Chapter 4 Mei Meng broke up-1

The most objection to Meng Xiaodong's marriage to Mei Lanfang was not Meng Hongqun and Zhang Yunhe, but his master Qiu Yuexiang.At first, Meng Hongqun and his wife were very worried about their daughter being a concubine—maybe no one can tolerate their daughter being a concubine.However, someone swore in front of them that Wang Minghua was seriously ill, and she might die soon, and she lived in Tianjin for a long time, and there was only one house left in the Mei family, that is, Fu Zhifang.That is to say, when Xiaodong married, Mei Lanfang shouldered the responsibility of the two concubines. She could also sit on an equal footing with Fu Zhifang, that is, both concubines were wives, and there was no such thing as a wife or a concubine.Simply put, it is "big at both ends".

At the same time, the Meng couple heard that Wang Minghua was the one who decided the marriage, and that she approved of Xiaodong, and that she matched Lanfang and Xiaodong just to prevent Fu Zhifang from helping him.To put it bluntly, she intends to make Xiaodong bigger.They may not know that when Fu Zhifang married Mei, the Mei and Fu families had already negotiated that Fu Zhifang married as his wife, so it was impossible to talk about righting or not.In any case, the Meng couple believed that their daughter was going to be a wife, not a child, and received a huge sum of money from the Mei family from the matchmaker, so they naturally agreed very readily.

In any case, Qiu Yuexiang was against this marriage.Some people think that the reason for his opposition is that he is reluctant to give up Meng Xiaodong, the "cash cow".He knew that once Xiaodong married Mei Lanfang, she would naturally not be able to perform on stage—how could Mei Lanfang, the king of the acting world, let his wife appear so ostentatiously on stage?Once Xiaodong stops singing, his master will lose his source of income.Xiaodong who is married doesn't have to sing. As Mrs. Mei, he has no financial burden, but he, Chou Yuexiang, is not so lucky.Such a statement is very unfair to Qiu Yuexiang.In fact, his objection was justified, and it proved to be extremely wise afterward.

In Qiu Yuexiang's view, Meng Xiaodong's congenital conditions are too good, such conditions are not possessed by ordinary people.In addition, she is talented, receptive, and eager to learn. With the guidance of famous teachers, her artistic future is bright.In fact, no matter whether she was in Shanghai, Wuxi, or even Jinan or Tianjin, she became popular wherever she sang.In the end, she entered the city of Beijing, where Peking opera talents gathered, and was still a hit.What does this mean?This only shows that she was born to be an opera singer, and it can even be said that she was born for opera.What's more, at this time, she was less than twenty, and she left the stage at a young age, wouldn't it be a pity?Even if Qiu Yuexiang has economic considerations, it is not an exaggeration.He single-handedly cultivated Meng Xiaodong, put a lot of effort into it, his disciple became famous and popular, his master had a bright face, and at the same time, he had financial security, which is not incomprehensible.

Meng Xiaodong didn't seem to be able to appreciate the good intentions of her master, or rather, she realized it, but she still ignored the strong opposition of her master.At this time, she was already in love, and she was attracted by Mei Lanfang, especially when she eliminated the worry of "being a little girl", she had no scruples at all.On the stage, she plays the role of an all-powerful hero who guides the country, or a man with great passion and passion, but this does not mean that she has the momentum of self-independence and going forward in her bones. She is still a woman, with a woman's inherent traditional concept of advocating love, bowing to men, and willing to be the little woman behind men.Perhaps, her acting on stage was not her active choice of life, but forced by her family because of her life. She just used singing as a means of earning money to support her family, not because of her love for Peking Opera art. Singing is a career, a way to fight for women's independence.Therefore, when she was not needed to support her family, she naturally and resolutely "abandoned" singing.Besides, who will she marry?Mei Lanfang!How can a woman not be satisfied to be able to marry such a person?

Qiu Yuexiang was extremely sad, and also extremely distressed.Things have come to this, he has nothing to do.He chose to leave Beijing and return to Shanghai.I don't know if Meng Xiaodong personally sent the master away.Even if they send each other off, the master and apprentice must be relatively silent at this time.Years of master-student love is ultimately not worth the love between a man and a woman. One wants to marry, the other doesn't want her to marry; one doesn't want to sing anymore, and the other still wants her to sing, all of these are not a matter of principle, but for some reason, the master and apprentice seem to have divorced from each other and have broken their friendship.Many years later, Meng Xiaodong returned to Shanghai from Beijing.At this time, Qiu Yuexiang, who was already sixty years old, had a bleak evening scene.Many people thought that Meng Xiaodong would visit his mentor and give him support in life.But, she didn't.Someone was not reconciled, and directly spoke to Meng Xiaodong, telling her clearly that Qiu Yuexiang was living in poverty, and hoped that she would think of her teacher and help her.What is Meng Xiaodong's attitude?A Shanghai newspaper wrote in an article titled "Meng Xiaodong is indifferent to Mr. Enlightenment": "...Xiaodong is vague, as if there is no such teacher."

What is puzzling is that since the matchmaker promised to be "big at both ends", that is to say, Mei Lanfang married Meng Xiaodong with the intention of giving her the title of wife just like he did when he married Fu Zhifang, so why did their wedding What about not making it public?There is no bridal sedan chair, no wedding reception, no whistling.In fact, from falling in love to getting married, the two of them kept secrets away from others.Even the new house is only set up in Feng (Youwei's) house.It is said that Mei and Meng's wedding was held on the twenty-fourth day of the first lunar month in 1927.Only members of the "Mei Party" attended the wedding, such as Feng Youwei, Li Shikan, Qi Rushan, etc.It is also said that Feng Youwei was the witness and Feng's sister-in-law was the bridesmaid.If this statement is true, then the rumor that the relationship between Mei and Meng was facilitated by Qi Rushan and other members of the Mei party is not groundless.

In the warm spring season, specifically, around April, Mei and Meng moved out of Feng’s house and moved to Dongcheng’s Ministry of Internal Affairs Street. Feng's residence, and the two were secretly married.As a result, Feng's house couldn't stay any longer, so he moved. No matter whether he lives in Feng's residence or in his new residence, Meng Xiaodong can't escape the feeling of being coquettishly hidden by Mei Lanfang's golden house.Since the marriage was done in secret, she cannot publicly appear on stage, nor can she publicly appear as Mrs. May.Her life is very monotonous.It is fashionable to live in Feng's house, there are many people in Feng's house, and she can drop by and chat; in the new house, there is no one else beside her except Feng Youwei's sister-in-law, an old mother who does housework, and a housekeeper.Mei Lanfang couldn't accompany her every day, he still had to sing operas, receive foreign friends, create and rehearse new plays, and socialize. Most importantly, he had his home, wife and children, and he had go home. In January 1928, Fuzhifang gave birth to another son, named Shaosi (Mei Shaowu).From this, it can be speculated that when Mei Lanfang moved to the new house with Meng Xiaodong, she still often went home.

