Sun Liqun: I miss those old artists with gratitude
2022-08-21 19:25:42Source: Xi’an News Network
Xi’an News Network News As a famous Qin Opera performing artist, he participated in more than 40 (folded) plays such as “Nephrite Jade Screen”, “Three Drops of Blood”, “The Bottomless Pit”, “Snatch the Golden Tower”, “Xi’an Incident” and “White Dragon’s Mouth”. She has successfully created Bai Miaoxiang, Li Sanniang, Jade Mouse Jing, Qian Qiongying, Song Meiling, Yuan Ying and other different types of characters, which are well received by the masses – she is Sun Liqun, the former vice president of the Yisu Society of Xi’an Qin Opera Theatre. On the occasion of the 110th anniversary of Yisu Society this year, the reporter conducted an exclusive interview with her to listen to her story with Yisu Society.
Embark on the artistic path of Qin Opera
Sun Liqun was born in 1940 in a poor family in Wangjiaxiang, Beiguan, Xi’an. When she was 4 years old, her father left home for some reason. The mother supported her siblings by doing laundry and knitting sweaters. At the age of 11, in order to reduce the burden of life at home, he was recommended to participate in a private troupe – Xinmin Opera Club.
Sun Liqun joined the Xinmin Drama Club in 1951, which was very influential among the people at that time. Her enlightenment teacher was a male actor who was very famous in Xiguan at the time, and he acted well. Speaking of her first performance on stage, Sun Liqun recalled: “The first drama I learned was “Yang’s Handmaiden”, and this drama sang anti-feudalism. The husband in the play died, the young lady was going to remarry, and the maid was in it. Miss has a lot of pairing plays. It was my first time to sing on stage. When the gongs and drums rang, I suddenly forgot the words of the play, and I was very nervous. Finally, the master next to me pushed me on the stage. When I came on stage to face the audience, I suddenly felt It was calm. I finished the performance according to the teacher’s instructions, but at the end, the handkerchief I was holding fell on the stage. I didn’t know at that time, should I pick it up? I didn’t dare to pick it up, and I ended up on the stage and walked off the stage like this.”
Due to the hard work, the progress is also very fast. Immediately in less than a year, Sun Liqun played an important role in more than ten plays such as “Selling Water in the Garden”, “Splitting the Mountain to Save the Mother”, “The Legend of the White Snake”, “Fifteen Consecutive”, “Little Er Hei’s Marriage” and so on. Loved by the audience.
“I was still young at that time, but I learned very quickly. I acted both in modern and traditional dramas. I played the green snake at that time, and the role of the green snake was as important as the role of the white snake. Encouragement and applause. These performances and experiences have also given me exercise. There is also the scene of “Splitting the Mountain to Save My Mother”. I played a small ganoderma lucidum, which is also a significant role. In the end, the audience remembered my role. name, call me Little Lingzhi.”
Ushering in great development in Yisushe
In 1952, the troupe was going to reform, and Yisu Club was also recruiting students. Sun Liqun passed the exam and came to Yisu Club, “My original drama club also promised to let people go, but I asked to teach others the plays I knew first, and wait for others. I can only leave after people have learned it. At the time, I thought this requirement was reasonable. I played a lot of plays in the club for more than a year, and many of these plays were local plays, and I played important roles, such as “The Fifteenth” There are also several excerpts.”
After joining the Yisu Society, Sun Liqun also ushered in great development in the performing arts of Qin Opera. “At that time, many people went to the DPRK to offer condolences and performances, and other students who were in the same period as me have often performed on the stage. In the past two years, through me I practiced hard on my own, as well as my teacher’s training and constant diligence, and I acted in several plays. The first very formal performance was “The Legend of the White Snake”, and I played the green snake. Later, I played “Wudianpo” , I played Wang Baochuan in it. In these continuous performances, I have also improved a lot. Our group graduated in 1955 and took the exam at the end of 1954, singing, doing, reading, and playing, everyone had to pass , the teacher sat there and graded. I was very scared before the exam, and finally announced the results. I ranked in the top ten, or the top few. In recognition of us, the Cultural Affairs Bureau at that time awarded us two books, one of which was Du Pengcheng’s “Defending Yan’an”, I have kept this book to this day, and a few years ago I handed it over to the Yisu Society as an old item for safekeeping.”
