On October 17, in Yichang City, Hubei Province, Peking Opera actor Tan Lianshou taught performance skills to children learning Peking Opera.
Tan Lianshou is 75 years old this year. Since childhood, he has watched the performances of famous Peking opera masters such as Shang Xiaoyun and Cheng Yanqiu with his father, and has developed a strong interest in Peking opera.
In 1959, he was admitted to the Peking Opera Student Class of the Yichang Peking Opera Troupe, and was taught by Jin Wanchun, Ma Zuiliang and other Peking Opera actors.
Tan Lianshou learns from others' strengths and has his own performance style. "The Heroes" and "Four Scholars" are his specialty plays.
Combining his own performance style, he integrated folk songs and folk culture with Tujia characteristics and Peking Opera art, and created and adapted new plays with local characteristics such as "Three Gorges Praise the Happy Tujia" and "The Good Children of Tujia Gathering in the Xiajiang River".
In order to restore the vitality of Peking Opera, Tan Lianshou raised funds by himself in 2001 and founded the Peking Opera Communication Center of Yichang National Arts Association. At present, the center has trained nearly 1,000 students.
In the next step, Tan Lianshou plans to "go online" and attract more young people to fall in love with Peking Opera through short videos and live broadcasts.
(Zhang Qianlong)
Responsible editor: [Ji Xiang]