A Masterpiece of the Cheng School of Peking OperaThis play is adapted from one of the ten great tragedies in classical Chinese drama. Cheng Yanqiu as Dou E, Li Jinquan as Cai's mother, Xiao Shengxuan as Jaileress, performed and recorded in 1959.
Sung by Dou E, lamenting the miserable situation caused by an injustice sentence.
CHENG YANQIU (1904-1958), born in Beijing. He
shared the honor of being one of the Four Great Dan Actors with Mei Lanfang,
Shang Xiaoyun and Xun Huisheng. He began to learn Beijing opera at the age of
six. He learned wu sheng from Rong Diexian, hua dan from Chen Tongyun, qigyi
from Chen Xiaoyun and daoma dan from Yan Lanqiu. He also took Mei Lanfang as his
tutor. He benefited much from Wang Yaoqing's teaching. At the age of eleven he
went on state and at the age of twelve he cooperated with Sun Juxian, Liu
Hongsheng, Gao Qingkui. Yu Shuyan and others in performing General's Son to Be
Executed, A Child Left in the Mulberry Garden. The Pavilion of Royal Monument,
etc.. which earned favorable comment. He could play various roles. After he set
up a company her performed and was well known for playing parts of qingyi and
daoma dan in the Rainbow Pass, the Story of Su San, etc. He also wrote and
performed a lot of new operas since the 1920s, such as the Blue Frost Sword, an
Emerald Hairpin, Lady Mei, the Dream of the Young Lady, the Unicorn Purse,
Yingtai Rejects the Marriage, etc. These operas were favorably received by the
audience. There was something unique about his singing, soft and pleasing, firm
but gentle, and it deeply affected the audience's emotions. He paid special
attention to expressing characters' feeling s and portraying characters
vividness. He created many ways of using water sleeve and improved the art of
water sleeve of dan performers. During the war of resistance against Japan, he
lived a solitary life as a farmer in the western suburbs of Beijing. In the
1930s, he was president of Beiping Branch of Nanjing Conservatory of Traditional
Opera Music and president of Zhonghua Traditional Opera Training School. He
toured Europe for research in art in 1932. The countries he visited include
France, United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. After the founding of new China, he was
appointed vice-president of Chinese Academy of Traditional Opera. The books he
wrote included "Collected Works of Cheng Yanqiu" and "Selected Operas Performed
by Cheng Yanqiu".