After graduation, after a long period of continuous practice, Sun Liqun has been walking among the audience and the masses. “We have just graduated, and we have been practicing from the stage to the countryside and from the countryside to the stage all the year round. Practice is very important. There are many plays and performances, and the audience remembers them. During the performance, we also played When it comes to the link between the past and the next, the original repertoire of the Yisu Society has been passed down. We can say that our group has performed many times, performed many repertoires, and cultivated many talents.”
In 1960, Yisu Society and Xi’an Film Studio filmed the Qin Opera film “Three Drops of Blood”, and Sun Liqun also participated in the performance, “The Qin Opera film “Three Drops of Blood” was originally planned to be filmed in some southern provinces, but we insisted on making it ourselves. At that time, the Xi’an Film Studio had just been built, and the equipment for shooting was very simple. As soon as the shooting started, all the lights were turned on, in the current parlance, it was to take a sauna. It was also a big summer, and there were no fans at that time. There was no grass during the filming, so we went to dig grass on the spot. The transportation was going back and forth every day, we still had to live by ourselves, and there was a performance at night. There are also many unforgettable things. A colleague in the group is Quan Qiaomin, a famous Qin Opera performance artist. She plays Jia Lianxiang. She is older than me in life, and I call her sister. On the stage of the performance, she plays me My name is Mom. At that time, life was still relatively difficult, and my family was a little short of food. She sent us 7 catties of food, which I still remember. “
In retrospect, Sun Liqun said the most is gratitude, “I often miss the time at that time, and the scenes of learning with those old artists, who have made great contributions to the development of Yisu Society. Without these founders People, there is no Yisu Society we are today. Without the persistence of these old artists, there is no us today. Our Yisu Society is 110 years old this year, and we have experienced such a long time in the middle. It is very difficult to persist. easy.”
do something meaningful in history
In 1984, the superiors appointed Sun Liqun as the vice president of Yisu Society, in addition to his own performances, but also in charge of business. Among the many Qin Opera plays, Sun Liqun talked about the Qin Opera “Xi’an Incident”.
“I had an experience at that time, I felt that I was not acting, but doing something meaningful in history. In 1976, when our Premier Zhou passed away, we were very sad. How can we miss our goodness? Prime Minister? Our format is a well-created Qin Opera opera, so we rehearsed “Xi’an Incident”, in which I played Song Meiling. There are many famous Qin Opera artists in this play. We all thought that we must rehearse Good play. After everyone’s efforts, our play finally won the first prize for the performance in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and also won the first prize for the best original script. The Ministry of Culture awarded us Award.”
While in charge of the business, Sun Liqun has been thinking about the development of Yisu Club, “I think in my heart, our Yisu Club can only be done well. For a while, our performances lacked costumes, and it was better to be ridiculed by the outside world than the outsiders. Jianghu team. At that time, there was no office space and no accommodation conditions, so I reported the situation to the superiors. There were many problems later, which were gradually solved. “
“Stage actors should use artistic charm to conquer the audience, not to cater to the audience.” This is what a director said, and Sun Liqun has always used this sentence to encourage herself.
After retiring, Sun Liqun did her best to the society in various ways, “My dream is to better show the works of some old artists on the stage. It’s not easy to think about the inheritance of the past. We have established the Qin Opera School Inheritance and Development Center, which is also the first in the country in the field of opera. We must inherit and develop the good operas of the past. There are too many original operas in our Yisu Society, and we have a lot of old artists. The memory of them is also a kind of admiration for their creation. Our creative principle is the principle of establishing a society – changing customs and enlightening people’s wisdom, and we should stick to this principle forever.”
Zeng Shixiang, an all-media reporter from Xi’an Press