Brief introduction of Guan Ziren’s family

——The story of "Saihuo Donkey", one of the "Eight Monsters" of the Old Tianqiao

Mr. Guan Ziren, who has reached his sixtieth year, is still in good health, quick in thinking and can speak without hesitation. Crosstalk actors are always humorous. Talking to him is like listening to folk art jokes.

Asked about the "Eight Eccentrics" on Beijing's flyovers, Mr. Guan explained that the "Eight Eccentrics" on the overpasses are named after their strange looks, strange words and deeds, or their unique skills. Judging from the time period, there are three generations of Tianqiao's "Eight Monsters". The first generation probably appeared in the Xianfeng, Tongzhi and Guangxu dynasties of the Qing Dynasty. They were "not afraid of poverty", "vinegar drowning cream", "Han Mazi", "pen bald man", "Tian laizi", "ugly grandson" and "bi". The second generation mainly refers to those after the Revolution of 1911, including "the old man who let the toad teach", "the old Yunli Fei who performed funny repertoire", and "the bear with strange costumes" , "Wang Xiaogen who played with the Chinese flag", "The foolish king who broke the stone with three fingers", "played with the golden bell", "Cao Mazi who counted the treasures", "Cheng Fool who played with the bear holding the bowl"; the third generation active in the Republic of China From then on, this was the most prosperous and lively historical period for Tianqiao. This generation has inherited the fine traditions of the old "Eight Monsters" and other artists, and has further developed and innovated in art, such as "Yunli Fei", "Da Jinya", "Dai Bing Huang", "Jiao Dehai" ", "Shen San", "saihuo donkey", "guaizi carrying bricks", "oil rub", among which "saihuo donkey" is Guan Dejun, the father of Mr. Guan Ziren.

In the early 1930s, Mr. Guan’s father, Guan Dejun, was a famous actor in Peking Opera. The older generation of Beijingers all know that a mythological drama was often staged at the Guangde Building Theater in Dashilan, Beijing. The title is "The Eight Immortals Gain the Way", and the vivid "donkey" that Zhang Guolao, one of the Eight Immortals, rides in the play is dressed up by Guan Dejun.

When asked why Guan Dejun dressed up as a donkey to perform in the first place, Mr. Guan Ziren explained that in order to survive, the original artists had to come up with some surprising tricks to attract the audience. His father's original move was also impossible. At that time, his father Guan Dejun had already made extraordinary achievements in Peking Opera performances, Lian Hua Luo singing, Shu Lai Bao rap, etc. His daily performance income was also considerable. But at that time, the Guan family was a large family with a large population. In addition, Guan Dejun had a wide circle of friends and was philanthropic. At that time, the family almost became a welfare institution to support some artists. Therefore, the gap between income and expenditure gradually began to grow, and Guan Dejun had to find ways to earn more money.

It is said that Guan Dejun disappeared for three months at that time, and no one knew where he had gone. Three months later, Guan Dejun came back and brought back a set of donkey-shaped props. After putting on this donkey-shaped prop, he began to perform various donkey movements vividly. It turned out that Guan Dejun returned to his hometown in the suburbs during this time, and he thought of the cute little donkey in his hometown. He used this time to carefully observe and ponder every move of the little donkey, including how to eat grass, how to snort, how to get angry, how to have fun, how to roll... He even learned the little donkey's peeing movements quite realistically.

Especially when Mr. Guan Ziren recalled how his father made the donkey-shaped prop, his face was full of admiration and pride. At that time, his father made a donkey head frame out of rattan and made of paper pulp. , short pile black cloth, etc. to shape the shape. A pair of big ears are connected to the head by springs, and the donkey's nose and mouth are outlined with white powder. The eyes and tongue have movable organs. These organs will move in conjunction with the movements of the donkey's body. Then use black velvet to make a "donkey suit", and add a pair of short wooden sticks in the shape of donkey legs to the front arms. In this way, when a person gets into the "donkey suit", the front and rear legs are aligned, just like a real donkey!

During the performance of "The Eight Immortals", in order to highlight Guan Dejun's donkey-shaped performance, which was so thrilling and popular, the troupe boldly innovated and ingeniously used the donkey to carry Zhang Guolao from two bamboo poles suspended above the stage. Walked above. During each performance, most of the lights in the theater were turned off, leaving only an orange spotlight shining on Zhang Guolao and Donkey Xing.

At this moment, the drums and flutes suddenly started playing in the theater, and under the spotlight, Zhang Guolao was dressed in Taoist robes, riding leisurely and contentedly on the back of a "donkey". The "donkey" sitting down shook its head and tail for a while, and kicked for a while. After a while, it snorted again, and the "four hooves" stepped on the bamboo quickly and skillfully, and came out of the "upper gate" steadily and tremblingly. At the beginning, the audience was silent, with their hearts almost in their throats. It was not until "Donkey" reached the "end gate" that the audience suddenly burst into long-lasting applause and cheers, and a fitting nickname - "Saihuo" "Donkey" has been braying ever since.

