Chapter 8 re-stage

From July to September, in just two months, Meng Xiaodong experienced breaking up, going on a hunger strike, going to Tianjin, and then to Shanghai, looking for a lawyer, looking for Yao Yulan, and Tuo Yuesheng, and finally paid 40,000 yuan. The complicated process of closing money.Her mood also changed from despair and anger to plainness, and finally accepted 40,000 yuan calmly.Two months is not a long time; the change of her state of mind is extremely fast. On September 17, she took the stage at Tianjin Chunhe Theater and sang "Catch and Release Cao".Of course, the singing this time is not a business drama, but at the invitation of Sha Dafeng, to participate in the disaster relief charity performance initiated and organized by Sha Dafeng.The next day, that is, the night of "September 18th", at the Chunhe Theater, Meng Xiaodong sat under the stage and wholeheartedly enjoyed a song sung by the famous old actor Yan Jupeng of the "Tan School". Tan Pai Opera.

On the night of "September 18th", where is Mei Lanfang?what are you doing?This involves where is Zhang Xueliang, the young marshal of the Northeast Army?what are you doing?It was proved that Zhang Xueniang was watching Mei Lanfang's "Universal Front" with his wife Yu Fengzhi and her confidante Miss Zhao Si at the Zhonghe Theater outside Qianmen in Beiping.According to the memories of Zhang Xueming, Zhang Xueliang’s younger brother, Zhang Xueliang, who has always loved to listen to plum opera, has been in Union Hospital due to typhoid fever for a long time, and was depressed. Then he left the hospital and rushed to Zhonghe Theater to watch the plum drama "Universe Front", accompanied by nurses, guards, etc., so he booked three boxes.

Mrs. Mei Fu Zhifang also confirmed that on the night of "September 18th", Mei Lanfang did stage the full version of "Universe Front" at the Zhonghe Theater. She watched a movie at the Ping An Cinema on Chang'an Avenue. I just rushed to the Zhonghe Theater.In the theater, she saw Zhang Xueliang and Miss Zhao Si sitting in a box watching the play. Mei Lanfang on the stage also saw Zhang Xueliang. When he played Zhao Nu pretending to be crazy in the Golden Palace, he caught a glimpse of a person walking into the box in a hurry, and whispered something in Zhang Xueliang's ear. He didn't know that the person belonged to Zhang Xueliang. Tan Hai, deputy head of the guard.Because of the distance, Mei Lanfang couldn't see Zhang Xueliang's expression. He only saw Zhang Xueliang stand up in a panic and strode out of the box. Afterwards, his entourage and those who accompanied him to the theater left the theater one after another.

Before the play was over, twenty or thirty people suddenly left. This not only puzzled the audience, but also puzzled Mei Lanfang on the stage. However, he concluded that something serious must have happened.Regarding Zhang Xueliang's identity and status, if he hadn't suddenly encountered a major political or military event, he would never give up his favorite Mei opera, especially his favorite drama is "Universe Front", and "Golden Palace Suit" "Crazy" is the climax of this play again, as early as a few minutes ago, he was tapping the time intoxicatedly following Mei Lanfang's singing.

The news the next day—the outbreak of the "September 18 Incident"—confirmed Mei Lanfang's guess.He realized that at this time, he had already stood at the crossroads of the survival of the country and the nation together with all Chinese. Two days after "September 18", Meng Xiaodong watched Yan Jupeng's plays again and again.In fact, before that, she had asked Yan Jupeng for advice, and had even proposed apprenticeship, but the matter was left alone.Maybe it was because Meng Xiaodong got married and quit the stage later, so the matter of apprenticeship was shelved.Now, Meng Xiaodong, who is single again, is obviously preparing to come back.Otherwise, she would not stay in the theater for days, either singing by herself or listening to others.After watching Yan Jupeng's performance, she was inspired to become a teacher again.

In the early years of the Republic of China, among the veteran actors Xuetan (Xin Pei), Yu Shuyan was the best among the official actors; and among the fans, even Yan Jupeng was the supreme.Not only that, but for a period of time, Yan Jupeng was far ahead of Yu Shuyan in his career in Laosheng. Yan Jupeng learned from Tan Xinpei, almost to the point of obsession, and even some "little moves" in Lao Tan's life, he followed suit.For example, Tan Xinpei likes to sniff snuff, which turns his nostrils yellow.So, he has a habit of washing his nose first when he arrives at the backstage of the theater, and then acting.Yan Jupeng doesn't smell snuff, but he washes his nose before acting.And so on, and others.Therefore, some people say that Yan Ju Peng learned from Tan and went mad.On the other hand, it is precisely because of this obsession that, apart from Yu Shuyan, he is the one who learns Tan School art the most.

However, Yan Jupeng, the "Heir of the Tan School", was only recognized by fanciers and professionals before he entered the sea, and fans and audiences did not know him well.So, he wants to go to sea.In that era, official actors often looked down on fanciers going to sea, and many people in Liyuan were very mean.To Yan Jupeng, they ridiculed them as "five little" and "five sons". "Five Little", that is, the small forehead (the forehead is too low), the mustache (the beard is too thin), the sleeves (the sleeves are too short), the whip (the whip is short and thin), and the boots (the bottom of the whip is too thin); ", that is, a mustache, a small sleeve, a small whip, washing the nose, pretending to be a grandson.It is conceivable how much psychological pressure Yan Ju Peng felt when he first entered the sea.

