Ma Shiteng

Ma Shiteng (April 2, 1900 - April 22, 1964), courtesy name Bolu and nickname Jingcan, was originally from Shunde, Guangdong. A native of Madiqiao, Guizhou, Shunde County, Guangdong (now Ronggui District, Shunde District, Foshan City), he is a famous Cantonese opera performing artist.

He once became a disciple of the famous Xiao Wu Liang Yuanheng, and has been acting and making movies in Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou and Southeast Asia. At the end of 1955, he returned to Guangzhou to join the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Troupe. He is good at performing roles such as Chou Sheng, Xiao Sheng, Xiao Wu, Hua Lian, Xu Sheng, etc. He has an original "beggar's throat", which is half singing and half white, with clear pauses and frustrations. Sometimes he also mixes in dialects and colloquialisms, which is lively and funny and has become a popular horse tune.

In his later years, he changed to singing Lao Sheng, and his skills became more and more refined.

Chinese name: Ma Shitsang

Foreign name: MaSiTsang

Nationality: China

Birthplace: Shunde, Guangdong

Date of birth: April 2, 1900

Date of death: April 21, 1964

Occupation: Master of Cantonese opera

Representative works: "The Bitter Feng Ying Pity", "The Thief Prince", "The Couple Fights", "The Unruly Princess Beats the Prince Consort"

Acting experience

Apprenticeship to learn the art

" A scholarly family". His family was poor since he was a child, so he studied the Four Books and Five Classics with his great-uncle Ma Zhenyu. At the age of fifteen, he was admitted to "Jingye Middle School". I acted in civilized dramas when I was studying. After graduating from high school, he worked as an apprentice in a steel shop in Hong Kong. Ma Shitsang was talented and fond of music and drama. I often watched theater secretly and admired the singing and acting skills of famous actors at that time such as Zhou Yulin, Liang Yuanheng, and Xin Bai Cai. In the end, despite the objections of his parents, he studied Cantonese opera under Master Jia and entered the theater to learn opera.

Performing in Nanyang

Later, in order to make a living, he went to Nanyang to perform on the stage alone, and then came to Singapore to work as the third student in the "Yao Tiancai" theater troupe. During that period in Nanyang, Master Ma lived a very difficult life. Because his performing arts were poor at that time and he did not understand the traditional acting methods of Cantonese opera, he made a lot of jokes on the stage. The setback inspired the young Ma Shitsang. He was determined to study hard and practice hard. He repeatedly studied the traditional Cantonese opera "Eighteen Books of Jianghu" and carefully considered the plot, characters, lyrics, music scores, steps, etc. of each play. Always learn from the strengths of others to enrich yourself. Therefore, his stage art and cultivation continued to improve.

Dominating the art world

Ma Shitsang was particularly fond of the performance of harlequins, so he made special research on the performance art of harlequins, and finally created a unique style of "horse tune" ", commonly known as "Qi'er Tune", has a new audience. And his image as a clown gradually became popular. In "Bitter Feng Ying Lian", Ma Shitsang brought the beggar boy in the play to life, which was highly praised by the audience, thus laying the foundation for his dominance in the Cantonese opera art world.

Later he joined the Changchun Opera Troupe and changed his stage name to Ma Shizeng. After returning to Hong Kong, he joined the "Year of Life" troupe and shared the stage with Bai Jurong and Qianliju. He is good at clown plays, which are different from the gentle plays performed by Xue Juexian, and the audience welcomed him. After joining the "Daluotian" theater troupe, her acting career broadened, and she has performed in Chou, Sheng, Dan, and Jing. She also led the playwriting department of the troupe. The plays she compiled included historical and contemporary themes, as well as dramas about talented people and beautiful women, and adaptations of foreign films. , both ancient costumes, fashionable clothes, and suits. In 1931, he went to San Francisco to perform in the United States, which lasted for two years. Later, he returned to Hong Kong to organize the Taiping Theater Company, which promoted the development of Cantonese opera art while competing with the Kok Sin Sing Theater Company for supremacy. Later, he founded "Global Film Company" and produced films such as "Scent of Wild Flowers", "Unfathomable Women's Heart", "The Second Generation", etc., which were very popular with the audience. When the Japanese army occupied Hong Kong in 1941, they returned to the mainland and traveled from Guangzhou to Guangxi to form the Anti-Japanese War Cantonese Opera Troupe. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, he co-starred with Xue Juexian in the famous dramas "Madame Butterfly" and "The History of the Qing Palace" in Hong Kong. He returned to Guangzhou from Hong Kong in 1956 and served as vice chairman of the Guangdong Branch of the Drama Association and director of the Guangdong Cantonese Theater Company.

