Bai Chengren's Art Road

"Sharp mountains, two fights flat, hairy grass, at the door, corn cakes are swollen to death; Detours, Mililing, if you want to eat, never, never ... "This folk white pine can be sung thousands of times. This is a childhood ballad deeply imprinted in Bai Chengren's mind. The beautiful rhyme of folk songs may not be the driving force for Bai Chengren to love folk songs all his life, but this folk song is at least Bai Chengren's memory of a person-nanny.

I remember that when Bai Chengren was still in his mother's stomach for 9 months, his father died, and then his grandmother died. When his mother gave birth to him, she was too sad to have milk. At home, I invited a wet nurse for Bai Chengren. The wet nurse looks strong, but she is a freeloader. Bai Chengren is all skin and bones. Once Bai Chengren's aunt came to see him. In the dead of night, she heard the voice of Bai Chengren nursing. She felt something was wrong and ran to the bed to see Bai Chengren with an orange in his mouth. When she lifted the quilt, there were some oranges hidden in the quilt!

The family then invited a wet nurse to Bai Chengren. This wet nurse is Yi nationality. As a folk Sang Song, she came to Baijia as a wet nurse because of her life. At that time, the nurse's newborn son died, and the nurse gave all the maternal love to Bai Chengren. When breastfeeding, I repeatedly sang the folk song "Two fights are flat on the top of the mountain". Although the wet nurse stayed in the White House for more than a year, although Bai Chengren was just a baby less than two years old, although Bai Chengren didn't remember what the wet nurse looked like, that folk song took root and blossomed in Bai Chengren's heart ... "Three Insects" Bai Chengren was born in Tongzhou, Hebei Province (now Tongxian County, Beijing), and his grandfather was the history of the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Ritual when Xianfeng Emperor was in power. Bai Chengren's father is a fan of Sichuan Opera and Beijing Opera. He spent a lot of time on the improvement of Sichuan Opera and was full of enthusiasm. However, Bai Chengren didn't get his father's artistic guidance, and even didn't see his voice and smile-his life was short, Bai Chengren was still in his mother's belly, and his father died in a hurry.

Fortunately, my father's interest in drama was passed on to my mother and brother, and my mother and brother unconsciously passed it on to Bai Chengren.

Mother hummed unconsciously, or when she was doing something or missing, the rhythm of her mother's humming floated in Bai Chengren's ear and followed Bai Chengren all her life.

Another source of Bai Chengren's learning drama when he was a child was his eldest brother Bai Dunren (a famous scholar, an expert in literature research in Song Dynasty, a former vice president of Sichuan Li Bai Society, a consultant of Du Fu Research Society, and published millions of words). His eldest brother is older than Bai Chengren 14 years old. When Bai Chengren was five years old, the Japanese bomb was dropped not far from the back door of Bai Chengren's house, so the whole family went to the countryside to escape the war. In rural areas, children's entertainment is to learn to sing Sichuan opera and Beijing opera from their eldest brother, as well as the aria in Catch and Release Cao and Empty City Plan. In the interview, when Bai Chengren hummed with his eyes half closed, people saw that he was obviously immersed in the scene of learning to sing with his brother as a child.

At the same time, Bai Chengren was also deeply influenced by his second brother Bai Tiren, who was a member of the wartime student union of China underground organization. The branch of the Student Union is located in the White House, and they often practice saving the nation songs together. At that time, Bai Chengren was only three or four years old and often said the lyrics wrong. One night, a student union member sang "Song of the Road" at his house, and he also babbled along: "Hum, hum, hahaha ... even if it is difficult for you to close the mountain ..." But when he heard that the mountain barrier was "three worms", he asked his mother curiously: "Mom, how did they let the hair go? Mom also said, "Sing something strange, three bugs, four bugs!" " "He also listened to" September 18th "as a" correction ",and it was ridiculous to think of it later. However, he accurately and firmly remembered the tunes of these progressive songs. When Bai Chengren's family fled to the countryside, it was the primary education stage of Bai Chengren, and there was no school in the countryside. Eldest brother Bai Chengren hired a village teacher to teach the children. It was a wonderful childhood, and Bai Chengren still remembers the names of every classmate in the class, including their nicknames and sitting posture.

Chinese, zoology, music, etc. They are all taught, and music is taught by a female teacher named Hu. At that time, Bai Chengren learned to sing a lot of jokes about Peking Opera and Sichuan Opera from his eldest brother, and he would hum when he was free after class. Once he sang "Empty City Plan", which was heard by Mr. Hu and praised: "Bai Chengren, good singing!" There happened to be a music competition, and Mr. Hu organized Bai Chengren and other three students to form a chorus to participate in the competition. It was the first time in Bai Chengren's life. He was only seven years old.