Later, Yan Jupeng sang it.Because Yu Shuyan is recognized as the "Heir of Tan School".Therefore, Yan Jupeng called himself "the leader of the Old Tan School".From an artistic point of view, he does have strengths.In singing, he is very particular about words, that is to say, he is absolutely based on "correct words".However, sometimes "Zheng" and "Qianyuan" cannot be unified.Famous actors such as Tan Xinpei and Yu Shuyan sometimes have to sacrifice a certain "character" in order to have a round accent.Yan Jupeng was different. He insisted on "correct characters" and did not hesitate to sacrifice certain accents.So to people with sharp ears, his singing (later called "speech tune") sometimes almost becomes a "weird" tune.But he said: "The tune is born from the characters, and the characters are upright and the tune is round." In performance, he pursues "resemblance in spirit, not appearance".Although he didn't come from an authentic school, he has studied hard and practiced for many years, and his martial arts foundation is also good.

Meng Xiaodong wants to worship Yan Jupeng as his teacher and ask Sha Dafeng for help.Sha Gafeng matchmaking.When Yan Jupeng heard that he wanted to take Meng Xiaodong as his apprentice, he agreed wholeheartedly "hehehe".This matter, it's settled like this, and I'm waiting to choose an auspicious day for the ceremony of appreciating the teacher.A month later, "Beiyang Pictorial" published an article signed by "Spring Breeze" titled "Meng Xiaodong's Appreciation of Teachers". The article said: Among the female actresses who sing the old man, Meng Xiaodong should be regarded as a giant today; because of his pure voice, it has a vigorous rhyme, which can be admired.

It is said that it is unique, and the accent is not only extraordinary, but also unconventional, elegant and elegant, which is extraordinary Actresses are comparable.Gu Xiaodong Shangqian felt that it was not enough, and he was about to reach the top of his head, making further progress in order to further his studies. In the previous preface, Ju Peng came to Tianjin to perform in the Spring Festival, and Xiaodong went to see it in the sun, and was deeply impressed by it. Recently, I invited someone Introduce, I want to worship Ju Peng as my teacher, so I can ask for help.Ju Peng also regards Xiao Dong as an actress, and readily agrees.Xiaodong has dedicated

The letter invites Ju Peng to come to Tianjin, and will choose an auspicious trip to pay homage to the teacher.Wen Jupeng can go to Taoism within a few days. ... However, the matter of apprenticeship was once again nothing.The very important reason is probably that at the end of the year, Meng Hongqun was critically ill, and Meng Xiaodong hurriedly returned to Beijing from Tianjin to take care of his father until February of the following year when he sent his father away, and then kept a filial piety for his father.After the incident, remembering this incident again, both parties have lost enthusiasm. Since he wanted to be a master, he should of course worship a master like Yan Ju Peng.However, Meng Xiaodong did not worship Chengyan Jupeng, but after returning to Tianjin, he worshiped a Peking Opera enthusiast as his teacher, and performed the apprentice ceremony in a decent manner.This "teacher" is Su Shaoqing who once ranked the four famous dans.Su Shaoqing acted in dramas in his early years, and later fell in love with Peking Opera. He studied under Chen Yanheng and learned from old students of the Tan School, and he did a lot of research on phonology.His ancestral home is Xuzhou, Jiangsu, and he has been living in Shanghai.At this time, his identity in Tianjin was the representative of Shanghai Star Film Company in Tianjin. There have been a lot of discussions about Meng Xiaodong worshiping fanciers as teachers, and most of them can't understand.Meng Xiaodong herself doesn't think so. In her opinion, it doesn't matter whether it's an official actor or a fancier, as long as she has real skills. If she can learn something from him (her), she can become her teacher.In fact, she not only worshiped the old students of the Tan school, but also worshiped the famous Dan Xun Huisheng. Of course, she also learned Mei School opera from Mei Lanfang.She has always been eager to learn, as said in the article "Meng Xiaodong's Appreciation of Teachers", she has always been "modesty to think that she is not enough".This is her most commendable place. Meng Xiaodong paid homage to Su Shaoqing, and the middleman was Sha Dafeng. On September 3, 1932, at the Dahua Hotel in Tianjin, Meng Xiaodong formally paid his apprenticeship ceremony. People found that for more than a year, that is to say, after breaking up with Mei Lanfang, Meng Xiaodong lived in Tianjin for a long time. Except for his father's illness and death, he went back to Peiping, and seemed unwilling to return to live in Peiping.Some people speculate that she is preparing to reappear on the stage. In this case, there is no guarantee that she will not meet Mei Lanfang. In order to avoid meeting Mei Lanfang, she chooses to live in different cities. In fact, Mei Lanfang left Beiping and went south to Shanghai half a year before Meng Xiaodong became apprentice to Su Shaoqing.In the spring of this year, he raised medical expenses for the wounded