Banned

Guangzhou is the center of Cantonese opera activities. It should be natural and normal that Ma Shi once worked and performed in Guangzhou. In fact, this is not the case. In his more than 40 years of stage life, he was unable to perform on the Guangzhou stage for more than 20 years. Cantonese opera masters could not perform in the Cantonese opera activity center. In those days, it was such a weird thing.

In 1929, Ma Shi-tsang was already a famous "red actress" in Cantonese opera, with the highest annual salary in the industry. In the autumn of that year, after the night show, he walked out of the Haizhu Theater and was injured in his right foot by a bomb thrown by a gangster. Instead, the Guangzhou Police Department ordered the "Guofeng Theater Troupe" he chaired to suspend performances for six months, which was tantamount to forcing the troupe to disband. Ma Shitsang moved his family to Hong Kong in a hurry and formed a troupe to perform in Hong Kong, Macau, Southeast Asia and the Americas. Sometimes he also performed in small and medium-sized towns in the Pearl River Delta. Guangzhou is his "forbidden zone". The Pacific War broke out and Hong Kong fell. He escaped from the tiger's mouth and reorganized the theater troupe in Guangxi until the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1945. Master Ma once thought that after the baptism of the Anti-Japanese War, the official situation in Guangzhou would be better, so he led his "Victory Theater Company" to return to Guangzhou with great joy after many years of wandering, making a living by acting while fleeing, and losing most of its theater box. I didn’t expect that just a few months later, “Scent of Wild Flowers” ??would be banned again.

"Scent of Wild Flowers" is about a university professor Yao Qichen, who is full of courtesy, justice and integrity, and takes maintaining social morality as his own responsibility. He was furious when he learned that his son was infatuated with a certain social butterfly.

Unexpectedly, when he saw this courtesan, the coat of a gentleman was peeled off layer by layer, revealing his true face of a fake Taoist and a hypocrite. He eventually left his wife and abandoned his son, and his reputation was ruined. This was originally a "fashion play" choreographed by Ma Shitsang in Hong Kong in the 1930s. It was still frequently performed during the Anti-Japanese War. Why was it banned at this time? It is said that at that time there was a senior official in Guangdong named Yao who had also been a professor. Ma Shizeng's play was "intentionally alluding to and slandering the official." A play written and performed in Hong Kong more than 10 years ago would actually allude to and slander senior officials in Guangzhou more than 10 years later. Isn't the reason for banning the play ridiculous? However, how could there be any reason in that era? Ma Shitzen once again sadly bid farewell to Guangzhou and brought the troupe to Hong Kong.

Guangzhou was liberated in October 1949, and Hainan Island was liberated in May 1950. Kuomintang planes could no longer bomb or harass Guangzhou, and performances in major theaters returned to normal. In the second half of the year, Ma Shizeng and Hongxian Nu led the "Red Star Theater Company" back to Guangzhou to perform. This time the performance lasted for nearly half a year. In addition to performing the "Ma Pai" play, with the help of the South China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, a modern drama was also written and produced, which showed the farmers in the Pearl River Delta resisted the oppression and exploitation of the bureaucrats and bullies after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, and opposed the Kuomintang's capture of young men to fight the civil war. "Pearl River Tears". On January 5 and 6, 1951, Ma Shitsang and the Red Line Girl also participated in the "Cantonese Opera Rally Benefit to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea" and performed the short play "Jeans" that criticized the idea of ??advocating beauty.

Ma Shizeng left this performance with a beautiful impression of Guangzhou after liberation. I don’t want to return to Hong Kong but be hit by waves of bad waves. First, the person in charge of the "Bahe Huiguan", a Cantonese opera industry organization in Hong Kong at that time, held a conference attended by many Cantonese opera colleagues in Hong Kong. He reprimanded Ma and Hong for their "redness" in Guangzhou and warned them that they would be punished if they behaved "red" again. "Excommunicate" them (expel them from membership). There were also some people at the meeting who made noises and shouted that they would "cut off chicken heads and burn yellow paper" in front of the statue of "Emperor Hua Guang" (the god of Cantonese opera) and vowed not to "reduce". Then the Political Department of the British Hong Kong Government "subpoenaed" Ma and Hong to trace their activities in Guangzhou. Ma Shitsang suffered heavy blows one after another, and the troupe was disbanded again. In addition, being over fifty means "box office depreciation" in that society, and cast members could only be treated like "taking care of their seniors". The situation in those years was very difficult.