The chorus got the highest score, but the honor of the first place went to the son of a warlord. Teacher Hu was angry and cried at that time. "They are just children!" "Teacher Hu said. After graduating from primary school, Bai Chengren was admitted to Chengdu No.7 Middle School. Although this is a polytechnic school, Bai Chengren's hobby is still music.

In middle school, Bai Chengren taught himself erhu. The tuning was wrong at first, but it felt good after a while. But eldest brother accidentally found that the tuning was all wrong, so he pointed it out to him. Bai Chengren had to re-tune, and Bai Chengren never "fidgeted" about music learning.

Not only did he learn erhu, but in high school, Bai Chengren also taught himself violin. At that time, there were only two textbooks, eighteen lectures on music knowledge by Feng Zikai and an introduction to music knowledge, and Bai Chengren tried his best to get them for self-study. Piano score is a difficult problem. At that time, his classmate's sister was studying at Nanhong Art Institute (the predecessor of Sichuan Conservatory of Music). He begged his classmates to borrow piano scores from his sister and copy them day and night, and finally prepared his own self-study equipment. At that time, Bai Chengren often went to the concert hall without landing.

These studies have prepared sufficient theoretical knowledge and practical experience for Bai Chengren to enter the Northeast (Shenyang Conservatory of Music). Due to the lack of milk when he was a child, Bai Chengren was in poor health and often fell ill. /kloc-entered junior high school at the age of 0/2. He can't take the bus, he can't watch movies, and he will vomit when he is stimulated. Bai Chengren made up his mind to exercise well and began to learn to play football. At first, he couldn't stand the intense training, but he gritted his teeth and finally became an excellent football player. He can play forward, defender and even be a goalkeeper. Later, he became a member of the Chengdu team, named the football team "Mo Biao" and participated in the first sports meeting in Chengdu. To this day, he still keeps a photo of the football team.

The exercise in his youth laid a solid foundation for Bai Chengren to collect folk music in Hunan in the future. Until he was in his 70s, Bai Chengren was still in high spirits, taking his students to the ethnic minority areas in Hunan.

"Literary and art workers are engineers of the human soul"

Middle school music teachers especially like Bai Chengren. In music class, Bai Chengren is often asked to go to the podium: "Bai Chengren, you teach!" This gave great support to Bai Chengren's music hobby.

Students often go to the countryside to perform, and Bai Chengren has seen farmers' thirst for literature and art since then. But at that time, people thought that singing and dancing had no future in literature and art, and the family did not want Bai Chengren to embark on the music road. There are many books at home. Eldest brother wants Bai Chengren to study classical literature, but Bai Chengren thinks that ancient literature is too old to keep up with life. The second brother thinks that Bai Chengren should study fine arts instead of literature, because music is a joke, not a formal occupation. One day, Bai Chengren saw a slogan in the street: "Literary and art workers are engineers of the human soul-Stalin". Bai Chengren was deeply moved by this slogan and became the "anchor needle" for him to design his own musical life ideal. Since then, he has strengthened his determination to engage in literary and artistic work, thinking it is a glorious thing and something to be proud of.

Bai Chengren insisted on his ideal of life, but his eldest brother gave in, but he gave me one condition: I can engage in music unless I am admitted to Northeast Lu Yi. Northeast China, formerly known as Yan 'an, is the best music school in China, with Li as the dean. When Bai Chengren entered the university, Lu Yi only took two exams in the southwest, and 800 people signed up at that time.

During the exam, the examiner asked Bai Chengren to sing a song first, and Bai Chengren only sang two sentences. The examiner said, "Don't sing." Bai Chengren thought, this is over, over. So, he wanted to save the defeat and took the initiative to ask: "I can still sing folk songs!" " "But the examiner ignored his request.

Then the rhythm test, the examiner knocked a rhythm, let Bai Chengren imitate. Bai Chengren said to himself, "What is this? When we play games, it is much more difficult than playing this. " When I was a child, adults in Bai Chengren played drums, and the rhythm of drums and gongs was much more complicated than that of examiners. It was from then on that Bai Chengren developed his musical ear and changeable sense of rhythm.

Then there is some knowledge of music theory, and Bai Chengren found the answer in Feng Zikai's music textbook.