soldiers in the Songhu Anti-Japanese War and performed in Beiping for three days before leaving Beijing.Regarding the reason why he moved to Shanghai, some people have always attributed it to the breakup between him and Meng Xiaodong.The breakup itself was naturally the reason, because the relationship between the two had become a turmoil; after the breakup, he had to sell the Mei Zhai in order to pay Meng Xiaodong 40,000 yuan, which was also the reason.According to this statement, it seems that he could not stay in Peiping any longer before he left. In fact, the more important reason why Mei Lanfang moved to Shanghai with his family was related to the war. After the "September 18th", the rampant ambitions of the Japanese invaders and the "non-resistance policy" of the authorities all made him feel that after the three northeastern provinces, the North China Plain would also be lost.Thinking about it this way, it is difficult for Peiping to stay any longer.In this way, it is true that he moved to Shanghai because he "couldn't stay in Peiping anymore", but this "can't stay" is not the same as "can't stay", which is completely different in nature.That being the case, Mei Lanfang thought of "going" for the first time.But where? Prior to this, Feng Youwei, Mei Lanfang's friend for many years, had already settled in Shanghai, and he kept writing letters urging Mei Lanfang to move south.Mei Lanfang has always been unable to make up his mind. First, he is reluctant to come to Peiping as his home. Second, he is also reluctant to come to Peking as the hometown of Peking Opera, where his center stage is.However, facing the political situation after the "September 18th", he had to leave.Since I want to leave, I can only go to Shanghai. As soon as she settled down in Shanghai, Mei Lanfang thought about rehearsing a new play with the significance of the War of Resistance.At that time, he temporarily lived in Cangzhou Hotel.One day, several friends Ye Yuhu and Xu Jichuan visited him at the Cangzhou Hotel.Chatting and chatting, we talked about rehearsing new plays.So, what kind of subject should you choose?Everyone was out of ideas for a moment.After thinking for a while, Ye Yuhu said to Mei Lanfang: "If you want to stimulate the audience, you can make up a story about Liang Hongyu. This can't be more suitable for current events. I thought of a history of Han Shizhong's siege of Jin Wushu in Huang Tiandang. The subject matter highlights Liang Hongyu's role as Peng's assistant, so I wonder if it's appropriate for you to play Liang Hongyu?" One sentence reminded Mei Lanfang that he remembered the story of Liang Hongyu, who had performed it on the stage before, but "the plot was simple, and only played a part of Liang Hongyu beating the drum and fighting Jinshan". Now it is possible to expand the content and write a more complete story. new play.As soon as everyone heard Mei Lanfang's analysis, they immediately regained their spirits. Ye Yuhu even thought of the title of the play. He said, "How about calling it 'Anti-Golden Soldiers'?" "Anti-Golden Soldiers"?Although the performance is an anti-golden soldier, it actually calls on the people to resist the Japanese army.The title of this play couldn't be more appropriate, and everyone agreed with it.Mei Lanfang was even more excited.He asked Ye Yuhu to collect information. When arranging "Anti-Golden Soldiers", Mei Lanfang changed the past and first selected the theme, and Qi Rushan wrote the first draft, and then he discussed with Li Shikan, Wu Zhenxiu and others to make revisions, and then divided into separate books to design singing and study costumes. Instead, he set up a creative team centered on himself, with playwrights, musicians, and main actors participating in the choreography.The general division of labor is that Xu Jichuan is in charge of writing the adaptation, Xu Lanyuan and Wang Shaoqing are in charge of designing the vocals and forms, and finally Mei Lanfang revises and approves.Three or four months later, "Anti-Golden Soldiers" was completed under the collective wisdom. This is the first play that Mei Lanfang wrote and acted after he had to leave his screenwriter Qi Rushan (he still stayed in Peiping) due to his departure from Peking. "Anti-Golden Soldiers" was staged for the first time on the Tianchan stage in Shanghai. The main roles were assigned as follows: Mei Lanfang played Liang Hongyu, wife of Han Shizhong, Han Shizhong was played by Lin Shusen, Jiang Miaoxiang played Zhou Bangyan, Jin Shaoshan played Niu Gao, Xiao Changhua played Zhu Gui, Liu Lianrong plays Jin Wushu, Zhu Guifang and Gao Xueqiao play Han Shizhong's two sons, Shang De and Yan Zhi, and Wang Shaoting plays Yue Fei.The cast is strong, and the performance is excellent. As Lin Yin said in the article "Mei Lanfang", "it greatly encouraged the anti-Japanese sentiment of the people at that time". Then, Mei Lanfang re-created "Life and Death" based on "Yi Xie Ji" adapted by Qi Rushan from the legend of the Ming Dynasty in his early years.According to his own statement, the purpose of compiling and performing this play is "to describe the tragic experience of the captives and inspire fighting spirit."The libretto was written by Xu Jichuan and Li Shikan, and the singing was designed by Mei Lanfang, Xu Lanyuan and Wang