Chapter 42 Part Three: One Chant and Three Sighs "The Story of the Red Lantern" Mrs. Ah Qing: Zhao Yanxia, ​​Liu Xiurong, Hong Xuefei

In several rounds of adaptation and rehearsal of the Peking opera "Shajiabang", the famous Peking opera actor Zhao Yanxia has been acting as the heroine A Qingsao in the play. Speaking of it, it is indeed the development and training of a new way of drama. Jiang Qing also admired Zhao Yanxia who played Ah Qing's wife, and often asked Zhao Yanxia to accompany her to watch movies and other opera performances. Once, when the crew went to Shanghai to perform "Shajiabang", Zhao Yanxia did not feel well When he went to the scene for rehearsal, Jiang Qing visited and asked her with great concern, and asked Zhang Chunqiao to bring her a sweater of his own.Maybe Zhao Yanxia didn't intend to climb up to such a domineering figure like Jiang Qing, or maybe she just indulged in her acting career and didn't care too much about the complicated interpersonal relationships in life. Zhao Yanxia didn't understand Jiang Qing's "special care" for her.During the rehearsal process, Zhao Yanxia also had some disagreements with Jiang Qing because of the weight of oil paint on the face of the character Ah Qing, Jiang Qing believed that the heroine Ah Qing should have a red face, while Zhao Yanxia thought it should be To comprehensively consider and express it from the aspects of local characteristics and characters' personalities, it should not be completely emphasized on the facial makeup. Besides, Mrs. Ah Qing, who does not reveal her secret identity, should be the kind of rosy white with obvious The light makeup characteristic of Jiangnan women should be used to deal with it.Zhao Yanxia unconditionally obeyed these seemingly normal little things during the rehearsal process, and did not take it to heart. However, Jiang Qing was worried about it, especially when Zhao Yanxia went to Beijing in the summer of 1964 After Zhongnanhai participated in the weekend dance party and danced with President Liu Shaoqi, Zhao Yanxia's fate took a turn for the worse.

An ordinary Peking opera actor became a victim of the "line struggle". Jiang Qing, out of personal motives and jealousy of Wang Guangmei and Liu Shaoqi's love between husband and wife, put his deep-rooted hatred for Liu Shaoqi first on Zhao Yanxia, ​​who had danced with Liu Shaoqi once.Among the cast members of the entire cast, she was the only one who replaced the important heroine Zhao Yanxia.Subsequently, Liu Xiurong, a young rookie who had won an international award at the "World Youth Art Festival" and starred in the Peking Opera drama "Mu Guiying vs. Hongzhou" in 1963, led the continuation.However, the good times didn't last long. During the "Cultural Revolution" movement that broke out soon, Liu Xiurong was mercilessly attacked as a "black top" and "poison seedling".At that time, there was no suitable candidate for the "Danjiao" actor of the Beijing Peking Opera Theater. After several searches, Hong Xuefei, a young actor from the Northern Kunqu Opera Troupe, was finally found to replace Zhao Yanxia's Mrs. Ah Qing.

Hong Xuefei was a young actor who was trained as a key player at that time and made her mark as Mrs. Ah Qing. In terms of personal qualifications and stage performance experience, of course she was inferior to Zhao Yanxia, ​​Liu Xiurong and others. However, due to her hard work and studious, In addition, Kunqu Opera and Peking Opera are originally inherited in the same strain, and they were borrowed from the Beijing Peking Opera Troupe.Afterwards, the Beijing Peking Opera Troupe changed from "group" to "academy". Hong Xuefei, who came from this, made her appearance as Mrs. Ah Qing's makeup. Coupled with her unique high-pitched voice, she was completely impressed by Jiang Qing and her husband. Approval and endorsement of the crew.Therefore, 5 years later, the play was made into a colorful opera art film, and the broad audience across the country came to know and be familiar with Hong Xuefei's Mrs. Ah Qing through the repeated screening of the film.Hong Xuefei performed A Qing's capable, pungent, intelligent, and skillful "Chun Lai Tea House" proprietress in a superb performance, and her superb acting skills naturally won unanimous applause from the audience.

In the late 1980s, after the "Eight Model Operas" disappeared for more than ten years and then "resurrected", "Shajiabang" has become popular because of its familiar plot and story, and has been dubbed "Red Opera". One of the classics, in the form of the original modern Peking Opera, it once again evokes the affectionate memories of many people, and is deeply loved and welcomed by today's audiences with many famous arias that have been sung in the play.Hong Xuefei, as a famous opera performer who became famous all over the world because of the role of Mrs. Aqing, has been invited to thousands of households in China. She has also been invited to appear frequently in various cultural performances. Her original song "Wisdom Fighting" is unknown It's how many times I sang it over and over again, and the obsessed audience never tires of listening to it, talking about it with gusto.Unfortunately, on September 14, 1994, when Hong Xuefei was invited to perform at the remote Karamay Oilfield in Xinjiang, a car suddenly overturned on the road. Hong Xuefei was thrown out of the car and sent to the hospital where he died. 50 years old.For a time, major news and publicity media across the country carried out key reports one after another. Almost all the headlines were uniformly titled "Sister-in-law Aqing" Hong Xuefei's introduction, in order to arouse more people's understanding of this famous woman who is well-known in this special era. A feeling of deep regret and nostalgia for opera actors.

Later, Hong Xuefei's family donated all the supplementary pensions issued by Karamay Oilfield in Xinjiang, and jointly established the "Hong Xuefei Special Fund Award" with the Beijing Drama Association, which is specially used to reward outstanding young Kunqu opera performers who continue to emerge.This is what happened in front of and behind the scenes in "Shajiabang" after nearly 40 years.It's a pity that a generation of famous actresses passed away unexpectedly, but her image of Mrs. Ah Qing has left a deep mark that will never be erased in the hearts of two generations of audiences.