There are two famous theaters in San Francisco's Chinatown, one is called the Great China Theater and the other is called the Grand Stage Theater. They were opened as early as the Qing Dynasty. The Great China Theater has a background of the Revolutionary Party, while the backstage of the Grand Stage Theater is the royalist party.
The two theaters were so incompatible that even their respective artists were prohibited from walking around each other.
With the victory of the Revolution of 1911, the business of the Great China Theater that supported the revolutionary party became even more prosperous. From Sun Yat-sen calling for the overthrow of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in the United States to Hu Shih's campaign for the Anti-Japanese War in the United States, the Great China Theater was an excellent stage for speeches, throughout the entire
The history of the Republic of China.
The first stop of Zhou Hexuan's visit to the United States to build momentum was the Great China Theater.
"Dangdangdangdang..."
The gongs and drums on the stage were ringing non-stop. Zhou Hexuan, Song Ziwen, Fan Heyan, Situ Meitang, Luo Shi and others were sitting in the front row, surrounded by local overseas Chinese and representatives of the literary and art circles.
What is being performed at the moment is a Cantonese opera called "Patriotic Sons and Daughters". It is said that in order to promote the Three People's Principles in 1927, the Greater China Theater paid a lot of money to hire experts to create it. There are many actors on the stage, but Zhou Hexuan only knows one of them -
Kwan Tak Hing, the first Wong Fei Hung on the big screen in Hong Kong in the future.
Luo Shi, an American, shook his head when he heard this. He seemed to be very interested in Chinese opera. In fact, Zhou Hexuan really wanted to ask him: "Mr. Mayor, can you tell the difference between Peking Opera and Cantonese Opera?"
Song Ziwen, on the other hand, dozed off again and again and forced himself to concentrate to finish listening to the play. He was born in Shanghai and went to the United States at a very young age. Not to mention Cantonese, he didn't even speak Mandarin well. He usually wrote articles in English and asked his secretary to translate them into
Chinese.
"good!"
There were cheers in the theater.
Not far from Zhou Hexuan, a woman shouted very loudly and raised her arms to applaud vigorously. Her name was Liu Kelun, a dancing star from Chicago. She once held a charity performance during the Battle of Songhu and donated all the funds raised to the Ten
Ninth Route Army.
The woman sitting next to Liu Kelun is Huang Chenghua, the daughter of revolutionary Huang Xing, who has been living in the United States these years. She once sold her jewelry and remitted the money to the 19th Route Army with an oath: "If foreign aggression becomes more severe, I will
I will serve my country even if I die!"
Many patriotic overseas Chinese were invited to this performance today, such as Tan Guangzhong, one of the overseas Chinese leaders in the Americas. After the "December 128 Incident", he also initiated a fund-raising campaign and wrote to the Nanjing government: "Japanese pirates swallowed up the whole country, invaded the country, and eroded our country."
, and it goes on and on. We hope that we will respect the people's secrets, gather talents, mobilize the whole country, and resist to the death, without fearing that the enemy will remain in peace and bear the heavy responsibility of subjugating the country. If we rise up to resist, the people of the whole country should support each other with strength."
The 19th Route Army not only fought hard in China, but also promoted propaganda abroad very well. It also hired overseas Chinese as propaganda secretaries, specifically responsible for negotiating with the West. At least in the United States, many people knew at this time that China had an army
He fought bloody battles with the Japanese invaders.
After the performance of the Cantonese opera "Patriotic Sons and Daughters", there was another Cantonese opera called "Return My Country", which is also a new progressive drama compiled by the Greater China Theatre.
Immediately afterwards, Meng Xiaodong and Vivien Leigh took the stage to perform the new Peking Opera "Mrs. Flower Stam".
Vivien Leigh had oil paint on her face this time, so she couldn't tell that she was a Westerner, and her performance could only be regarded as quite satisfactory. But Meng Xiaodong was a blockbuster, and she didn't even have time to speak. She subdued a group of overseas theater fans with only her body, steps and gestures.
, every move and gesture shows a demeanor that is not inferior to that of Mei Lanfang.
Meng Xiaodong stroked her long beard with her hands, tilted her head and sang: "Luoyang's peonies are the best in the world, I call Cheng (Harmony) and they all become Luoyang. What a beauty..."
"good!"
Situ Meitang clapped his hands fiercely and marveled again and again: "This voice is amazing, I don't know who it is!"
