Decoding the True History Behind Traditional Chinese Opera through "Books, Literature, and Drama Theory", Reading Good Books and Appreciating Good Drama Shanghai | Peking Opera | Classical Chinese Opera

How did "Ah Qing Sao" on the stage of traditional Chinese opera become a hero in the minds of the audience? How did Shanghai opera and Beijing opera create this artistic image? On the afternoon of July 2nd, the fifth lecture of the "Shuwen Xili" series, titled "This Woman is Unusual - Ah Qing Sao on the Stage of Shanghai and Beijing Opera," was held at the Qunle Theater of the Changning Folk Culture Center in Shanghai. Shanghai opera master Chen Suping, Beijing opera master Zhao Qun, and Shanghai opera broadcasting director and veteran host Zhang Yuan lead the audience to deeply interpret the stage portrayal and real history behind Ah Qing Sao in "Shajiabang".

In 1939, during the transfer of the New Fourth Army, Guo Jianguang and 18 other injured and sick soldiers stayed in Shajiabang by Yangcheng Lake. They fought tenaciously and cleverly with Hu Chuankui and Diao Deyi's "Loyal and Righteous Salvation Army", along with underground party member Aqing Sao, who was the owner of the Chunlai Tea House, and the local people. The popular story in "Shajiabang" has a historical prototype, and the New Fourth Army once created a revolutionary legend where 36 wounded soldiers developed a strong army.

In 1957, Cui Zuofu, a journalist accompanying the Xinhua News Agency, wrote this period of history into a documentary literature called "Bloody Names - A Record of the Struggle of 36 Injured and Ill Persons" through on-site sampling. Opera artists have also keenly focused on this theme, and the Shanghai opera "Fire Seed in the Ludang" was performed in 1960. In 1963, the Beijing Peking Opera Troupe transplanted it into Peking Opera and repeatedly polished it into the familiar Peking Opera "Shajiabang" for today's audiences. Through the Shanghai opera "Ludang Fire Seed" and the Beijing opera "Shajiabang", Aqing Sao, who has personality, flesh and blood, emotions and righteousness, has gone from the depths of history to literary works and achieved stage classics.

Chen Suping and Zhao Qun started with two different artistic styles and performance forms, Shanghai Opera and Beijing Opera, respectively, to deeply interpret the personality characteristics and valuable qualities of Ah QingSao. At the same time, they also shared their own experiences and performance skills during the performance process. They talked about how a successful artistic image needs to be based on solid real-life materials, and that art originates from life and is higher than life as an unchanging creative law. On site, the two performed exciting scenes from both Shanghai opera and Beijing opera, intuitively showcasing Ah Qing's stage charm.

It is worth mentioning that the story of Shajiabang is closely related to Changning District in Shanghai. The prototype of Guo Jianguang, Liu Fei, was transferred from Changshu to 786 Yuyuan Road for treatment of gunshot injuries with the help of the Shanghai Underground Party in 1939. In 1958, at 469 Yuyuan Road, screenwriter Wen Mu from the Shanghai People's Shanghai Opera Troupe began creating the Shanghai opera "Fire Seed in the Ludang" based on the historical fact that Liu Fei had led wounded and sick soldiers in the struggle in southern Jiangsu. It was premiered in 1959.

Why has "The Peony Pavilion" been popular for four hundred years? How does "The Story of the Western Chamber" on the stage of Yue Opera establish a biography for women? How was the artistic image of Bao Zheng refined? In the previous "Shuwen Xili · Art Conversation" series of lectures, young artists Luo Chenxue and Hu Weilu from Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe, Mo Xia, Deputy Director and Screenwriter of the Art Creation Room of Shanghai Yue Opera Academy, Xu Xiaofei, Flower Dan of the Yuan School of Shanghai Yue Opera Academy, Yuan Gui, host of Shanghai Opera Broadcasting, Wu Xinbo, national first-class actor of Shanghai Pingtan Troupe, and Dong Hongsong, national first-class actor of Shanghai Peking Opera Academy, were introduced as lead readers. While interpreting traditional opera culture, they also launched a theme selection book list for each lecture, integrating reading classics into daily life.

The "Shuwen Xili · Art Dialogue" series of lectures is a brand event jointly organized by the Changning District Library, Changning Cultural and Art Center, and Shanghai Opera Broadcasting, guided by the Changning District Cultural and Tourism Bureau. The series of lectures will run throughout the year, covering all streets, towns, and primary and secondary schools in the region. Theme dialogues will be launched for readers of different age groups, bringing unforgettable cultural experiences to readers and audiences, and further deepening their understanding and inheritance of traditional Chinese opera culture. Gu Hai, the person in charge of Changning District Library, said, "As an important place to nourish the national soul and cultivate cultural confidence, Changning District Library continuously deepens its understanding of the regularity of cultural construction, keeps pace with the times, protects, inherits, and utilizes Chinese classics well, and better fulfills the original mission of the library to 'inherit civilization and serve society'."