Zhang Yong's People Interview

Zhang Yong: Writing Opera, Art Adapting My Life

Source: Chengdu Daily

Core Values

For many years Zhang Yong was just a very special factory worker, obsessed with traditional Chinese culture and adhering to the theater until Zhao Zhigang, the "Prince of Yueju Opera," pushed open the artistic "door" for her. The "door" of art was opened for her by Zhao Zhigang, the "Prince of Yueju Opera". Today, Zhang Yong has become a professional screenwriter, dedicating years of talent and passion to promoting the culture of Sichuan opera.

Core Characters

Zhang Yong, a young playwright, was born in Chengdu in 1969 and is originally from Xuyi, Jiangsu Province. He has been a long time military factory worker. He learned to write plays at the age of 16, and published his plays at the age of 28. He has written more than twenty plays of various kinds in his spare time and put them on the stage, among which, the Yueju Opera "The Remnants of the Dream of Quinoa Zhai" was awarded the Excellent Selected Plays of the Ninth Chinese Drama Festival, and the Silver Award of the Plays of the Chinese Yueju Opera Festival; and the New Sichuan Qingyin "Full of Flowers of Love on the Mountain" was awarded the First Prize of the Ninth All-army Concert. A year ago, he was transferred to Chengdu Chuan Theater as a professional scriptwriter.

Interview Notes

(November 5, 2009, Chengdu)

Zhang Yong's first impression on me is that he is simple, unassuming and loves to laugh. When I interviewed Zhao Zhigang, the "Prince of Yueju Opera," she was there as a fan and laughed non-stop. Interviewed her today, she was first nervous, and even afraid, but when it comes to traditional opera, she was full of words: "Peony Pavilion", "Palace of Eternal Youth", childhood obsession, her script, factory life, theater world ...... all of a sudden come alive, two hours of interviews, she giggled and giggled and still couldn't stop.

Zhang Yong is full of bookishness, like reading her "Quinoa Lenten Remaining Dreams", fresh and elegant, beautifully sung, mouth and teeth. She also has a kind of Dongjiao gas that I am familiar with, 40 years of life, she was in the eastern suburbs of the Guoguang factory "closed" for 39 years, the face is a kind of simplicity, seriousness and practical work.

I asked her about her income in the factory: 1200 yuan. Asked her daily life, she usually like to read, surf the Internet, play a game called "please close your eyes in the dark", but once into the script writing, she will be night and day "overtime", including eating, walking are imagining, touching the characters in the play, the leftovers of the cold juice, eat as usual! She is very "crazy" and "crazy" and "practical" in her work, and she has always regarded herself as "working class" and proud of herself. The company is also proud of the fact that it has been able to provide a wide range of services to its customers.

Zhao Zhigang is one of the people who have carried her along with the favor of knowing her, and she told me a story about her being very silly and simple. Once she went to Shanghai with her husband, Zhao Zhigang was performing Yueju Opera "Home" on Shaw Stage, five shows in a row, and Prince Zhao paid for the couple's tickets for five days out of his own pocket because Shaw Stage doesn't give away tickets. Then he invited them to eat seafood and gave her doll a red envelope when they left. She said, "I'm a worker, I've never been treated like this, I can't figure it out. She then foolishly asked Zhao Zhigang: "Why are you so nice to me?" Zhao Zhigang only said three words: "I love talent!"

She also told a story, her independent screenwriter of the Yueju opera "Glory and Riches" was performed in Shanghai in 2007 for seventy performances, an instant sensation, for which the Oriental Satellite Television recorded the whole show, in the seminar held by the Shanghai Federation of Literature and Culture, when the experts were told that the script was written by an amateur screenwriter in Chengdu, they were very surprised that in the era of struggling traditional opera, there are still people who pounce on the show with enthusiasm. One expert called her a "moth to the flame". After more than 20 years of shouting for the revitalization of Sichuan opera, this "moth" has been introduced to the Chengdu Chuan Theatre, and I hope that she, as a Chengdu resident, can do more for the revitalization of local Sichuan opera.