Fan Heyan reminded in a low voice: "Mr. Ji, the old man on the stage is none other than Mr. Zhou's wife, Meng Xiaodong, Boss Meng."
"Female?" Situ Meitang was even more surprised, "I thought it was a man singing, eh, let's not talk about it for now, it's more important to listen to the show."
When the performance of "Mrs. Flower Stamina" ended, Tan Guangzhong couldn't help but stand up, clapped his hands wildly and said: "I have been away from my hometown for more than ten years, and I heard such old students in the United States. I am not inferior to the boss Tan Xinpei Tan back then."
!”
Huang Chenghua smiled and said: "I don't know which master sang it. I will definitely make some friends later."
For the Chinese people of that era, Peking Opera was the true quintessence of the country. The top Peking Opera masters had broken away from the category of actors and were considered great artists recognized by the world.
Thinking about Tagore's first visit to China, countless Chinese celebrities competed to communicate with him. Lu Xun directly criticized this, which probably meant: "Hu Shi, Xu Zhimo and others are not qualified to discuss friendship at all. Only Mei Lanfang and Tagore are
On the same level.”
That was more than ten years ago, which means that as early as more than ten years ago, Lu Xun believed that Mei Lanfang and Tagore were of equal status.
When Meng Xiaodong first arrived in the United States, when they met and shook hands, everyone regarded her as Zhou Hexuan's ordinary female companion. She didn't express anything, and she didn't push for the limelight. She only needed to go on stage to sing a play, and she could use her
Talent conquers everyone.
Mei Lanfang was in charge of singing the big drum today, and the cheers from the audience could knock off the roof tiles. Even the Americans present cheered in broken Chinese.
As evening approached, all the actors put on ordinary clothes and went on stage, and were introduced personally by theater manager Tang Pujun.
Meng Xiaodong was wearing a white silk suit, with her hair tied into a ponytail, looking dashing. Vivien Leigh was wearing a tight-fitting cheongsam, and her perfect figure was outlined in a convex shape. Just one look at her could make the man who looked at her blush.
"Umai!"
Ross pointed at Vivien Leigh and exclaimed: "There are white people among the performers. What did she just perform?"
Zhou Hexuan laughed and said: "Her name is Vivian, and she plays the heroine in the penultimate play."
"Is that the beautiful queen who was captured?" Luo Shi tried hard to remember.
"Yes." Zhou Hexuan nodded.
Mayor Ross said in surprise: "I want her autograph. She is the first Westerner who can sing Chinese Peking Opera well. By the way, is she an American?"
Zhou Hexuan said: "She is British."
"What a pity." Luo Shi said regretfully.
The American reporters present went crazy and took photos of Vivien Leigh desperately. They even thought about tomorrow's news headlines.
Theater owner Tang Pujun introduced the actors one by one. When it was Vivien Leigh's turn, it really caused a sensation, and the audience gave warm applause.
Tang Pujun walked up to Meng Xiaodong again and said excitedly: "The person I want to introduce next is very famous in the Chinese theater world. She is respected by the Chinese audience as the 'Winter Emperor', the Queen of Laosheng! She is the character in "Mrs.
The actor who plays the role of Meng Chang, Queen of Shu, is Ms. Meng Xiaodong!"
The Chinese people in the audience roared, making the movement even louder than before.
"Is Meng Chang sung by a woman?"
"I didn't expect that the old student just now was a woman."
"That voice is amazing!"
"Winter Emperor, Winter Emperor, he is truly worthy of his name. He is worthy of being the Emperor of Laosheng."
"Another one who can't lose to Boss Mei."
"Those of us who have lived in the United States all year round are so ignorant that we don't even know that there is such a powerful female senior student."
"Winter Emperor! Winter Emperor!"
"..."
Zhou Hexuan looked at the already boiling theater and couldn't help but laugh. It was going to be his turn to perform soon.
The Great China Theater in San Francisco's Chinatown is an important stage for propaganda in the United States. If you haven't given a speech here, you would be embarrassed to say that you have been to the United States.
Historically, when Japan fully invaded China, Hu Shi changed from a peace advocate to a war advocate, and was appointed as the Plenipotentiary Ambassador Extraordinary of China to the United States. He gave a speech in Hawaii on the way, and then set foot on the American mainland as his first stop.
It was a speech at the Great China Theater.
The actors came off the stage one after another, and the theater manager Tang Pujun smiled and said: "Now we invite Mr. Zhou Hexuan, a famous scholar and writer, to come on stage to give a speech to everyone!"