Shaoqing.During that time, they turned on the lights and fought all night for three consecutive nights. On February 26, 1936, "Life and Death" premiered on the Tianchan Stage in Shanghai.The role assignment is Mei Lanfang as Han Yuniang, Jiang Miaoxiang as Cheng Pengju, and Liu Lianrong as Zhang Wanhu.For three days in a row, the venue was full and the desired effect was achieved. However, he also offended Kuroki, the Japanese consultant of the Shanghai Social Bureau. Through the director of the social bureau, he notified Mei Lanfang not to allow the play to be staged in an extraordinary period, on the grounds that it must be approved by the Social Bureau. Encore.Mei Lanfang insisted on performing on the grounds that the audience did not agree to stop the performance.Three days later, the show was moved to Nanjing Dahua Theater for another three days, and it was still so popular that the audience queuing up to buy tickets smashed the windows and doors of the box office. At the critical moment of national survival, Mei Lanfang is not only a Peking opera actor, but also an encourager, a protester, and a patriot. In him, people see the national integrity and patriotic qualities that an upright Chinese should have.He expressed his anti-Japanese proposition with "Anti-Golden Soldiers", and reflected the painful life of the people in the occupied areas with "Life and Death", which inspired the people's fighting spirit. These two plays were the last two new plays Mei Lanfang created before 1949.From then on, until the end of the 1950s, due to the political environment, he never released any new plays. After Mei and Meng broke up, one was in Tianjin and the other was in Shanghai. They lived their own lives separately, and everything seemed to be peaceful.However, what has passed has not disappeared.Suddenly one day, a certain newspaper in Tianjin began to serialize a novel.Anyone with a discerning eye can tell at a glance that the content of this novel is the story of Mei and Meng.If we simply use the two of them as life prototypes to reinterpret the story, or joke about it, it may be harmless, and it is only for entertainment.However, several important nodes in the novel are quite unfavorable to Meng Xiaodong.For example, when referring to the "bloody case", the author of the novel intentionally or unintentionally hinted that the instigator behind the case may be that Kunling.Of course, he (she) also speculated about the true relationship between the murderer and this Kunling.On the issue of "compensation", the novel also said that Kun Lingzi opened his mouth and blackmailed that famous actress. After all, this is a novel.The gist of fiction is fiction.However, this novel does not seem to be entirely fictional.Obviously, it has a living prototype.That being the case, it cannot be regarded as a pure novel.In fact, people at that time did not just read it as a novel and laugh it off, but took it seriously.As a result, everyone brought up the old story again, and there was a lot of discussion about the relationship between Mei and Meng.Influenced by the novel, these comments made more accusations against Meng Xiaodong.From this point of view, the behavior of the novel author is very irresponsible. Maybe Mei Lanfang, who was in Shanghai, didn't read this novel, because he didn't have any reaction to it.Meng Xiaodong, who was in Tianjin, read this novel, heard people's comments on her, and even felt people's sideways glances.It's not that she is sensitive, but it does exist objectively.She couldn't argue, and she didn't even know who to talk to.In a rage, she wanted to question the author of the novel.However, the novel did not name her by name, and the author of the novel could have dismissed her with a sentence of "please don't take the seat". Meng Xiaodong fell into despair again, and even felt a sense of collapse.In this case, she pinned her hope of rebirth on the Buddha.This time, she didn't just knelt in front of the Buddha, chanted Buddhist scriptures while twisting beads, and let Qingyan anesthetize herself.She ran back to Peiping in one breath, ran to Nianhua Temple, worshiped the abbot Liangyuan as her teacher, and then converted to Buddhism and became a Buddhist disciple.Many years later, she confessed to her friends: "The unsatisfactory marriage made me believe in Buddhism." If the Buddha can calm the wounded heart, if eating fast and chanting the Buddha can make the restless heart calm, if burning incense and worshiping can restrain hatred and resentment, then it is not a bad thing.Maybe Meng Xiaodong was hurt too deeply, she couldn't let go of the mundane affairs in an instant.When she devoted herself to the Buddha, someone suggested to her: Don't ruin your artistic life for other people's ulterior motives.Besides, a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth.In order to prevent the lies from becoming the truth, the lies should be exposed in a timely manner, and the root cause should be rectified, so as to set the record straight. Under such circumstances, Meng Xiaodong wrote an "urgent notice" in one go.The notice was first published in the "Ta Kung Pao" on September 5, 1933, and then published for two consecutive days.From the content and tone of the announcement, we can get a glimpse of her still aggrieved heart. Perhaps