Chapter 9 with Yu Shuyan

Mei Lanfang, who returned to Shanghai from the Soviet Union, almost ran into Meng Xiaodong again.Because at this time, Meng Xiaodong also came to Shanghai, and she was invited to Shanghai to participate in the disaster relief charity performance.At the same time, Mei Lanfang also received the invitation. This summer, a large-scale flood broke out in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and many provinces and cities were flooded, causing countless victims.In order to provide disaster relief, Du Yuesheng initiated the establishment of the "Provinces' Flood Disaster Relief Association" in Shanghai, and he served as the chairman.A very important activity of the Charity Relief Association is to invite famous actors to perform plays to raise funds, that is, the disaster relief charity performances that famous actors often participate in.In order to cooperate with the charity performance, Huang Jinrong donated the Golden Theater he founded for free use.The entire benefit performance lasted for a month.

According to the prior plan, the benefit performance was divided into two phases.Celebrities, celebrities and actresses who participated in the first charity performance included Du Yuesheng's concubine Yao Yulan, one of the Shanghai gangsters Zhang Xiaolin, Yinlou Xiaokai Qiu Jianfei (Zhou Xinfang's brother-in-law), etc., as well as Jin Shaoshan, Jiang Miaoxiang, Xiao Changhua, Liu Lianrong, Zhu Guifang, Wang Shaoting, Miao Shengchun, Gai Sansheng, etc., and Mei Lanfang who just returned from performing in the Soviet Union. If the most sensational actor in this issue is not Zhang Xiaolin, nor Mei Lanfang, but Yao Yulan.The charity relief meeting was initiated by Du Yuesheng; the charity performance is an important activity organized by the charity relief meeting.As Du Yuesheng's concubine, Yao Yulan certainly attracted much attention.Not only did she act alone in traditional old dramas such as "Splitting Three Passes with a Knife", "Crying for the Ancestor Temple", and "Li Lingbei", but she also performed the old drama "Fishing for the Golden Turtle" in reverse.Then, she collaborated with Mei Lanfang on "Muk Village".The performance on the last day was particularly exciting. Du Yuesheng played in person and made a guest appearance in "Lok Ma Lake". Then, Mei Lanfang and Yao Yulan collaborated in "Si Lang Visits His Mother".

In such a gathering of famous actresses, it is impossible to miss Meng Xiaodong.What's more, this charity performance was organized by Du Yuesheng, Yao Yulan seemed to be the protagonist again, and Meng Xiaodong and Yao Yulan were sworn sisters, Du Yuesheng had already had a secret love for Meng Xiaodong.Therefore, they will invite Meng Xiaodong no matter what.However, Meng Xiaodong did not participate in the first phase of the show.This may be Du Yuesheng's deliberate arrangement. Therefore, Meng Xiaodong participated in the second phase of the charity performance, and played the leading role with Zhang Yuyun, starring in the main role.It was originally planned that she would act for 12 days, but in fact she only acted for 8 days.In the next 4 days, she returned to the show due to illness.At this time, her health was very bad, even though she was only 28 years old at this time.In fact, when performing in Ping and Tianjin, she often rested for several days after a performance due to physical reasons.This time in Shanghai, she had to go on stage every day, and she was acting in major dramas that were extremely exhausting, such as the whole version of "Zhulian Village", the whole version, the whole version of "Siro Visits His Mother", etc., so she gritted her teeth and insisted. After 8 days, I couldn't hold it any longer.

As for why Meng Xiaodong's body is like this, apart from natural constitution, other factors cannot be ruled out.Someone once analyzed that she sings operas with absolute seriousness to the point of giving her all, never sloppy or perfunctory with a single word or tune, so one opera she sings is equivalent to several operas sung by others.This has been the case for many years, which consumes a lot of energy and damages the body invisibly.Objectively speaking, this is not the main reason.Obviously, she only showed poor health after breaking up with Mei Lanfang and returning to the stage.

Ever since she married Mei Lanfang, Meng Xiaodong has withdrawn from the stage. It is said that she can never leave her fists and songs in singing and opera, but she has been "divorced" for more than four years.The alienation of more than four years will require several times the time and energy of four years to restore.After breaking up with Mei Lanfang, she went on a hunger strike in pain, and then fasted for many years. Both physically and psychologically, she suffered great damage.There is another very important reason, that is, like many artists in Liyuanhang, she also likes to smoke big cigarettes.All of this made her feel unprecedentedly difficult to recover from the stage.

For this reason, she suffers even more.She can make up for the pain after emotional frustration by resuming singing, but what should she use to make up for the pain of not being able to sing?Xu Jichuan, a Shanghai opera critic who later became Mei Lanfang's secretary, went to visit Meng Xiaodong who was ill. And I have an addiction to theater, this time I was originally scheduled to sing for 40 days (this statement is wrong), but now I suddenly fell ill, and I don’t think I can perform for a long time in the future, and my ambitions are over.” When she got married with Mei Lanfang, she believed that she had found her emotional destination with the usual thinking of ordinary women, so she willingly gave up her artistic pursuit.At that time, she didn't feel that "the ambition was over" because she "couldn't perform for a long time".When she lost her emotional support, she felt that "being able to perform for a long time" was her "ambition".It's a pity that she woke up a bit late.