In order to relieve Xiaodong's loneliness, Mei Lanfang bought a hand crank record player and brought back a stack of records.During the day, Meng Xiaodong passed the time by listening to records, reminiscing about her brilliance on stage, and lamenting the difficult and beautiful years of singing that have passed away.Encouraged by Mei Lanfang, she also read and read, and practiced calligraphy.She learned to perform on stage so early, she knew she was lacking in culture, and she always wanted to make up for this lesson. However, the two are newly married after all, and life is always warm and sweet.This can be seen from a photo of Mei Lanfang's game that was released later.In the photo, Mei Lanfang was dressed in home clothes, with his right hand on his waist, and his left hand made a movement.Against the background of the light, this movement is projected on the white wall behind him, showing the image of a goose head.On the right side of the photo is Meng Xiaodong's handwriting: "What are you doing there?" On the left side of the photo, Mei Lanfang replied: "I'm here as the shadow of a goose." Mei Lanfang is so lively and humorous Full of zest for life, it can be seen that at this moment, his mood is extremely relaxed and joyful.

Indeed, in the first half of 1927, Mei Lanfang had a lot of good things. The marriage with Meng Xiaodong was one, and there was another thing, which was also very meaningful to him, that was an event held by Beijing's "Shuntian Times" .This activity involves the origin of the title of "Four Famous Dan". Regarding the origin of the title of "Four Famous Danes", there has been such a misunderstanding to this day, that is, many people believe that this title comes from an audience voting activity.In other words, the four big names are elected by voting.In other words, this voting activity is for the election of "Famous Dan".

This kind of statement has been very "authoritative" and very common for a long period of time, so it has been widely quoted.In fact, the full name of this voting activity is: "In order to promote new dramas and reward artists, we are now holding a voting activity for five famous actors and actresses to win new dramas." (Suncheon Times, June 20, 1927, page 5).That is to say, the voting activity is mainly aimed at the new dramas of the "Five Famous Actors", and does not involve a comprehensive evaluation of the personal arts of the five of them. The "Five Famous Actresses" are Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yan (Yan) Qiu, Shang Xiaoyun, Xun Huisheng and Xu Biyun.More precisely, the rules of the event require voters to choose the best play among five new plays performed by five people. In order to narrow the scope and concentrate the votes, the sponsor selected five new plays from the five performers as candidates, that is, there are a total of 25 candidate plays.they are, respectively: Mei Lanfang: "Luo Shen", "Taizhen Gaiden", "Lian Jinfeng", "Xi Shi" and "Madame Shang Yuan"; Cheng Yanqiu: "The Fate of the Flower Boat", "The Legend of the Red Fu", "The Sword of Green Frost", "The Jade Hairpin" and "Nie Yinniang"; Shang Xiaoyun: "Lin Siniang", "Five Dragons", "Motanga Girl", "Qin Liangyu" and "Xie Xiao'e"; Xun Huisheng: "The Mystery of the Lantern Festival", "Dan Qing Yin", "The Story of Red Pear", "The Story of Xiu Ru" and "Xiang Luo Dai"; Xu Biyun: "Lizhu Dream", "Bao Si", "Er Qiao", "Green Pearl" and "Xue Qiongying". After one month, the voting activity ends. On July 23, "Suncheon Times" announced the voting results.Judging from the votes received, the campaign was well received by readers.The organizers received a total of 14,091 votes. The best plays of the five famous actors are: Mei Lanfang's "Taizhen Gaiden" received a total of 1774 votes; Cheng Yanqiu's "Red Fu Biography" received a total of 4785 votes; Shang Xiaoyun's "Motanga Girl" won a total of 6628 votes; Xun Huisheng's "Dan Qing Yin" received a total of 1254 votes; Xu Biyun's "Green Pearl" received a total of 1709 votes. For this event, from the publication of the announcement, to the voting process, and finally to the announcement of the results, only the name "Five Famous Actresses" was used instead of "Five Famous Danes".This has two consequences: First, some people inferred that before this, there was no such thing as "Four Famous Actresses" (or "Five Famous Actresses"), otherwise, the sponsor should use the name "Five Famous Actresses" instead of "Five Famous Actresses"; Second, because of this, some people came to the conclusion that the title of "Four Famous Dans" was established after the voting, that is, they were elected. Obviously, such a conclusion is unrealistic. First of all, this voting activity is only aimed at the new dramas of the five people, not the selection of the strong and the weak.That is to say, only make a vertical comparison of their respective new dramas, but not a horizontal comparison of the five of them, let alone select the top four among the five candidates; Secondly, if the term "Four Famous Dans" came about because of this election campaign, then it should also be the "Five Famous Dans". Why did Xu Biyun be omitted and only the "Four Famous Dans" be mentioned? In addition, if ranked by the number of votes, Shang Xiaoyun's "Motanga Girl" ranked first with 6,628 votes, followed by Cheng Yanqiu's "Red Fu Biography" with 4,785 votes, and then Mei Lanfang's " "Taizhen Gaiden" received 1774 votes, followed by Xu Biyun's "Green Pearl" with 1709 votes, and finally Xun Huisheng's "Dan Qing Yin" with 1254 votes.If the purpose of this