China News Service, Fuzhou, July 27th (Reporter Lin Ling) The Min opera based on the Fuzhou dialect is the "music note" of the Minjiang River.

Over the long period of time, the galloping Minjiang recorded the babbling and tactful Min accents, and also retained the figure of the ancestors who worked hard for the inheritance of Min opera.

  "I remember there used to be the dormitory of the'Legend of Goodness' theatrical troupe. A hundred years ago, my father Ye Bangxuan (Xiang) worked there." Every time I pass by the "Youth Club" on the banks of the Min River, the eighty-year-old Ye Wuqin will Thinking of his father who died young, "My father has been struggling for Fujian opera all his life, sharing weal and woe with his beloved troupe of "Shen Chuan"."

The picture shows a photocopy of the first Fujian Opera magazine "Min Opera Monthly".

Photo courtesy of the interviewee

  Nowadays, the centuries-old Minyin meets the World Heritage Convention, and those important figures that have been sealed in the history of Min opera are gradually becoming clear.

How to make Fujian Opera go to the world and out of the future?

Perhaps the right path can only be found if we know the way.

The "idiot writer" who grew up with Fujian opera

  Fujian Opera, also known as "Fuzhou Opera", ranks first among the five major opera types in Fujian. It has a history of more than 400 years. It is the only existing opera type that sings and chants in Fuzhou dialect. It was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists in 2006. .

  "Father witnessed and participated in the most prosperous period of Fujian Opera. He is a Fujian Opera writer, known as a'dramaist' in the industry." Following the description of the old man Ye Wuqin, time went back to 1908.

The picture shows Ye Bangxuan's original work "Fengyi Pavilion" published in the "Minju Opera Monthly".

Photo courtesy of the interviewee

  That year, Fuzhou's Confucian Opera, Jianghu Opera, and Pingjiang Opera began to merge and merge, commonly known as "Sanhe Xiang", which formed the embryonic form of today's Min Opera.

At that time, Ye Bangxuan, who had been studying hard since childhood and determined to gain fame, was working as a private school teacher in the village due to the abolition of the imperial examination system.

  Ye Bangxuan, who is unwilling to do nothing, contributes his talents and ambitions to Fujian Opera.

He began to use his free time to write scripts for the troupe in the village.

  After the Revolution of 1911, Minju Opera entered a period of prosperity.

In 1913, Ye Bangxuan, as the first "writer in residence" in the Fuzhou troupe, entered the "Legend of Good" troupe to create original scripts.

From "leisure job" to "full-time", Ye Bangxuan's scripts for Fujian opera are even more outstanding.

  Speaking of this, the old man Ye Wuqin took out the "treasures" that he had collected for many years. It was a copy of a stack of magazines, all under the name of "Minju Opera Monthly".

  "The Monthly Journal of Minju Opera" is the first magazine of Minju Opera. Because of the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, only three issues have been published." Elder Ye Wuqin carefully showed the materials to reporters while saying, "Look, every issue of the magazine is large. The script written by my father was published, which was the affirmation of his work by the Fujian opera industry at that time."

The picture shows Shi Wenling giving a lecture in Sanfang Qixiang.

Photo courtesy of the interviewee

  In 1922, the well-known "Legend of Goodness" theater troupe turned out to be closed down. Ye Bangxuan did not want to end the theater troupe that he had devoted himself to for nearly ten years, so he joined forces with business directors, teachers, musicians, and managers to form a five-part hall. Shareholders continue to contribute capital.

  "At that time, the troupes were all responsible for their own profits and losses. In order to keep the beloved troupe, his father resolutely sold his ancestral properties to raise funds for shares." Elder Ye Wuqin said, "Father dedicated his best years to the most glorious era of Fujian opera. He was very interested in Fujian opera. His love is a kind of idiot."

  Ye Bangxuan's "obsessiveness" of Fujian opera is admirable, but the experience that coincides with the troubled times is regrettable.

In 1937, the War of Resistance Against Japan broke out in an all-round way, and the drama industry became more and more sluggish due to the chaos of the war.

In 1938, Ye Bangxuan became ill due to anxiety, and died of hunger and cold at the end of the year.

  From entering the troupe at the age of 29 to his death at the age of 55, Ye Bangxuan created dozens of excellent works for Fujian opera, such as "A Fierce Girl Encounter", "Meng Lijun", "Feng Yiting Pavilion" and "Wang Zhaojun". These works inherited Ye Bangxuan's love for Fujian opera. Both and concepts were once popular in Fuzhou, and some works have been active on the stage for a hundred years.

The picture shows the "Grand Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Min Opera Performing Artist Mr. Lin Zhifang" special performance party program.

Photo by Li Nanxuan

"Good Bole" that cultivates good seedlings for Fujian opera

  In the home of the elderly Ye Wuqin, the reporter ran into Shi Wenling, a student of the elderly Ye Wuqin, the provincial inheritor of "Fuzhou dialect eightyin".

He told reporters that it is precisely because of Mr. Ye Bangxuan's "fascination" that he has cultivated a number of famous characters for Min opera.

  Elder Ye Wuqin is Shi Wenling's elementary school teacher. He has heard Ye Wuqin tell the story of his father since he was a child.

At the moment when the 44th World Heritage Conference was held in Fuzhou, Shi Wenling also gave lectures in Fuzhou's Three Lanes and Seven Alleys, telling the story of the "Legend of Goodness" troupe and Mr. Ye Bangxuan.

  Shi Wenling said that in that era, the "Legend of Goodness" troupe was called a "star factory."

From there, the Min opera "big guys" such as Zheng Yizhuang, Lin Zhifang, and Jin Xiangting can both act and write, and be both directors and actors. It is precisely because of this that they can be active on the stage for a long time. The history of Fujian opera.

  "At that time, there were so many actors in Fujian opera. Why were only actors such as Zheng Yizhuang and Lin Zhifang able to become famous? That is because, in order to stand out from the crowd, in addition to having talent and professional skills, you also need to have certain skills. Cultural accomplishment.” Shi Wenling emphasized, “As the only dramatist in Fuzhou, Mr. Ye Bangxuan not only taught artists to read scripts, but also taught them poems and songs, laying a solid cultural foundation for them. So,' It is not accidental that the troupe of “Shan Legend” became the “Star Factory”, but because of the enlightenment education of Mr. Ye Bangxuan, so many outstanding actors have been cultivated for Fujian opera."

The Min opera "Meng Lijun" created by Ye Bangxuan is still active on stage.

(Data Map) Photo courtesy of Fuzhou Min Opera Art Inheritance Development Center

  Hearing this, Elder Ye Wuqin took out a program list and handed it to reporters.

That is the program list of the special performance party "Grand commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Min Opera artist Lin Zhifang".

On that special day, the elderly Ye Wuqin attended as the son of Ye Bangxuan, Lin Zhifang's teacher.

  "Mr. Lin Zhifang is a person who appreciates the kindness of his teacher. He once told me that from an illiterate entertainer to a director of Fujian opera, he cannot do without his father's recommendation and cultivation." said Ye Wuqin, although his father was Ying He died young, but he left talent and hope for Fujian opera.

  Like other local opera types, it is not easy for Fujian opera to be passed down to this day.

"I want to keep my father's story, and convey his father's enthusiasm for Fujian opera to everyone." The old man Ye Wuqin gently brushed the copy of the magazine that records his father's work. "These things about my father and Fujian opera should not be forgotten. We Fuzhou people must not forget the Fujian opera." (End)