Return to the Motherland

At this time, the socialist motherland extended a warm hand to this art master: in 1955, he and the Red Line Girl were invited to perform in the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China. On the sixth anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, I went to Beijing to attend the National Day ceremony. Ma Shizeng saw the party and state leaders headed by Chairman Mao Zedong on the Tiananmen Gate Tower and the majestic scene of the Chang'an Street parade. The majestic People's Liberation Army, energetic workers, farmers and people from all walks of life all show the high-spirited and enterprising face of New China. Premier Zhou Enlai hosted a banquet for the delegates at the Beijing Hotel, had a cordial conversation with Ma Shizeng, and invited him to visit various parts of the country. Ma Shizeng met Mao Dun, Xia Yan, Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, Tian Han, Ouyang Yuqian, Cao Yu and other famous writers and dramatists at the ceremony. They all enthusiastically and sincerely hoped that Ma Shizeng could return to work in New China. . In Beijing and Guangzhou, he watched many opera performances and learned about the organization and performance of domestic opera troupes, especially the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Troupe. Finally, when met by Guangdong Governor Tao Zhu, Ma Shizeng expressed his determination to come back to work. After more than a month, he took care of everything in Hong Kong and returned to Guangzhou.

On December 19, 1955, more than 150 people from the cultural and artistic circles of Guangdong Province and Guangzhou City gathered to welcome Ma Si-tsang and Red Line Girl back to Guangzhou from Hong Kong to join the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Troupe. The Cantonese opera master finally returned to the center of Cantonese opera activity and worked there throughout his life.

After Ma Shitseng returned to New China, he successively served as the director of the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Troupe and the director of the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Theatre. He was elected as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese Federation of Literary and Art Circles, vice chairman of the Guangdong Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and a member of the Chinese Drama Theater He is the executive director of the Association and vice chairman of the Guangdong branch. He was also elected as a representative of the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and a member of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Responsible for heavy administrative work and social work, his artistic creation also achieved great harvest.

Boyhood

My grandfather Ma Zhaomei ran a tea house in Guangzhou. Ma Shizeng lived in Guangzhou with his father Ma Gongquan and mother Wang Wenyu when he was young. In 1907, his family's business failed. He followed his grandfather and parents to Wuchang, where he took refuge with his great-uncle Ma Zhenyu, who was the director of the Confucian Studies Department of Lianghu Academy. He had the opportunity to study the Four Books and Five Classics and practice calligraphy, thus laying a certain foundation in Chinese studies.

The Revolution of 1911 broke out in Wuhan in 1911. He fled Wuhan with his family and returned to Guangzhou. When Ma Shizeng was in primary school and middle school, he became interested in drama and participated in the performance of "Civilized Drama" organized by the school. activities, and sometimes secretly went to watch Cantonese operas performed by famous actors Xinhua, Zhu Cibo and others. Before graduating from middle school, he was ordered by his parents to work as an apprentice in a copper and iron shop in Hong Kong. Unable to bear the bullying from the shop owner and other clerks, he ran back to Guangzhou to study opera at Chen Khounan's Tai Ping Chun Theater, and established a mentorship relationship with the veteran artist Fu Jia. Due to the relationship, he took the stage name Guan Shichang and started his life as a Cantonese opera apprentice.

Youth

In 1917, Ma Shitsang studied opera at the Tai Ping Chun Theater in Guangzhou. Soon he was employed by the Singapore Qing Wei Xin Cantonese Opera Troupe, and later switched to the Pu Chang Chun Cantonese Opera Troupe and became a member of the The famous Xiaowu Liang Yuanheng was his teacher, and he studied and performed in Nanyang. During this period, he was dissatisfied that the class leader broke his promise and refused to let him be a bad boy instead of a bad boy, so he left the class angrily. Later, he joined the local Yao Tiancai Opera Troupe as the third niche, and changed his stage name to Feng Huazi. During his acting career, he had the chance to perform "Su Wu Shepherd" on the same stage with the famous actor Xinhua, and his performance was highly praised by Xinhua. Soon after, he went to the Qingnan New Theater Company to perform in plays such as "Du Shiniang Sinks the Treasure Box in Anger", but was eventually squeezed out by local artists and lost his job. He wandered around the theater company, selling plasters, working as a miner, and working as a shopkeeper to make a living.

