Why did he reject the script invitation from Shanghai? , recalling Wei Minglun, the "Bashu ghost"
On the morning of May 28, the famous playwright Wei Minglun died of illness at the age of 83. Wei Minglun has come to Shanghai many times with his works. When talking about the relationship between Sichuan Opera and his works and Shanghai, this famous playwright once used two words to describe it: "destined".
Wei Minglun once said in Shanghai that he has never been to any school since the third grade of elementary school, but his fate with drama is too deep in his life. He started acting on stage at the age of 9, and after various twists and turns, he worried about life prematurely. Because it is difficult to leave drama, and the fireworks of the world are inseparable from each other, drama insists on unique insights, which is why it has achieved its later achievements.
In November 2002, the Shanghai Grand Theater held a high-quality Sichuan Opera show. The three major dramas "Good Woman·Bad Woman", "Face Changing" and "Bashan Scholar" were all written by Wei Minglun. This "bashu ghost" who was hailed as a "folk thinker" by Yu Qiuyu said wittily: "If there were more people like me, opera would probably not die out."
"Bashan Scholar" is Wei Minglun's masterpiece and won the Cao Yu Drama Gold Award. Photographed by reporter Zhang Heping
"Good Women·Bad Women" is Wei Minglun's favorite work in the new century. It is based on "The Good People of Sichuan" by the German writer Brecht. Wei Minglun turned the Sichuan story imagined by the Germans into a German fable recreated by Sichuan people. "Face Changing" tells the story of Shui Piao, an old artist with the unique skill of "face changing", and his adopted girl Gou Wa, who are dependent on each other and full of joys and sorrows. The actors of Floating on the Water and Gouwa won the Shanghai Magnolia Drama Performing Arts Award and the Supporting Actor Award respectively. Wei Minglun said that "Changing Faces" focuses on children's view of the world, from the shallower to the deeper, and goes straight to the theme through the innocence of children, gradually highlighting the deep connotation of "life and death are like wheels turning, changing and changing faces." "Bashan Scholar" tells the story of a bookworm who took advantage of the opportunity of the provincial examination to write grievances for the people and seek justice for the people.
In August 2008, Wei Minglun participated in the Beijing Olympic torch relay in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.
Wei Minglun has always emphasized the importance of screenwriters in opera creation. In his view, the development of opera from the "writer-director system" of the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties to the "role system" of the late Qing Dynasty is a phenomenon of forgetting the "original". He sincerely hopes that the opera industry will give playwrights more understanding and support.
Wei Minglun said bluntly in Shanghai that the opera troupe was in trouble because it did not have a good book, so it was in a sluggish state. He said the reasons were too complicated. First of all, screenwriting was difficult. Although other literary styles also had their own difficulties, the stage had more restrictions on scripts. Secondly, the creative efficiency is low, and the "corner system" and "star system" are popular, so the screenwriter has become a vassal of writing plays for the corner. The star system in the opera world has positive significance for the development of performing arts, but due to the central system of "corners", it has led to the single-line development of opera art, with drama writers in a subordinate position. Therefore, in opera art, "the fragment is greater than the whole, and the form is greater than the content." , Appreciation is greater than thinking, actor is greater than writer." He emphasized that with the development of opera today, no one can do without the performing arts and the art of choreography and directing, and the performing arts cannot be developed purely.
Wei Minglun created four volumes of fine books, including one volume of essays, one volume of epigraphs, and two volumes of plays, titled "Good Women and Bad Women: Selected Works of Wei Minglun's Women's Plays" and "Mortals and Great Men: Wei Minglun" "Selection of Men's Plays" is the only one in the industry to classify its plays by gender.
Wei Minglun, who was well versed in screenwriting skills, was passionate about Sichuan Opera. Although many places across the country asked him to write plays, he never wrote them. In this regard, he once explained: "If you take on too many roles, the methods will inevitably be the same. Although the quantity is high, the quality cannot be taken into account. Now, although the quantity is not large, I can get the quality out of every one."
Ma Lili, a famous Shanghai opera artist, once asked Wei Minglun to write a play. Wei Minglun said at the time that Shanghai Opera is a very viable opera genre. The modern Peking Opera dramas "Red Lantern" and "Shajiabang" are all adapted from the Shanghai Opera of the same name in Shanghai. He said to Ma Lili, "I'm not very good at Shanghai Opera and can't write scripts well, but I can give you some ideas. For example, Ma Lili, the theme of the script for your new play should be fascinating, touching, and thought-provoking; the theme should be multi-faceted. , it should be visible and thinkable; it should be in various forms and have more and deeper connotations.”
Wei Minglun believes that as long as we expand our thinking and broaden our horizons, the themes of Shanghai Opera scripts will be broader and deeper. You can write about Shanghai, you can adapt it based on the works of famous writers, or you can try to recreate famous world dramas as legends written by Chinese people about foreigners. Shanghai Opera should play its "Shanghai brand", "Chinese brand" and "world card" well. Wei Minglun said that he is not from Shanghai, but Shanghai has an openness to all rivers. "Excellent Collection of Wei Minglun's Plays", "Dramas Made from Painful Recitation", "Bashan Ghost Stories", etc. are all published by Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House and Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House. Among them, "Bashan Ghost Stories" was reprinted five times a year and sold tens of thousands of copies. Such an environment is very conducive to the flourishing of literary and artistic creation.
