Wang Yuzhen

essential information

Life of the characters

On the road of performance

1935

Born into a poor family in Shahu Town, Mianyang City, Hubei Province, Wang Yuzhen never dreamed that she would become a stage artist in the future. In her childhood memory, the most impressive is poverty and hunger. She remembers that one week, there was no food at home, and every day there was bean paste and rice dressing. It's a good situation. What's worse is that it can't be revealed. Therefore, her wish at that time was to be able to eat and feed herself.

Since childhood, she came to Wuhan with her parents. After the liberation of Wuhan, 14-year-old Wang Yuzhen signed up to study sewing at Qiaokou cultural center in Wuhan. She wanted to master a craft and earn her own living. As a result, after learning for two days, she was attracted by the singing class nearby, so she boldly recommended herself to the teacher. After auditioning a song, the teacher thought her voice condition was good, so she accepted her. Soon after that, she was assigned to play the little boy in "little cow herding" for the national day performance in 1950. As a result, she performed well and was recommended to take part in the Hubei Provincial Culture and Art Troupe.

Wang Yuzhen still remembers that her mother didn't agree with her to apply for the exam at first, but in the end, she couldn't resist Wang Yuzhen's insistence and agreed. On the day when Wang Yuzhen went from Hankou to Wuchang for the exam, her mother took out a piece of silver from the bottom of the box, handed it to her and said, "if you can't pass the exam, you'll come back." But luck once again favored Wang Yuzhen, in the singing class with four people to the exam, only she was admitted. This is the beginning of her singing.

As soon as she joined the troupe, Wang Yuzhen described her feeling at that time as "like a fish in water", smiling all day. The girl who came out of a poor family felt that she had a career and had a strong sense of turning over. In the troupe, she is willing to do all kinds of chores, such as clothes, props, lighting and running for the masses; she learns all kinds of opera, such as singing, doing, reciting and playing, such as Chu opera, Han Opera, Sichuan Opera and Henan opera. She said that it was very hard to practice at that time. "When we practiced, our legs really hurt. We practiced while shouting the names of heroes like Huang Jiguang and Qiu Shaoyun. At that time, we were educated in revolutionism. We were not afraid of bleeding or sweating, so we could eat anything. " It is this period of learning and accumulation like sponge water absorption that has laid a solid foundation for Wang Yuzhen's future singing.

During this period, Wang Yuzhen's most representative stage practice is to play the adapted Chu dramas "Qiujiang" and "Liu Hai chopping wood". Her performance is considered to be "solid in singing, free and generous in stage movements, and full of charm".

At this time, Wang Yuzhen, "Xiao He just shows her sharp corners." she is waiting for the moment of blooming.

Playing "Han Ying" with tears

1959

The moment of Wang Yuzhen's artistic talent came. This year, in order to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the birth of the people's Republic of China, Wang Yuzhen's Hubei Provincial Opera House created the opera Honghu red guards. Wang Yuzhen recalled that in order to better express the opera, the leaders, writers and actors of the troupe went to Honghu area to collect materials and experience life. There, they heard a lot of heroic stories. She said that originally Han Ying's archetype was a man, but from an artistic point of view, it was not easy to express and move people. Later, she changed the gender of the characters to a woman. Later, some people think that Han Ying's prototype is He Ying, he long's sister, which is also wrong. She said that the reason why she was named "Ying" is that her singing is loud, and she also wants to learn from He Ying's spirit.

At that time, the regiment adopted the method of public election for the main role players, who played well was on the top. As a result, Wang Yuzhen won the first place with her profound stage skills and bright and sweet voice, and served as Han Ying's a-corner.

Wang Yuzhen said that in the process of playing Han Ying, she also experienced a transformation process. "At the beginning, I didn't like the play. I thought the plot was too simple and there were no ups and downs." But after going deep into Honghu revolutionary base and listening to the revolutionary stories and experiences of the old revolution and the old Red Army, she had a different feeling when she reread the script: "after hearing the stories of these martyrs, I feel that every line, every sentence, is not a mouthpiece or a kind of line, or even condensed with the blood of their struggle." She said that at that time, they often came to the stage in disguise with tears in their eyes. Gradually, the image of Han Ying became more and more full in her heart, and she began to get close to the role with her heart.

