Chasing the Clouds No. 63.
The first lunar month is the first month of the lunar calendar, and the ancients called the night "xiao", so the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is called the Lantern Festival, and it is also the first full moon night of the year. This year's Lantern Festival falls on February 24. One yuan is renewed, the earth is rejuvenated, and the Lantern Festival comes in the first month. On one stage, the curtain rises and falls, one table and two chairs, once a life is ugly, singing all the cold and warm in the world of firewood, rice, oil and salt. As a famous local opera in Yunnan, Yunnan Opera has a history of more than 200 years since its birth, and is popular among the people because of its rich life and good at portraying characters.
Among these people, Mr. Wu Zhengdong, the 82-year-old representative inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage project of Kunming Dian Opera, is called "Old Baby" by people who are familiar with Dian Opera, because "he has a very comprehensive understanding of Dian Opera, can speak (director) and act, and he remembers Dian Opera in his stomach."
Five or six hundred shows, love drama to life. He is the first master of Yunnan opera, he said that the way of drama is right, and at this age, he can still be literate and martial, can turn and roll, and be comprehensive. Zhang Xiong, chairman of Yunnan Gudu Cultural Communication, director of Kunming Opera Association, and founder of "Gudu Pear Garden" in Guandu Ancient Town, said.
In recent years, Wu Zhengdong and other Dian opera performers have been invited to perform in the Kunming Golden Palace Scenic Area from time to time, or to teach the art of Dian opera to children; Sometimes they also go to Chenggong and other places to teach lantern art ......"I have the responsibility and obligation to pass on this art to future generations, and I can't let Dian Opera be cut off in our generation. These are the words that he often puts on his lips. In 2021, Wu Zhengdong was selected as the representative inheritor of the fifth batch of municipal intangible cultural heritage Dian Opera in Kunming.
Wu Zhengdong (left) and actor Yang Xiujuan perform at the Golden Palace.
Learn drama: If you don't have the ability, you have to be angry.
In 1942, Wu Zhengdong was born in Baoshan, Yunnan. That year, Japanese planes bombed Baoshan City, and the Wu family fled to Kunming. Five generations of the Wu family have sung opera, and when he reached the age of ***9, Wu Zhengdong first followed his sister to learn Peking opera, and later changed to Yunnan opera. From the initial dislike, in order to make a living, to the later conscious and voluntary hard study, and then to the final love, Wu Zhengdong concluded that he has gone through three stages of learning drama.
At first, he studied drama to eat, but it was too difficult for his family, so Wu Zhengdong picked up pear pits on the street to eat. "When you are young, you will roll in the troupe. Our life was very evil, I didn't love and didn't like it when I first learned opera, but I only had food to eat when I sang opera. "People who study opera, don't provide food, a big retort of rice, if you have a little status in the troupe, you can play a little more when you eat, and you can also play first. "My father had a low status in the troupe, and we were often pushed away when we were cooking. ”
When I started to learn drama, I realized the bitterness. To practice flipping heels, insert two knives, and the person should turn over through the middle of the knife. In order to prevent the leg from bending, tie the knee with a sharp bamboo piece. I practiced for hours and couldn't go to the toilet. There was one thing that stimulated Wu Zhengdong and made him learn drama from the first stage to the second stage. That is, after a performance, my father got a slap in the face. My father was in charge of the costumes in the troupe, and during this performance, an actress tied a strap behind her back broke, and she slapped his father when she came, "Hit that mouth, no one said a word to my father, and they all said that it was his responsibility, why didn't he nail this strap well?" This incident made me understand one thing: if you don't have the ability, you have to be angry. In this case, I began to consciously practice well and be an 'evil' actor. ”
Wu Zhengdong performs on the stage of Shaxi Ancient Town.
Why do you remember so many scenes in your stomach now, Wu Zhengdong is grateful to his teacher Gai Xiaoling. Gai Xiaoling is one of the three major martial arts students of Dian Opera, and his teaching method to his apprentices now seems a little strange: let them practice "thick bottom skills" (wearing high boots), and after the heel fight, he will teach another action, and if he does it right, he will fight, and if he does it wrong, he will fight. Wearing high boots and being chased by ** is actually letting the apprentice practice "thick foundation skills".
In addition, ** don't go to the play, let Wu Zhengdong listen to it, and listen to the sheng, dan, net, end, and ugly, including the gongs and drums and furniture from beginning to end, and come back to tell **. Listening to dramas every day, Wu Zhengdong remembers a lot of plays. Later, the state sent cadres to rectify the troupe, and Wu Zhengdong understood that learning opera was to serve the people, and no matter how big the sun was to perform on the streets, he was very active.
Acting: The smaller the audience, the harder you have to act.
Wu Zhengdong (right) instructs children to learn Yunnan opera in the Golden Palace.