In 1919, Ma Shitseng was hired as the third junior student of the Pingtiancai class. He studied hard and practiced hard, and also received the support and help of the male actress Xiao Xiangfeng (Liang Shaofeng), who invited him to co-star. The performance of the new fashion play "Crazy, Ridiculed, Wasted, and Stupid" written by himself caused a sensation. Ma Shizeng rose to prominence and was promoted to the second niche. Later, Xiao Xiangfeng formed a new troupe with him. He played Xu Xian in the performance of "The Legend of White Snake" and sang and performed Kung Fu in a unique way. He was very popular. Everyone in the troupe said: "The second niche of Fenghuazi became a hit immediately!" At this time, he met the famous actor Liang Yuanheng who came from China to perform. The two performed on the same stage in plays such as "Pirates and Celebrities". From then on, his real name was Ma Shitsang. Although there were some setbacks in arranging new plays and performing traditional performances, Ma Si-tsang was able to learn from them and study the writing and performing arts of Cantonese opera more humbly and diligently.

In 1923, Ma Shitseng returned to Hong Kong to develop his career and served as a Zhengyin Chou student in the life class. He replaced Xue Juexian, a Zhengyin Chou student who had just left the class. With the support of Qianliju, Bai Jurong and other seniors, he exerted His acting skills are witty, clever and popular, as well as the small martial arts singing art he learned from his master Liang Yuanheng. He successfully performed "Spring resentment in the Jade House", "A Female Student" and several new plays he wrote and performed in Nanyang. Both night and matinee shows are very popular with the audience. Ma Shitsang repeatedly studied the traditional Cantonese opera "Eighteen Books of Jianghu" and studied harlequins many times. He played the role of "Yu Xiahun" in "Bitter Feng Ying Lian" and created a unique style of "horse tune" " (commonly known as "Beggar Tune") was so popular that it was performed in four theaters in Xiguan and Nanguan, Guangzhou for nearly half a year, setting a box office record at the time.

In the summer of 1925, he left the life class and formed a new Daluotian Theater Company with Chen Feinong and others. He set up a special screenwriting department in the theater and hired Chen Tianzong, Feng Xianzhou, Huang Jintai, Mai Xiaoxia and others as professional screenwriters. He also writes scripts himself or co-writes them. Daluotian Theater Company has written and performed a number of new plays with themes from ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad, such as "The Couple's War", "The Prince of Thieves", "The Dumb Birthday", "Red Rose", etc. They are boldly innovative and creative in both script content and performance art. . The troupe has a strong cast. Ma Shi-tsang plays the characters in these new plays in the roles of Sheng, Chou, Dan and Jing respectively. Therefore, the troupe's performances are very popular and can keep pace with the life class on the Cantonese opera stage. Ma Shi-tsang's reputation It is also becoming increasingly prominent.

Middle age

In the spring of 1931, Ma Shizeng's artistic career experienced a major turning point. This was when he applied to perform in San Francisco, USA for a year (forced to perform due to fraud by the theater owner). stay for two years). Before his trip, he carefully compiled and printed "A Thousand Miles of Journey" and took it to the United States to promote the beautiful art of Cantonese opera to American audiences. The book also revealed his gradually formed view of "new opera". On the one hand, he emphasized the importance of drama art in promoting the excellent culture of the Chinese nation. He believed that "no one is patriotic, and all patriots must maintain their own national moral culture." Therefore, he proposed to use drama "to promote our country's unique moral culture." "; On the other hand, he also emphasized that drama should change and innovate in line with the development of the times. He believed that "in recent years, despite how convenient the transportation between China and foreign countries has been, and how drastic the changes in life have been, our actors still cling to the success of the stage. The old practice of target singing, purely using patterns as the spine, can never stand up and claim to be art. In the fierce competition between film and stage dramas, there is no reason why it will fail completely! "So he proposed to reform Cantonese opera," One must learn from the strengths of the other, and the other must preserve the essence of Cantonese opera and carry it forward."

