After the liberation of Peking in January 1949, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China shifted its work strategy to this thousand-year-old ancient city.
As the Kuomintang government retreated from Taiwan, China, the founding plan of the new China was also put on the agenda.
The Party Central Committee invites people from all walks of life to gather in Beiping to discuss the affairs of the country. Mei LanfangMr. As a leader and a staunch patriot in the opera industry, he was naturally invited.
During his stay in Beijing, the guards around Chairman Mao had a heated debate on Mr. Mei Lanfang's gender, and even shocked Chairman Mao for a time.
So, Chairman Mao reacted to the discussions of the guards?
As a senior opera lover, what kind of fate does the chairman have with Peking Opera and Mei Lanfang?
The Party Central Committee "goes to Beijing to take the exam"
On January 31, 1949, as General Fu Zuoyi led the Beiping defenders to surrender, Beiping City was peacefully liberated.
After learning the news, the Party Central Committee, far away in Xibaipo, Yan'an, held the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee in accordance with the development of the times to discuss the issue of shifting the focus of the Party's work in the future.
Finally, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made a strategic transfer decision, the central central government moved to Peiping, and the focus of work also shifted from rural areas to cities.
On the other hand, Comrade Ye Jianying, after receiving the resolution and order of the Party Central Committee, immediately set off for Peiping to be responsible for the city's takeover and rectification work.
Under the command of Ye Jianying, the previously devastated and dilapidated Beiping City returned to its previous prosperity in just a few months.
When the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China arrived, the production in Peking City was normal, the prices were stable, and the ancient capital was full of vitality, and the thousand-year-old capital was reborn again.
Before saying goodbye to Xibaipo to go to Peking, Chairman Mao repeatedly borrowed the story of Li Zicheng to warn the whole party: "Li Zicheng was proud of his achievements and failed. We should not learn from Li Zicheng!"
At that time, the whole country was about to be liberated, and now the focus of work has shifted to the city. Chairman Mao was very worried that the party would breed greed for pleasure and pride, so he repeatedly advised everyone to remain modest and cautious, not arrogant or impatient.
Under Chairman Mao’s instructions, the Party Central Committee has maintained a good style of hard work, modest and prudent work, which can be seen from the entry ceremony when everyone entered the city.
Beijing Municipal Party Committee considers that the current situation is great, the welcome ceremony can be appropriately made more popular in order to publicize the achievements of the Communist Party’s leadership of the revolution to Beiping and the whole country.
Preliminary plan of the Municipal Party Committee: When Chairman Mao Zedong entered the city, he organized citizens and people from all walks of life to welcome him.
But this plan was opposed by the Chairman: "It's still simpler, the scene should not be too big, there is no need to mobilize so many people, it's not too late to celebrate after winning the national victory in the future."
So, the final entry ceremony was held at Xiyuan Airport, with the form mainly on the inspection of the troops.
Although the scene was not big at that time, representatives from all walks of life and many citizens came spontaneously.
After the military parade, Chairman Mao held a friendly meeting with leaders of various parties and representatives from all walks of life.
Not long after, the Kuomintang completely retreated from Taiwan, China, and the plan for the founding of New China was also put on the agenda. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued instructions, inviting representatives from all walks of life across the country to gather in Peking to discuss major issues of the country.
Mr. Mei Lanfang, as a leader in the Chinese opera industry, a firm supporter of the Communist Party, and a good friend of Premier Zhou, is also among the invitations.
Mei Lanfang has a beard and ambition
Although Mei Lanfang is a literary worker and often appears on the stage as a weak woman, he is a firm patriot in his heart, and a tough guy who is not afraid of Japan's power and oppression and is brave enough to fight against it.
"September 18th Incident ", the Japanese established the puppet Manchukuo in the Northeast region. In order to promote the puppet regime, the Japanese prepared to invite Mei Lanfang and other literary and artistic people to perform in Changchun.
Many people feared the Japanese intimidation and agreed to the performance requirements.
, Mei Lanfang ignored the invitations sent by the Japanese to the door. Faced with the aggressive attitude of the Japanese envoy, Mei Lanfang refused on the grounds that he suffered from throat disease.
But the Japanese obviously did not intend to let him go. In the days that followed, people sent people to invite Mei Lanfang out, but Mei Lanfang would always refuse for various reasons.