the announcement of the "urgent announcement" relieved Meng Xiaodong's pent-up resentment to a certain extent.Her mood suddenly became much clearer.20 days after the "Revelation" was released, she returned to the stage.In the Auspicious Theater in Peking, "Siro Visits His Mother" was sung again.She and Mei Lanfang collaborated for the first time, and they sang in this play.She didn't turn down the drama just because of that.This time, the dan role she is cooperating with is Kundan Li Huiqin.At the same time, Bao Jixiang, her new teacher, also plays Yang Liulang in the play, and Jiang Miaoxiang, a famous young student who has assisted Mei Lanfang for a long time, plays Yang Zongbao.It can be said that after experiencing emotional failure, Meng Xiaodong has officially come back since then. The Star Theater in Tianjin heard that Meng Xiaodong was coming back and invited him grandly.Meng Xiaodong invited the famous Jing Hou Xirui, the famous ugly Xiao Changhua, etc. to Tianjin to perform in the Star Theater. The three-day bubble plays were "Silang Visits His Mother", "Zhulian Village", and "Catching the Sleeping Shop".During the performance in Tianjin this time, Sha Dafeng introduced that Meng Xiaodong worshiped Cheng Junmou, a famous member of the Tan School known as "Hankou Tan Xinpei", as his teacher.After completing a cycle of acting, she devoted herself to seeking advice from Junmou.Then, she performed another episode, and the three-day bubble show was "Missing the Sky", "Catch and Release Cao", and "Hongyang Cave" directed by Cheng Junmou.In these three scenes, Cheng Junmou personally played the piano for her. In the following two years, Meng Xiaodong performed intermittently in Pingding and Tianjin.The reason for saying "on and off" is that her body is getting weaker and her stomach troubles are getting worse.Coupled with the unfavorable current situation, the Japanese's aggressive ambitions have been clearly revealed, people are panicked, the market is sluggish, and the entertainment industry is even more sluggish. At Mei Lanfang in Shanghai, performances were also greatly reduced.He even had time to learn spoken English and grammar from an old British lady twice a week, on Monday and Wednesday afternoons.From the spring of 1934, he began to prepare for his visit to the Soviet Union to perform. Since the visit to the United States, Mei Lanfang's understanding of the world has greatly improved.In order to broaden his horizons and facilitate the expansion of Peking Opera to Europe in the future, he had the idea of ​​traveling to Europe.After returning to Beijing from the United States, he visited Hu Shi again. First, he reported on his performances in the United States, and at the same time he talked about his plan to go to Europe. He still hoped that Hu Shi would give him advice.Hu Shi agreed with his idea very much. He advised Mei Lanfang to ask Zhang Pengchun to go to Europe first to make a comprehensive plan before making a decision. Just as Mei Lanfang was complacently preparing for a trip to Europe, the "September 18th" incident broke out and the domestic situation took a sudden turn for the worse.Mei Lanfang had no choice but to leave Beijing in 1932 and head south to Shanghai, so her plan to travel to Europe had to be postponed.However, his disciple Cheng Yanqiu, one of the Four Great Danes, left everything in China in the late autumn of 1931 and went to the five European countries alone.The purpose of his trip was not performance-oriented like Mei Lanfang's several trips abroad, but a special investigation of European drama.After returning to China, he wrote a "Report on the Investigation of Opera and Music in Europe", which contains 19 points of experience and is very theoretical. Cheng Yanqiu's trip once again inspired Mei Lanfang's determination to go to Europe. On the one hand, he was in Shanghai rushing to rehearse "Anti-Golden Soldiers" and "Life and Death" and other dramas suitable for the Anti-Japanese War. Get in touch and get ready.At this time, he received an invitation from the Soviet Union, imploring him to perform in the Soviet Union before going to Europe. When Mei Lanfang performed in the United States, he accepted the invitation of the non-governmental organization "China Institute". Shanyin received an official invitation letter from Kurisko, acting president of the Soviet Union for Foreign Cultural Association.In other words, going to the Soviet Union to perform seems to be more official.This also just provided the basis for the claim that the Soviet side invited Mei Lanfang for political purposes. In fact, there are several theories as to why the Soviet side invited Mei Lanfang to perform. In addition to wanting to see Mei Lanfang’s world-famous art, some people speculated that it was because the realist school in the Soviet art circle was on the decline at that time, and Symbolism began to prevail, and Chinese Peking Opera has always been regarded as a "symbolism" art; another way of saying it is political: At that time, the Soviet Union had just sold the Middle East Railway to Manchukuo, and China was very dissatisfied with this behavior.In order to ease the relationship with China and dilute the anti-Soviet sentiment of the Chinese people, the Soviet side invited Mei Lanfang and movie star Hu