"The flowers bloom in spring for fourteen, five sixteenth, and on June 6th, I watch Gu Xiuchun beat sixty-nine heads."
——Almost everyone who has watched the Spring Festival Gala cannot read this lyrics in a normal tone.
1995 "Spring Festival Gala", Zhao Lirong performed this scene in the sketch " so packaged ". After 24 years, lines such as " Spicy Chicken Shrimp " are still circulating on the Internet.
▲ "Remember, spicy chicken shredded chicken"
Zhao Lirong, who has passed away for 19 years, seems to have never walked away. The chassis bun, smiling, and a Tangshan dialect... Whenever you think of her, you always feel a warm feeling. No wonder the audience at that time said:
"I really want Zhao Lirong to be my mother."
countdown
. Now, the sketch "Such Packaging" is a "big IP". It not only created many popular words, but also turned Zhao Lirong into the "top traffic" of China at that time.
▲ In that era, the Little Tigers were also slightly inferior to Zhao Lirong
In that era when entertainment characters and entertainment methods were scarce, everyone who appeared on the Spring Festival Gala was the "treasure in the palm of the people". So in the next few years, whether Zhao Lirong is happy or not, on New Year's Eve, she, an old lady with a Tangshan dialect and smiling eyes, must be there.
ending always comes so unexpectedly.
In 1999, Zhao Lirong was already 71 years old. That New Year's Eve was her fifth consecutive appearance on the Spring Festival Gala stage.
▲ Stills of Zhao Lirong "The Veterans Come on"
In the new work "The Veterans Come on", she maintained her previous spirit, and her mouthful of "Tangshan flavor" English made the audience applaud. At that time, they all felt that it would be okay for this old lady to work for another five years!
▲ "Nod Yes shook his head No, come Come Go Go"
At that time, no one expected that Zhao Lirong's life had entered the countdown.
While the audience laughed, Zhao Lirong's children were crying silently outside the screen.
During the rehearsal of this year's Spring Festival Gala, Zhao Lirong's cough broke out.
, in theory, this is not a big problem. Zhao Lirong is an "old smoker" herself, and it is normal to have a cough and throat.
▲ Zhao Lirong's son said that he really couldn't find any way to make his mother quit smoking
because of this, the director advised her a lot: "For the sake of the audience across the country, don't smoke, quit smoking quickly." Every time at this time, Zhao Lirong always has a way to deal with it. She asked someone to buy a cigarette containing selenium and said to everyone:
"I heard that this kind of cigarette will not cause cancer if you smoke!"
Zhao Lirong has tried to quit smoking. When she got addicted to cigarettes for a while, she would eat gum or suck a pen, but she felt unsatisfied and always made herself scratch her head.
Slowly, the family found that Zhao Lirong was coughing more and more severely, and even showed signs of coughing up blood. The children quickly took her to the hospital. Zhao Lirong was eventually diagnosed with lung cancer, and several children cried with their heads in their arms.
At Zhao Lirong's age, she suffered from lung cancer, which is no different from "sentence to death", but she doesn't care at all.
"It's okay, what are you afraid of? You have to leave sooner or later."
In the next days, she should eat and drink, and continue to find happiness in life.
Zhao Lirong loves to be clean all her life, no matter how sick she is, she has to take a shower. As soon as she took a shower, she joked with the children: "You go out for a while, I'm going to play with a big knife."
▲ Zhao Lirong's fashionable and beautiful life is very effective. Pain affects her appetite. On the last days, Zhao Lirong almost used medicine instead of rice. In order to relieve her boredom, she made a "nickname" for all kinds of medicines. If she wanted a spray-style "Panle Ning", she asked, "Where is my 'little jet'?"
It seems that as long as there is a ray of light in life, it will be grabbed by Zhao Lirong. This feeling of hunger for happiness comes from her first half of her life that she suffered endlessly.
Sweet and Sweet and Sweet
"Life is a ball of hemp, there are always those little knots that cannot be solved." In the 1992 sketch "Mom's Today", Zhao Lirong sang the lyrics of "The Happy Years" as if it was a true portrayal of her life.