Meng Xiaodong, who lived in Beiping, did not refuse to go south to Shanghai; Mei Lanfang, who lived in Shanghai, certainly did not refuse to go north to Peiping.Once given a chance, Meng Xiaodong knew that Mei Lanfang lived in Shanghai, and went south calmly; Mei Lanfang knew that Meng Xiaodong lived in Peiping, and went north to Peiping openly.However, Mei Lanfang returned to Peking only once in 1936 after leaving Peking for 4 years. When she returned to Beiping this time, Mei Lanfang did three major things: first, she took Li Shifang as her apprentice; second, she met Yang Xiaolou for the last time; third, she had a confrontation with her disciple Cheng Yanqiu.

Like Mei Lanfang, Yang Xiaolou is not only an important figure in the Peking Opera circle, but also a patriot.Before the fall of Beiping and Tianjin, 24 counties in eastern Jidong had been controlled by traitors, and Tong County, not far from Peiping, was the seat of the puppet Jidong government. In the spring of 1936, Yin Rugeng, the chief of the puppet Eastern Jidong Province, held a large-scale church meeting in Tong County to celebrate his birthday.At this time, the most famous actor in Beiping was Yang Xiaolou, and he became their main invitee.However, no matter whether they used the reason that it only takes one hour to travel from Tongxian to Beijing by car, or they promised to double the package of silver, or even proposed that the double package of silver was too little, they let Boss Yang drive, and Yang Xiaolou never let go.

After Mei Lanfang returned to Peiping, he went to visit Yang Xiaolou, talked to him about this matter, and persuaded him: "You can still do it if you don't go to Tong County to sing to the traitors, but what if Beiping changes color in the future! Why don't you go there as soon as possible?" Move south." Yang Xiaolou seemed to be ready for "Peking's discoloration". He said: "It's hard to say where to hide. If Beiping is the same, I won't sing. At my age, I can pretend to be sick." Eight or eight years, and you'll be dead." A year later, when Beiping fell, Yang Xiaolou said he was sick and refused to go on stage again, and died soon after.Therefore, Mei Lanfang's meeting with Yang Xiaolou this time was actually the last time for the two of them.

As we all know, Mei Lanfang and Cheng Yanqiu have the most special relationship among the four famous actors.Cheng Yanqiu once studied under Mei Lanfang, and the two had a master-student friendship.Revisiting this pair of master and apprentice today, many old movie fans still talk about their two "fights against Taiwan", one in 1936 and one in 1946 ten years later.For some people with malicious intentions, they are also very willing to see the scene of master-student confrontation, because they have another opportunity to sow discord and fan the flames.But in fact, this kind of confrontation is a normal artistic competition.

Broadly speaking, their first confrontation was not in 1936, but in April 1924.At that time, Cheng Yanqiu performed two new plays in a row, "Zhou Wenjuan" and "Zhou Wenjuan", which were very popular, and according to Cheng Shi Luo Yinggong, they were the top theaters in the capital.At this time, only Mei Lanfang could compete with Cheng Yanqiu.Although Mei Lanfang has only one new play at this time, that is "Xi Shi", but he is a leader in the dance industry after all, and his reputation is unstoppable. Whether he is acting in a new play or revisiting an old play, he is very appealing.Therefore, in a letter to his friend Yuan Bokui, Duke Luo Ying said: "Looking closer, all the theaters in the capital are silent, and only Mei and Cheng, master and apprentice, are fighting against each other. Mei's qualifications are sufficient, and Cheng is unstoppable. Therefore, there are two major forces." Strictly speaking, this confrontation was not a true confrontation, but it was just an unfortunate coincidence that they were the only ones still active on their respective stages when the entire Beijing theater scene was rather sluggish.From Cheng Yanqiu's heart, at this time, he did not intend to fight the master. Not only did Cheng Yanqiu have no idea in this regard, even when he had the opportunity to fight against the master, he even took the initiative to give up a chance to fight against the master in order to take care of the master.It was two years later when he finished his performance in Hong Kong and passed by Shanghai on his way back to Beijing.Before he went to Hong Kong, he made an appointment with the boss of Shanghai's "Co-Stage" to sing in Shanghai for a month after he returned from Hong Kong.However, when he returned to Shanghai and was about to fulfill his previous promise, he unexpectedly discovered that Mei Lanfang was about to come to Shanghai to perform under the appointment of Shanghai's "Dangui No. 1 Channel".Considering that they will be staying in Shanghai for a month of performances, they will definitely have to fight against Mei Lanfang during the period.He respects Mei Lanfang, and he doesn't want to see the scene where the master and the apprentice confront each other. He