Die to perform in the Soviet Union together.For Mei Lanfang, no matter what purpose Su Fang had, all he had to do was to prepare carefully for the performance. Compared with the anxiety and worry before the performance in the United States, Mei Lanfang's state of mind is much calmer this time.At the beginning, he was not sure whether Chinese Peking Opera could be accepted by Westerners, and he would face a completely unfamiliar culture, so he was unavoidable.Now four or five years have passed since his visit to the United States. He has a certain understanding of the cultures of various countries in the world, especially European dramas after reading Cheng Yanqiu's "Report on Opera and Music Investigation in Europe", so he has less because he doesn't know. The fear of love. On the other hand, when he went to the United States to perform, he not only raised his own travel expenses, but if the performance did not sell well, he would face bankruptcy, so the financial pressure was quite heavy.There was no such problem in the trip to the Soviet Union this time, because the Soviet government invited them, and all aspects of food, clothing, housing and transportation were borne by the other party. Furthermore, when Mei Lanfang chose the repertoire to perform, he had to consider that the Soviet Union and the United States were two completely different countries with different cultural backgrounds, so the repertoire of the performances would naturally have to be different.Nevertheless, the promotional materials and performance equipment he prepared for his visit to the United States can continue to be used.From this point of view, it also alleviated him a lot of trouble objectively. In fact, the most important thing is that after he has been to Japan twice, Hong Kong once and the United States once, he has accumulated a lot of experience in performing abroad, and these experiences make him much easier than visiting the United States. The difference in mentality did not make Mei Lanfang despise the visit to the Soviet Union.According to his understanding of the Soviet Union, although this country is the first socialist country in the world, its theater tradition is far superior to that of the United States, and the cultural level of theater talents is also much higher than that of the United States.In the United States, he faced scholars represented by Dewey and performers represented by Chaplin, while in the Soviet Union, he would face a group of real theater theory experts.To welcome Mei Lanfang's arrival, the Soviet side specially organized a "Committee for Receiving Mei Lanfang".The chairman of the association is Aroshev, the president of the Soviet Foreign Cultural Association, and Yan Huiqing, the Chinese ambassador to the Soviet Union. Meyerhold, director of the Hoeder Theater, Teyrov, director of the Carmelier Theater, Eisenstein, the famous film director, Han Laizhiji, the chairman of the National Music Theater Association, Boyarsky, the chairman of the Artists Union, and famous Playwright Tretyakov, etc. This list contains the highest levels of Soviet theatre, film and literature.It can be said that Mei Lanfang went to the United States with economic pressure, and this time he went to the Soviet Union, he had the pressure caused by the lack of drama theory he felt.Therefore, without a solid cultural background, sufficient ideological and technical preparation, he may not be able to continue to perform in the United States to achieve success again. At this time, Mei Lanfang, who was living in Shanghai, could no longer rely on Qi Rushan, who was still in Beiping. That is to say, the golden pair broke up because they were located in Beijing and Shanghai.It is Feng Youwei and Wu Zhenxiu who continue to assist him in the preparatory work, and it is still Zhang Pengchun who can really take on the important responsibility in art.During the preparations for the visit to the Soviet Union, Mei Lanfang accepted Hu Shi's suggestion. In addition to re-hiring Zhang Pengchun as the general director of the troupe, he also hired dramatist Yu Shangyuan as an assistant director.Yu Shangyuan was a student of Hu Shi. He graduated from the English Department of Peking University in the 1920s and later went to the United States to study drama.It is said that the reason why he accepted Mei Lanfang's invitation was because of his appreciation of Mei Lanfang's art, and because of Hu Shi's strong lobbying. By horizontally comparing the differences between his visits to Japan, the United States, and the Soviet Union, we can understand Mei Lanfang’s choice of repertoires for his visit to the Soviet Union: the cultural background of Japan is similar to that of China, so the repertoires are based on "The Heavenly Girl Scattering Flowers", "Burning Flowers in Daiyu", , "Royal Stele Pavilion", "Chang'e Flying to the Moon", "A Dream in the Garden" and other plays rich in Chinese classical cultural traditions, the purpose is to make Japanese audiences understand; China and the United States are two completely different In China, there is a huge difference between Eastern and Western cultures. What Americans want to watch is completely Chinese, so the repertoire is based on traditional Peking operas such as "Fenhe Bay", "Fishing and Killing Home", "Thorn Tiger", "The