In addition to the evening performances, in order to earn more income, Guan Dejun also rented a fixed venue south of Tianqiao Chengnan Shopping Mall to perform donkey-shaped performances. At this time, his "donkey skills" have made greater progress. He can not only run on the flat ground like flying, but also perform various thrilling and funny moves on several-story high benches. His skills are more dexterous than real. A hundred times better than a donkey, as soon as the "saihuo donkey" appears in the venue and runs a few laps, it will be immediately surrounded by spectators walking on the overpass.

According to the rules of performing arts on the bridge at that time, generally speaking, only when the performance is over or has come to an end, the performers can ask the audience to reward them with money, which is called "Chumenzi" in the jargon. When Guan Dejun "laid down" (an open-air performance on the ground), just saying "yuannier" (recruiting people before the official performance started) showed a huge difference. He could get rewards before the official performance started, and he could You can imagine how popular "Feeding Three Ways of Cumenzi" (allowing the audience to give money back three times) and "Sai Huo Donkey" at that time!

Another big selling point during the "Saihuo Donkey" performance is that there is a charming lady on the donkey's back - his wife Guan Jinfeng! As the number of onlookers increased, the "Donkey Race" couple's performance became more and more interesting. The girl on the "donkey's back" only needs to flick her whip, and the "little donkey" will spread its hooves and run in circles. While running, suddenly the "donkey" lost its front hoof and fell to the ground. After several efforts, he suddenly stood up again, shook off the dust on his body, jumped up immediately, and then jumped onto the second and third-floor wooden trees in the center of the field. On the stool. There is an egg-sized ball under each of the three legs of the wooden stool, while the other leg is suspended in the air, and the "donkey" performs various difficult movements on it. As soon as the cheers ended, he saw his wife standing on the back of the donkey, slowly leaning up, bending a very beautiful "back bridge" (the movement is similar to the "little turn" in the drama), and picking up the stool on the stool with her mouth. The teacup, followed by a "backflip", gently fell to the ground. A series of dazzling and difficult moves such as "Donkey" and beautiful women stunned the audience. It was often not until the "Saihuo Donkey" took off the "Donkey Head" props and "asked for money" that people calmed down. The children came, and then they applauded enthusiastically and willingly rewarded them with money.

Hearing this, the reporter couldn’t help but be fascinated, eager to see the true face of the "racing donkey" in Lushan. Mr. Guan Ziren smiled and said, you are really here. There is no image of his father outside. As he spoke, he took out several volumes of old photos from the bookcase. As the old photos with yellowing and broken lines unfolded, the reporter finally saw the handsome and handsome Guan Dejun in his thirties wearing a long gown, as well as several stills from his performances...

Both Guan Dejun and his wife are now deceased. When a reporter asked whether this stunt was lost, Mr. Guan Ziren said no. More than ten years ago, he was invited to perform on Shijiazhuang TV Station with his apprentice Liu Jianping. Moreover, the donkey-shaped prop was also made by himself, and should be no less impressive than his father's. It is still stored in the Baoding Art Troupe.

After hearing this, the reporter was relieved - if this traditional cultural and art form of great historical value can one day be continued and carried forward, it will be regarded as an ancient city with a long traditional culture. Baoding has received a lot of attention. ——The story of the folk drum song "Shi Bu Xian. Lotus Falls" (Taiping Lyrics)

If Guan Ziren's father, Guan Dejun, the "sailing donkey", can be regarded as an iconic monument in the legendary history of Chinese folk art, Then his mother, Guan Jinfeng, the famous "Shi Bu Xian. Lotus Falls" actor, is the base of this monument, and they are inseparable from each other.

During the Jiaqing period, "Shi Bu Xian. Lotus Falls" merged and became a new, comprehensive folk performing art, and developed into a genre with Beijing's local characteristics. It has been two popular performance forms in Beijing since the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Emperors of the Qing Dynasty liked to listen to it, so it has been widely spread and developed.

"Shi Bu Xian. Lotus Falling" was still very popular in the late Qing Dynasty. The famous actor "Zhaoji Zhao" at that time even performed in the palace for the Empress Dowager Cixi. After listening to it, Cixi called it "Taiping". "Lyrics", so "very busy." "Lotus Falling" was once again called "Taiping Lyrics". The most famous ones at that time, besides Zhao Xingyuan (Zhao Ji Zhao), were undoubtedly Guan Jinfeng (wife of "Sai Huo Donkey" Guan Dejun and mother of Guan Ziren), Sun Baocai (Big Bear) and so on. Because Mr. Guan's mother, Guan Jinfeng, has a good voice and emphasizes clear enunciation, even breathing, and charm when singing, her representative songs include "Wang Xiaoer Rushing", "Meeting in the Garden", and "Sun Jigao Sells Water." etc. In the middle of the Republic of China, she performed in Tianqiao Landi with her husband Guan Dejun and others.

