Chinanews.com, Guilin, March 6th: Farewell to Huang Wanqiu: She is "Forever Third Sister Liu"
Author Zhao Linlu Jiang Fenghui
On March 6, a farewell meeting for the body of Huang Wanqiu, a famous Chinese performing artist, was held at a funeral home in Guilin, Guangxi. People spontaneously went to see off "Forever Third Sister Liu".
The picture shows the farewell party for Huang Wanqiu's body.
Photo by Yang Zongsheng
Outside the memorial hall of the funeral home in Guilin, a still photo of "Sister Liu" played by Huang Wanqiu was surrounded by flowers.
In the Hall of Reminiscence, the elegiac couplet reads "Taking root in Guilin and rooting in the people's third sister culture will be inherited forever, and the demeanor of virtue and art will last forever.
Sad and joyful.
People holding chrysanthemums to express their condolences filled the hall.
Mourning in silence, bowing, and presenting flowers, everyone bid farewell to Huang Wanqiu.
Huang Wanqiu's ancestral home is Meixian, Guangdong, and was born in Guilin, Guangxi in 1943.
In the 1960s, the movie "Third Sister Liu" became popular both at home and abroad, making Huang Wanqiu, who played "Sanjie Liu", who was not yet twenty years old at the time, a household name.
The picture shows the farewell party for Huang Wanqiu's body.
Photo by Yang Zongsheng
61-year-old Xu Daxian came to Guilin overnight by train from Leiyang, Hunan, just to see Huang Wanqiu off for the last time.
"When I saw the movie "Liu Sanjie" when I was 6 years old, Teacher Huang took root in my heart. She will always be Liu Sanjie in my heart."
"Thank you, thank you all the folks in the Quartet. I don't have a good meal today. I only have folk songs to respect my relatives..." The classic song of this movie was played at the farewell party, which moved people to tears.
Huang Wanqiu has sung this folk song countless times on domestic and foreign stages.
Today, the Sri Lankan man is gone, but the singing will last forever.
"She told us to continue to carry forward Sanjie Liu's culture, and we must follow her last wish." At the farewell meeting, Huang Wanqiu's husband He Youcai choked up several times.
He said that Huang Wanqiu said that she should be a good "Liu Sanjie" in her life, and she really did it.
The 86-year-old He Ping, who played the role of "Scholar" in the movie "Third Sister Liu", staggered on crutches to bid farewell to his old friend for the last time.
He Ping recalled that Huang Wanqiu learned Gui opera. When she first joined the film crew, she was not familiar with the way of acting in movies, but she has a strong learning ability and has made rapid progress.
Because of the popularity of "Liu Sanjie", Huang Wanqiu once said that her artistic career is closely connected with "Liu Sanjie".
In order to inherit the culture of Liu Sanjie, for more than 60 years, Huang Wanqiu founded the Liu Sanjie Art Troupe, went abroad to perform, re-arranged the song and dance drama "Song Fairy Liu Sanjie", and also tried her best to cultivate the successors of "Liu Sanjie", bringing her daughter and granddaughter to the stage.
The picture shows fans taking stills of "Third Sister Liu" played by Huang Wanqiu.
Photo by Zhao Linlu
"Send my sister to the big river, and ride the wind and waves to spread the song. The river flows endlessly, and the song will continue for thousands of years." The fifth generation "Liu Sanjie" Wang Yujia sang the ballad in the movie "Liu Sanjie" to bid farewell to Huang Wanqiu.
"She will always be in our hearts." Wang Yujia said, the song "Liu Sanjie" will be passed down from generation to generation.
Wang Yujia is currently the vice principal of Guangxi Art School, where she established the "Liu Sanjie Youth Art Troupe".
Wang Yujia said that Teacher Huang Wanqiu inherited the culture of "Liu Sanjie" all her life and sang for the people. She will inherit and carry forward the spirit of Huang Wanqiu and other older generation artists, and continue to do a good job in inheriting Liu Sanjie's culture.
At 3:16 on March 4, 2023, Huang Wanqiu passed away in Guilin at the age of 80 due to illness and treatment.
When she was dying, she bid farewell to relatives, friends and movie fans in the "last WeChat of her life", writing: "I will go to the outer world to spread songs." (End)