thinks that doing so is disrespectful to the master and will definitely hurt Mei Lanfang, although his apprentice may not be able to win. Master, but he still decided to avoid it.Therefore, after discussing with the "Common Stage", he returned to Beijing ahead of schedule. In the Liyuan world, confrontations between masters and apprentices, between elders and juniors, are common occurrences.In most cases, it's not that they deliberately want to make trouble with each other, but it's just a coincidence that they met unfortunately. After Mei Lanfang moved to Shanghai, Cheng Yanqiu became the leader of Danxing Theater in Beijing.In the past few years, even though Cheng Yanqiu had been abroad for more than a year, compared to Mei Lanfang, the audience in the capital still watched Cheng more than Mei Lanfang.Therefore, in 1936, when Mei Lanfang, who had been away from Beijing for several years, returned to the north for the first time and made a comeback, it naturally attracted a large number of long-awaited Mei fans.In addition, he only set the ticket price at 1.2 per ticket, which is not expensive, and the cast of actors supporting him is very strong, including the old student Yang Shengchun, the young student Cheng Jixian and Jiang Miaoxiang, the clown Xiao Changhua, etc., and most of the repertoires performed are Mei School. Famous drama.Therefore, famous actors including Yang Xiaolou knew that they were not opponents, so they took the initiative to reduce the number of performances to avoid Mei's edge.Only Cheng Yanqiu is not afraid. At this time, Cheng Yanqiu was no longer an ordinary actor who only sang operas for dinner. He had his own unique artistic thoughts and a deeper understanding of drama.He went abroad once, not for a performance, but for an investigation. He made a theoretical summary of his long-term performance practice.At the same time, he also has a different understanding of the relationship between master and apprentice and fighting against each other.He no longer thinks that fighting against the master is disrespectful to the master. On the contrary, he believes that only when one generation surpasses the next can society continue to progress.More importantly, out of consideration for his own life, and in order not to affect the lives of the whole troupe of actors and families, he could not shrink back from the strong appeal of his master.Therefore, he insisted on performing twice a week at the Zhonghe Theater outside Qianmen, when Yang Xiaolou and others only dared to perform once a week. Although Cheng Yanqiu's cast is also very strong, the repertoire of the performances is also Cheng's famous plays, "Jade Hairpin", "Green Frost Sword", "Mandarin Duck Tomb" and so on.However, in this master-student duel, he still lost to Mei Lanfang.In addition to Mei Lanfang's appeal and the reason why he has not shown up in the capital for a long time, there are other objective reasons.For example, the Zhonghe Theater where Cheng Yanqiu was located was only two miles away from the first stage where Mei Lanfang was.In addition, the Zhonghe Theater can only accommodate 800 people, which is much smaller than the first stage.Therefore, it is impossible for Cheng Yanqiu to beat Mei Lanfang purely in terms of the number of viewers. There were many rumors outside this master-student confrontation, most of them said that the apprentice Cheng Yanqiu did it on purpose, it was really disrespectful.Of course, there are quite a few people who support Cheng Yanqiu. They feel that he is not afraid of the prestige of his master, and his spirit of daring to challenge is really admirable.This is beneficial and harmless to himself and Chinese drama. Throughout 1936, Meng Xiaodong was very quiet because of his health, and he seldom appeared on stage or even showed up.She should know the news of Mei Lanfang's return to Peiping. Even if no one specifically told her, she could still learn about it from the performance advertisements in the newspapers. However, no one could know her true heart at that time.Perhaps dark waves, perhaps indifferent. After completing the three major events in Peking, Mei Lanfang returned to Shanghai.In May of the following year, Meng Xiaodong went south to Shanghai.This time, she was invited to attend the opening ceremony after the relocation of the Golden Theater. The opening ceremony was very lively. In addition to Meng Xiaodong, there were Shang Xiaoyun, one of the four famous actors who came from Peiping, Li Wanchun, a famous martial arts student, Ma Lianliang, a famous actress, Zhang Junqiu, Zhao Tongshan "Hibiscus Grass", and Ye Shenglan, Ma Fulu and others.Du Yuesheng said with a smile that this "could be called a 'meeting of heroes'".The first scene after the ceremony was Ma Lianliang and Zhang Junqiu's "Dragon and Phoenix Blessings".However, the most unexpected and brilliant part is the ribbon-cutting ceremony in the opening ceremony.The organizer was ingenious and specially designed three actresses, Meng Xiaodong, Lu Sujuan, and Zhang Yeyun, to participate in the ribbon cutting. What is strange is that since it is another occasion