Zhao Lirong grew up in the opera troupe since she was a child. In the old society, the opera troupe was full of artists from the world, and their humor and humor greatly influenced Zhao Lirong. People come and go, and turn around, which also gives her a sense of wandering.
▲ The classic Ping drama "Liu Qiaoer". Zhao Lirong on the left and Xinfengxia
Compared with many old artists, Zhao Lirong is lucky. Because she not only learned solid skills from a group of teachers such as Furonghua and Ma Jingui, she also persisted until after the liberation and successfully entered the National Theatre Troupe.
Basically, life is stable, and love is coming to knock on the door.
At that time, Zhao Lirong and Pingju performing artist Xin Fengxia were very good sisters. With the latter's support, Zhao Lirong and Sheng Qiang, who came from a scholarly family, got together.
▲ The first on the left is Xinfengxia
Sheng Qiang was an outstanding young man at that time. He is not only a show-off talent, but after graduating from university, he also served as secretary at the China Pingju Theatre .
At that time, Zhao Lirong and Sheng Qiang were the best couple - they worked hard and grew up together.
When Zhao Lirong was six months pregnant, she still worked as usual; Sheng Qiang made many far-reaching literary and artistic comments.
1955, their son was born. It can also be seen from the name "Sheng Fuchun" that the couple was so happy at that time. Two years later, Zhao Lirong became pregnant with her second son Shan Daming, and the family's life was full of hope.
Fate is teasing people. Zhao Lirong and Sheng Qiang had not yet realized that a torrent of the times was sweeping towards them.
In late autumn of this year, Sheng Qiang was labeled as a rightist and sent to Tianjin Chadian Farm for labor reform. Zhao Lirong had to pull two children alone.
▲ In 1965, Zhao Lirong and her youngest son Sheng Qian
is very difficult. But Zhao Lirong always believed that Sheng Qiang would return safely.
It’s another late autumn, and Zhao Lirong and her husband have been separated for two years. At this time, the news that her husband was about to come back from the farm began to spread among the neighbors, and she was so excited that she couldn't sleep well for several nights.
But a few days have passed, and what awaits him is not the reunion of the family, but the news of his husband's death.
Sheng Fuchun will never forget it. The day when my mother got the news of her death:
"After my mother picked me up from kindergarten, she walked and told me, 'Your father is gone'. After listening, I hugged my mother and cried loudly. My mother cried to the death."
In fact, the real pain is invisible to the child's eyes.
The death of her husband suddenly took off Zhao Lirong's "soul". She was seriously ill. Even so, the work was not delayed at all. After recovering from the illness, she went on stage to sing.
▲ Stills from the classic Ping drama "Flowers are the Media", the second on the left is Zhao Lirong
On the stage, Zhao Lirong still smiled brightly, she said that she never brings emotions to the stage.
Maybe people will feel the pain to the extreme, and they will not feel the pain, but will feel comfortable.
In that era, there must be no men in the family. Sheng Qiang's sister discussed with Zhao Lirong's second brother and asked Zhao Lirong to marry Sheng Qiang's third brother Sheng Hong. Zhao Lirong was furious after hearing this, "Isn't this ruining my reputation? Since ancient times, there have been no sister-in-law and brother-in-law?"
Until 1964, under the persuasion of relatives and the begging of children, the two of them finally got together.
Zhao Lirong is straight-hearted, but she has never complained about this in public. She may be thinking:
"The second half of her life, let's do it."
1970, after giving birth to three sons, she finally welcomed her first daughter.
This daughter is not only Zhao Lirong’s “little cotton-padded jacket”, but also her family’s “happy fruit”. As the most popular child of the Sheng family, Zhao Lirong simply named her "Sheng Jiahuan".
But this joy did not last long, and Zhao Lirong fell into the abyss of pain again.
Three days after Sheng Jiahuan was born, she was diagnosed with congenital disability. In order to treat her daughter, Zhao Lirong seeks medical treatment everywhere and goes all out.