activity is indeed to elect the "Four Famous Danes", then, according to the number of votes, the top four should also be Shang Xiaoyun, Cheng Yanqiu, Mei Lanfang, Xu Biyun, why Xun Huisheng finally ranked " One of the "Four Famous Danes", but Xu Biyun is missing?From this perspective alone, the assertion that the "Four Famous Danes" are elected by theater fans and readers is wrong. Voting is one of the ways to establish the title of "Four Famous Dan".This statement was eventually overturned by the facts.In addition, there is another argument, which is even less convincing and not worth refuting. It is said that during the period from 1924 to 1925, Mei Lanfang, Shang Xiaoyun, Cheng Yanqiu, and Xun Huisheng collaborated on "Four and Five Flower Caves" at the meeting of the warlord Zhang Zongchang's family.In this performance of "Four and Five Flower Caves", Mei and Shang played two real golden lotuses; Cheng and Xun played two fake golden lotuses.Since the performances of the four performers have their own characteristics, and their artistic level is difficult to distinguish between high and low, there has been a saying of "Four Famous Danes". Such a statement is very vague, and it is not clear who was the first to call out the name "Four Famous Dans".There used to be such a rumor among the folks that the four famous actors performed on the same stage many times, but they only performed one play together, "Four and Five Flower Caves".Not really. On May 26, 1918, Feng Youwei, president of the Bank of China, held a church meeting at home.At this hall meeting, Mei Lanfang, Shang Xiaoyun, Cheng Yanqiu, Xun Huisheng and other famous actors in Beijing performed "Wat on the Bed".This time, it may be the first performance of the four on the same stage and the first collaboration, which is quite commemorative.It's just that at that time, there was no such thing as the "Four Famous Dans". As far as the existing materials are concerned, it is basically certain that the title of "Four Famous Dans" was first proposed by Sha Dafeng, the director of Tianjin "Tianfeng Daily".Sha Dafeng (19001973) was originally named Sha Houlie, and his pen name was Sha Youtian.Because the "sky" in Shayoutian's English name is "SKY", and the "sky" in the Russian name is also "SKY", so he is also called "Shayouski".In his early years, he served as the editor-in-chief of the drama section of "Tianjin Commercial Daily". After receiving funding from Zhongyuan Company, the largest department store in Tianjin, he founded "Tianfeng Daily" in 1921 and served as its president. According to the memories of Sha Linyue, the son of Sha Dafeng, the "Four Great Ones" actually borrowed the name of the "Four Great King Kongs" which was widely circulated at that time. The "Four King Kongs" refer to Cheng Ke, the cabinet minister of the immediate warlord Cao Roller, and four others.Some people say that because Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, Shang Xiaoyun, and Zhu Qinxin are as famous as the "Four King Kongs", some people call them the "Four King Kongs of the Acting World".Later, Xun Huisheng replaced Zhu Qinxin, and the "Four King Kongs in the Acting World" also referred to Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, Shang Xiaoyun, and Xun Huisheng.Sha Dafeng is quite disapproving of the title of "Four King Kong in the Acting World".He felt that King Kong's glaring eyes did not match the charming and heroic appearance of Sidan, so he changed his pen and renamed it "Four Famous Dans". Throughout 1927, Mei Lanfang experienced both ice and fire.In the first half of the year, he was proud of the spring breeze, newly married, surrounded by beautiful women; in art, the title of the Four Famous Danes gradually became popular, and began to gain popularity.However, in the second half of the year, he was involved in a bloody case, which had a great negative impact on him, and was directly related to his relationship with Meng Xiaodong. Regarding this bloody case, newspapers and periodicals in Beijing and Tianjin at that time reported in prominent positions. The headline of Tianjin "Ta Kung Pao" was: "A Huge Case of Fraudulent Money and Murder"; To rob Mei Lanfang, the great tragedy in Feng Gengguang's house", almost using the entire page to report the incident in detail; "Beiyang Pictorial" is accompanied by photos of the criminal being headed... Although the process of this case was a bit bizarre, the case itself was not complicated. Not only did the police kill the criminal on the spot, but the case was also quickly resolved.However, such a seemingly simple case has become complicated and confusing due to unknown reasons. There are still two versions of who the real culprit of this "bloody case" is. One is about Li Zhigang and the other is about Wang Weichen. It is difficult to draw a conclusion. One version comes from newspaper reports on the case.Although there are slight discrepancies in the reports of various newspapers and periodicals, the general plot is not much different: At two o’clock in the afternoon on September 14, 1927, a young man in a suit began to wander around the entrance of Mei Lanfang’s residence in Beijing’s Wuliang Master Hutong. At around 9:00 p.m., Mei Lanfang’s driver started the car parked at the entrance. , went to Feng Youwei's home at No. 35, Dongsi 9th Street, to pick up Mei Lanfang who was celebrating Huang Qiuyue's birthday with all his friends there.When the young man saw it, he desperately chased after him. When the driver arrived at Feng's residence, he told the drivers of other guests and