Original title: Whose voice is reciting the earth-shattering symphony
People’s Daily Overseas EditionReporter Zheng Na
“Friend, have you been to the Yellow River? Have you crossed the Yellow River? Do you still remember the scene of the boatman on the river, fighting for his life against the stormy waves?”
“Dayanhe is my nanny. Her name is the name of the village where she was born. She is a child bride, and Dayanhe is my nanny.”
“Tuanbowa, Tuanbowa, are you really so quiet? The whole world is noisy, where there is no thunder and roar, the situation changes!”
“Yellow River Cantata”, “Dayan River – My Nanny”, “Autumn in Tuanbowa”… When people mention Qu Xianhe, the classic masterpieces that he has recited will always come to mind, and his or his momentum echoes in their ears. Majestic, or full of soulful, or plucking voices.
As a well-loved broadcasting artist, Qu Xianhe is still active on the literary stage even though he is almost old. Not long ago, he and his wife Zhang Yunying, who was selected as one of China’s top ten performing artists, jointly published a new book “Recitation Practice Talks: Hundred Pieces and Hundred Feelings” (hereinafter referred to as “Recitation Practice Talks”), which has been popular in the literary and art circles, academia and audiences. Readers responded enthusiastically. Recently, the reporter interviewed the artist couple, and through this new book, we can get a glimpse of what they think and feel about the art of recitation for more than half a century.
Deep understanding of the secondary creation of works
Since graduating from the Performance Department of the Central Academy of Drama in the 1960s, Qu Xianhe and Zhang Yunying have devoted themselves to recitation, broadcasting, dubbing, and hosting careers, and have been immersed in this place for more than half a century. In their long artistic careers, they interpret the beauty of words with real and full emotions and a sound that combines hardness and softness, leaving countless fine works.
“Recitation Practice Talk” selects 100 works and their creative impressions. From classical poems such as “Viewing the Sea” and “Pipa Xing”, to modern masterpieces such as “Yellow River Cantata”, “Dayan River – My Nanny”, and contemporary masterpieces such as “From Shikumen to Tiananmen” and “If I Come Back”, Then there are foreign classics such as “Haiyan” and “If Life Deceived You”; from “Qinyuan Spring Snow” full of heroic pride, to “To Oak Tree”, which issued a declaration of female love, to “Red Boat” which enthusiastically sang the new era. From the subtle and meaningful poetry, the affectionate and elegant prose to the complicated novels, to the commentary and dubbing of various types of film and television dramas, Qu Xianhe and Zhang Yunying practice, explore, think, how to Convert words into sounds, summarize rules from sounds, and step by step will bring the art of reciting to the realm.
“Recitation is an art form that is easy to popularize and has a relatively low threshold. Some people think that recitation is not just speaking, but it is not. Reciting is not simply speaking, but transforming silent written language into typical and artistic spoken language. .” Qu Xianhe said. In his view, recitation is a second creation based on a deep understanding of the work.
How does one understand a work? Qu Xianhe and Zhang Yunying summed up three standards: sincerity, sincerity, and truth. Truly and precisely interpreted, impressing audiences with sincerity, based on real life language.
Incorporating themselves into their works is the key to their creative logic.
“Dayan River – My Nanny” is Ai Qing’s famous work. In 1932, Ai Qing was arrested for joining the League of Left-wing Artists. In the prison, he saw snowflakes drifting in from the high bars, touching the scene, and from this, the image, behavior, and fate of the wet nurse Dayanhe emerged, and he wrote this long poem in one go.
In order to accurately grasp the era background and emotional tone of this poem, Qu Xianhe visited Ai Qing many times and visited Ai Qing’s residence and former residence. He did not take “Dayan River” for granted as “river” or “nostalgia”, but felt and captured every detail in the poem, realized the poet’s sympathy, gratitude and love for Dayan River, and finally chose Taking “calling” as the “action” of the recitation, it expresses the poet’s gratitude to the nanny’s spirit in the sky.
Ai Qing once said to others more than once: “I didn’t cry when I wrote “Dayan River – My Nanny”. I don’t know why, but every time I listen to Qu Xian and read it, I cry.” This is the poet’s highest praise for his second creation.
“Autumn in Tuanbowa” is Guo Xiaochuan’s representative work. Guo Xiaochuan had passed away when he first received an invitation to recite. In order to accurately understand the original work, Qu Xianhe made a special trip to visit the poet’s comrades-in-arms, listened to their opinions, and entered the poet’s heart. In early 1977, Qu Xianhe recited this poem at the Beijing Workers’ Gymnasium. His tone was slow and his emotions were deep, which perfectly explained the connotation of the poem. After the recitation, thousands of audience members in the hall burst into thunderous applause.
Through Qu Xian and an infectious recitation, the poem made huge waves in the hearts of the audience. Many years have passed, and many people still clearly remember the four lines in the poem: “A soldier has his own character as a soldier, and he is not afraid of slander and intimidation” “A soldier has his own ambition of a soldier, and he will always transform and start from zero” “A soldier has his own soldier.” courage, do not believe in gossip, do not be deceived” and “a warrior has a warrior’s love, faithfulness, new beauty and picturesque”, and take them as his life motto.
The art of recitation is inseparable from three elements
Action, image, and music are the three elements of the art of recitation that Qu Xianhe and Zhang Yunying summarized and abstracted through years of stage practice.
The so-called actionability means that the recited language must have a clear purpose, a clear attitude, and a strong desire; figurativeness means that the language should make the audience feel the image depicted by the reciter; musicality means that the language itself is recited and specific. The beauty of music such as background music.
“Whether acting or reciting is inseparable from action.” Qu Xianhe said.