where famous actors gather, the organizers have spent a lot of time and effort to invite famous actors from Beiping, but why is Mei Lanfang who lives in Shanghai only missing?Is it to avoid Meng Xiaodong?In fact, Mei Lanfang was not in Shanghai at this time, but went to Changsha and Hankou.Around March, he went to Changsha to perform.After that, he performed in Hankou for the fourth time, accompanied by Xiao Changhua, Xi Xiaobo, Wang Shaoting, Liu Lianrong, Wang Quankui, Zhu Guifang and others.The main repertoire of the performance is "Life, Death and Hate", which he newly created and rehearsed in response to the Anti-Japanese War. Therefore, whether intentionally or unintentionally, this time, Mei and Meng missed each other again.I don't know whether it was intentional or unintentional, the organizer specially invited Lu Sujuan, and let Meng Xiaodong and Lu Sujuan cut the ribbon together, which inevitably makes people's imagination run wild. Lu Sujuan, who is known as the "No. 1 Beauty", was born in Bada Hutong in Beijing. She used to be a famous prostitute in "Huancui Pavilion" at the west entrance of Hanjiatan. , Later transferred to Tsing Yi, mastered the Mei school, studied under Zhu Guifang, watched Mei Lanfang's performances more frequently, and gradually became the heir of the Mei school. After Mei Lanfang moved to Shanghai, Mei fans in Peiping could not see authentic Mei opera, but could only watch Mei opera from descendants of the Mei school, especially Lu Sujuan's opera.On the one hand, Lu Sujuan learns plum in a clear and precise way, and on the other hand, after Mei Lanfang's departure, his original team has been laid off.They are used to following Mei Lanfang, they have high vision, and they are not willing to talk to other people.But after a long time, living without income has become a problem, and they have no choice but to give in.After picking and choosing, I followed Lu Sujuan - after all, she is from the Mei Sing School.In the absence of Mei Lanfang, Lu Sujuan led the other members of the Mei Opera Troupe to sing Mei Opera, which more or less made the fans look forward to the plum to quench their thirst. Now, Meng Xiaodong is standing with Lu Sujuan, the authentic descendant of the Mei School, which makes the blood of those who do good things run high.They seemed to see Meng Xiaodong and Mei Lanfang again, and couldn't help thinking about their past.With such a "gimmick", the opening ceremony of the Golden Theater has earned the attention of the world. Meng Xiaodong's visit to Shanghai this time was a major turning point in her life - she became another woman of Du Yuesheng.It was Du Yuesheng's fourth concubine, Yao Yulan, who facilitated their relationship. After Yao Yulan married Du Yuesheng, because she only had four bedrooms, she could not live in Du's mansion, but had to choose a new house.Du Yuesheng's first few wives were all from Suzhou, and they were very united in boycotting Yao Yulan.For a long time, Yao Yulan has been isolated and helpless, and her mood has been very depressed.She knew that Du Yuesheng had a crush on Meng Xiaodong, and wanted to take it for herself.If it's out of a woman's instinctive jealousy, she seems to reject Meng Xiaodong very much.The truth is the opposite. Perhaps it was because she was very clear about Du Yuesheng's character, and she could never be Du's last woman. In this case, she might as well find someone who has a close relationship with her for Du.In this way, Du will definitely be very grateful to her so that she will not have a new love and abandon the old love, so she can keep her status forever; on the other hand, she also needs someone to form an alliance with her concubine to fight against Du's Suzhou women.Meng Xiaodong is obviously a very suitable candidate.She is also from the north, and they are sworn sisters. Du Yuesheng has long coveted her, and she has just experienced emotional setbacks and is in a period of emotional vulnerability. So, this time, after Meng Xiaodong arrived in Shanghai, Yao Yulan invited her to live in her and Du Yuesheng's home very graciously.Meng Xiaodong complied.When the three are under one roof, what should happen happens.Maybe Meng Xiaodong was forced at first, but later, she still accepted the fait accompli. Although it is difficult for outsiders to blame Meng Xiaodong for this, many people still expressed great puzzlement and regret for her choice.If it is said that her combination with Mei Lanfang was largely out of emotional needs, then what was the reason for her being with Du Yuesheng?Is it because of money?Is it because of power?Or is it also because of feelings?Outsiders have no way of knowing.From another perspective, at the beginning, she absolutely broke up with Mei Lanfang, wasn't it because she couldn't tolerate being a "concubine"?Didn't she think that Mei Lanfang had broken his promise to her to be "big at both ends"?So, now, why is she willing to get involved with Du Yuesheng, who has a fourth concubine, and why is she still anonymous?Perhaps, it's just because she is lonely, she is lonely, she is fragile, and she needs to