At that time, she "invite doctors from all over the country and buy good medicines from all over the country, including tiger bones, white flower snakes, pythons, and leopards, and a lot of Chinese medicine." The medicine cost per month was more than 300 yuan. At that time, her monthly salary was only a few dozen yuan.
The sons don’t do anything else, they just use a small drill to grind medicine for their sister every day. On the surface, it is a medicine, but in fact, the family is helping her sister polish her life.
Despite this, the little girl still couldn't live until her seventh birthday. Zhao Lirong, who was nearly fifty years old, shed tears again.
Life never gives people a chance to breathe. In those years, my family still owed a lot of foreign debts. When Zhao Lirong was the most difficult time, the underwear she wore was patched and patched.
Zhao Lirong once said meaningfully about this life in the past: "Only those who have eaten coptis chinensis know what sweetness is, and only those who have lived in tragedy can create laughter."
New life
1988, Zhao Lirong retired from the China Ping Theater. Zhao Lirong, who had survived most of her life, finally had a rest.
, who has been acting in Pingju for a lifetime, thought that her artistic life would come to an end here, but she never expected that on this day, the director of the Spring Festival Gala would knock on her door.
Everything is omen.
When he was one and a half years old, Zhao Lirong was carried on stage by a drama actor. By the age of eight. She officially started singing operas and then joined the National Theatre Troupe. She has been "acting" since she was a child.
Opera has very strict requirements on the appearance of actors. If you want to become a famous actor, you must have a good appearance. Due to the limitations of appearance, Zhao Lirong can only play a relatively minor role in some dramas.
The protagonist of the movie "Flower is a Media" is the two beauties in the Ping Opera industry, Xin Fengxia and Li Yilan , but this cannot block the glory of supporting role Zhao Lirong. If it weren't for the "Ruan Ma" she played, this film would have lost its comedy and civilian characteristics.
▲ In the Pingju "Flowers are Message", Zhao Lirong's performance is lively and natural
Chinese drama actors are too deeply influenced by the stylized performance on the stage. When facing the camera, they will unconsciously exaggerate their facial expressions, but Zhao Lirong can transition naturally, with her expressions, tone, and movements as freely as she did when she later performed modern sketches.
Some people even say that Zhao Lirong has set a precedent for supporting roles to become roles.
But so what? Sometimes Zhao Lirong also feels that "the talent is not appreciated":
"I have been acting in opera for so many years, and the real audience knows me not as much as the final sketch."
The opportunity to become famous was born under this pressure.
is also frustrated and down. Shilin is also the one who is also frustrated.
1988, Shi Lin was just an unknown little screenwriter of Beijing Quyi Troupe . He wrote a script that was originally used by the Quyi Troupe, but it was not performed at that time due to various reasons.
Later, CCTV collected manuscripts of the 1989 Spring Festival Gala sketches from the whole country. Seeing Shi Lin’s call for manuscripts, he handed over his script to the Spring Festival Gala crew.
At the end of the script, he also specifically stated, "If adopted, please let Zhao Lirong of China Ping Theater be the starring actor."
is the "Honor of Heroes' Mother's Day " that became popular later.
In fact, Shi Lin and Zhao Lirong don’t know each other. In today’s terms, he is just a small fan of Zhao Lirong. After watching the Ping Opera starring Zhao Lirong, he boldly asserted:
"Zhao Lirong is the best female ugly."
Because of Zhao Lirong's humor, it is naturally revealed.
At this time, there are a large number of virtuous and kind mothers on the market, and there are too few mothers as "humorous" and "like human" as Zhao Lirong - and "A Day of a Hero Mother" needs such a mother.
▲ "Sima Gate Smashing the Stop"
Although Shi Lin supported Zhao Lirong, Zhang Xiaohai, the then director of the Spring Festival Gala, was confused in his heart: "Is it OK to have a Ping Opera actor who came to participate in a variety show party?"
Zhao Lirong was also very worried, she was afraid that she would mess it up. She then shirked, "Look, I'm retired, I'm old, I've been acting for a lifetime, so it's good to put a perfect end."