Qu Xianhe believes that the works chosen by everyone at the recitation often appear in the first person, such as Ye Ting’s “The Prisoner’s Song”, Lu Xun’s “Self-mockery”, Mao Zedong’s “Butterfly Love Flowers: Answer to Li Shuyi”, Guo Xiaochuan’s “Autumn Song” “, Lei Shuyan’s “The Grass Is Singing”, Wei Wei’s “Who is the Cutest Person”, etc., because the first person is easier to express one’s feelings. Even if it does not appear in the first person, whether it is a poem, an essay or a novel, it has a distinct action when it expresses the author’s evaluation of things, characters and scenery, and his perception of the big world.
“The annual strong autumn wind wakes me up from lethargy; the annual festival fireworks ignite the fire in my heart”, Guo Xiaochuan’s “Autumn Song” was the poet’s inner monologue from the very beginning. When reciting, it is not advisable to express enthusiasm, but to choose “talking” as the action, and read it out slowly and softly. In Lu Xun’s “Self-deprecating”, the phrases such as “carrying out to cover the roof”, “breaking the hat to cover one’s face” and “hiding in a small building” seem to be self-deprecating, but they are actually self-deprecating expressions of “cold brows and cold fingers to thousands of husbands, bowing head and willing to be a rude cow”. Mian. When reciting, we should start from the action of “self-encouragement”, neither underestimate the white terror nor feel dejected, but show the strong will of the poet in a dangerous environment.
With action, where does the image come from? Zhang Yunying, who starred in the movie “Flowers of the Motherland” in her childhood, has recorded nearly a thousand literary works and directed and translated more than 240 works for decades. She has accumulated rich experience in recitation, dubbing, and broadcasting. In her opinion, life experience, personal experience, footage from film and television dramas, descriptions in novels, art exhibits, etc., are all sources of imagery and references. The anthropomorphic timbre and reasonable and appropriate body movements contribute to the figurative expression.
For example, when reciting Krylov’s fable “The Friendship of Dogs”, as soon as the images of the two dogs appear, they can be distinguished by their timbres. They are reflected in the impassioned thick tones and the pretentious thin ones, showing the difference between words and deeds about friendship in the world. and hypocrisy exposed. When reciting “The Grass Is Singing”, you can spread your hands out after looking around and read “This used to be the execution ground”; when reciting “Shui Tiao Ge Tou·When the Moon Comes”, you can use the word “cold” in “Invincible Cold”. With one hand trembling, draw a circle in front of your chest.
It is sonorous and powerful when it is just, soft and beautiful when it is soft; it spews out when it is fast, and it is calm when it is slow; The reason why the recitation is fascinating lies in the ups and downs and the changing colors, just like the music, it has the beauty of music.
The “Yellow River Cantata” written by Guang Weiran and composed by Xian Xinghai, Qu Xianhe has performed for nearly 40 years, is one of his most important works. Since the birth of “Yellow River Cantata”, recitation and music have been inseparable, especially the third paragraph “The Water of the Yellow River Comes from the Sky”, which was restored by Qu Xianhe himself, is positioned as “recitation song”, which reflects the language Blend in with music.
Qu Xian and comprehension should be recited “like a sing” when dealing with this important passage. He and Zhang Yunying repeatedly studied the integration of accents, pauses, and intonation. The note from which each character begins and the phrase in which the sentence must be finished is marked in detail on the score. He also added elements of theatrical performances, and transformed what he saw when he stopped at the source of the Yellow River and by the Yellow River in Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Henan, Shandong and other places, and turned it into an inner video during the performance, expressing the national voice of the majestic mountains and rivers.
Share the experience with more young people
“Qu Xianhe, Zhang Yunying and his wife identified the cause they were interested in, loved, and beneficial to the people, and insisted that Qingshan would not relax. I admire them. They are valuable because they have consciously raised the ‘practice talk’ to a kind of theoretical confidence and cultural self-confidence.” The literary critic Zhong Chengxiang commented on the publication of the book “Recitation Practice Talk” by Qu Xian and Zhang Yunying. .
Lu Baojun, a professor at Communication University of China, believes that “Recitation Practice Talk” reflects the profound artistic and literary accomplishments of Qu Xianhe and Zhang Yunying, as well as their demeanor as a human being and an artist. It is not only a summary of their experience in the practice of recitation art, but also a precious historical material of oral style, with unique academic and aesthetic value.
In recent years, recitation has become popular in the whole society, especially among young people, and recitation enthusiasts have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain. Qu Xianhe and Zhang Yunying hope to share their experience and experience with more people. “Recitation can improve the cultivation of literature, thinking and other aspects. I hope that young people can improve through recitation, show their positive energy, and express their ideals.” Zhang Yunying said.
Although they are in their 80s, the publication of the new book is just a “comma” for Qu Xianhe and Zhang Yunying, and their pursuit of art will not stop.
For more than half a century, no matter where they are in the world, they have always been engaged in and loving the cause related to recitation, sticking to their original aspirations, breathing with the people, and keeping pace with the times. In 2020, when the new crown pneumonia epidemic struck, Qu Xianhe recorded and recited the poem “I am from Hubei” to cheer for the people of Hubei; Zhang Junying recited “If I Come Back” to pay tribute to the warriors in white. In 2021, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the party, they recorded the poems “The Direction of the Red Boat”, “From Shikumen to Tiananmen”, “Red Dream”, “Centennial Symphony” and other works. The narrator of The Voice Archives.
Qu Xianhe and Zhang Yunying liked the prelude of “One Hundred Years Symphony” very much, and the poem wrote: “Tonight, I stand on the bank of time, looking up at the stars in the sky… It is the echo of the agitation in the years, They are like notes, sonorously blooming, played by someone’s fingers into an earth-shattering symphony.”
Read between the lines is a romantic portrayal of their artistic life and a true echo of this era.