China News Service, Shanghai, February 1st: How can Mei Lanfang’s performing arts be widely spread in Vietnam?
——Exclusive interview with Nguyen Thi Thanh Van, researcher at the Institute of Film and Drama, Hanoi University of Film and Drama, Vietnam
China News Service reporter Xu Jing
Mei Lanfang is a famous Chinese Peking Opera performing artist and a world-renowned opera master. How is the spread of Mei Lanfang's performing arts in Vietnam? What's the impact? China News Service's "East-West Question" recently conducted an exclusive interview with a researcher from the Film and Drama Research Institute of Hanoi Academy of Theater and Cinema in Vietnam who came to Shanghai to participate in the international academic seminar "Plum Blossoms in the East - Mei Lanfang in Shanghai" Dr. Nguy?n Th? Thanh Vân.
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
Reporter from China News Service: What kind of opportunity made you start to study the spread and influence of Mei Lanfang’s performing arts in Vietnam?
Nguyen Thi Thanh Van:
I have been studying traditional Vietnamese drama, focusing on Vietnamese masturbation drama, and the influence of Chinese novels and operas on the art of masturbation drama. I first became acquainted with the name Mei Lanfang in 1999. At that time, Dr. Chen Tingyan, the head of the research institute where I worked, gave me a task - to find stories about famous dramatists and publish them in our school's "Science News". I chose two stories about Chinese celebrities to translate into Vietnamese: "The Story of Mei Lanfang and Old Theater Fans" and "Xin Fengxia Hosts a Respect for the Elderly Banquet".
In 2000, when I was translating some Chinese classics into Vietnamese with senior scholar Hao Dengqing, I also noticed Mei Lanfang's name.
In 2002, I revised the manuscript translated by Hao Dengqing from the volume of "Encyclopedia of Chinese Opera and Folk Art" and noticed the space occupied by Mei Lanfang.
In 2005, while focusing on researching Cao Yu, Lao She, and Chinese experimental drama, I accidentally found information on Mei Lanfang. In 2018, the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam and the Vietnam Dramatists Association co-sponsored the Sino-Vietnamese Traditional Drama Exchange Week. The activities included the "Mei Lanfang Art Exhibition" and the "Sino-Vietnamese Traditional Drama-Inheritance and Development" seminar. After the "Mei Lanfang Art Exhibition", I paid more attention to studying Mei Lanfang and his performing arts. This invitation to participate in the international academic symposium "Plum Blossoms in the East—Mei Lanfang in Shanghai" further prompted me to think about the research on Mei Lanfang over the years.
In November 2023, Mei Lanfang's photos were displayed in the special exhibition "Mei Lanfang in Shanghai". Photo by Zhou Dongchao
China News Service reporter: According to your research, how receptive is the Vietnamese audience to Mei Lanfang’s works?
Nguyen Thi Thanh Van:
In the 1950s and 1960s, a group of international students were sent from Vietnam to China to study drama. These international students learn from Chinese artists and scholars in directing, performance, critical theory and other majors. Mei Lanfang, the most famous of these Chinese artists, personally mentored these international students.
From this, traditional Vietnamese artists began to study Mei Lanfang's Dan role and its hypothetical performance movements (rowing, riding horses, lying on fish, gestures, eyes, using paper fans, etc.). They took Mei Lanfang's Dan role performance style as an example. Introduce and teach it to college students in Vietnamese art schools and young actors in traditional theater performing arts groups.
In my opinion, Mei Lanfang and her performing arts spread in Vietnam in three ways: first, the reference books that Vietnamese students brought home, translated and introduced to Vietnamese readers; second, Mei Lanfang’s previous plays, produced by the Mei School Actors were introduced to Vietnam through cultural exchanges, cooperation and artistic performances between Vietnam and China; thirdly, in traditional Vietnamese drama, artists used Mei Lanfang's creativity in dan role performances, hypothetical performance techniques and techniques as examples for students to learn from.
In fact, when it comes to accepting Mei Lanfang's works, what we accept is the essence of Mei Lanfang's performing arts, that is, his Dan role performance style and the creativity of hypothetical performance techniques and techniques.
Stills from Mei Lanfang's Peking Opera "Red Mansions Opera", "Daiyu Buries Flowers" and "A Thousand Gold Smile". Ding Huanxin remake
China News Service reporter: When did the cultural exchange between Chinese drama and Vietnamese traditional drama originate? What influence did Mei Lanfang have on the development of traditional Vietnamese drama?
Nguyen Thi Thanh Van:
I think the cultural exchange between Chinese opera and Vietnamese traditional drama originated during the Tran Dynasty of Vietnam (1225-1400). A collective dance was popular in Vietnam during the Chen Dynasty. The lyrics used include "Zhuang Zhou Dreams of Butterflies" and Bai Juyi's poem "Mother Farewell to Son". The music used includes "Descent of the Yellow Dragon" and "Yaochi Banquet", etc., which were passed down from China. The people of the Song Dynasty obtained the long-lost drum song "Huangdiyan" from Vietnam.
In the early years of the Yuan Dynasty, Li Yuanji, a Chinese outstanding actor (referring to a drama actor), "made ancient operas" in Vietnam, including "The Queen Mother of the West Presents Flat Peach" and so on. "The Complete History of Dai Viet" also has relevant records.