As a result, the examiner announced on the spot: "Bai Chengren, you are the first to be admitted." Bai Chengren studied under Soviet musicians in Lu Yi, first with Sha Yeping and then with Matthew Koff. On one occasion, the college organized students to perform in industrial and mining areas, and everyone performed enthusiastically, but the workers and audience in the audience responded flatly. Because I only listen to and sing "Wula" ... Dula ... ",which are all Russian songs and English songs. I can't understand the following!

After the performance, Bai Chengren couldn't sleep all night. He believes that we are out of touch with learning and application. How to serve the people when you leave school and enter the society in the future? The next day, he went to talk to Dean Li about his feelings. He said: "Besides learning the advantages of western music, should we also inherit the tradition of China's national music, tap the treasures of national music, and learn to sing songs that the broad masses of the people in China like?"

The dean thought for a moment and said, "You asked a very serious question, which can be said to be a directional question ... but I can't answer you now." We must study it carefully and give you an answer within a week. "

A week later, the college called a meeting of teachers and students of vocal music department. The dean said: "Bai Chengren gave us a good suggestion: to inherit the folk music tradition." Therefore, the college will establish a national vocal music school and hire some old folk artists to be your teachers. I'll make you an offer. As for how to combine, it's up to you to explore. Perhaps the first batch of national music teachers in New China is among you! "

Hearing the dean's words, Bai Chengren was encouraged. He knew that the dean had placed great hopes on them. Indeed, the combination of Chinese and Western vocal music is a road that no one has ever taken, and it needs a group of literary and art workers trained in New China to create it!

From then on, he immersed himself in learning folk music, such as Northeast Drum, Jingyun Drum, Shandong Qin Shu and Hebei Bangzi, such as Northeast Errenzhuan, Laoting Drum, Shanxi Bangzi and Henan Bangzi, as well as folk songs all over the country. Moreover, when he sang folk songs, he skillfully used the pronunciation of western bel canto to make the people sing a wider and more beautiful range.

"Send you to Chairman Mao's hometown to perform a glorious task."

1955, graduated from Bai Chengren University.

When graduation is assigned, most students go their separate ways according to their own wishes. Bai Chengren filled in three wishes: First, return to his hometown in Sichuan. The second is to go to Yunnan, because there are many ethnic minorities and rich national music resources in Yunnan. The third is to go to northern Shaanxi. Bai Chengren likes to travel in the sky. Even if these three wishes can't come true, the dean promised him to stay in Lu Yi. But watching the students go their separate ways, Bai Chengren doesn't even have a place to allocate. Bai Chengren was in a hurry and went to the dean to ask why.

When Dean Li saw him, he smiled and said, "I'm going to give up what I love very reluctantly! Chairman Mao's hometown asked the school to support Hunan's music industry. I heard that it is relatively backward, but the more backward it is, the more people are needed. There are also many ethnic minorities in Hunan, and Hunan folk songs are also worth studying. " The dean also smiled and said, "I went there to take care of you. Hunan also eats rice and peppers, which suits your living habits! "

Accompanied by words of encouragement, trust and care, Bai Chengren reported to the Hunan Provincial Personnel Department on June 10 and chose the Hunan Provincial National Song and Dance Troupe, which was then headed by Chu.

Bai Chengren did not expect that when he got there, he took root in Hunan for more than half a century. Although he had several opportunities to transfer to the central government and other provinces, he gave them up. Because he has integrated his soul into Hunan's three Hunan and four rivers, he can't live without Dongting Lake and Miao Ling Yaoshan. 1932 In May, Bai Chengren was born in Chengdu, Sichuan. His father loves music and often sings Sichuan Opera and plays erhu in his spare time. Bai Chengren's sister and two brothers were deeply influenced by their father's music since childhood, and they all loved music as adults.

When Bai Chengren was still in his mother's belly, his father died of illness and he became a posthumous child. Later, his mother died of illness, and he was raised by his eldest brother and sister-in-law.

When Bai Chengren was very young, his eldest brother was also a Chinese teacher at Sichuan University, West China University and Chenghua University. His hobby was singing and playing musical instruments. Second brother is underground party member. He often organizes progressive youth rehearsals, performs musicals and engages in revolutionary activities. My sister, who studies in a missionary school, sings English songs almost every day when she comes home. Whenever my brothers and sisters sing, Bai Chengren secretly sings along. Gradually, he became fascinated with music. At the age of seven, he sang on the stage. After graduating from primary school, he taught himself a variety of musical instruments.