In 1933, Ma Shi-tsang returned to Hong Kong from the United States to form the first group with actress Tam Lan-ching. The co-ed Cantonese opera troupe "Taiping Opera Society" (later renamed "Taiping Opera Troupe") was promoted by newspapers at the time as "a leading director and leading actor of new Cantonese opera". As the name suggests, it can be seen that he wanted to flex his muscles in Cantonese opera. reforms. At that time, Cantonese opera was at its peak, and he competed with the Jue Xian Sing Troupe, led by Sit Juexian at that time, in terms of artistic performances, forming a period of "Xue and Ma vying for supremacy", with good shows going on and on, and each having its own fans.

In 1944, Ma Shitzen married Hongxian Nu.

In his later years

On December 14, 1955, Ma Shitsang and Hongxian Nu returned to Guangzhou to settle down and participated in Cantonese opera work in Guangdong. They were loved by party and government departments, Cantonese opera colleagues and loved them warm welcome from the vast audience.

In 1956, Ma Shizeng was appointed as the leader of the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Troupe, and he co-starred with Hongxian Nu in the first new play after returning to Guangzhou, "Zhaojun Leaving the Fortress". Soon the two co-starred in a traditional Qiong Opera opera of the same name. He adapted "Sou Shu Yuan" and went to Beijing to report the performance. Liu Shaoqi, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and Zhou Enlai, Premier of the State Council, watched the performance with the audience in the capital.

At the symposium on Kun Opera's "Fifteen Operas" held by the Ministry of Culture and the Chinese Dramatists Association on May 17, 1956, Premier Zhou Enlai praised Ma Shitsang's contribution to Cantonese opera in his speech and said: " Now that the master Ma Shitsang is back, the scene is even more different and improved." He also gave Cantonese opera the reputation of "Southern Red Bean". In this year, Ma Shizeng was elected as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a member of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a representative of the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress, a member of the National Committee of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, vice chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and a member of the Chinese Theater Committee. Executive director of the Artists Association, vice chairman of the Guangzhou Branch of the Chinese Drama Association, and was also honored as an advanced cultural worker in Guangdong Province.

The Guangdong Cantonese Theater was established in November 1958, and Ma Shizeng was appointed as the director. He performed the Cantonese opera "Guan Hanqing" adapted from Tian Han's play of the same name. At the end of the year, he went to Wuhan to perform for the Sixth Middle School of the Eighth Chinese Communist Party. A special performance will be held at the plenary session.

In 1959, at the invitation of Kim Il Sung, Prime Minister of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Chinese Cantonese Opera Troupe, headed by Ma Shitsang, visited North Korea and performed "Guan Hanqing" and other plays. In October of the same year, Ma Shizeng led the troupe to participate in the capital's performance to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, performing "Guan Hanqing" and "Sou Shuyuan".

In the first half of 1960, Ma Shizeng went to Beijing to serve as a teacher of the Chinese Opera Art Research Class directed by Mei Lanfang. During his teaching period, he performed "Guan Hanqing" with Hongxian Nu and others in Beijing's Zhongshan Park.

In 1961, the Chinese Cantonese Opera Troupe, with Ma Shitsang and Hongxian Nu as artistic directors, visited the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and performed plays such as "Guan Hanqing" and "Liu Hulan".

In the summer of 1962, he performed the "Tianwen" scene of "Qu Yuan" for Premier Zhou Enlai and Vice Premiers He Long, Chen Yi, Nie Rongzhen, etc. This was his last performance on the stage.

In 1963, Ma Shizeng was diagnosed with tracheal cancer and was admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen Medical College for treatment.

In 1964, he was transferred to Beijing Tongren Hospital for treatment and died of his injuries on April 21.

Character experience

Ma Shizeng's performance years in Zhanjiang during the Anti-Japanese War

The Anti-Japanese War broke out, and the Chinese nation shared the same hatred, setting off a nationwide upsurge in resistance. When the country faces a crisis, everyone is responsible. At that time, the "Guangfu Troupe" artists in the Cantonese opera circle in Hong Kong and the province were unwilling to stay in the occupied areas and perform on stage to whitewash the peace for the Japanese invaders. They fled the occupied areas of Hong Kong and Guangzhou and went south to Zhanjiang (formerly known as Guangzhou Bay). In 1899, the urban area of ??Zhanjiang was occupied. French "Lease" was called "Canton Bay" at that time, and foreign trade was prosperous for a while. In 1943, Guangzhou Bay was occupied by the Japanese army. In 1945, after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Guangzhou Bay returned to China and was named "Zhanjiang" from then on. Stop. Some of the original cast members came together, some came together to form a group, and some came alone to set up the stage.