rely on. From May to July, Meng Xiaodong lived with Du and Yao for more than two months. After the "July 7th" Incident, the domestic situation was grim. Du Yuesheng and Yao Yulan left Shanghai for Hong Kong to avoid the disaster of war.Meng Xiaodong did not go with him.At this time, she has no identity.So, she had to return to Peiping alone. Meng Xiaodong had just left Shanghai, and Mei Lanfang returned to Shanghai after finishing her tour in other places.Following the "July 7th" Incident in Beiping and the "August 13th" Songhu Anti-Japanese War in Shanghai, Shanghai has been reduced to the Japanese invaders.The people of the whole country began to enter the difficult period of the eight-year war of resistance. The tree attracts the wind, and with Mei Lanfang's fame, neither the Japanese nor the traitors will let him go.Of course, they wouldn't arrest him and kill him without complaint, but it is still possible to ask him to sing to "work the army" and make some publicity for "Great East Asia Coexistence".In the eyes of the Japanese, he has visited Japan twice and has an extraordinary relationship with Japan.If he was unwilling, his life would not be guaranteed. Mei Lanfang was well aware of her situation. Sure enough, not long after he returned to Shanghai, someone came to his door, hoping that he would play a tune on the radio station. As for what kind of tune to play and what to say, it was naturally obvious.Since Mei Lanfang had already understood his situation, he had already prepared for it. He calmly and calmly gave the visitor a soft nail on the grounds that he was preparing to perform in Hong Kong and the Mainland, and he really couldn't spare the time. Although he won the first confrontation, Mei Lanfang knew that if there is a first time, there will be a second and third time.Soon, someone came to him again and tried to persuade him to act in a few business scenes, claiming that "business scenes have nothing to do with politics."To be honest, these words really moved Mei Lanfang's heart.Those who sing opera make a living by singing opera. Singing opera is a profession of singing opera, a job, and a tool to support their families. Not singing opera means that they will have nothing.Mei Lanfang was a little hesitant, but he still couldn't make up his mind, so he went to a few friends to discuss it. Everyone has different opinions on this, and some said: "Although Shanghai has fallen, in order to support their families, businessmen continue to do business as usual, and our opera singers sang a few business dramas for the common people, not for the enemy. What's the matter?" relationship." Feng Youwei objected to this, and his reason was: "Although this is a business play, once Mei Lanfang came out, the Japanese asked you to go to a theater, to Nanjing, Tokyo, Manchuria, etc. How can you say no to Zhou Guo's performance?" In 1957, Mrs. Mei Fu Zhifang recalled the scene at that time and said: "Our family's big idea is taken by the uncle himself. This time I interrupted. I quietly reminded him: 'This opening must not be opened! ’, I really fell in love with him, he stubbed out his cigarette at that time, stood up and said loudly: ‘We have thought of getting together, this opening can’t be opened!’”.And just like that, he again refused to take the stage. It cannot be said that Mei Lanfang's plan to perform in Hong Kong was a complete lie, he did have this in mind.At that time, there were only two ways for people to escape from the area ruled by the Japanese invaders, either to go to the mainland or go to Hong Kong. The "broadcasting incident" prompted Mei Lanfang to make up his mind to leave Shanghai for Hong Kong as soon as possible.He first took advantage of Feng Youwei's business trip to Hong Kong to ask him to make arrangements in advance, and then entrusted Xu Yuanlai from the Hong Kong Branch of the Bank of Communications to contact the Hong Kong Lee Stage for performances in Hong Kong. After all the arrangements were made, Mei Lanfang led the Mei Opera Troupe to Hong Kong in the spring of 1938.After performing at the Lee Theater for a period of time, other members of the troupe returned to the north, and Mei Lanfang stayed in Hong Kong, living in an apartment at No. 8 Conduit Road on the Mid-Levels of Hong Kong for 4 years. After arriving in Hong Kong, Mei Lanfang discovered that Yang Xiaolou's saying "it's hard to say where to hide" was indeed prescient.Hong Kong is not a paradise, and the gangsters in Shanghai have already spread to Hong Kong.During Mei Lanfang's performance at the Lee Theater, Feng Youwei was brutally beaten by hooligans. Feng Youwei offended Rui Qingrong (nicknamed Xiao Arong), a gangster in Shanghai, because he helped Mei Lanfang perform in Hong Kong.At that time, Rui Qingrong really wanted to arrange for Mei Lanfang to perform in Hong Kong. He approached Mei Lanfang many times, but failed.After arriving in Hong Kong, Feng Youwei went to the Lee Theater to watch Mei Lanfang's performance every night as usual. After the show, he would go backstage to have a chat with Mei Lanfang before returning to his residence in