1932, Mei Lanfang moved from Beijing to her hometown in Shanghai.
To inspire anti-Japanese war people, Mei Lanfang and his friends have edited and starred in many works, such as " Anti-Jin Soldiers " and "Life and Death and Hate", expressing their dissatisfaction with Japan's invasion of China.
Shortly after, Shanghai fell into an opponent.
The Japanese learned that Mei Lanfang lived in Shanghai, so they invited him to deliver a radio speech again, asking him to express his willingness to serve the Japanese.
Mei Lanfang flatly rejected this request and began planning to evacuate from Shanghai.
He took advantage of the opportunity to perform in Hong Kong and once again led the whole family to leave and stayed in Hong Kong.
It’s a pity that the current situation is arousing people, and Hong Kong was also contributed by the Japanese army in 1941.
Mei Lanfang knew that the Japanese would definitely not let him go, so he decided to accumulate beards and show his ambitions.
Mei Lanfang played many female actors on the stage, now she has a beard, which is to convey the signal of her golden basin washing hands to the outside world.
The child asked Mei Lanfang why she had a beard. He smiled and replied, "Dad has a beard, so the Japanese devils can't let her play the role of a woman."
As expected, not long after the Japanese army invaded Hong Kong, a Japanese spy named Yukisuke Kawada came to the door and was ordered to invite Mei Lanfang to perform in Japan.
Seeing the beard on Mei Lanfang's face, the spy did not return home. He knew that this was probably Mei Lanfang's delaying strategy, so he pestered Mei Lanfang.
Mei Lanfang could not get rid of the entanglement even though she had to take risks and pretend to be sick.
He asked the doctor to inject himself with a typhoid injection, which would cause him to have symptoms such as fever, dizziness, and cough.
After a while, Mei Lanfang looked haggard and hoarse, and she lost weight for a whole circle, so she hid it from the Japanese spy.
Mei Lanfang refused the Japanese to perform again and again, and his beard was not shaved. Until the news of Japan surrendered to came, he shaved his beard that day and returned to the stage two months later.
Guard discusses Mei Lanfang's gender, and the chairman points out the mistake
1949 After Mei Lanfang was invited by Premier Zhou to return to Beijing, he attended the first Congress of the National Chinese Literary and Art Workers.
On July 6, 1949, Mei Lanfang was received by Chairman Mao and others.
This is the first time he has met Chairman Mao. Mei Lanfang paid his highest respect to this great man who led the Chinese people to revolutionary success.
"This opera character is not simple. When Japanese imperialism invaded China, he lived in seclusion and never sang opera for the Japanese. The national integrity of this artist is so precious!" Chairman
once commented on Mei Lanfang like this.
During the meeting, Premier Zhou asked Mei Lanfang: "Can you sing a few scenes?"
Mei Lanfang happily agreed.
After learning the news, the chairman personally ordered his favorite song "Farewell My Concubine".
Later, the central government considered that literary and artistic workers from all over the world gathered in Peiping City, which was a rare event, so it decided to let everyone take the stage to perform a program and exchange skills with each other, which could be considered a happy event.
After the conference organization, a total of 35 literary and artistic groups will be on stage to sing in , and Mei Lanfang's "Farewell My Concubine" is the finale.
However, on the day of the performance, the chairman did not leave because of his busy work.
In fact, since the afternoon before the performance, the chairman has been at his desk to handle the work until the next afternoon.
Chairman's Chief Guardian Li Yinqiao Comrade Li had to worry when he saw this. He knew the Chairman's temper very well. Now he would definitely not listen to the Chairman's rest.
At this moment, Li Yinqiao heard several soldiers in the next guard room arguing: "Is Mei Lanfang a man or a woman?"
The name Mei Lanfang is usually only heard of her name and does not see her. and his name sounds more feminine, which makes many people mistakenly think that Mei Lanfang is a woman.
The soldiers in the guard room were no exception, and everyone almost thought that Mei Lanfang was a woman.
Li Yinqiao immediately had a plan when he heard this.
He walked to the guard room and told everyone: "The Chairman has seen Mei Lanfang with his own eyes. You can tell if you go and ask the Chairman."
Li Yinqiao knew that the Chairman loved opera, so he was sure that he was interested in this topic. In this way, his work would be interrupted and he could go out to watch the opera and rest.
