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An exhibition highlights the contribution of late Peking Opera master Ma Lianliang to the art form’s evolution, Wang Kaihao reports.
No matter what role he played onstage, generations of Chinese remember Peking Opera master Ma Lianliang (1901-66). Many fans of the traditional art form may not have had the opportunity to hear Ma’s ethereal and powerful vocals in person, however, a new exhibition at the Capital Museum in Beijing will help visitors to trace back his legendary life through historic moments.
Great Spirit of A Master of Beijing (Peking) Opera: In Commemoration of the 120th Anniversary of Ma Lianliang’s Birth opened to the public on Dec 22, with 115 exhibits — his costumes and sets, personal belongings, posters and brochures for shows, among others — on display.
The exhibition, which runs through May, is set to be a key event of the Capital Museum in 2021.
“Thanks to good preservation, the costumes still look splendid,” said an emotional Ma Long, Ma Lianliang’s grandson and director of a Beijingbased art foundation dedicated to the Peking Opera master, at the opening ceremony of the exhibition.
All the exhibited costumes were donated by Ma’s family to the museum in 1982.
“Mr Ma (Lianliang) was an excelsior in his lifetime,” Ma Long says. “He inherited key elements of Peking Opera from predecessors and paved a new way for the next generations. This exhibition is to show how he mixed traditional art with the reality he lived in. He taught us how to reflect and enlighten our life through fine art.”
Born in Beijing in an ethnic Hui family, Ma Lianliang learned performances in Fuliancheng, a renowned Peking Opera school, in his childhood. At the age of 14, he began to perform laosheng (older male roles) and later gradually built his reputation through tours in Fujian province and Shanghai before returning to Beijing as a star. In 1927, he launched his own troupe and became one of the most popular Peking Opera performers within the next few years, together with Mei Lanfang and Zhou Xinfang. As a reformer, Ma Lianliang tried to get rid of some out-of-date rituals, which were irrelevant to the performance of Peking Opera in modern times, and focused on how to adapt traditional shows to make their format suitable for theaters. He was demanding on details. For example, all actors were required to have a haircut before stepping on to the stage to keep a clean appearance. Fine clothing was chosen for costumes. Referring to ancient Chinese officials’ clothes, he brought abundant variations of colors to costumes. “The costumes feature one of the most recognized characters in Ma-style Peking Opera,” says Zhang Jie, a curator of the exhibition, from the Capital Museum. Nevertheless, his honed voice was probably the major reason behind his reputation among fans. Ma Lianliang once said speaking should be like singing and vice versa. He emphasized different tones and cadences in the speaking parts of Peking Opera based on the roles, just like vocalizing the lines with melody. “The reason why he is honored is not only because of the outstanding achievements onstage,” says Ma
Wen, an official with the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism.
“He made great contribution to theories and the systematic study of Peking Opera. He pushed the art form to a peak.”
In spite of his creation of many new works, Ma Lianliang absorbed traditional elements well. Among his repertoires, many pieces were adapted from ancient classics like Su Wu As Shepherd while adding his own expressions.
Su Wu, a Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) diplomat, was detained by Xiongnu people for 19 years, but he endured the tough years as a shepherd by Lake Baikal and remained loyal to his country. He finally went back to his homeland and completed the mission.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (193145), Ma Lianliang kept performing this show to urge Chinese people to be brave.
Ma Lianliang was an inclusive person with an international horizon, and the exhibition curator Zhang recommends several exhibits to prove that.
For example, the English letters “MLC” are woven onto a curtain, which is used onstage. It stands for the name of his troupe, Ma Lianliang Club.
“Not every Peking Opera performer at that time had such consciousness to promote the art form from a global perspective,” Zhang says.
As some exhibited old photos show, Ma Lianliang once operated a cinema in Beijing’s Xidan area, which was still new for the Chinese public in the 1930s. He also opened a vinyl recording studio for Peking Opera performers — the first privately run recording studio in China.
A 1936 photo of Ma Lianliang and Charlie Chaplin in Shanghai also reveals an unexpected intercultural connection between the two master performers.
“The exhibition reminds us to remember those who have devoted themselves to fine traditional Chinese culture,” says Pu Cunxin, a veteran actor and head of the China Theater Association.
“Why is Peking Opera hailed as the quintessence of Chinese culture? Mr Ma’s story shows how it rose to that status, rooted in this city.”
Pu says that the ongoing exhibition also helps to introduce Peking Opera to the youth.