Hangzhou Asian Games | Torchbearer Chen Meilan: May Wu Opera and the "torch" of the Asian Games be passed down from generation to generation | Torch | Wu Opera

On September 17th, amidst cheers and applause from the audience, the Jinhua Station of the Hangzhou Asian Games Torch Relay arrived at the closing ceremony. The last torchbearer's gaze was firm. She raised the Asian Games torch with both hands and solemnly lit the seed pot with her "firewood" in her hand. She is Chen Meilan, a famous performing artist of Wuju and a national representative inheritor of Wuju, a national intangible cultural heritage project.

On September 17th, Chen Meilan was in the torch relay. Photo by Sun Fei, journalist from Xinhua News Agency

"As the last leg of the torch relay at the Jinhua Station of the Hangzhou Asian Games, I am deeply honored and also deeply responsible," said Chen Meilan. A few days ago, she just took the actors from Zhejiang Province's Wu Opera to perform in African countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia, and Eritrea. During her team visit, she persisted in exercising every day to ensure that she maintained the best mental state during the Asian Games torch relay.

"The most important aspect of the Asian Games torch relay is to convey a kind of spirit and energy, which is similar to our performance in Wuju. It is to convey to everyone the expectation of confidence, optimism, fearlessness of challenges, and welcoming beauty together." Chen Meilan said.

On September 17th, torchbearers Chen Meilan and Lu Yangchun participated in the torch relay. Photo by Sun Fei, journalist from Xinhua News Agency

As one of the local opera genres in Zhejiang Province, Wu Opera was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2008. Since entering the Wu Opera industry at the age of 17, Chen Meilan has devoted almost all her youth to Wu Opera. She drew on various strengths in stage practice, shaping a series of vivid and vivid artistic images such as Mu Guiying, Kunlun women, Xiao Qing, and Wu Zetian.

With her unswerving pursuit of the performing arts of Wu Opera, Chen Meilan, who was in her 60s, won many honors such as the National model worker Award, the Wenhua Performance Award, and the two Plum Blossom Awards for Chinese Drama.

The picture shows Chen Meilan performing the Wu Opera "Mu Guiying Takes Command" on May 19, 2009. Shen Jizhong

Wu Opera is a type of drama known for its literary and martial arts skills, with a rapid turnover of performers. In addition to polishing the plays, Chen Meilan's most thoughtful aspect in her daily life is inheritance and innovation. "The success of Wuju is not about reaching the sky in one step, but about everyone gathering firewood and sand to form a tower, relying on the unremitting efforts of generations of Wuju people." Chen Meilan said that the relay baton must be handed over to young people, allowing more young people to play the main role. Only with successors can Wu Opera continue to flourish and thrive.

In order to promote the inheritance and development of Wu Opera, she recommended plays such as "The White Snake prequel" and "Mu Guiying" to young actors such as Yang Xiayun, Wu Wenling, and Chen Lili at the peak of her artistic development, and subsequently launched a series of widely circulated youth versions of Wu Opera.

The picture shows the youth version of Wu Opera "Mu Guiying", planned and directed by Chen Meilan, performed at the Luojia Mountain Theater in Wuhan on November 17, 2011. Shen Jizhong

At present, the Zhejiang Wuju Troupe has sufficient talent reserves and a reasonable team structure, which has laid a solid foundation for further development in the future. The Chinese Drama Association also praised Zhejiang Wuju as a place where young talents have emerged, and called on the national theater industry to learn from them.

"During the torch relay, I felt the spirit of perseverance and teamwork. In fact, the inheritance of Wuju is like the relay of the torch, which requires the strength of everyone. This torch relay not only hopes to pass on the spirit of hard work and progress in the Asian Games, but also wants to pass on the flame of Wuju, which has been passed down for 500 years, from generation to generation." said Chen Meilan.