Drunken Concubine" ", "Hongni Pass" mainly; although the Soviet Union is not far from China, there is a big gap in cultural background after all. In this respect, it is similar to the United States, so the main repertoire remains unchanged.But on the other hand, the Soviet Union has a profound drama tradition, and its theoretical understanding of drama is obviously higher than that of the United States. Therefore, Mei Lanfang specially added "Universe Front".This play is not only Mei Lanfang's representative work, but also the play with the most comprehensive and profound portrayal of characters in the "Mei School" play, and therefore the play with the highest cultural level. Once the actors and plays are decided, the next step is to rehearse, and Zhang Pengchun is naturally in charge of the rehearsal.Yao Yufu, one of the members who visited Suzhou, once recalled: "When the Mei Opera Troupe went to the United States to perform, every program was rehearsed by Zhang Pengchun, so the troupe had a catchphrase 'Mr. Zhang is in class!'" Everything was ready, and Mei Lanfang was about to go on the road, when another episode happened.If you go to the Soviet Union by train, you must pass through the pseudo-"Manchurian Empire".Mei Lanfang made it clear to the Soviet side that he would never go to the Soviet Union by crossing the Chinese land occupied by the Japanese invaders, otherwise he would rather cancel the trip.Seeing his resolute attitude, the Soviet side had no choice but to send a special ship to take Mei Lanfang to Vladivostok first, and then take a train from there to Moscow. On February 21, 1935, Mei Lanfang boarded the ship "North" sent by the Soviet side in Shanghai.Before the departure, Bovilov, the Soviet ambassador to China, saw them off at the embassy and wished them a successful performance.Besides Mei Lanfang and other members of the theater troupe, Dr. Yan Huiqing, the returning ambassador to the Soviet Union, and his entourage, Zhou Jianyun, the manager of the star film company of the Chinese film delegation, Hu Die, the movie star, and the Ta Kung Pao stationed in the Soviet Union were also on the same boat. Ge Baoquan, reporter and nephew of Ge Gongzhen. After nearly a week of sailing, the "Northern" arrived at Vladivostok, an important commercial port on the Pacific coast, on the 27th.The special commissioner of the Soviet National Theater Association, Luo Jiazhiji, representatives of the local authorities in Vladivostok, and representatives of the Chinese Consulate were already waiting at the pier.After the simple welcome ceremony, Mei Lanfang drove to the most luxurious Cheryuskin Hotel in Vladivostok.They stayed in Vladivostok for three or four days, and Quan Shien, the governor of the Soviet Far East State and the Chinese Consul General in Vladivostok, hosted a banquet respectively. Immediately afterwards, the Mei Opera Troupe, Hu Die and others transferred to the Siberia Express and headed for Moscow. This country has experienced nearly two decades of socialist construction since the October Revolution.For those who have just come out of a war-torn country, it is unavoidable to be envious.Before going there, Mei Lanfang had a comprehensive understanding of the history of the Soviet Union, and was full of respect for the "October Revolution" and the leader of the October Revolution, Lenin.Therefore, the next day he arrived in Moscow, he went to the Red Square to pay homage to Lenin's tomb. The ribbon on the wreath presented was written "To Mr. Lenin" and "Mei Lanfang bowed".He was the first Chinese theater worker to lay a wreath at Lenin's tomb.That afternoon, he also bought a bust of Lenin in an art store on Gorky Avenue. As a commemoration of his visit to the Soviet Union that year, Mei Lanfang kept this statue in a prominent position in his home. Although he went through several wars or relocations, he kept it carefully. After liberation, he brought it from Shanghai to his home in Beijing and placed it there. In the study.After he joined the party in 1959, he mentioned this statue to reporters, saying: "For 25 years, this statue has never left my side and has become my spiritual inspiration and support. In the cruel situation of being invaded by the Japanese warlords, I was displaced. When I saw him on the road, I increased my courage and fought against the evil forces with a strong will." However, this statue was smashed by the "rebels" during the Cultural Revolution after Mei Lanfang's death. Due to the large-scale publicity campaign carried out by the Soviet side before, the three big characters "Mei Lanfang" and posters depicting Chinese pagodas can be seen everywhere on the streets of Moscow. He was called "the great representative of the great Chinese art" by the press. .The Soviet Union for Foreign Cultural Association compiled and printed brochures introducing Mei Lanfang and Chinese drama, namely "Mei Lanfang and Chinese Drama", "Explanation of Six Kinds of Opera and Six Kinds of Dance Mei Lanfang Performed in the Soviet Union", etc. In order to distribute it, everyone in Moscow has a copy. In these propagandas, Mei Lanfang's gender was not mentioned at all, and all the posters contained his stills, so ordinary people thought Mei Lanfang was a female star at first.At that time, the movie star Hu Die