Chapter 361 The Great Depression
"Mr. Zhang, guess who I saw on the boat?" the secretary came in excitedly and asked.
"Who is it?"
"It's Mr. Mei, Mr. Mei Lanfang, the one you accompanied Mr. Tagore to Beijing for exchanges and heard him sing. He is also on this ship to perform in the United States." There are very few entertainment options nowadays. Zhang Xingjiu's secretary also likes to listen to operas. Now that he has met the Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang on the ship, how can he not be happy? He even fantasized that it would be great if he could listen to an opera on the ship.
"Oh, so it's an old acquaintance. I'd like to meet him." Zhang Xingjiu was also quite interested, but not in Peking Opera. Not many young people of the new generation like this. Instead, they respect Mei Lanfang as a person.
Moreover, the two had dealt with each other before when Mei Lanfang settled in Shanghai. Zhang Jian invited Mei Lanfang to perform in his hometown, and Zhang Xingjiu also went to watch. After that, they met on many occasions. Although they could not be called friends, it was okay to call them old acquaintances.
Soon after the secretary left, he came back with Mr. Mei. As soon as he entered the door, he greeted respectfully, "I didn't expect to be on the same ship with Mr. Zhang. It's really an honor."
Although he is now a famous Peking Opera master, due to historical reasons, the social status of current drama actors is not high and they are often reviled as the lowest class. Now that he meets a great scholar and university president like Zhang Xingjiu, he must lower his posture.
The social status of drama actors was not truly improved until after the founding of New China, which is why the older generation of drama actors loved New China so much and repeatedly donated money and materials to the country during the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea.
"Mr. Mei, we are old acquaintances. There's no need to be so formal." Zhang Xingjiu did not have those old ideas. He politely invited Mei Lanfang to take a seat, and the two of them started chatting while drinking tea.
When asked why he went to the United States to perform, Mei Lanfang replied, "It all started ten years ago. When the U.S. Minister to China, Reinsch, left office, he mentioned in his farewell speech that if Mei could perform in the United States, it would surely make the Chinese and American people more friendly. I am also very interested in American culture, and I hope to take this opportunity to study Western stage art, learn from its strengths and make up for its weaknesses to improve the performance of Peking Opera."
Zhang Xingjiu highly appreciated this attitude. "Although I don't understand Peking Opera, I understand that any art form cannot be complacent and must learn from others' strengths. Only in this way can it flourish forever. Take musical instruments for example. The pipa comes from Persia, the erhu originated from the musical instrument of the northern nomadic people, the Kumo Xi people, and the prototype of the suona was born in the Arab world. Aren't they all our musical instruments now?"
This is why Mei Lanfang can be called a master of his generation. Although his current status is already very high, he never forgets to continue to improve. In contrast, the Peking Opera world of later generations would have been finished long ago if it had not been for the name of this national opera and the large subsidies it received every year. It is far less vibrant than the Henan Opera and other dramas that are truly down-to-earth and in line with the development of the times.
"Mr. Zhang, you are worthy of being a world-renowned scholar. Your insights are truly remarkable." Mei Lanfang could not help but feel greatly gratified to hear this. When he was in China, whenever he wanted to make even the slightest change to Peking Opera, he would be fiercely criticized by the conservatives. Fortunately, he persisted, added the erhu to the accompaniment instruments of Peking Opera, and adapted many new plays, which made Peking Opera what it is today.
However, Mei Lanfang was still worried about his trip to the United States. He was not sure whether Americans would like his performance, and what repertoire he should choose to perform. His current idea was to perform the operas he had newly modified. These operas contained many things he had borrowed from Western operas, which might be more easily accepted by Americans.
Zhang Xingjiu clearly objected to this, "My friend Zhang, whom Mr. Mei should have met, once said, 'Only what is national is global.' You are not going to the United States to make money, but to show Americans the essence of Chinese folk opera, so it is more appropriate to perform the classic repertoires of the past."
"Moreover, the United States is a new immigrant country and is more receptive to heterogeneous cultures than old European countries such as Britain and France. A form of opera that is completely different from what they have appreciated in the past may attract their attention."
When he heard Ah Zhang's name, Mei Lanfang's smile froze for a second, and then he said frankly, "I don't get along with your friend, but what he said makes sense."
Why did a writer and a dramatist become enemies? It was because Zhang was really good at scolding people. A few years ago, Zhang wrote the famous article "On Photography and the Like", mocking the phenomenon of men dressing up as women on the Chinese stage, saying bluntly: "The greatest and most permanent art in China is men dressing up as women."
"Because from the perspective of both sexes, they are close to the opposite sex. Men see 'dressing up as a woman', and women see 'men dressing up', so this will always be hung in the glass windows of the photo studio and in the hearts of the people."
"However, as long as you look at the photos of those imitators who followed, they all look like children wearing new clothes, restrained and pitiful, and you will immediately understand why Mei Lanfang has been immortalized. His eyes and lips were probably out of necessity. This is enough to prove that Chinese people really have aesthetic eyes."
He was scolding her by name, it would be strange for Mei Lanfang to have any good feelings towards Ah Zhang.
Zhang Xingjiu apologized to Mei Lanfang on behalf of Ah Zhang, "Ah Zhang did not have any ill feelings towards Mr. Mei. He was mainly saddened by the current poverty and weakness of China, so he took his anger out on traditional culture such as Chinese medicine and Peking Opera."
Mei Lanfang's expression softened a lot, but such a big contradiction could not be resolved with just a few words. He quickly changed the subject and continued to ask Zhang Xingjiu about Americans' preferences.
Along the way, I talked about drama with Mei Lanfang and occasionally had the opportunity to watch his live performances. The journey was not too boring, and before I knew it, the cruise ship arrived in San Francisco.
The dock was crowded with people who came to welcome Zhang Xingjiu, including representatives from the US government, various universities, and of course representatives from pharmaceutical giants and capital giants. Situ Xianyi also came to greet him, but unfortunately he couldn't get close and could only show his face at the side. This was because he had been a legal adviser to Franklin Roosevelt, otherwise he would not even be able to enter the dock.
After some polite exchanges, Zhang Xingjiu got into a luxury car and drove to a hotel in the city center surrounded by a group of other vehicles.
Looking through the window on the way, Zhang Xingjiu saw a scene of depression everywhere.
(End of this chapter)
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