Mr. Guan Ziren said that in his early years, he often sang "Lian Hua Luo" with "Shi Bu Xian". The leader is the conductor. There is a stand in front of the old drummer, which is shaped like a "balance": it has two upright pillars with horizontal rails fixed on the bottom; there are beams on the top, with two ends protruding, and there are dragon heads and embroidery balls as decorations. Singing with seven bamboo boards is called Lian Hua Luo, while singing without playing bamboo boards is called "Shi Bu Xian". Lian Hua Luo and Shi Bu Xian split up, and it can be said that singing alone is a last resort for artists to make a living, which has gradually spread. /p>

It is said that Pingxi opera developed from "Bengbeng", and "Bengbeng" was born out of Lianhualuo. Even "Errenzhuan" in the Northeast evolved from Lianhualuo when it was introduced to the Northeast. The singing tune is also similar to the single string, and there are different brands: "Taipingnian", "Trumpet tune", "Wugeng tune", "Lu Changduan", "Crying tune", "Playing with Children", and "Duepuan tune". "Qiao", "Guoshan Tune"...the "Wugeng Tune" can be said to be the same as the "Huguang Tune" of Danxian. Therefore, it can be speculated that Danxian also absorbed the singing method of Lianhualuo.

Lianhualuo's The performance is both singing and dancing, which is very dynamic and highly visible. The colorful singing and makeup performances of Lian Hua Luo are very interesting and unique. It's called "Dali'er"; playing a male role is called "Picturer"; playing an old lady is called "Hua Di'er". There are also jargons for the size of the performance: single bottom, one-sided, at least four people; double bottom, double-faced. At least eight people. In essence, any number of people can play the role.

Mr. Guan emphasized that there are generally no ladies in "Lian Hua Luo", only actresses in the professional artist team. In addition, the singing methods of the two are also different. Fans usually sing the first line as "It's about...", while professional artists usually sing "It's about..."

When it comes to the lotus falling. Fading, the reporter noticed that a trace of confusion and helplessness seemed to flash across Mr. Guan's face... From the conversation, he learned that there was a key figure among them, who can be said to be Xiao He who succeeds and Xiao He who fails - this man is not someone else, he is the right person. It was Guan Dejun, the "Saihuo Donkey" who was one of the "Eight Monsters" of the Tianqiao. At that time, this old man led Guan Jinfeng, Guan Yinfeng ("Saihuo Donkey"'s second wife) and others to perform the Lotus Fall, which was already quite brilliant, but they came again. An even more brilliant one added a "living donkey" performance element to the performance, which compared with the original lotus falling, but made the "living donkey" lotus fall into a hit. Since then, the "living donkey" has become popular. He kicked the jobs of other Lotus artists to pieces. These artists can't make enough money to support their families, so who can hang themselves by a tree? Therefore, those who either retire or change careers have their own way of doing things. Until around the time of the liberation of Beijing, except for "Living Donkey Lotus Luo", other lotus fall artists had gradually drifted away. By the time of the 10 years of turmoil during the "Cultural Revolution", the lotus fall was almost extinct in the market.

After the founding of New China, Guan Jinfeng composed and performed some new songs such as "Liu Hulan". In the 1980s, she, together with Sun Baocai, Gao Fengshan and others, often performed Taiping lyrics in the Xiaohua Art Troupe.

Mr. Guan let the reporter listen to a piece of "Liu Hulan" recorded by his mother when she was in her seventies. It still sounds like her voice is clear and her every word is precise. People have to be impressed by her profound artistic attainments; she is indeed worthy of Luo Yusheng. Qian Zimei, the singing ability of the two is really indistinguishable.

When it comes to the development of Lianhualuo, Mr. Guan believes that it is indeed very difficult and learning and development are very important. Fortunately, Mr. Guan was very familiar with it. He improvised a piece of "Han Xin's Fortune Telling", which made people feel that there is a way to seek guidance from a teacher, and this art will not become extinct; at the same time, the reporter also felt the importance of innovation - the original "Sai Live Donkey" He dared to think, dare to do, and dared to innovate, so he was able to take the lead and became very popular at the time.

At the end of the interview, while the reporter was happy that Baoding could have such an old artist, he also felt more and more the importance of inheriting traditional art. We sincerely hope that one or even several of Mr. Guan’s three disciples and five disciples can take over his mantle...