was also in Moscow. Her unique acting temperament made people who didn't know point to her and say it was Mei Lanfang.Some children even chased after beautiful Chinese women on the street and shouted "Mei Lanfang".Just like the "Mei Lanfang craze" in Japan or in the United States, everyone in Moscow at that time was talking about "Mei Lanfang from China", and everyone knew that they had seen Mei Lanfang's play. Proud. Mei Lanfang's first performance in the Soviet Union was on March 23 at the Gorky Concert Hall.The center of this concert hall is the main hall, with boxes on three sides.On the day of the performance, the national emblems of China and Jiangsu were hung in the boxes on both sides of the concert hall, and the stage curtain was a yellow satin curtain specially made by the Mei Opera Troupe, embroidered with a plum blossom, a few orchids and three large black velvet characters of "Mei Lanfang". It has Chinese characteristics. Before the performance, Aroshev, president of the Soviet Association for Foreign Languages ​​and Literature, gave a speech on Mei Lanfang's performance.Then, Chinese Ambassador to Jiangsu Yan Huiqing explained "loyalty, filial piety and righteousness" to the audience, saying: "The plot characteristics of Chinese dramas advocate loyalty, filial piety and righteousness. If you understand this essence, you can understand the plot of Chinese dramas." Finally, Zhang Pengchun represented Mei Lanfang Thank you to the audience. There were 5 repertoires that night: "Fenhe Bay" by Mei Lanfang and Wang Shaoting; "Marrying a Sister" by Liu Lianrong and Yang Shengchun; "Sword Dance" by Mei Lanfang; "Thorn Tiger" by Lan Fang and Liu Lianrong. Similar to the performances in the United States, before each play, special personnel will introduce the plot to the audience in English, French, Russian, and German, so that the audience can appreciate Mei Lanfang's performance while understanding the main idea of ​​the story.After the performance, the applause was raging and lasted for a long time. Under the repeated requests of the audience, Mei Lanfang called the curtain call as many as 10 times. On the night of April 13, Mei Lanfang held a farewell commemorative performance at the Bolshoi Theater.The theater was built in the Tsarist era and has a long history. The interior is gorgeously decorated with painted pillars and carved beams. The central hall is the main hall and three sides are boxes. It is divided into six floors.It was the National Theater of the Soviet Union, and it was only allowed to perform opera and ballet according to the regulations. But this time, Mei Lanfang was allowed to stage Chinese Peking Opera here. One can imagine how high Mei Lanfang's status in the Soviet theater circle was. The repertoire of the day is carefully selected based on the previous 14 performances, including Mei Lanfang and Wang Shaoting's "Fishing and Killing", Mei Lanfang and Zhu Guifang's "Hongni Pass", Yang Shengchun's " Stealing Dan".The farewell commemorative performance was unprecedentedly grand, and not only well-known figures in the Soviet literary and art circles represented by Gorky, but also most members of the Politburo went to watch the performance.It is said that Stalin also visited the theater in person and sat in a dimly lit box on the second floor. No wonder the security work was very tight that day, and there were policemen around the theater. 算一算，梅兰芳此次在苏联总共待了一个半月，除了演剧、必要的应酬外，他遍访名胜古迹，应邀参观了工厂、戏剧学校、电影学院和莫斯科历史博物馆举办的苏联十七年戏剧艺术展览，还观看了戏剧、歌剧、芭蕾。 反过来，对于苏联的艺术家来说，梅兰芳和他的京剧让他们大开眼界而大为惊叹之外，理论上也有颇多值得他们研究和学习的地方。正如苏联著名导演爱森斯坦所说：“我们研究京剧，毕竟不只是赞赏一下它的完整性就算完结。我们要从中寻求一种可以丰富我们自己的经验的手段。”然而，中国京剧这样一种恪守规范程式的艺术与苏联艺术家的思想体系完全不一致，他们又能从中学到什么？ 当时的苏联戏剧界，正盛行戏剧家斯坦尼斯拉夫斯基在继承和发展了欧洲体验派的传统后所创立的表演体系，即：演员在表演时，应生活于角色的生活之中，每次演出都要感受角色的感情，将此内部体验过程视为演员创作的主要步骤。这是戏剧界的第一大流派——“体验派”。比如，演员在舞台上演一个角色时，他将没有了他自己，他将完全变成那个角色，与观众毫无任何交流，他只是通过他的表演去感染观众，尽可能让观众产生他就是那角色的幻觉。 斯氏的这一强调演员要在内心作多方面的深刻体验的理论，自然也影响到了电影界。爱森斯坦一方面是斯氏理论的拥护者，另一方面又在实践中发现演员在有了体验之后，却没有恰如其分的表现手段，而京剧的艺术手法和风格所强调的，却正是他们所缺乏的，所以他认为他找到了要吸取的经验，“就是构成任何一种艺术作品核心的那些要素的总和——艺术的形象化刻划。” 与斯坦尼斯拉夫斯基的“体验派”完全相对立的是德国戏剧家布莱希特的“叙述派”，这是世界戏剧界的第二大流派。布莱希特强调演员在创作过程中，应当理智，应当抽离于角色，即“我是我，角色是角色”，这自然与斯氏的“我就是角色”相悖。在表现手段上，“叙述派”多运用半截幕、半边面具、文字标题的投影、舞台机械与灯具的暴露、不时打断动作的歌曲、间离性的表演以及分离场面的蒙太奇等。手法虽然多种多样，但目的却只有一个，那就是要不断地告诉观众：我是在演戏，并时时提醒观众不要陷入剧情而不能自拔，而应该头脑冷静、理智。 布莱希特的“叙述派”理论体系在1935年梅兰芳到苏联演出时还没有成形，那时，他只是有某种朦胧感觉，却并没有清晰的概念。两年前，他因为希特勒疯狂迫害革命人士和进步作家而不得不离开祖国，远走他乡，流亡西欧和美国。梅兰芳到苏联演出时，布氏恰好正在苏联，便有幸观看了梅剧。令他难以置信的是，梅兰芳的戏，给了他极大的启发。次年，他撰写了一篇论述中国戏曲表演方法的文章《中国戏曲表演艺术中的间离效果》。在文章中，他盛赞梅兰芳为代表的中国戏曲表演艺术，认为他“多年来所朦胧追求而尚未达到的，在梅兰芳却已经发展到极高的艺术境界”。 现在看来，梅兰芳演剧中的如“自报家门”、“吟定场诗”、“旁白或旁唱”等使人物动作中断的表演手法，与布氏的“演员要抽离角色”的观念一致。这恐怕就是布氏的“叙述派”理论是受到梅氏的启发而最终确立的主要原因。 与布氏的“演员不能进入角色，有时还要站在角色的对立面”的严格要求不同，与斯氏的“演员要进入角色，与角色浑然一体”的严格要求也不同，梅兰芳的戏既要求演员在保持头脑高度清醒的同时有时也需要适当地或深入地进入角色，用真情实感去感动观众，力求做到“有我”与“无我”、“似我”又“非我”的辩证统一。为此，梅兰芳常引用“你看我非我，我看我我亦非我，他装谁像谁，谁装谁谁就像谁”这一戏曲联语，来说明戏曲表演艺术中创造人物形象的一个基本方法。 用戏剧界流行的术语“第四堵墙”分析，更可清晰地区分三者的不同。所谓“第四堵墙”，通俗地说，就是匣形的舞台的左、右、后用布景构筑的内景便形成了三堵墙。斯氏理论认为：演员和观众之间，也就是舞台和观众席之间应该有一道第四堵墙，它隔断了演员和观众之间的交流；布氏理论则认为：要打破这第四堵墙，让演员和观众之间能够产生交流；对于梅兰芳来说，这堵墙根本不存在，也就无所谓打破不打破。 如此分析后，可发现斯坦尼斯拉夫斯基、布莱希特的戏剧理论是截然相对立的，而梅兰芳的戏剧理论却是中立的、折中的，因而更健康、更艺术。从梅兰芳演剧对布莱希特戏剧理论的影响，以及梅兰芳戏剧理论体系的最终确立可知：梅兰芳1935年的访苏演出，意义重大，影响也最大，甚至超过了访日和访美。 1981年，中国戏剧教育理论家黄佐临在一篇题为《梅兰芳、斯坦尼斯拉夫斯基、布莱希特戏剧比较》的文章中，全面论证了中国传统戏曲的八大外在和内在的特征，把它提升到理论高度，并率先将梅氏、斯氏、布氏三者不同的戏剧理论归纳为“世界三大戏剧理论体系”。