The famous artists include: Xue Juexian, Ma Shiteng, Liang Xingbo, Tan Lanqing, Lang Junyu, Hongxian Nu, etc. In addition to performing performances to make a living, many artists also organized anti-Japanese theater troupes, compiled and performed anti-war programs, and carried out national salvation propaganda. Many Cantonese opera bosses and celebrities came to Zhan, which made Cantonese opera flourish in the remote Zhanjiang area. In March 1942, artistic master and Cantonese opera icon Ma Shi Zeng fled from Hong Kong to Zhan and performed in Zhanjiang for nearly two months, writing an important page in the history of Cantonese opera performances in western Guangdong.

When Ma Si-tsang arrived in Cham, he was 42 years old. He had long been famous in the Cantonese opera industry and was popular throughout the province, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Previously, the Taiping Theater Company under his leadership has produced plays such as "Defending the Country and Abandoning the Family", "Qin Hui's Journey to Hell", "Hong Chengchou", "Saving the Country and Lianxiang" and other plays that promoted the fight against Japan and saved the country, and denounced the shameless faces of traitors. Popular with the audience. When the Japanese invaders approached Hong Kong, they sent spies and traitors, and repeatedly forced Ma Shitsang to organize a delegation to comfort the Japanese troops. Ma Shitsang refused, claiming to be ill.

On the morning of the third day after the fall of Hong Kong, he took the risk and led eleven members of his family to escape from Hong Kong, sneak into Macau and then to Zhanjiang. After arriving in Zhan, Ma Shizeng immediately formed an Anti-Japanese War theater troupe with Ouyang Jian, Luo Lijuan, Hong Xiannu, Liang Guannan, Ma Shiqiu, Gan Yanming, etc., and performed in Xiashan and Chikan areas. The Central Theater has their performance footprints. They went all out to perform traditional dramas and anti-Japanese content programs. They performed continuously for nearly two months and continued to perform for a long time. Many of them were charity performances for labor, refugee relief, donation and cold clothing collection. Some old Zhanjiang people still remember Ma Shi A sensational scene performed that year.

Ma Shizeng played the role of the wicked prince consort in "The Unruly Princess and the Prince Consort", and played the role of Yu Xiahun, a market figure in "The Love of the Phoenix". His proficiency and superb acting skills left a lasting impression on the Zhanjiang audience. Deeply impressed. At that time, Zhanjiang was a colony of the French Emperor and had not yet established a city. It was very backward and the performance conditions were very poor. The venues were almost made of bamboo and wood, and there were many mosquitoes and flies. They were not afraid of the harsh environment, made the stage their home, persisted in performing, and won praise from the audience. Ma Shiteng once wrote a poem to describe this ordeal: "Silver strings of fireflies flow, and I lean on the railing to listen to the sound of rain. Poor green sleeves are wet, and the tears are lightly stained by the wind." Ma Shiteng also met the artist Alian (He Fulian) in Zhanjiang. The girl with the red thread was initially called the second Dan, and later became the Zhengdan and got married. From then on, Hongxian Nu's Cantonese opera career and her lifelong struggle for the cause of Cantonese opera were laid.

The Japanese invaders heard that Ma Shitseng was in Zhanjiang and assigned Japanese cultural agent He Tianjiu to track Zhan and coerce Ma Shitseng to return to Hong Kong. , decided to perform in Guangxi, Mainland China.

He led his entire regiment of more than 60 people and more than 100 of his family members and immediately took refuge in the Huajie area of ??Cunjin Bridge. Regardless of the hard work, he walked all the way from Suixi and Lianjiang Shijiao into Yulin, Guangxi. They performed along the way and continued to carry out anti-Japanese and national salvation propaganda. They used charity songs to raise money and clothing to support the anti-Japanese warriors on the front line and rescue the suffering compatriots in the rear. They fully demonstrated Ma Shizeng's patriotic enthusiasm and national integrity.

During their performances in Zhanjiang, Ma Shitsang and others brought novel singing skills, melodious music, gorgeous costumes, ingenious scenery, and superb acting skills to the Western Guangdong audience, which would revolutionize Cantonese opera in Western Guangdong in the future. and development, played a great role in promoting. The Cantonese opera community in Zhanjiang transplanted and staged popular plays brought by provincial and Hong Kong theater troupes, singing their popular singing styles and adopting their new and colorful costumes. The lighting, scenery, and Western musical instruments commonly used by provincial and Hong Kong theater troupes also gradually appeared on the stages in western Guangdong.