Repulse Bay. One night, Feng Youwei left without waiting for Mei Lanfang to finish removing her make-up, but not long after leaving, she stumbled back with blood all over her face, scaring Mei Lanfang who was taking off her make-up and Xu Jichuan who was talking with Mei Lanfang. After they made an emergency call, Fang asked Feng Youwei what had happened.It turned out that not far from the stage, he suddenly felt someone rushing from behind. Before he could react, he was knocked down by a sap. Fortunately, a passerby rescued him.Seeing that there were too many people around, the murderer dropped the murder weapon, a round iron rod wrapped with old newspapers.This iron rod is round, otherwise, Feng Youwei would not be as simple as bleeding a little.However, it took more than half a month for his injury to improve. After leaving Shanghai, Mei Lanfang thought that he could feel at ease, but the fact that Feng Youwei was beaten made his restless heart hang up again.The hooligan beat Feng Youwei, and it must be said that he also threatened Mei Lanfang.Hong Kong is not safe either, so he has to be more vigilant.After the performance, he lived in seclusion, learning English and Esperanto, drawing, playing badminton, collecting stamps, talking about anecdotes with friends, listening to the radio, and occasionally going out to watch movies. hang your throat. Mei Lanfang never expected that in the middle of this year, Meng Xiaodong would also quietly come to Hong Kong. After parting ways with Du Yuesheng and Yao Yulan in Shanghai, Meng Xiaodong returned to Peiping.The current situation is turbulent, and the play is naturally impossible to perform.On the one hand, she rests in peace, on the other hand, it may be because she is bored that she adopted a little girl as her adopted daughter.The girl's childhood name was Da Yuzi, and later she was called "Yu Mei".At this time, Meng Xiaodong was fully 30 years old, still alone, without a family of his own, let alone children. The statement "no children" is not accurate.It is said that she gave birth to a girl in Peking and gave it away later.Perhaps she was disappointed with whether she could have a normal family life in the future, and that's why she thought of adopting. Du Yuesheng, who was far away in Hong Kong, could not forget Meng Xiaodong, and felt uneasy that she was still in Beiping, which was occupied by the Japanese invaders.So, he wrote a letter to Meng Xiaodong through Huang Guodong, an accountant who stayed in Shanghai, asking her to go to Hong Kong as well.It is conceivable that under such a harsh environment, Meng Xiaodong's heart warmed when he received Du Yuesheng's letter.She might think that Du Yuesheng is sincere to her, and only he (and Yao Yulan of course) can give her warmth.So she immediately packed her bags and set off for Hong Kong. For some unknown reason, Meng Xiaodong only stayed in Hong Kong for a few months.Then, alone again, she returned to Peiping via Shanghai.What is quite mysterious is that when she went to Hong Kong, Meng Xiaodong only had one suitcase with her; when she returned north, she brought five suitcases with her.At the same time, Du Yuesheng wrote to Huang Guodong, asking him to escort Meng Xiaodong back to the north, and to ensure the safety of her and the five suitcases.Although Huang Guodong didn't know what was in those suitcases, he fulfilled his duties and sent Meng Xiaodong to Peiping safely with a "special pass" in his hand.As for the contents of the suitcase, no one knows. In 1938, Mei Lanfang disappeared from people's sight. He cast off the aura of celebrity, abandoned all brilliance, and lived an ordinary life reclusive in Hong Kong; Meng Xiaodong in 1938 was very high-profile.In October of this year, shortly after she returned to Pingping from Hong Kong, she officially worshiped Yu Shuyan as her teacher. Amidst the congratulations of everyone, she followed the old rules and became Yu Shuyan's only female disciple. As for Yu Shuyan, Mei Lanfang has a long history with him. Around the autumn of 1918, Mei Lanfang was the top sign in the Xiqun Society.One day, Feng Youwei came to him and said to him: "Two days ago, Mr. Li (Jing She) came to me to discuss with me about Shuyan's appointment. , Shu Yan said, 'I only want to hold the knife with Landi', so Mr. Li came to me and asked me to ask what you mean." "Shuyan" is Yu Shuyan.He is 4 years older than Mei Lanfang, so he is ranked first.Like Mei Lanfang, he also came from an aristocratic Liyuan family. His grandfather Yu Sansheng, Cheng Changgeng, and Zhang Erkui were also known as the "top three tripods" of old students.His father, Yu Ziyun, is a well-known Danjiao actor and the founder of the "Huashan" business.Yu Shuyan came from the Xiao Zong Tan (Xin Pei) sect. He was talented and intelligent and was known as "Little Yu Sansheng" and "Little Prodigy".It is also because of this that he sank for a while, and after losing his voice, his voice was difficult to recover and he regretted leaving the stage.He once said with emotion to Mei Lanfang: "In our industry, when we first go out and become popular, we really