Eldest brother originally hoped that Bai Chengren would learn Chinese and engage in literary creation or teaching in the future, but Bai Chengren, who was obsessed with music, chose his own path and was admitted to Lu Yi in Northeast China (later changed to Shenyang Conservatory of Music) at the age of 65,438+09. Because the family was poor, at the beginning of school, the eldest brother gave Bai Chengren a few dollars saved from his teeth, and Bai Chengren left his hometown with a quilt weighing 4 kg. With the aid of scholarships and several classmates, he struggled to finish four years of college, graduated with excellent results of 1955, and was assigned to Hunan National Song and Dance Troupe, from which he took root in Hunan.

Looking back on his life, Bai Chengren said: "I embarked on the road of music and was deeply influenced by my relatives."

His wife is his wife in his successful career.

Wang Changan is a dancer of Hunan National Song and Dance Troupe. She is Bai Chengren's wife.

In the early 1960s, Wang Changan was assigned to work in Hunan Song and Dance Troupe and became a colleague with Bai Chengren. At that time, Wang Changan's family was very poor, and enthusiastic Bai Chengren often took the initiative to help her. One winter, it was very cold. Bai Chengren accidentally saw that Wang Changan's quilt was too thin, so he quietly sent a quilt to Wang Changan. Wang Changan was particularly moved.

They gave birth to two children after marriage. Because Bai Chengren is busy with her work, she has been traveling in the countryside for many years. Wang Changan takes care of the children and does housework alone. But Wang Changan never complained and silently supported her husband's music creation for decades. "In fact, he is a good husband." Wang Changan told reporters, "As long as he has time at home, he always tries to do housework. In the 1960s, I had to go to Liuyang River 20 miles away to buy food. He always gets up at 5 o'clock in the morning and rides his bike to buy them back. When he is on a business trip or collecting wind, he never forgets to bring gifts back to me and the children. " What moved Wang Changan most was that there were no electric fans at that time. When mosquitoes bite every day in summer, she and her children can't sleep. Her husband used a cattail fan to keep her and her children warm and repel mosquitoes until relatives fell asleep. "Sometimes, he shook the cattail leaf fan, even all night." Recalling the past, Wang Changan's face was filled with happiness.

In the face of his wife's evaluation, Bai Chengren sincerely told reporters: "She is a very good dancer, but for my career and family, she lost the opportunity to become famous. Therefore, half of the success of my career is attributed to her. "

In the eyes of children, Bai Chengren and his wife are very loving and never quarrel. My son Bai Ke said, "Many times I saw my father secretly pick several kinds of flowers for my mother."

The children are proud of their father's achievements.

Bai Chengren has a special "fan". She is the daughter of Bai Chengren, a famous young actress in our province-Baishan.

According to Bai Shan's memory, when she was a child, her father loved her and her younger brother very much and often held her and her younger brother to play the piano and sing. Unfortunately, my father doesn't have much time at home because he often travels or collects folk songs. Therefore, when I was a child, Baishan and my younger brother hoped that Dad would go home in his dream. Every time dad comes home, it seems to be an important festival for his brother and sister.

In the third grade of Baishan Primary School, once, the teacher arranged for the students to go home and prepare a red tassel gun for the next day's performance. Baishan is a little embarrassed. Dad is so busy that the red tassel gun is definitely out of the question. I didn't expect dad to spend the whole night making her a red tassel gun. Baishan went to school with a red tassel gun and found that his gun was the most beautiful.

As he grew older, Baishan found that his father was not only a musician, but also wrote poems, painted meticulous paintings and even worked as a carpenter. Therefore, she and her brother especially admire their versatile father.

In the eyes of his brothers and sisters in Baishan, Bai Chengren is still an enlightened father. When children choose jobs and fall in love, Bai Chengren always respects their choices and never interferes except making some gentle suggestions.

On June 24th, 2007, the Central Conservatory of Music held a concert for Bai Chengren, and played a series of works such as Sending Tea to Beijing, Dongting Land of Fish and Rice, and Little Basket, which he had created for many years ... Baishan, who had always worshipped his father, arrived in Beijing overnight after shooting Hunan fireworks.

In June 2007, Baishan was filming in a shooting base in Jiangsu, and a sister from the same town took her to visit an art exhibition. Baishan knew in advance that the exhibition mainly showed famous actors. She thought she was not famous and didn't want to go, but she was dragged away by her peers. Baishan was pleasantly surprised to find that this exhibition not only exhibited the artistic images of Jackie Chan, Cecilia Cheung and other superstars, but also its own huge stills. The words below the stills read: "Baishan, the daughter of the famous composer Bai Chengren ..." Baishan was very happy. It turned out that she was moved by her father! At that moment, she was deeply proud of her father's achievements.