the gatekeeper of Feng's residence about the behavior of this strange young man.Everyone went to the door to ask the young man what happened, and the answer was that there was an emergency at home and they came to ask Boss Mei for help.Everyone saw that he was neatly dressed and handsome, he didn't look like a rascal, so they asked his name, and they answered Li Zhigang.Then a servant went to the upper room to inform Mei Lanfang.Mei Lanfang said, I don't know this person.Zhang Hanju, the manager of "Continental Evening News" who was nicknamed "The Night Pot Three", got up and came out to check. When Li Zhigang saw Zhang Hanju, he took off his hat and bowed, and said that he and Mei Lanfang did not know each other, but his grandfather had an old relationship with Mei Lanfang, and he had passed away for 3 days. .While talking, he sighed endlessly.Zhang Hanju said, you don't know Mei Lanfang, how can he help you?If you find an introducer, or write the situation clearly, it will be more effective.Li Zhigang took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Zhang Hanju. At the same time, he knelt down in tears, looking very pitiful.Zhang Hanju helped him up, and after reading the letter, he took the letter to the upper room to show to Mei Lanfang and the people present. Everyone read the letter and felt compassion, so they pooled about two hundred yuan and handed it over to Zhang Hanju.Zhang Hanju is not a person who can't see tears, and he didn't trust Li Zhigang. He took the money and said, I want to go to his house to have a look. If it is true, I will give the money to him.After speaking, he came outside the door, called Li Zhigang to the corridor inside the door, and asked him his address.The answer is Dongxie Street.Zhang Hanju said, great, I live in Xixie Street, you wait for a while, when the banquet is over, I will go to your house with you to have a look.Li Zhigang said, I am very hungry.Zhang Hanju gave him a 5 yuan bill.But Li Zhigang refused to accept it, and only said that since morning till now, no grain of rice has been eaten, and now he just wants to eat.Zhang Hanju asked his servants to bring some leftovers for Li Zhigang to eat in the concierge. At 11 o'clock in the evening, after the banquet was over, Zhang Hanju, the painters Wang Aishi and Li Zhigang drove to Xicheng by car.Wang hitchhiked and dropped by to go home.When the car arrived at the intersection of Dongxie Street, Li Zhigang suddenly showed a fierce look. He took out an old-fashioned revolver from his waist, and declared to Zhang and Wang that what he said earlier was false, and his purpose was to ask Mei Lanfang for the money. 50,000 oceans.Order Zhang Wang to help him as soon as possible, otherwise the pistol will wait.Under his pressure, the car drove back to Feng's house again.At this time, Mei Lanfang had already gone home. Li Zhigang refused to let Zhang Wang get out of the car, but ordered the driver to go in and report.Feng Youwei gave 500 yuan to the driver, but Li Zhigang refused, saying that 50,000 yuan should not be less.The coachman went in again, and went back and forth several times in this way, but in the end no agreement was reached.At this time, two patrolmen came from the west entrance. Li Zhigang thought they were coming for him, so he took Zhang and Wang into Feng's house.Later, in the confrontation with the military police who came after hearing the news, Wang Aishi took the opportunity to escape, while Zhang Hanju was shot and killed by Li Zhigang, and Li Zhigang was also shot by the military police, and then Li Zhigang was shown to the public. All newspapers and periodicals said that the robber was called Li Zhigang; the Jingshi Military Police Joint Office, which put the criminal's head on display, also called him Li Zhigang in the notice posted.The full text of the announcement is as follows: "For the sake of the announcement, on the 14th and 12th of this month, it was reported that bandits broke into the home of Feng Gengguang, a resident of Jiutiao Hutong, Dongsi Pailou, and kidnapped someone for ransom. The military and police were dispatched to round up the kidnapped person first. Zhang Hanju wounded himself with a gun. He shot at the police and resisted arrest, and wounded a detective. Because he killed the bandit on the spot, he showed his head to the public. He found the letter from his side, and found out that the criminal was named Li Zhigang. He urgently notified the army and the people. Everyone, everyone knows." A few years later, Meng Xiaodong also said it was "Li" in the published "Notice".It seems that the criminal's surname is Li Mingzhigang.In fact, it may not be so, because someone said convincingly that the culprit was Wang Weichen, and the place where the crime happened was not Feng's house, but Mei's house in Wuliang adults alley! The person who said this was Yuan Shikai's son-in-law Xue Guanlan, who also lived in Wuliang Lord's Alley.On that day, Yuan Keliang (named Junfang), the third son of Yuan Shikai, and his wife Sun Yiqing visited Xue Guanlan. Xue Guanlan recalled the scene at that time: On that day, Junfang came to the alley of Wuliang adults. As soon as he met me, he said to me nervously: "The entrance of this alley is already full of military police. I just met the people sent by the military police inspectorate. They said that Mei Lan Something happened to Fang’s house, let’s go out together to have a look and understand.” So Junfang and I walked out of the gate to have a look, and saw a few soldiers with guns standing on the eaves of Mei’s house. It