need someone to watch. If we are too free, we will easily go wrong." Fortunately, after Yu Shuyan woke up, he regretted his past actions.At this time, he made many lay friends, some of these friends were old friends of his father Yu Ziyun, and some were new friends of his own. They all admired his glory in the era of "Little Yu Sansheng" and regretted the decline of his voice after he closed his positions. extremely.They urged him to study script literature, pay attention to rhyme, distinguish between fine and rough, beauty and evil, and pay attention to life style.With everyone's persuasion, he cheered up and began to learn the art of Tan School. After several years of hard training, Yu Shuyan's voice has recovered and his confidence has also been restored.At this time, Mei Lanfang was already popular.Yu Shuyan wanted to cooperate with Mei Lanfang wholeheartedly, that is, according to his own words, "to carry the knife for Landi".Mei Lanfang was also very happy, and he proposed to let Yu Shuyan join Xiqun Society. For Mei Lanfang's proposal, other members of the Xiqun Club expressed their opposition.They thought it would be difficult to distribute the plays and increase expenses if the top old student Wang Fengqing was already in the class, and Yu Shuyan, who also sang the old student, was added.Mei Lanfang insisted: "I have already promised Shuyan, you must make this matter happen." They had no choice but to agree for Mei Lanfang's sake, but they said that Yu Shuyan's role was ranked third, and his role was Half of Wang Fengqing. At that time, Mei Lanfang's role was 80 yuan per scene, and Wang Fengqing's role was 40 yuan per scene.In this way, Yu Shuyan can only get 20 yuan per game.Mei Lanfang thought that Yu Shuyan's part in the role was too low, and tried to win some more for him.Wang Yulou and Yao Peilan rejected Mei Lanfang's request on the grounds that Yu Shuyan had to bring Qian Jinfu, Wang Changlin and other supporting roles to join him at the same time.Mei Lanfang considered that Wang Yulou and Yao Peilan also had practical difficulties, so he stopped insisting, but he was very worried that Yu Shuyan would not agree.Surprisingly, Yu Shuyan didn't care about the role and agreed.From then on, the two began to cooperate for a period of time. Soon, the two cooperated for the first time in "You Long Xi Feng".That night, the auspicious theater was full of seats, and many experts and enthusiasts came to see Mei and Yu's first cooperation. Backstage, Mei Lanfang noticed that Yu Shuyan was a little nervous, touched his hand, it turned out to be cold, he knew that Yu Shuyan must be worried about his voice problem at a critical moment.The reason why Yu Shuyan was nervous was not entirely for his own sake, but he was also worried that if something happened to him, Mei Lanfang would be implicated.Mei Lanfang comforted him: "Third brother, calm down, we have put a lot of effort into this play, and everyone is familiar with it, so don't mutter your voice." Yu Shuyan was afraid that Mei Lanfang's worrying about him would affect his mood, so he hurriedly squeezed out a smile and said, "I'll listen to you." After speaking, he pretended to be calm and advised Mei Lanfang not to worry about him, and Mei Lanfang returned to his role. theater. After the gong started, Yu Shuyan was the first to appear on stage. Mei Lanfang heard the applause by the door curtain, and slowly let go of the heart he had been carrying all along, but he could still hear that Yu Shuyan's voice was a little muffled because he was still a little nervous.After Mei Lanfang appeared on the stage, Yu Shuyan seemed to be supported, or encouraged, and his mood gradually calmed down. The more he sang, the better he sang, and his voice became brighter. Afterwards, Yu Shuyan's voice became better and better, and his reputation became bigger and bigger, gradually surpassing Wang Fengqing, another old student in Xiqun Club.However, according to what was agreed in advance, Yu Shuyan's part in the scene can only be half of Wang Fengqing's.If two old students are on the same stage, Yu's drama must be ranked ahead of Wang.All this made Yu Shuyan feel a little uncomfortable.Mei Lanfang also noticed it.Once, Xiqunshe performed at Kaiming Theater.Mei Lanfang specifically listed "Zhulian Village" starring Yu Shuyan as the main axis, and he himself played a small role in the play.Anyone with a discerning eye can tell at a glance that Mei Lanfang tried to comfort Yu Shuyan in this way. In 1920, Yang Xiaolou organized the "Zhongxing Club" and invited Yu Shuyan to join.Yu Shuyan thought it was time to leave Mei Lanfang.Mei Lanfang was reluctant to let him go, and tried to persuade him to stay.However, he knew very well in his heart that the so-called "one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers", if there is Wang Fengqing in Xiqun Society, it is difficult for Yu Shuyan to stand out.If he broke up with Wang Fengqing, Yu Shuyan would definitely stay.However, doing so would make Wang Fengqing feel sorry.Conversely, when Yu Shuyan joined the Xiqun Club, he knew his identity in the club, and Mei