Zhang Xiaohai replied, "You look at the notebook first, don't be too busy refusing, I'll come again in a few days."
Zhao Lirong felt a little confident after reading the notebook, and thought that the big director came to find her, but she couldn't show off. In the end, she agreed readily, "I'm willing to use my remaining energy!"
Unexpectedly, after the Spring Festival Gala that year, 61-year-old Zhao Lirong became a hit.
will never be
clothes can be settled, but art will never be settled.
Zhao Lirong has a very deep old artist style. On the sketch stage, she can lower her figure and treat herself as an ordinary actor. She repeatedly pondered every line and every action and carefully designed it.
It is her talent and her hobby to figure out characters. Whether it is a vegetable seller on the street, a friend or a colleague, as soon as the other party leaves, she can immediately imitate the person, which is vivid.
Zhao Lirong is illiterate, but she once dictated an article on performance theory called "Talk about My Performance". It records the entire process from her taking a role, thinking about a role, and interpreting it.
▲ Screenshot from Zhao Lirong's oral article "Talking about My Performance"
At the end of her self-report, she said:
"As an actor, I also emphasize the issue of drama ethics, so I specifically require myself to be serious and responsible to the audience when I go on stage. Today, the audience loves me, and I should strictly demand that I behave myself to be honest and thank the audience for their kindness."
Zhao Lirong is not popular, and it is difficult to tolerate it. After the sketch "A Day for Heroic Mother" was broadcast, Zhao Lirong suddenly became a household name. People in the industry say "this is not accidental" because it is the release of her comprehensive accumulation of decades of her artistic career.
In the next ten years, Zhao Lirong presented eight sketches to the audience on the Spring Festival Gala stage, and every time her performance brought the warm atmosphere of the evening party to a climax.
Because he always plays "mother", later, the audience, cooperative partner Gong Hanlin and others shouted, "Ma Zhao".
Zhao Lirong also felt strangely moved in her heart - to a certain extent, this made up for some of her regrets in her life.
captures this feeling of happiness.
Zhao Lirong feels that she should repay everyone with better works. On the stage of the Spring Festival Gala, she was getting more and more relaxed. She keeps trying new tricks: playing rap, speaking English, practicing martial arts, writing calligraphy, singing English songs...
Every New Year's Eve, she brings countless laughs to the audience, but few people know that behind these laughs is Zhao Lirong's bitter life.
In the sketch "Mom's Today", the phrase "Tango is just walking around" was once a popular saying in the streets.
At that time, the crew designed this period for only one minute, and it was enough to make do with it, but Zhao Lirong was unhappy, "I don't feel that you have to find a teacher for me to learn." Later, the director team found a girl in her 20s, and she followed her to learn as if she was decent.
When practicing that dance, Gong Hanlin found that something was wrong with Zhao Lirong's legs because Zhao Lirong always said to him, "Hanlin, my legs can't bend them anymore."
Later, after checking, everyone found that Zhao Lirong's meniscus was damaged, which was an injury left over years.
Zhao Lirong was injured in her knee joint practice in her early years. As she grew older, the injury became more and more serious.
At that time, there was a broken bone in Zhao Lirong's legs, which was floating back and forth in her knees. Sometimes the bone slags are stuck in the middle, and Zhao Lirong feels a piercing pain.
The cultivation of the old artist made Zhao Lirong grit her teeth and carry it.She never delayed a rehearsal or performance because of her illness. Director Zhang Xiaohai once went to her house in person to advise her not to rehearse, but she refused, "Because I'm not sure if I'm not there."
is still for the show.
1995, "Such Packaging" was once again a great success. At the end of the sketch, after Zhao Lirong finished the line "Do you say it's uncomfortable?", she knelt on one knee - this was not a deliberate burden, but she was really "very uncomfortable" at the time.
Zhao Lirong endured the severe pain and stood up and left the stage. She was driven to the backstage by Gong Hanlin and other actors.
But as long as you are in front of the stage, you won’t see Zhao Lirong having a trace of sadness.