English name

Ma Si Tsang's English name is "MaSiTsang", which is transliterated in Cantonese (Cantonese). The English stage name of his wife Hongxiannui is "HungSin-nui". According to the principle of "name follows the owner", it is not inappropriate for all walks of life to freely use the Chinese pinyin "MaSizeng" which was gradually implemented after 1978 as its English name.

In Guangzhou City and the Guangfu area of ??Guangdong Province, Cantonese transliteration was used for place names, road names and personal names during the Republic of China, which is the same as the practice in Hong Kong and Macao today. Currently, places such as Singapore and Malaysia still allow Chinese people to choose the Cantonese or Hokkien spelling of their English names.

Artistic Achievements

From 1956 to 1962, in addition to "Search for the Academy" and "Guan Hanqing", he also performed "The Resentment of Zhaojun" (written and acted by Ma Shitsang) Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty); "Guizhi Zhizhu" (a traditional play compiled and decorated by Ma Shitsang); "Bitter Feng Ying Lian" (a play Ma Shitseng has been performing since 1925, which he has compiled and decorated) The Righteous Beggar Yu Xiahun); "The Fighting Uncle" and "The Unruly Princess Attends the Horse" (both were plays written by Ma Shizeng and continued to be performed in the 1930s. He reorganized and played the role of the playboy Xiao Huaiya in the former, and played the role of the playboy Xiao Huaiya in the latter). He plays the consort Meng Feixiong); "Qu Yuan" (Ma Shitsang is adapted from Guo Moruo's play of the same name and plays Qu Yuan); "The Jade Bracelet" (adapted from Peking Opera, Ma Shitsang plays Aunt Liu, made into a film by Hong Kong Hongtu Pictures Company) Renamed "A Match Made in Heaven"); "Sanniang Guozi" (a traditional play, Ma Shitsang compiled and played his hometown Xue Bao, and was made into a movie by Zhujiang Film Studio); "Zhao Zilong Urged Back", "Feng Yi Pavilion" ( Traditional plays, Ma Shizeng compiled and played Zhao Zilong in the former and Lu Bu in the latter); "Master Qiao Enters the Sedan" (Ma Shizeng adapted it from Sichuan Opera and played Qiao Xi); "Cai Wenji" (adapted from Guo Moruo's play of the same name, Ma Shi Zeng plays Cao Cao). It is particularly worth mentioning that in the modern drama "Liu Hulan", there was no important role suitable for him. In order to support the performance of the modern drama, he actively strived for a supporting role, playing the role of Shi Tinghuai, a bully landlord in a returning troupe.

In the above plays, the roles played by Ma Shi-tsang include various roles such as male ugly, female ugly, male foot, wei foot, Zhengsheng, Xiaosheng and Xiaowu in Cantonese opera. His acting career is broad. With superb skills, he sets an example for future generations. In particular, the plays written or processed by him and tempered by his many years of performance all have the distinctive characteristics of the "Map School" art with a rich flavor of life, nuanced depiction of human emotions, exaggerated but real characters, and interesting language. His The performing arts enjoy a high profile both domestically and internationally. In 1960, the Ministry of Culture commissioned the Chinese Opera Academy to organize an "opera performing arts research class" with Mei Lanfang as the class teacher (and teacher), and hired Ma Shizeng as the teacher. Also serving as teachers in this class are Xun Huisheng, Yu Zhenfei, Xiao Changhua, Liu Chengji, Xu Lingyun, and Xu Lanyuan, all seniors with high moral standards and outstanding artistic achievements in the Chinese opera industry.

Ma Shizeng was better at playing the role of an old student in his later years. He played Qu Yuan in the play "Qu Yuan", Xie Bao in "Sou Shu Yuan", and Guan Hanqing in "Guan Hanqing". He performed each role very well. It is vivid and very successful in creating characters with different personalities.

Died of illness in Beijing on April 21, 1964.

Representative Works

Ma Shizeng participated in a total of 429 plays including "Guan Hanqing" and "Qu Yuan" in his lifetime. He wrote and participated in the scripts** *97, and has participated in the filming of 58 movies.

Ma Shizeng returned to Guangzhou in 1922 and was hired as a regular ugly student in the "Life Year" of the Provincial and Hong Kong Taipan. He became famous for his outstanding role as Yu Xiahun in "The Love of the Phoenix". , whose unique style of "Ma Qiang" (commonly known as "Beggar's Voice") has since become a household name and is widely sung.

