therefore, after the performance, Boss Tan sighed: "I am not as good as Mei Lanfang as a man, and as Liu Xikui as a woman." Indeed, at this time, Liu Xikui has become popular in Beijing.It is said that there is a box for her performance, the big one is 100 yuan, and the small one is 50 yuan.Some theater owners signed a performance contract with her, and did not allow bargaining, and directly offered a high price of two hundred silver per day.She has a unique personality and regards money as dung. She said: "I don't pay much attention to money all my life. I think money is a foreign thing, a living thing. I don't want to buy a house or land. What do I need so much money for?" ? My interest is to do more in art and reform the bad habits of the old troupe." This is the case with money, but she is neither humble nor overbearing in the face of power.When she first entered Beijing, she was called by Yuan Shikai to sing in a church.The second son Yuan pestered her in every possible way, but she sneered at her; Yuan Shikai wanted her to play cards with his guests, but she sternly refused; the third son Yuan threatened: "I will not get married, I will wait for Liu Xikui, I will not get married until Liu Xikui is married." She ignored it.In such a complex environment, she insisted on maintaining her self-esteem and purity.She made public her principles of dealing with affairs: no visits to any high-ranking officials; no recordings;Her independent, self-respecting and self-improving personality is respected by people in the Liyuan circle, and even loved by the senior and old artists in Liyuan.Tian Jiyun and Sun Juxian, who was born as a fancier, are one of them. Tian Jiyun and Sun Juxian were very worried about Liu Xikui's situation, and agreed that she should be married as soon as possible so as to get rid of the entanglement of people with malicious intentions, but they were unwilling to see her young and promising artistic future die prematurely. leave the stage.After much deliberation, they wanted her to marry someone from the Liyuan.The person Tian Jiyun thought of was Kunqu opera actor Han Shichang; the person Sun Juxian thought of was Mei Lanfang.Relatively speaking, Liu Xikui is more inclined towards Mei Lanfang.In fact, they did have a brief relationship experience. Regarding the time when the two fell in love, according to Liu Xikui's own recollection, it was when she was 20 years old, that is, around 1915.She said: "When I was in my 20s, I became more famous, and the problem became more complicated. First, I met Mei Lanfang, and he loved me, and I also had a good impression of him." At this time, Mei Lanfang After two performances in Shanghai, and creating and arranging several new fashion plays, her reputation was greatly shaken.A man named Dan and another named Kun Ling, in the eyes of outsiders, they are quite a match.So, why did they break up again? Obviously, Mei Lanfang at this time had a family.Is there a reason for their breakup?When Liu Xikui talked about their breakup in his memoirs afterwards, he did not mention this reason.In fact, even though this was Liu Xikui's first love with the famous actress Mei Lanfang, it was she who broke up with her in the end.The reason for this, she recalled: "After repeated and painful consideration, I decided to sacrifice my own happiness to help others." Leaving Liu Xikui aside, what Meng Xiaodong is facing is Mei Lanfang who still has two wives. If she marries Mei Lanfang, she can become Mei Lanfang's third wife as Fu