As a drama actor, Wu Zhengdong emphasizes drama morality, and he has seen drama ethics from the older generation of artists, and one of the things that has the deepest influence on him is that "drama is bigger than the sky". There is an old artist named Li Wenxin in the troupe, one day he is going to play Han Xin in "Cutting Han Xin", he was just about to go on stage, and others grabbed him and said, "**Your girl was electrocuted." He shook off people's hands and sang on stage, but his voice was hoarse, "After the performance, I helped him, looked at his girl with shaking feet and hands, covered it with a mat, he didn't shed a single tear, and sat all night with a pipe." ”
I also taught me a truth about being an actor, he said that the smaller the audience, the harder you have to sing, and these audiences are loyal audiences. They all come when it rains and snows, you have to play well, of course, you have to play seriously at all times. Must love drama. Wu Zhengdong said.
Wu Zhengdong in front of the performance at the Golden Palace.
Writing a play: A good show to watch the crying audience.
In addition to the good acting of the play, the script written by Wu Zhengdong is also very popular. He has written scripts such as "The Legend of the White Fan" and "Caesarean Section", his scripts are reasonable and moving, based on the observation of society, some are based on historical stories, and are entertaining; Some are inspired by the film, and the ending is thought-provoking. Some of the Dian operas made into CDs were very popular with the people in Yunnan.
In a scene written by Wu Zhengdong, when he was eating after recording the music, the recording engineer toasted him with a glass of wine and said: "Thank you, after recording this audio, I feel deeply guilty about my parents, I thought my parents were verbose, nagging, and annoying, but now I know that I am wrong." "This disc is very good, someone specially called ** to Wu Zhengdong, saying that some people in society are not filial to their parents, and this scene is sad to listen to the lines, which makes them cry. The success of this play made Wu Zhengdong even more determined to write the script well.
Oh Jeong-dong (right) with a young actor.
Teaching opera: Leave a little spark for Yunnan opera.
Wu Zhengdong (left) is applying makeup to children.
My girl has also studied opera, and her kung fu is not easy. Wu Zhengdong sighed, his daughter had to change her career after graduating from the Provincial Literature and Art School, her daughter is a good seedling for learning drama, and she meets Wu Lao's definition of "five sons upper body": appearance, voice, handle (martial arts), silk (fan gong), and warp (plate). At the beginning, Wu Zhengdong asked his daughter to learn opera, but everyone was opposed, everyone thought that learning opera was so hard and it was difficult to see the future, but Wu Zhengdong insisted, "I just want to leave a little fire for Yunnan opera." ”
In the first month of the year, we Yunnan people watch Yunnan opera, we are very grand to act during the New Year, especially in Kunming, to play a lot of dragon-related plays, the common people and the dragon have feelings, the dragon will also repay the favor, these stories are played in the Yunnan opera, everyone loves to watch. Mr. Wu Zhengdong said.
Wu Zhengdong (left) and children who came to participate in the research activities.
"Chasing the Clouds" is a new innovative way, multi-dimensional publicity and promotion of Yunnan culture and tourism, digging interesting people and things in Yunnan, presenting more interesting Yunnan characteristics from a novel and peculiar perspective. It will show the rich diversity of Yunnan's ecological, tourism and ethnic cultural resources from a new perspective, so that more tourists can experience the cultural customs of Yunnan and start a heart-warming journey of colorful Yunnan.
Chasing the clouds column].
Producer: He Yaning
Editor-in-chief: Kong Weihua
Editor-in-chief: Li Xiaofeng
Producers: Guo Weiping, Yin Fan, Wu Zhimin, Lu Gang.
Technical Producer: He Huan.
Producers: Chen Yan, Ma Yannan.
Planners: Wang Fan, **Mei, Yang Weihan.
Coordinator: **Mei, Yang Weihan.
Editors: Yu Yingmu, Ma Danni, Su Kesheng, Liu Xingyi,
Lai Changyu, Liu Fayou, Pan Shiyu, Jiang Yunyan.
Promotion coordinator: Zhao Xiaoqiang, Peng Minghui, Yang Weihan.
Live broadcast coordinator: Yang Rui, Zhao Xiaoqiang.
Propaganda and execution: Sun Anran, Jiang Yuwei.
Technology: Ye Dandan, Shi Jiawei.
Producers: Qiu Huangmian, Liu Tao.
Guiding unit: Propaganda Department of Yunnan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Cyberspace Administration of the Yunnan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Yunnan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.
Yunnan Provincial Radio and Television Bureau.
Produced by: Yunnan Provincial Cultural Center.
Yunnan Radio and Television Station.
Planners of this issue: Wang Fan, **Mei, Yang Weihan.
Choreographer: **Mei, Wang Lei.
*Photography: Wang Lei, Wei Qianhuai, Li Ruoyou.
Editor: Grid Studio.
Written by WeChat: **Mei.
*Photo: Li Ruoyou.
Part of the information**: Cultural tourism headlines.
Editor: Yang Weihan.
Propaganda: Zhao Xiaoqiang, Sun Anran.
Review: Wang Fan, Ma Yannan, ** Mei.