The pinnacle of performing arts

The first performance of the opera Honghu Red Guards was arranged in Honghu area. As a result, it was a great success. Honghu people said: This is our play, singing our songs and talking about our affairs. Since then, they have been improving as they perform. In October 1959, "Honghu Red Guards" was performed in Beijing. The first performance in the children's theater was a hit. When the performance ended, the audience left singing the melody of "Honghu water, waves, waves". The 100th performance at Huairen Hall in Zhongnanhai pushed the opera Honghu Red Guard to the peak. Zhou Enlai, Dong Biwu, Li Xiannian and he long all watched it and praised it. In order to make "Honghu Red Guard" visible to the whole nation, marshal he long proposed to put it on the screen and make it into a color film. Beijing Film Studio and Wuhan film studio jointly took over the task. Wang Renzhong, then Secretary of Hubei provincial Party committee, said: if you want to shoot, shoot the original team. In this way, in addition to director Xie Tian, the directors and actors of the film are basically the same.

Recalling the shooting of the film Honghu red guards, Wang Yuzhen still has a fresh memory. At that time, it was a three-year period of natural disasters, and there was a shortage of food. Each of the crew had only seven liang of food a day, and everyone was so hungry that their chest was close to their back. Once, in their small restaurant, they saw that there was still a pot of rice soup in the kitchen. They really wanted to drink it, so they proposed to the chef to exchange singing for rice soup. The phenomenon of "thin men and fat women" among actors is caused by insufficient food. Xia kuibin, who plays team leader Liu Chuang, is so thin that his ribs protrude and his cheek is concave. In order to make Liu Chuang look energetic on the screen, director Xie Tian has to find a ball of cotton and put it into Xia kuibin's mouth to make his cheeks bulge. Wang Yuzhen, who plays Han Ying, is suffering from "edema" due to lack of nutrition and is becoming more and more "fat". In order to make Wang Yuzhen no longer "fat", the crew took special care of Wang Yuzhen and ate a small plate of soybeans every day to supplement her nutrition. Wang Yuzhen still remembers eating soybean for the first time, "28, no more, no less." She said with a smile.

In 1961, the film "Honghu Red Guards" was shown in the whole country, and then there was a fever of "Honghu Red Guards" in the whole country. The success of the film "Honghu Red Guards" in turn promoted the re creation of the opera "Honghu Red Guards". According to statistics, before the outbreak of the "Cultural Revolution", the opera "Honghu Red Guards" had set a record of 800 consecutive performances and full performances. So far, the opera has performed more than 1000 times on the stage, which is rare in the history of contemporary drama.

The success of opera and film Honghu red guards made Wang Yuzhen famous and brought her singing career to a peak. With the success of his career, a series of honors such as advanced workers, deputies to the National People's Congress, members of the Youth Federation, and members of the musicians' Association also followed. Under the reputation, Wang Yuzhen feels pressure while enjoying the brilliance. In this regard, she said, only to work harder, dare not have a trace of slack. In those years, she devoted herself to performing. "At that time, we used to perform in factories, villages, stations and docks. As long as the audience asks, we will sing the songs they like to listen to. Because we feel that compared with the heroic deeds of the revolutionary martyrs, all we can do are trivial things, which should be done for the audience of course. " For this reason, she didn't get married until she was 35, and she didn't get pregnant until she was 39.

Overcome many hardships

Wang Yuzhen was born in an ordinary farmer's family. Since childhood, she has developed the character of self-reliance, tenacity and fearlessness. This has been fully reflected in her acting career.

When Hong was filmed in Beijing, it was three years of natural disasters, and all the cast members were only 72 meters a day, so they were all swollen with hunger. In the play, Han Ying is in prison. Her swollen face is caused by hunger. In order to make a good play, she often had to overcome the double attacks of hunger and cold. Once she shot a horse riding scene in the cold wind, which was completed in the car. She galloped and bumped in the winter in the north. After a few hours, Wang Yuzhen just supported herself by her will.

Wang Yuzhen's persistent pursuit of art makes her gain the brilliance of her life, and also makes her spend a lot of busy performing time. At that time, she would come to the government, schools, villages, stations, docks and canteens. It's often three performances in a row in the morning, in the middle and in the evening. It's just a few hours.

"The luckiest thing in my life is that I played a good play and a hero, which made people all over the country remember me. But my biggest regret is that I only played such a play. I could have played more plays for the people." Ms. Wang Yuzhen seldom mentions the hardships she has suffered in her life. But through her story, we still find a faint regret in her heart.

Just when she was in her prime and was active in the performing arts, the unprecedented "Cultural Revolution" began, and the performing arts were first impacted. Hong and movies were regarded as "poisonous weeds". Wang Yuzhen suffered. She not only lost her stage, but also was often criticized. In a critical fight, a red guard heavily kicked Wang Yuzhen's waist, she said

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