Zhifang did back then. A concubine of Master Mei's Jinwu Zangjiao?She couldn't help feeling a little worried.However, worrying is nothing but worrying, after all, she couldn't resist the surging emotional torrent.Thus, Mei and Meng fell in love. If Mei Meng's love is in ordinary people, it is actually a very common thing, but both of them are well-known figures in the capital, and even the daily clothes are the most important thing for everyone to pay attention to, and the love affair is naturally a good topic of discussion in the streets, newspapers and periodicals Of course, they worked hard without exception. Every step in the development of the relationship between the two is fascinating and good news. Love is always a matter of two people. Mei and Meng have a love affair. Although the parties have various special circumstances, it is always nothing more than mutual affection and sexual attraction.The common love and pursuit of art, the two acting on the same stage cooperate with each other tacitly, the audience admires each other's talents, and often communicates with each other about art. It is only natural to have feelings like this.However, the facts do not seem to be so simple.Some people say that the two of them came together because a friend around him deliberately set them up for a certain purpose. "Friends around him" refers to Qi Rushan, Mei Lanfang's full-time screenwriter, and other people who stand on Qi Rushan's side.So, for what purpose did they match Mei and Meng?It is said that they supported Wang Minghua before, but were somewhat dissatisfied with Fu Zhifang.In their view, the reason why Wang Minghua avoided Tianjin on the grounds of recuperation was because of Fu Zhifang.They also complained that Fuzhifang controlled Mei Lanfang too tightly, and that Mei Lanfang was not as free as before.In other words, Mei Lanfang could no longer "mix" with them as he wished.Therefore, in order to bless Zhifang, they intentionally brought Mei and Meng together.This is one of the sayings. There is another saying that some people say that the combination of Mei and Meng was arranged by Wang Minghua, who was seriously ill.For example, the author who signed "Ao Weng" once wrote in an article in Tianjin "Beiyang Pictorial": "The most strange thing about Mei's marriage to Meng is that the matchmaker in this marriage is none other than Mei Lang's." His wife, Grandma Mei. According to the news from the Seven Kingdoms News Agency reprinted by the local mainland newspaper: Grandma Mei is now in the third stage because of her serious lung disease. She is dying and may have no hope of survival.所以决然使其夫预约小冬为继室，一则可以完成梅孟二人的夙愿，一则可以阻止福芝芳，使她再无扶正的机会，一举而得，设计可谓巧极。不必说梅孟两人是十二分的赞成了，听说现在小冬已把订婚的戒指也戴上了。在下虽则未曾看见，也没得工夫去研究这个消息是否确实，只为听说小冬已肯决心嫁一个人，与我的希望甚合，所以急忙地先把这个消息转载出来，证实或更正，日后定有下文，诸君请等着吧！” 傲翁这样写文章，写这样的文章，实在是很不负责任的，而且在未曾提供确凿证据的情况下，单凭道听途说，就把梅兰芳发妻王明华说成一个死之前还要设计害人的狠毒女人，如此随意败坏他人名誉，实在过分。其在文章中，不止一处说“听说……”，挑明消息来源不实，连题目都写的是“关于梅孟两伶婚事之谣言”，似乎并未以假充真，蒙骗读者，实则玩的是“春秋笔法”，一面说明是谣言，一面却将谣言传播出去了，自己却又不用负责，逃掉了干系，委实危害不浅——不仅对于梅兰芳及其家人，对于读者也会产生误导。因为他把“梅大奶奶”为梅孟做媒一节，写得绘声绘色，不怕人不信。 1926年8月28日的《北洋画报》上，“傲翁”又撰文说“小冬听从记者意见，决定嫁，新郎不是阔老，也不是督军省长之类，而是梅兰芳。”当天的《北洋画报》上还刊发了梅、孟各一张照片，照片下的文字分别是“将娶孟小冬之梅兰芳（戏装）”、“将嫁梅兰芳之孟小冬（旗装）”。这可能是媒体最早一次对梅孟恋情作肯定报道。 那么，傲翁在这篇文章中，为什么特别提到“新郎不是阔老，也不是督军省长之类”呢？孟小冬曾经得罪过一个权势之人，这人为了报复，在小冬于某戏院演出时，放出话来，要包下这家戏院，然后清空戏院，让小冬面对空无一人的戏院，唱独角戏。当然，他最终没有那么做，但对孟小冬来说，还是有被羞辱了一番的感觉，自尊心大受伤害。于是，她也放出话来，以后要么不嫁人，要嫁就嫁更有权势之人。她嫁梅兰芳，实则没有实践她当初的豪言——梅兰芳是艺术家，有名望，但和“督军省长之类”相比，应该不算有权势之人。在那个年代，唱戏的没有社会地位，何来权，何来势？因此，孟小冬最终选择嫁梅，而没有左挑右选“督军省长之类”，还是感情上了上风。