Vietnam and China currently have a lot of cultural cooperation and exchanges. For example, at the end of 2018, the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam and the Vietnam Dramatists Association co-sponsored the China-Vietnam Traditional Drama Exchange Week. The Vietnamese Zheng Theater, Chao Theater, and Reform Theater brought traditional drama performances to the audience. Artists from the Hunan Peking Opera Protection and Inheritance Center They brought three performances: "Sanchakou", "Jade Bracelet Pickup" and "Farewell My Concubine".
"Farewell My Concubine" is no longer unfamiliar to Vietnamese audiences. It has been performed many times on the stages of masturbation dramas and reform dramas. "Farewell My Concubine" is a classic excerpt of Chinese Peking Opera, which showcases the actors' performance skills and carries the characteristics of the opera program. It can be seen from this performance that there are differences in the dance styles of the two countries. Vietnamese masturbation opera uses many martial arts movements and unique dance movements of rolling, pear, and diagonal (rolling, pear, and diagonal are all terms specific to the dance movements of masturbation opera). Chinese Peking Opera mainly uses hand dance movements, and the graceful and soft sword dance coupled with lyrics by Chinese artists amazes the audience.
Vietnamese stage artists have toured China many times. They once met Mei Lanfang and watched Mei Lanfang's performance. After returning to Vietnam, they introduced Mei Lanfang's performing arts and stage skills to students in the performing arts training at the Hanoi Theater and Film University and the sarcastic opera and masturbating opera performance groups. The sarcastic opera artists combined Mei Lanfang's hand performances with The art of paper fan dance has been taught to generations of students. I believe that his creativity in the art of Dancing and hypothetical acting techniques and techniques will continue to be passed down. More importantly, Vietnamese artists also told Vietnamese students about Mei Lanfang's continuous hard training experience, allowing Vietnamese students to learn from it as a role model.
Stills from "Farewell My Concubine" by Mei Lanfang and Yang Xiaolou. Remake of Xu Jianmei
China News Service reporter: What role has the spread of Mei Lanfang’s art in Vietnam played in promoting cultural exchanges between China and Vietnam?
Nguyen Thi Thanh Van:
Mei Lanfang is not only a famous actor and arts manager (in 1950, he was the director of the China Peking Opera Company; in 1951, he was the director of the Chinese Opera Research Institute; in 1953, he was the vice chairman of the Chinese Dramatists Association) , and is a master of painting and a pioneer in the dissemination of China's excellent traditional culture.
Mei Lanfang has successfully played various types of roles. His most outstanding achievements are reflected in the classic Peking opera roles of Yu Ji ("Farewell My Concubine"), Yang Guifei ("The Drunken Concubine"), and Dai Yu ("Dai Yu Buried with Flowers"). "), Xi Shi ("Xi Shi"), Chang'e ("Chang'e Flying to the Moon"), Mu Guiying ("Mu Guiying Takes Command") and other Danxing performing arts.
Mei Lanfang's dan role performance style established his position in Chinese opera art and created the unique performance style of the Mei School. The classic characters he created have not only become models for performance training in Chinese art academies, but have also spread to many countries. Through his plays, Vietnamese and world audiences have seen the essence of Chinese opera. In Vietnam, Mei Lanfang and his dan role performing arts are studied and translated by overseas students and scholars. At the same time, cultural visits, exchanges, and cooperation activities between Vietnamese and Chinese artists are also ongoing.
Mei Lanfang is an important part of the development history of Chinese opera. I believe that with the rapid development of modern science and technology, the study of Mei Lanfang's performing arts and artistic activities is one of the keys to continuously promote the spread of Chinese opera and expand its influence. Nowadays, many scholars and researchers in Vietnam have begun to find and read Mei Lanfang’s books and watch clips of Mei Lanfang’s performances through various means.
In 1960, a Vietnamese delegation visited Shanghai. Chinese leaders and Mei Lanfang (second from left) took a group photo with the delegation. Photo courtesy of the Library of the Institute of Film and Theater, University of Film and Theater, Hanoi, Vietnam
China News Service reporter: How do you think we can let more Vietnamese audiences see the essence of Chinese drama in the future?
Nguyen Thi Thanh Van:
In order for Mei Lanfang’s image and performing arts to be more widely disseminated in Vietnam, so that more Vietnamese audiences can see the essence of Chinese drama, I believe that information about Mei Lanfang should be translated and published in Vietnam. Promote it in major schools; it is hoped that Chinese experts and actors will introduce Mei Lanfang in Vietnamese art schools and traditional art performance groups and perform Mei Lanfang’s classic plays; Vietnam and China should further strengthen art education and Performance cooperation; a research group on Mei Lanfang and Mei School art can be established in Vietnam. (over)
Interviewee profile:
Nguyen Thi Thanh Van, Ph.D., is a researcher at the Institute of Film and Drama at the University of Film and Drama in Hanoi, Vietnam. Her main research fields are: research on Vietnamese traditional drama literature, drama theory and performance practice (mass drama, mock drama, reform drama, puppet show ), Chinese drama literature research and Chinese language studies. Published more than 40 related papers, including "On the Relationship between Vietnam and China Drama in the Early 21st Century" (2005), "The Reception of Vietnamese Masturbation Drama in the Chinese Novel Zhao Taizu Three Journeys to the Southern Tang Dynasty" (2016), "The Fourth Industrial Revolution's Impact on Traditional Performance" The Influence of Art: Opportunities and Challenges" (2019), "Protecting and Promoting Vietnamese Traditional Theater Art in the Development of Science and Technology" (2022), "Preserving and Promoting Vietnam's Intangible Cultural Heritage in Contemporary Society: Southern Talent Singing, Nghe Tinh Folk Songs" , Central Fapai Folk Song" (2023), etc.