In the 1930s, he led the Taiping Theater Company in Hong Kong and competed artistically with the Kok Sin Sing Theater Company led by Sit Juexian for ten years. They were both known as "Sit and Ma", and gradually developed a reputation both at home and abroad. The Ma School of performing arts became a master of popularizing opera and a pioneer in innovating Cantonese opera. There are dozens of famous plays performed, including "The Couple's War", "The Prince of Thieves", "The Fighting Young Master", "The Unruly Princess Beats the Prince Consort", "The Second Generation", etc. He has performed in hundreds of plays.

In 1941, Mr. Ma organized the "Anti-Japanese War Cantonese Opera Troupe" (later renamed "Victory Cantonese Opera Troupe"), and performed with the Red Line Girls throughout Guangdong and Guangxi, promoting the Anti-Japanese War for a long time.

During the period of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea, he returned to Guangzhou from Hong Kong to participate in charity performances.

In the winter of 1955, he returned to Guangzhou from Hong Kong to settle down and joined the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Troupe. He served as the director of the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Troupe and the first director of the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Theatre. He was successively elected as the People's Representative of Guangdong Province, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and a member of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Member of the Standing Committee, member of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, executive director of the Chinese Drama Association, vice chairman of the Guangdong Branch of the Drama Association, vice chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles, etc. In 1956, he was rated as an advanced cultural worker in Guangdong Province.

He actively participated in the reform of opera, and starred in "Sou Shuyuan" and "Guan Hanqing" with red-line female actors, which became famous dramas at home and abroad. The two old students, Xie Bao and Guan Hanqing, played by Mr. Ma, have distinct images and outstanding personalities. He has a broad acting career. In addition to Gong Chou Sheng, he is also good at playing Xiao Sheng, Xiao Wu, Hua Lian, Xu Sheng, etc. In his later years, he switched to playing the role of Lao Sheng. His horse tune changed from free and lively to desolate and vigorous, and the performing arts reached a new peak.

Character evaluation

Ma Shi has performed in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the United States. He mainly plays the unique roles of Cantonese opera, such as ugly students, and also plays niche and must-have students. , painted face. He is good at absorbing the performing arts of civilized new dramas and movies, and dares to try to reform Cantonese opera. He painstakingly created the new Cantonese opera voice "Beggar's Throat" and became a blockbuster when he played the role of the beggar Yu Xia in the play "Bitter Phoenix Takes Pity". He gradually became one of the most prestigious actors in the modern Cantonese opera world. It enjoys a high reputation among overseas Chinese in Cantonese-speaking areas of China, Hong Kong, Macao, Southeast Asia and America.

When Ma Shitsang was young, he played Xiaosheng and Xiaowu. In his middle age, he was famous for his ugly feet. He exploited his strengths and circumvented his weaknesses based on the characteristics of his loud yet mellow voice, forming a singing tune with jumping melody, clear beats and twists, short and powerful enunciation, and lively and funny singing style, which is known as "horse tune". His fame experience can be found in "The History of Opera" for details. Ma Shizeng was a bold and innovative artist. He not only inherited the tradition, but also dared to change the formula to suit his own needs. The most outstanding thing is that when singing, he often cleverly uses Guangzhou dialect slang to write lyrics. He is a master who pioneered the popularization of Cantonese opera. His singing, especially the "middle part", is natural, lively, funny and abrupt; his original "beggar's throat", half singing and half white, is novel and unique, with clear pauses and frustrations, and long-lasting sound, making it a "horse throat" popular with the audience. . In the 1930s, he introduced some Western musical instruments to enrich the accompaniment music of Cantonese opera. He also absorbed certain performance techniques from movies and dramas and integrated them into Cantonese opera performances. His performances were bold and bold, with clear and precise movements, surprising success, and realistic and vivid characters. During the Anti-Japanese War, when Hong Kong fell, he dared to reject the enemy's coercion and inducements, and resolutely returned to the mainland, performing in western Guangdong, Guilin, and Liuzhou.

Ma Shitseng was best at acting in ugly dramas, and in his later years, he mostly acted in old dramas and xuxing dramas. He successfully created a vivid image of Guan Hanqing in "Guan Hanqing" and "Sou Academy", as well as a vivid image of Xie Bao, the headmaster of Sou Academy, both of which have been made into movies.