was extremely serious, and the two ends of the alley were full of military police and trucks, as if facing an enemy.Therefore, Junfang's nerves became extremely tense, and he shouted loudly on the street: "Wanhua is a person we know well, and his life is in danger. Let me quickly get a gun and rescue him." We know that Junfang is a man. It means doing what you say, not empty words.Everyone rushed forward to stop him, and Jun Fang slowly calmed down.Before long we heard gunshots . . . The perpetrator in Xue Guanlan's works is dressed in a light gray suit, elegant and pale, about 20 years old.He later found out that the criminal's name was Wang Weichen, the son of Jing Zhaoyin (equivalent to the mayor) Wang Da, who studied at Chaoyang University in Beijing. Wang Weichen is a dude who has always been unrequitedly in love with Meng Xiaodong, and has never been able to get anything back from Xiaodong. When he was in distress, he heard that Xiaodong had been "robbed" by Mei Lanfang. Find Mei Lanfang's theory.It was almost noon at that time, Mei Lanfang, Feng Youwei and other friends were having lunch when a servant came in to announce that a young man who looked like a college student wanted to see Uncle Mei.Zhang Hanju, who was present, volunteered and told Mei Lanfang that he would go out first to see what was going on with that person, then he left his seat and walked out of the dining room to the living room with the servant. Zhang Hanju is short and fat. Because of his background as a reporter, he is quite good at eloquence. He is usually keen on socializing and likes to take care of others. That's why he has the nickname "Champot Zhang San".He came to the living room, thinking that Wang Weichen could be dismissed with a few excuses, but before he could speak, Wang Weichen took out a pistol from his pocket, pointed it at Zhang Hanju, and shouted, "I don't know you, you Tell Mei Lanfang to come out to see me quickly, he took my fiancée away, I'm here to settle accounts with him, it has nothing to do with you." After all, Zhang Hanju is also a person who has seen the world. He was not intimidated, and quickly stabilized his emotions. He smiled and said to Wang Weichen: "Friend! Put your pistol away first. Killing people will pay for their lives. I think you are a son of a son." If you have anything, please discuss it." Then, he said that Mei Lanfang had gone out.Wang Weichen himself was also very nervous. When he heard that Mei Lanfang was not at home, he suddenly became at a loss. Under the embarrassment, he suddenly changed his words and asked for money: "Since Mei Lanfang dares to take love with a sword, I can't take advantage of him. I want Mei Lanfang gave me 100,000 yuan, and I donated it to charity organizations to get rid of this grievance." Zhang Hanju bargained with him, and the amount was reduced to 50,000 yuan.Zhang Hanju called out to the servants loudly, telling them to tell Feng Youwei to hurry up to raise money. In fact, as early as the moment Wang Weichen took out his pistol, a servant rushed to the restaurant to inform Mei Lanfang and Feng Youwei.At this time, hearing Wang Weichen asking for money, Feng Youwei called the Military Police Inspectorate and at the same time notified the bank to quickly withdraw 50,000 yuan in cash. When the money was delivered, the military police had already surrounded Mei's house.After the servant threw the money into the living room, Wang Weichen took Zhang Hanju as a hostage so that he could leave Mei's house safely.After walking outside the gate, Wang Weichen discovered that not only the military police had surrounded the Mei house, but even the surrounding roofs had armed police with live ammunition.Because he was too nervous, the gun in his hand rang, and Zhang Han fell heavily to the ground.Seeing that the hostage was dead, the military and police fired all their guns. In an instant, Wang Weichen was beaten into a honeycomb and killed on the spot. Of the above two statements, one is reported in various newspapers, and the other is seen with one's own eyes. Which one is the truth?When some people saw the newspapers that reported the case back then, they arbitrarily thought that "Wang Weichen" was wrong, but they didn't know that if the police played a trick of Li Daitao's rigidity to deceive reporters and the public in order to protect Wang Da's reputation, it would not be a very serious matter. difficult things.In fact, this possibility does not seem to be ruled out.Otherwise, it is obviously a case with clear facts, why is there no accurate statement about the name of the murderer and the place where the crime occurred?Some people guessed, could it be that two completely unrelated events were confused? The criminal's death was his own fault, but Zhang Hanju died unjustly.He has a seventy-year-old mother and a young son and daughter. The son is only 13 years old, and the daughter is only 6 years old. He also has one wife and two concubines.When the Zhang family heard the news of the tragedy, they were deeply saddened, and they also took some anger at Mei Lanfang.In those days, the Zhang family's wailing was heard every day in the Mei residence.Mei Lanfang was deeply sorry for Zhang Hanju's death. Not only did he take care of Zhang Hanju's funeral, but he also gave the Zhang family a house in Macaoyuan with 2,000 yuan in cash. The bloody incident stimulated Mei Lanfang not only because of his apology for Zhang Hanju's death, but also because he was under tremendous pressure from public opinion.The public's attitude towards celebrities has always