Lanfang didn't lie to him back then.At that time, Yu Shuyan was not well-known and was struggling silently, so he naturally didn't care.Now, I am popular and famous, but I am dissatisfied with this status.Many people couldn't understand this, and they talked behind his back that his wings were hardened and he was about to fly. Mei Lanfang was very magnanimous. He even said to Yu Shuyan: "For more than a year, I have really wronged you by letting my third brother carry a knife. But Fengqing has cooperated with my younger brother for many years. I went to Shanghai for the first time. The situation in the south depends on Feng Qing, how can I leave him alone now? Third brother please forgive me." Yu Shuyan expressed his gratitude to Mei Lanfang.Objectively speaking, without Mei Lanfang, Yu Shuyan would not be where he is today.In fact, he was relying on Mei Lanfang to rise again.Therefore, he naturally had no complaints against Mei Lanfang.It's just that when a person goes to a high place, his intention to go is already determined.Mei Lanfang saw that he couldn't stop him, so he didn't say anything.The two made an appointment to collaborate on "You Long Xi Feng" for the last time. At that day's performance, the audience's emotions were very high. They knew that this was Mei and Yu's breakup performance.Halfway through the play, something went wrong.At that time, there were many soldiers of the Zhili warlords in the auditorium, watching and gesticulating and discussing.When the performance came to a dialogue between Li Fengjie played by Mei Lanfang and Emperor Zhengde played by Yu Shuyan, they exploded.The conversation goes like this: Sister Li Feng: There are third-class wine and meals. Zhengde: Which third class? Sister Li Feng: Upper, middle and lower. Zhengde: Where is this superior one? Sister Li Feng: It is used by officials. Zhengde: What about medium ones? Sister Li Feng: Buying and selling merchants. Zhengde: What about waiting? Sister Li Feng: What about the inferior ones—it doesn’t matter if you don’t talk about it. Zhengde: Why don't you talk about it? Sister Li Feng: I'm afraid the military master will be annoyed if I speak out. Zhengde: If you are a king, don't worry. Sister Li Feng: Isn't the military annoyed?The inferior ones are used by those of you who eat food and serve as soldiers. Hearing this, the soldiers in the seat were not happy, they made a fuss, and cursed: "Well, you Mei Lanfang, how dare you insult our soldiers!" Then, they yelled so much that the theater was in such a commotion that the play was forced to stop.The backstage manager ran out quickly, clasped his hands and bowed, and explained: "Military masters, please calm down. This is a line stipulated in the script, and it is definitely not intended to scold the military masters. If the military masters are not satisfied, we will change it immediately." lines." Finally, the play was able to continue.However, when acting, I lost my energy; when watching, I also lost my energy.This farewell commemorative scene ended hastily like this. From then on, Yu Shuyan left Mei Lanfang.之后，梅（兰芳）、杨（小楼）、余（叔岩）三人鼎足而立，被称为“三大贤”。 三大贤的梅兰芳，是旦；杨小楼，是武生；余叔岩，是老生。因此，学旦的，都想拜梅为师；学武生的，都想拜杨为师；学老生的，都想拜余为师。孟小冬学老生，自然也很想拜余叔岩为师。其实，她和梅兰芳生活在一起的时候，如果要拜余，大可以通过梅兰芳的介绍。以梅兰芳和余叔岩的旧交，相信余叔岩不会不答应。但是，也正因为她和梅兰芳结合，连登台都是不可能的了，怎么还能拜师呢。错过了这个机会，当她离开梅兰芳后，再想拜余，就不那么简单了。 在孟小冬拜言菊朋为师时，言菊朋曾向她提议，还是应该拜余叔岩，因为他们的路子相合。孟小冬何尝不想呢？不过，以余叔岩的身份，是不会轻易答应收徒的。而且他为人孤傲，一般人很难接近。言菊朋就明确向孟小冬表示，他无法当介绍人。于是，孟小冬转托他人，向余叔岩表达想拜师的愿望。 余叔岩的女儿余慧清在其撰写的《忆父亲余叔岩》一文中，这样说：“在梅兰芳身边的'捧梅集团'中，又因梅的两个妾的关系而分成'捧福派'和'捧孟派'。梅的原配王氏夫人在世时，孟小冬同她比较合得来；王氏夫人故世后，在'捧福派'和'捧孟派'的较量中，前者占了上风，孟小冬不甘继续为妾，遂离婚出走。当时的'捧福派'有冯耿光、齐如山等。由于父亲当时尚未收孟为徒，但她已私淑余派，其天赋很为我父亲所看重。因此在梅周围的两派争斗时，父亲就偏向于'捧孟派'。” 既然如此，当余叔岩得知孟小冬想拜师后，没有一口回绝，便是可以理解的了，他甚至有心应允而收下这个徒弟。不过，他的这个想法遭到夫人陈淑铭的大力反对。她反对的理由其实很简单：孟小冬是个女人，又是个年轻的、容貌出众的女人，而且是个曾经做过梅兰芳妾的女人。她担心余叔岩收这样的女人为徒，将来保不住会惹出什么麻烦。余叔岩无奈，通过中间人回绝了孟小冬。但是，他向孟小冬推荐了鲍吉祥。就这样，孟小冬拜了鲍吉祥。 不久，陈淑铭因病去世。一年后，即1934年年底，北洋政府陆军次长杨梧山由沪抵平，北平警察局秘书长窦公颖设宴为杨接风，特别邀请了余叔岩和孟小冬。余叔岩和杨梧山是旧识，而且关系很密切。席间，有人重提孟小冬拜师一事。孟小冬也乘此机会请求拜师。余叔岩有些犹豫，此时，他有顾虑，一是因为夫人已死，孤寡一人，收个女徒，怕遭人猜忌；二，还是因为孟小冬和梅兰芳的关系。他一直称梅兰芳为“兰弟”，孟小冬自然是他的“弟妹”。他担心他在死了夫人之后收孟小冬为徒，会引起误会而伤害到梅兰芳。 孟小冬本来就一直对她和梅兰芳的关系耿耿于怀，又见余叔岩是因为这个原因而拒绝她，一时气急，竟脱口说了一句狠话：“如果你不收我，我就自杀。”余叔岩一下子被吓住了。在座的又你一言，我一语地劝说余叔岩。在这样的情况下，余叔岩就是不答应也不行了。余叔岩答应了收徒，不过，他要求不要大张旗鼓地行拜师礼。几天后，在杨梧山家，举行了一个小范围的程序简单的拜师礼，孟小冬只磕了一个头。 1935年1月19日的《天津商报画刊》刊登了孟小冬拜余叔岩为师的报道。不知为什么，文中没有指名道姓，而用“须生大王某伶”代替余叔岩，用“坤伶皇帝某”代替孟小冬，还提到了梅兰芳，用“博士”代替。文章这样写道： 谭派传人须生大王某伶自去岁继弦后，曾经友人建议，不再续弦，拟纳一小星， 年前曾看定一人，嗣因八字不合，作为罢论。坤伶皇帝某，自与博士脱离后，重理旧 日生涯，屡恳友人代为介绍，拟拜某伶为师，某伶因断弦之初，与某有性别嫌疑，始 终未允，嗣经其至友杨某，一再说项，始得首肯，月前已在杨宅举行拜师典礼。 还是为了避嫌，孟小冬拜师后，不上余宅听教，而是隔三岔五地到杨宅。也就是说，余叔岩将授教的地点，设在杨梧山的家里。就这样持续了将近四年，直到1938年10月，他们的师徒关系，始终处于半保密状态，除了杨悟山等少数几个人，外界很少有人知道。 这年10月19日，余叔岩收李少春为徒，在泰丰楼饭庄举行了隆重的拜师礼。应邀参加的有朱家奎、鲍吉祥、叶龙章、郝寿臣、王福山、吴彦衡、李洪春、高庆奎、王凤卿、谭小培、阎世善、慈瑞全、李玉安、丁永利、尚小云和袁世海等，场面十分热闹。在拜师礼上，李少春呈给师傅的礼物有：四季衣料、一件水獭皮大衣、一顶水獭皮帽，以及给师娘、师姐妹们每人一份礼品。 也就在这次的拜师礼上，有不知情者为孟小冬打抱不平，半真半假地“斥责”余叔岩重李轻孟，理由是李少春提出拜师，他就收了；孟小冬很早就提出要拜师，他却始终不肯。据说，当时，余叔岩为自己辩解的理由，还是孟、梅关系。有人开玩笑说那就让梅兰芳出面表个态，又有人提议如果为了“男女授受不亲”的问题，那就让余的二位女儿陪学，也可避免闲话。余叔岩含笑无言。 乘此机会，在李少春拜师两天后，即10月21日，还是在泰丰楼，由杨梧山出面张罗，又补办了一个拜师礼。这次拜师的就是孟小冬。事实上，这个拜师礼只是一个对外公开余、孟师徒关系的形式。从此以后，孟小冬明正言顺地立雪余门，更加用心地学习余派。