I am not a "famous actor"
There are more and more performances coming to the door. Some people advised Zhao Lirong to also formulate a "appearance price" and find an agent. Zhao Lirong is particularly opposed to doing so.
She feels that as long as she can go on stage to see the audience, she will be happy; once she is in a good mood, she will be healthy, and she can't buy it no matter how much money she is.
Zhao Lirong became the only famous actor in China who has no agent and appearance price.
Of course, the old lady also has times of being shaken.
Many young actors have made a fortune, and a performance cost tens of thousands of yuan. "Do you think my mother can't be jealous of these people? But she can't find her own problems." Shan Daming said that at that time, Zhao Lirong always felt that she could not make money for a long time and could not act in a few scenes.
A family later analyzed to Zhao Lirong that she was unwilling to show up at that time and thought that she should be "rude and orderly", so she naturally couldn't make money.
If an artist thinks about money every day, then his art is definitely not worth it. Zhao Lirong gritted her teeth and put all her thoughts on art, and she didn't think about the rest.
At this time, the big screen extended an olive branch to Zhao Lirong. She played Aunt Tian in the TV series "Among the People" and Liu Laolao in the movie " Dream of Red Mansions ", all left a deep impression on people.
Zhao Lirong is rarely said by the director, "Can you do it again." My son Shan Daming was very surprised about this. Could it be that the old lady couldn’t take the photo?
Later, it was the director of " Journey to the West " Yang Jie and said to Shan Daming: "We can't even watch your mother's movies. Your mother is the 'worm' here. Whatever she plays, I just watch it, and I don't want to pinch her."
's natural acting skills allowed Zhao Lirong to open up the territory on the stage outside the sketch. In the film "New Year", Zhao Lirong played the role of her mother whom she was very good at, which made her win the "Best Actress" at the 1991 Tokyo International Film Festival.
▲ The movie "New Year"
But this famous actor heard the news of his winnings on the radio at that time.
Later, Beijing Film Studio called Zhao Lirong and asked to send a car to pick her up at the airport for a souvenir. Zhao Lirong was unhappy at first, but later she thought about it and still gave the director and Beijing Film Studio a step forward.
"Since they invite you, you have to go. Even if you pretend to come out of the airport, it seems that you have won the prize and come back, you have to let everyone know."
son Shan Daming said that mother can always take care of other people's emotions, so many people miss her good things.
Zhao Lirong respects herself, but is not proud.
For a long time, she lived in a farmyard in Hanjiachuan, Haidian, Beijing. She felt that "he was born as a farmer and could not be separated from mud and soil." Without mud and soil, her art will lose its "roots".
After winning the award every year, she farmed in the yard and admired the flowers, plants and trees she planted. In Shan Daming's words, "This is the old lady 're thinking about her mistakes behind closed doors', and it is also 'cooling' for herself."
"If you don't spend money, you just make money" family education has long been engraved in Zhao Lirong's bones. After becoming famous, she was still frugal, "turning big clothes into small clothes, and turning small clothes into rags", and there was nothing thrown at home.
Sometimes, she would joke with people around her: If I were asked to go to the big troop, take the big brother, live in a big villa, let alone let me do sketches, I'm afraid I won't even say anything about ordinary social engagements, that would be called teasing people!"
Someone said, "Famousness and fortune will change a person", but in fact, "people change themselves".
END
In Zhao Lirong's last days, She declined the visits of her friends. On the morning of July 17, 2000, she passed away at home at the age of 72.
Ten days later, everyone held a memorial service for Zhao Lirong. In the center of the solemn and solemn mourning hall, a photo of Zhao Lirong was placed. In the photo, she smiled, as if saying:
"My stage name is Zhao Lirong, and my real name is Zhao Lirong. ”
Note: The picture comes from the Internet
part of the reference materials:
1. "The Weird Zhao Lirong in Art Garden"
2. Zhao Lirong "Talk about My Performance"
3. Kefan listens: "My Comedy My Life Gong Hanlin Interview"