been like this. When they see that men and women are well matched on stage, they are eager and happy to see them become partners in life, regardless of whether they make you have a wife or a husband.A friend of Mei Lanfang in Tianjin sent a letter of condolences, and Mei Lanfang wrote in his reply: ... The cold night incident is beyond human feelings.Lan Ping didn't hesitate to give at the beginning of the day, so he didn't intend to bring disaster to Mr. Han Ju, and he felt pain in his selfish heart, and it became more and more serious every day.It is because the theater and the obligations of all parties are first, and they have to bear the performance. If they are slow, they should rest and recuperate, and they will feel miserable, and they can't return to the show.Mr. Lan Xin's real situation, sir, knows quite well, just like what the ancients said, under the prestigious name, it is actually hard to live up to it, so there is no place to comment on it at this time!It has been planned to transfer the birth to Zhang Gong, but I want to be at ease and dare (?) to apply for public opinion.As for the rumors, they must stop at the wise.Today, Lan only puts fear and self-examination first, and does not argue with him. Later, when Mei and Meng broke up, some people said that these two incidents were cause and effect—Mei Lanfang was stimulated by the "murder case" and left Meng Xiaodong.Others said that because Fu Zhifang said, "Master's life is important", Mei Lanfang made up her mind to leave Meng Xiaodong and return to Fu Zhifang's side.In fact, they broke up after four years.But what is certain is that this bloody case inevitably cast a shadow over the relationship between Meimeng. The murder itself has nothing to do with Meng Xiaodong, but Li (Wang?) who caused the murder has something to do with Meng Xiaodong.Although Meng Xiaodong never admitted that she had any relationship with this person, and even swore that she didn't know him at all, the fact is that he is her movie fan and her suitor. Maybe Lang has feelings and sister has no intentions, but they did meet face, and more than once.It was because of Meng Xiaodong that he wanted to kidnap and blackmail Mei Lanfang, resulting in a murder.Therefore, if someone says that the murder has something to do with Meng Xiaodong, it doesn't seem to be an exaggeration. That being the case, Mei Lanfang, who had lingering fears, had to re-examine his relationship with Meng Xiaodong.The two of them combined, although they were matched by friends, but more importantly, they were happy with each other.However, love between men and women is not everything, especially love will fade and love will pass away.When the love fades away, the love is gone, and all that is left is rumors, troubles, troubles, and pressure, then it is natural for the two to gradually become estranged. For Mei Lanfang, the murder did not hurt him physically, but it put him under great mental pressure.This pressure is the comments and even accusations given by the outside world that are not conducive to his reputation.He cherishes feathers, and he has meticulously built a good reputation for gentleness, generosity, kindness, humility, loyalty, responsibility, etc. over the years, and he has been meticulously maintaining it.Now, such a bloody tragedy happened because of his beloved Meng Xiaodong, which made him almost encounter an accident, and made Zhang Hanju his scapegoat, which undoubtedly caused great damage to his good reputation and good image. destroy. Perhaps it was to restore his public image in time, and to give an explanation to his family. After the murder, Mei Lanfang rarely returned to his and Meng Xiaodong's love nest.Although there is a lot of talk about the relationship between Mei Lanfang and Meng Xiaodong, their union has never been made public after all, and it has always been kept in a state of secrecy.I don't know what Mei Lanfang's state of mind is at this time. He wants to return to his wife's side, downplay his relationship with Meng Xiaodong, and use facts to quell speculation about their relationship?unknown. In short, Mei Lanfang not only went home, but also often went out with his wife Fu Zhifang.Not only that, but at the beginning of 1928, Tianjin's "Beiyang Pictorial" suddenly published such a news: "Mei Lanfang came to Tianjin to perform in the Central Plains, and he still lived in the Astor Hotel. But it was the first time that he brought his concubine Fu Zhifang with him." Also That is to say, when he went to perform in Tianjin, it was not Meng Xiaodong who accompanied him, but his wife Fu Zhifang. As the newspaper said, it was the first time that he accompanied Fu Zhifang.This actually sends a series of signals to the outside world: his wife is Fu Zhifang, they have a close relationship between husband and wife, and their family is happy. Reading this news, Meng Xiaodong was extremely angry.In her opinion, Fu Zhifang was demonstrating against her, or rather, Mei Lanfang was showing her an attitude.This made her unacceptable.Before that, she also noticed Mei Lanfang's change.Because of their relationship, she had to live in seclusion and was hidden in the golden house, not daring to show her face easily.Why is that?It is nothing more than to protect Mei Lanfang, protect his good reputation, and protect his good image.For him, she sacrificed herself, melted herself, said goodbye to the glory of the stage, abandoned the pursuit of art, and lived a lonely and boring life like a canary.Thinking that she is also talented, but she had to endure such a life