As expected, when the soldiers raised this question, the Chairman immediately put down the pen in his hand.
"In the past, everyone lived in the countryside and could not see Mei Lanfang's plays, so they could only listen to them occasionally on the radio. Mei Lanfang played the role of a female role, and he was a female role of a man dressed in a woman. The man sang a woman, which was better than the woman." Chairman
explained to everyone with a smile.
"Don't say you haven't seen Mei Lanfang before. Even if you saw him with your own eyes on the stage, if there is no introduction from someone who knows what you know, you might think that there is a woman on the stage!" Chairman
said immediately.
Through this incident, the Chairman also once again warned the soldiers a truth, that is: "Everyone must be investigated in depth before judgment can be made."
Chairman told them earnestly: "You have made a mistake and did not have an in-depth understanding of Mei Lanfang. They only judge his gender based on his name, voice, and appearance. Of course, this is going to make a mistake."
The soldiers all showed their expressions of being taught, while Li Yinqiao hid aside and had fun.
work was interrupted, and Li Yinqiao reminded the chairman at the right time: "There will be an opera performance tonight."
Chairman went out happily after hearing this.
Chairman listened to the singing of "Farewell My Concubine"
That night, Chairman Mao went out in a short-sleeved shirt and came all the way to the performance venue.
When one wonderful opera show after another was staged, the chairman was also immersed in the art world.
Finally, Mei Lanfang's finale drama "Farewell My Concubine".
Chairman has watched this drama many times, and he is very familiar with the plot in it and can even hum along with it.
As soon as Mei Lanfang came on stage, it immediately caused a sensation in the audience, and the chairman also clapped his applause excitedly.
From the stage layout and actor outfit, it can be seen that Mei Lanfang attaches great importance to this performance, and many instruments and accessories have been suffering from new ones.
After the opera began, the chairman opened his eyes wide and his eyes never left the stage.
At the same time, the chairman also brought himself deeply into the role.
When Xiang Yu and Yu Ji were separated by life and death, the Chairman's eyes were red.
When Xiang Yu made a bold statement that "the strength is to draw mountains and the spirit is vast, and the time is not good, and the horse will never pass away", the chairman could not hide his heavy heart and said to the guard next to him: "We must not learn from Xiang Yu, and no one should learn."
Under Mei Lanfang's superb interpretation, all the audience, including the chairman, were immersed in this tragic history. After the performance of
, Mei Lanfang specially returned to the stage to finish the curtain call. Everyone present stood up to applaud him and paid tribute to him. Chairman Mao frequently said to the people next to him: "This is really a performance with extremely high artistic level!"
After returning, Chairman Mao called on all cadres in the party to watch "Farewell My Concubine" and wrote with a big stroke:
"It is better to chase the remaining bravery and not to seek fame and learn from the overlords."
" Use this to warn the whole party to learn from the lessons of Xiang Yu's pride and arrogance and learn from history.
After this song, Chairman Mao’s praise of Mei Lanfang has reached a higher level, and since then the Chairman has become a regular visitor to Mei Lanfang’s stage.
In February 1951, the Chairman watched Mei Lanfang's "Jinshan Temple·Broken Bridge".
After the end, the chairman said to Mei Lanfang: "Mr. Mei is also very thoughtful in his clothes. You are all white, only a little red tassel on your forehead, and a little red in silver, which is very beautiful!"
Mei Lanfang was moved after hearing this, because he took a lot of thought to figure out this outfit, but no one has ever mentioned his appearance.
This made Mei Lanfang feel the Chairman’s love and respect for opera. At this moment, the two are not only the relationship between the performers and the audience, but also like a pair of soulmates.
Conclusion
Chairman Mao and Mei Lanfang were originally two people in completely different fields, but they both did what they were good at to the extreme.
Chairman Mao led the Chinese people to revolutionary victory and established a new China; although Mei Lanfang did not have such outstanding achievements, he was also like a mountain of Tai Diu in the opera world.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chairman Mao fought for the construction of New China; Mei Lanfang became the director of Chinese Opera Research Institute , leading the team to visit countries around the world and spread the excellent Chinese opera culture to the people of the world.
From this point of view, the two seem to have become comrades and comrades who fight side by side and work together to develop New China.
Although their revolutionary division of labor is different, their purpose is only one - to serve the people!
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