in order to love a man, the more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt, and the more she thought about it, the more angry she became. At this time, a woman like Meng Xiaodong who is in such a position will generally have this kind of thinking: Why are you husband and wife openly carefree, and let me drink bitter wine and stay in the empty room alone, how can there be such a reason?So, in a fit of rage, Meng Xiaodong packed some simple luggage, left the love nest, and ran back to her mother's house.At this time, the natal family of a woman in such a position as Meng Xiaodong would usually stand on the woman's side, accusing the man of being ungrateful or treacherous.Meng Hongqun and his wife were no exception. While complaining about their daughter's experience, they proposed: "The couple can go to Tianjin, why can't you go to Tianjin?" Meng Xiaodong thinks about it too, he Mei Lanfang can go to Tianjin to sing, why can't I also go to Tianjin to sing.He can sing and so can I.I don't know if it's out of revenge, or because I haven't been on stage for a long time, my throat is sore and I want to have an addiction to the show, or both.Meng Xiaodong decided to go to Tianjin immediately. After some contact, Meng Xiaodong was going to take the stage at Tianjin Chunhe Theater.She hadn't shown up for a long time, and the fans were already very hungry, and they were all rejoiced when they suddenly learned that she was singing again.Sha Dafeng, who was the first to call Xiaodong the "Winter Emperor", was originally a "Meng Fan". He once called her "Xiaodong My Emperor" in a nasty way, and even called her "Long Live". In the "Tianjin Business Daily" sponsored by him, he opened up a "Menghua" column for several days, advocating it with great fanfare and doing his best to promote it. This time, Meng Xiaodong is cooperating with Xue Yanqin (real name Huang Yongni), who is known as the "Leader of Kundan". The two of them have cooperated before and have a good relationship.However, Meng Xiaodong married Mei Lanfang, but she kept it from Xue Yanqin.Xue Yanqin was somewhat dissatisfied with this.However, when Meng Xiaodong approached her and wanted to invite her to form a group to perform in Tianjin, she readily agreed.The two had a three-day play in Tianjin. On the first day, they collaborated in "Si Lang Visits His Mother"; on the second day, Meng Xiaodong played the finale "Catching the Place", and Xue Yanqin played the main axis "Hongniguan" On the third day, Xue Yanqin played the finale "The Drunken Concubine", and Meng Xiaodong played the main axis "Lost Empty Slash".The two cooperate and cooperate with each other tacitly; the two perform separately, and each is wonderful. Although Meng Xiaodong only played for ten days in Tianjin, his popularity is not inferior to that of the past.Although her artistic talent is commendable, her maverick behavior also attracts attention.When singing, she wears men's clothing and a beard; in life, she also wears men's clothing without makeup.The delicate beauty of the little girl, complemented by the handsome attire, added to her heroic spirit.After listening to her singing and watching her acting, theater fans have finished their drama addiction and naturally turned their attention to her relationship with Mei Lanfang.In this regard, she refused to confide in the slightest.Reminiscent of the fact that the Mei family and his wife arrived in Tianjin not long ago, and now that Meng Xiaodong arrived in Tianjin alone, their relationship seems even more mysterious. Mei Lanfang never expected that Meng Xiaodong would go to Tianjin alone without saying goodbye, and even went on stage and sang aloud.Originally, he liked her not only for her beauty and talent, but also for her strong personality.However, at this time, he realized that personality is sometimes associated with "stubbornness", "willfulness", "playing with attitude" and "temper".He is very helpless.不过，不管怎么说，他能够体会到孟小冬内心的怨气。他知道，他无意中的行为，伤了她。于是，待孟小冬返京，而且没有返回爱巢直接回了娘家后，梅兰芳主动去把她接了回来。 人是接回来了，但不可否认，他俩关系的那片阴影又扩大了一些。梅兰芳刚刚安顿好“后院”，“前院”又失火了——1928年春，他遭遇了《凤还巢》“禁演”风波。这让他因家事而有些阴郁的心情雪上加霜。 京剧向以历史题材为主，且多是悲剧，喜剧偏少。有喜剧色彩的戏多是以三小（即小生、小旦、小丑）应工的玩笑戏，而闺门旦应工的喜剧就少之甚少了。梅派代表剧目之一《凤还巢》就是一出闺门旦应工的喜剧。该剧情节曲折，妙趣横生，执笔者仍是齐如山。 长期以来，社会上一直有“京剧《凤还巢》曾被刘哲禁演”的传说。《舞台生活四十年》（1986年再版）最后一节的“按”里这样说： 《凤还巢》就是在中和园首次上演的。当时正是张作霖当大元帅的时期，奉系人物因“奉”“凤”同音，忌讳这出戏，当时的教育总长刘哲曾托人带话最好不演《凤还巢》。 许姬传、刘松岩、董元申着《梅兰芳》（1987年版）一书里有关《凤还巢》这样写道： 1928年4月6日，《凤还巢》在北京中和园上演。当时奉系军阀们因《凤还巢》剧名与“奉还巢”同音，竟由奉系教育总长刘哲出面，以所谓“有伤风化”的罪名禁演了这出戏。喜剧变成了禁戏。后来《凤还巢》在人民的支持下，终于恢复了演出，那风趣的剧情和优美的唱腔，也才得以在群众中广为流传，成为各剧种竞相移植的喜剧剧目。 1994年出版的《梅兰芳年谱》也有类似说法，作者在1928年条下写道： 4月6日，在北京中和戏院首演《凤还巢》。不久，奉系军阀张作霖因《凤还巢》剧名与“奉还巢”谐音，竟由教育总长刘哲以“有伤风化”的莫须有罪名禁演。 除了几种文字记载外，还有口头传说，都说《凤还巢》曾遭禁演。无论是口头传说还是文字记载，依据的恐怕就是《北洋画报》1928年5月2的一则消息，该消息称：“梅兰芳新排之《凤还巢》，教育总长刘哲认为有伤风化，有实行取缔说”。这则消息不是独立存在的，而是与其他几条消息并列，其他几条消息分别是“袁寒云被张宗昌、孙传芳委任'何南安辑使'”、“着名建筑家关颂声远赴美国”、“南开女中举行春季游艺会”，这四条消息的总标题为《据说……》。 很清楚，总标题之所以为《据说……》，是因为那四条消息都没有得到证实，只是“据说”。所以，《凤还巢》问题也只是“据说”，“有实行取缔说”，却并没有明确告知已被取缔或被禁演。当然，既然有此说，那么的确有这种可能。如果人们只看到这《据说……》就作“被取缔或被禁演”的推断，倒也无可厚非。问题在于仅隔了一周时间，《北洋画报》于5月9日发表了署名朱弦的文章，题目为《〈凤还巢〉问题》，文章说： 近传教育部对于梅兰芳新排之《凤还巢》认为有伤风化，拟加以取缔，但非事实。《凤还巢》一剧，在昆曲名《丑配》，在秦腔名《循环序》，梅易为乱弹，命名之由。因剧情中程雪娥之婚姻，几经变幻仍如其故，原拟名《换巢鸾凤》，既因并未尝换巢，乃易今名，此剧来历如此。或谓宜名《三洞房》，似较原名为佳。 如果朱弦的文章到此为止，那么远不能令人信服，所以，他在明确指出“但非事实”后，又详细谈到此说究竟因何而来。原来，《凤还巢》初演时，北洋政府教育总长刘哲的确亲临中和戏院，观看该剧。戏过半，他突然想起询问身边的教育部某司长：“这出新戏我们审查过否？”司长说：“尚未。”刘哲便说：“可调取原本来略加修正。” 当时，刚出笼的新戏是要经教育部审查的。次日，司长命“通俗教育会”给梅兰芳发去一函，要求将原剧本尽快送至“教育会”审查。“通俗教育会”是教育部的一个分组织，司长兼任该会会长。函发出十日，“教育会”并未收到梅兰芳的回复，更不见剧本，便有些恼火，遂将原函全文刊登在报纸上。“报纸披露此事后，日本某评论家即抓为题目，加以评论，'教育会'又致函某日本评论家，与之辨正，遂致问题。” 这位日本评论家与“教育会”辩争的焦点在于“审查”和“取缔”的区别，可能他的意思是“教育会”名为“审查”，实则找茬“取缔”，而“教育会”则反驳，称“审查”就是审查，与“取缔”是两回事。如此热热闹闹的辩来争去，传言便纷纷而起，说梅兰芳有意对抗教育部之命，教育部因而将取缔《凤还巢》，甚而取缔《思凡》、《琴挑》等剧。 梅兰芳没有回复，并非他致教育部之命于不顾，就他的性格与处事原则，他也绝不会有意那么做。根本原因是他压根儿就没有收到“教育会”的函。当他在报纸上看到此函后，大惊失色，忙叫人四下找寻，却在中和戏院找到了原函。原来此函被误投到中和戏院，谁也没有注意到这样一封公函，而梅兰芳此时已移师开明剧场演出，所以没有及时收到该函。 找到公函后，梅兰芳立即回复“教育会”，说明原因，并表示道歉。同时，他让人将剧本送到了教育会。仅三天后，“教育会”就将审查过的《凤还巢》剧本交还给了“承华社”，上面只对程雪雁的台词作了小小的修正，其余均未加改动。有人随即问梅兰芳如何看待“教育会”的修改，梅兰芳说：“此戏慈先生的丑小姐，跟《凤筝误》差不多，没有什么。” 朱弦在文章中最后说：“'通俗教育会'改得也好，盖所谓有伤风化，殆慈瑞全打诨太过，梅所饰为贞女雪娥，谈不到有伤风化也。” 如果说因为《北洋画报》的主持人是冯幼伟的侄子冯武越，而有意偏袒梅兰芳，特地请人出面辟谣的话，那么，不要忘记该报的经济资助人是奉系的张学良将军。从该画报里既有梅兰芳这边的人，又有奉系那边的人来看，《〈凤还巢〉问题》这篇文章具有“权威性和可靠性”及公正性。 梅兰芳这样一个名人，教育总长刘哲不会不知道，他绝不会随随便便地就禁演梅兰芳的戏。当然，“凤”与“奉”的确是谐音，奉军在北京的军纪也的确很坏，北京人的确是很想让他们“还巢”，即退回到关外去。从这个角度看，刘哲也可能的确有取缔、禁演的想法，但到底没有真凭实据。不过，梅兰芳的确经历了一场不大不小的风波。 克服了内忧外患，连续平息了几场风波，梅兰芳不免心力交瘁。好在他有超人毅志力，更想以事业掩藏烦恼。随后，他创排了两出新戏，即全本《宇宙锋》（这出戏日后成为“梅派”代表剧目之一）和《春灯谜》。这两出戏都是从开台一直演到散戏。无论是对于梅兰芳，还是对于戏院而言，这样的演出方式都是一种创新，也是梅兰芳京剧舞台实践方面的一次改革尝试。 然而，下半年，梅兰芳又遭生活打击，发妻王明华不幸病故于天津。在她病危时，梅兰芳闻讯即刻赶到天津。据说，孟小冬随即也抵津，见了王明华最后一面。王明华故后，梅兰芳亲书挽联： 三年病榻叹支离，药灶茶炉，怜我当时心早碎； 一旦津门悲永诀，凄风苦雨，哭卿几度泪全枯。 王明华是9月下旬去世的。两个月之后，梅兰芳、孟小冬相携出现在香港。这年年初，梅兰芳携福芝芳赴天津演出；这年年末，梅兰芳携孟小冬赴香港演出。人们将两事结合在一起，不由这样揣测：梅兰芳此次让孟小冬公开露面，而且不顾众人疑虑目光，公然携孟小冬赴港，一是为了补偿亏欠她的，一是为了就此公开他俩的关系。事实上，梅兰芳此次赴港，是演出，而不是个人游历，因此，随他同行的，还有承华社诸成员。孟小冬时时相伴在梅兰芳左右，实则映证了外界对他俩关系的猜测。 结束香港演出，梅、孟并未即刻返回北京，而是先去了上海。据报载，他俩是在次年2月中旬才回到北京。也就是说，这次，他俩“单独”相处了长达近三个月。之所以说是单独，是因为梅兰芳不必像在北京一样，一会儿这个家，一会儿那个家的两头跑，而只守着孟小冬一个。不仅如此，1929年的新年，梅兰芳似乎也没有回家过。这或许是他俩第一次，也许也是唯一一次在一起过年。 这一切，都让孟小冬心情大好。从1927年初两人结合，她一直处于“地下”状态。这样的生活，让心高气傲的她着实感到不舒服，也常常报怨不被尊重。如今，她有重见天日之感。她终于如愿“修到梅花”了——回京后，报上刊登了她的一幅玉照，标题是“修到梅花之孟小冬自沪北归后最后造像”。 紧接着，2月9日，《北洋画报》上又刊登了孟小冬不同表情的一组照片，有迎吻、送吻、斜睇、凝思，还配发了一篇题为《写于“小影”之后》，文章说：“谈起孟小冬，她现在哪里？现随何人？言人人殊，莫衷一是，恐怕正在问题，而不成问题之中。有的说已经做了'梅妻'。小冬踪迹，据传现在上海，然而现在本报竟得了她最近的妙影多幅，津门倾倒小冬的人很多，大可看看。然而也不过看看而已可也。至于她'迎吻'是迎谁的吻？'送吻'是送给谁？'斜睇'睇谁？'凝思'思谁？都在似乎可以不必研究之列……” 如果说，这篇文章对梅、孟关系还在遮遮掩掩、欲盖弥彰的话，那么，一周之后《北洋画报》上的一则新闻，则更加做实了两人关系。新闻称：“孟小冬业已随梅兰芳倦游返平，有公然呼之梅孟夫人者……”可以说，至此，梅、孟关系算是彻底公开了。 此时，梅兰芳似乎处理好了家务事，然后将全部精力投入到赴美演出的准备工作中。他没有料到，关于是携夫人福芝芳，还是携孟小冬赴美，又引发风波。 早在1919年和1924年两次赴日演出大获成功后，梅兰芳就萌生了赴美演出的念头。不过，相比去日本，梅兰芳对去美国有很深的顾虑。日本无论如何与中国同属亚洲，肤色相近，文化背景相仿，中国戏剧与日本歌舞伎有很多相似之处。日本古典戏剧直接受到中国唐朝歌舞《兰陵王入阵曲》的影响，在中国失传的唐朝古舞在日本却被完整地保存着。日本著名的“能乐”就受了中国元曲的影响，而“狂言”则受了唐代参军戏的影响。因此，梅兰芳在日本演出了《天女散花》、《黛玉葬花》、、《嫦娥奔月》、《游园惊梦》等以中国古典文化为背景的戏，日本人完全能够看得懂。 然而中国对于美国人来说，则完全是陌生的。那个时期的美国人，如果说对中国人的态度还算友善的话，那也绝不是出于尊敬，对中国人嗤之以鼻的美国人大有人在。他们不认为中国有文化，他们认为如果中国有文化的话，何以会如此遭人掠夺而沦为世界弱国？中国人又何以会陷入如此悲惨的困境？在他们的印象里，中国人只会做杂碎和杂碎面。至于中国戏剧，是他们用来讥讽中国的又一有力武器。有位名叫伦伯的美国人认为中国人完全缺乏艺术美感，原因是所有演员的吐字都是单音节的，没有一个音不是从肺部挣扎吐出的，听起来就像是遭到惨杀时所发出的痛苦尖叫，更有人说那唱腔高到刺耳以至无法忍受，尖锐的声音如同一只坏了喉咙的猫叫声。 在这种情况下，梅兰芳去美国演出，能就此改变美国人对中国人的印象，还是给美国人进一步讽刺挖苦的机会？连梅兰芳自己都难以设想。另外，单靠梅兰芳的表演就能拉近如此巨大的东西方文化的差异？谁也不敢这么肯定。 因此，梅兰芳虽然有心赴美，但时机尚不成熟，他一直在等待，在准备，直到华美协进社向他发出了邀请，赴美计划这才正式提上议事日程。 “华美协进社”，这是个美国的民间团体。梅兰芳即便成行，也是以私人名义出访，因此一切经费自筹。尽管梅兰芳此时身价不菲，演出酬劳也高，但他并非出身豪门，没有祖产，只靠演出所挣戏份不但要养活一家大小，又因乐善好施，常常接济贫寒的同业人士，在家接待国际人士所产生的高昂的外交费，他也得自掏，所以面对赴美所需经费时，他颇有点一筹莫展之感。 不得已，他只能四处借贷，却一因数目太大，二因对他赴美能否成功能否挣到还债的钱表示怀疑，最终毫无收获。幸亏齐如山的亲威兼世交李石曾联合了银行界友人，与燕京大学校长司徒雷登和他的秘书溥泾波等人四处奔走，在北平募捐到5万美元。同时，冯耿光和吴震修、钱新之等人在上海又募捐到了5万美元，总算筹齐了旅资。 然而，就在梅兰芳动身前两天，从美国传来消息，说“美国正值经济危机，市面不振，要么缓来，要么多带钱”。此时，梅兰芳赴美宣传等一切准备工作已经就绪，此时如果“缓来”，声誉势必受损，但如果强行前往，又有可能血本无归而破产。梅兰芳犯了难。 左右权衡，思来想去之后，梅兰芳最终还是下了决心：冒险一拼。于是，冯耿光凭中国银行董事的身份，又筹来5万美元。梅兰芳便怀揣着15万美元，冒着破产的危险，战战兢兢地跨洋过海去了美国。 那么，梅兰芳为什么一定要去？早在他第二次访日归国后，美国驻华公使约翰•麦克慕雷去“梅宅”拜访他时，就曾建议他去美国演出，说“如果能够成行，则可使美国人民增进对中国戏剧艺术的了解，更可促进两国人民之间的友谊”。或许“促进两国人民之间的友谊”之类的理由过于含有官方色彩而略微显得虚，对于梅兰芳而言，到一个与中国、日本完全不同的国度展示中国文化，尽管难度颇大，但却也极具挑战性。如果说十年前他第一次去日本是“试水”的话，如今的他，演艺已臻成熟，名望也大了许多，一切都水到渠成。 更使梅兰芳下决定的，是另一位美国公使保尔•芮恩施。他在卸任回国前，在徐世昌总统为其举行的饯别酒会上，说了一番和约翰公使所说大同小异的一段话，他说：“要想使中美人民彼此的感情益加深厚，最好是请梅兰芳往美国去一次，并且表演他的艺术，让美国人看看，必得良好的结果。”芮恩施所说并非心血来潮，他与梅兰芳彼此并不陌生。早在梅兰芳初演《嫦娥奔月》时，一次，留美同学会在当时的外交大楼公宴芮恩施，梅兰芳应邀演出《嫦娥奔月》后半出。芮恩施对梅兰芳的表演大加赞赏，次日还特地到梅宅拜访梅兰芳，与梅兰芳有过相当愉快的会晤，此后他又陆续看过几次梅兰芳的表演。 因为是官方宴会，在座的都是官方人士，他们异常惊讶于芮恩施的话，他们想不到一个中国演员竟然在美公使心里具有如此重要的地位，他们根本不相信一个京剧演员能实现中美亲善，他们以为芮恩施在和他们开玩笑。芮恩施看出这些人的疑虑，于是补充说：“这话并非无稽之谈，我深信用毫无国际思想的艺术来沟通两国的友谊，是最容易的，并且最近有实例可证：从前美意两国人民有不十分融洽的地方，后来意国有一大艺术家到美国演剧，竟博得全美人士的同情，因此两国国民的感情亲善了许多。所以我感觉到以艺术来融会感情是最好的一个方法，何况中美国民的感情本来就好，再用艺术来常常沟通，必更加亲善无疑。” 大多数人对芮恩施的话仍然将信将疑，唯有当时的交通总长叶玉虎（恭绰）心有所动。当齐如山、梅兰芳从叶玉虎那里得知芮恩施所说后，异常振奋，联想到约翰公使曾经的提议，以及这几年的外交活动，使相当的在华美国人熟知了梅兰芳与中国戏剧，他们预感到赴美计划必能得以实现。 赴美的决定是下了，那么，该取何种方式赴美呢？梅兰芳一时无法做出抉择。有人提议，通过经纪人介绍。这固然是个办法，但有人反对，说吃经纪人这行饭的都相当狡诈不好对付，很容易受他们的骗、上他们的当。比较之后，他们认为比较可行的办法是由对方来邀请，就像赴日、赴港演出一样。对方邀请又分两种方式：一由官方发出邀请，这里由外交部承接；一由民间团体发出邀请。官方邀请比较麻烦，特别是北洋政府外交部官员并非愿意倾力支持。这样一来，由民间团体发出邀请是最为合适的。 1932年，北平出版了由齐如山撰写的《梅兰芳游美记》，较详细地介绍了梅兰芳在美演出情况。在谈到梅兰芳何以能去美国的原因时，该书说“确因与哈布钦斯君有约，否则赴美的心愿，还不知何年何月才能达到呢”。哈布钦斯是美国的剧作家，在纽约有一家剧场。当他从司徒雷登那里得知中国名伶梅兰芳想到美国演出时，当即表示“梅兰芳到美国来，可以在我的剧场里出演”。虽然哈氏对梅兰芳赴美表现得很积极，但梅兰芳最终能赴美接受的并不是他的邀请。 齐如山在《梅兰芳游美记》里没有提到“华美协进社”，但偏偏就是华美协进社最终促成梅兰芳的愿望得以实现。该社成立于1926年，由胡适、张伯苓、梅兰琦、杜威（JohnDewey）等几位中美学者共同发起在美成立。这是一个“得到联邦政府教育部门拨款，接受美国一些基金会资助，并由纽约州立大学系统董事会发给执照，以促进中美文化交流为主旨的非牟利性团体”。“华美协进社”成立后的首件大事，就是邀请梅兰芳访美。 出于对赴美的结果不可预知考虑，梅兰芳在决定赴美后一直到动身前，和“智囊团”成员做了大量的几乎是面面俱到的铺天盖地的准备宣传工作，意图先让美国观众对中国文化、中国戏剧有个初步认识。 首先，他们与美国的新闻界、各大戏院剧场联系，寄去照片、剧照并配以文字说明。齐如山临时编撰了几本书以加大宣传力度，其中有详细介绍中国京剧知识的《中国剧之组织》、专门介绍有关梅兰芳这个人的《梅兰芳》和《梅兰芳歌曲谱》以及对梅兰芳准备演出的戏加以逐一说明的《说明书》。似乎还嫌不够，他们又画了两百幅图，涵盖了剧场、行头、扮相、脸谱等十五类，可谓详尽细致到无可挑剔。 对于剧场和舞台的布置，存在着几种意见：“完全中国式”、“中西合璧式”和“完全西式”。梅兰芳和齐如山都倾向于“完全中国式”，理由很简单，他们是中国人，演的是中国文化背景的戏，自然需要中国式的舞台作为载体。另一方面，他们这次赴美，目的就是全面展示中国戏剧，无论美国人是否接受，但他们看到的毕竟是纯味中国戏，如果舞台是西式的，何以突显“中国”模式？ 因此，齐如山在用纸板比划了几十次之后，最后决定采用中国故宫里的戏台模式。舞台布置完全是中国特色：第一层是剧场的旧幕，第二层是中国红缎幕，第三层是中国戏台式的外帘，第四层是天花板式的垂檐，第五层是旧式宫灯四对，第六层是旧式戏台隔扇。至于剧场，门口满挂中国式宫灯、梅剧团特有的旗帜；剧场内也挂着许多中国式纱灯，上面绣有人物故事、花卉、翎毛；壁上挂介绍中国戏剧的图画；所有剧场人员包括检场、乐队、服务人员都着统一的中国式服装。这样一来，观众从靠近剧场开始就将被中国文化所包围，也有助于他们对中国戏的理解。 除此，赴美成员还接受了一些规矩训练，包括在火车轮船上的规矩、外国街道上的违警标志、旅馆里的章程、吃饭穿衣的习惯等。光为吃西餐时，如何拿刀叉、怎样吃面包，名种菜怎么吃，汤怎么喝等，他们就排练了几十次，一会儿到德国饭店、一会儿到