Dialogue

Only this pen makes me proud, only the work can be rewarded

Obsessed

It is the love of traditional culture

This reporter (hereinafter referred to as "remember"): I heard that you are very good at writing scripts, and is now a professional playwright of the Chuan Theater, Xu Fen, Wei Minglun are 70 years old, Sichuan opera to revitalize, must train new Sichuan opera writers.

Zhang Yong (hereinafter referred to as "Zhang"): Yesterday you said you want to come to the interview, my mother was very happy to hear, but I was very nervous, I'm a small person to say what ah? I've always been a worker, just lucky, all the way to have a nobleman help. Anyway, there is a lot of pressure to talk about myself.

Note: It's just swinging life, now young people have not been watching theater for many years, you still like traditional opera so much, what is a kind of love?

Zhang: I can't tell you, I just like it too much, especially "the original beautiful flowers bloom all over the world, like this are paid with broken wells and decrepit walls. The good time and beauty of the day, enjoying the pleasure of the who home yard ......" read these feel especially good. Even when I read "The Palace of Eternal Youth on July 7", knowing that it is a tragedy, I feel very comfortable reading it. I love traditional Chinese culture so much that I've become obsessed with it (laughs).

Note: What kind of obsession?

Zhang: Just like a lot of dolls nowadays, listening to Jay Chou while attending classes, when I was a kid, I read Tang poems and Song lyrics while attending classes, but I was very bad at math and science.

Note: Since childhood, there is a kind of opera and traditional complex?

Zhang: It has something to do with family. My parents moved from Nanjing to Chengdu Guoguang Factory. My father loved to play the erhu, and he liked Beijing opera and folk music, and he wrote a good handwriting. I grew up listening to my father play the zither and listening to my grandmother tell stories. My grandmother was a private school teacher, and before I went to school, she told me about the Hundred Schools of Thought and the Biographies of the Ladies of the Lenin, and when I was older, she would show me the play lyrics of "Brush Flowers", "Rebirth of the Fate", "The Fate of the Jade Chuan", and the "Story of the Western Chamber", "The Peony Pavilion".

Note: No wonder your words are so beautifully written, with a classical flavor.

Zhang: I read a lot of these books when I was a teenager. I was an only child, growing up with no worries about food and clothing, my parents did not restrict me from reading, and I could buy any book I liked. I was laid back, free, completely free to read the world, and I could discuss freely with my parents.

Note: The idealized life basically throws off our education system.

Zhang: My parents were more lenient with me and didn't judge me on my grades; they probably spoiled me too much.

Note: That also made you.

Zhang: Yes, if it is under the stick, surely can not come out, how to go to school. I was 16 years old, decided to start learning to write plays, then set a goal for himself: 16 years old to start learning to write plays, 26 years old to strive for publication, 36 years old works on stage, 46 years old to win awards. At that time, I was naive and a bit silly, and I always thought I was great (laughs).

Note: But it was also very innocent.

Zhang: Yes, not counting the gains and losses, not asking about the consequences, it's all about going for it, it's all about giving yourself a goal. I started from the age of 16, I asked myself to write two hours a day, no matter what the situation has to write two hours, started when I was a student, writing essays, novels, notes, theater is the majority. In fact, it was not even creative at that time, it was just doing good training, a person who was making a fool of himself.

Walk with your head up

Eyes wide open to see the world

Note: What did you major in at the university?

Zhang: I'm sorry, I did not go to college, and then read the staff college. I write process in the factory often write singing, process can not get it right, they are also very painful, but met two good leaders, so I say all the way to meet the nobleman, they turned a blind eye to me, arranged for me to manage the archives, the four sides of the cupboard, I have just published a long story, "A Touch of Evil", is completed there. When I was writing it, I didn't know if people would like to read it, so I showed it to the people in my unit. Our deputy director read it overnight and asked me the next morning, "What's the next one? I said I hadn't written it yet. I said I hadn't written it yet, and he said, "Then why don't you write it quickly? That's the state of affairs (laughs).

Note: When did you embark on the path of opera writing?

Zhang: It was Mr. Zhao Zhigang who helped me into the door. In the 1990s, Mr. Zhao came to Chengdu, and we had a Zhihua Young Women's Yueju Opera Team, which naturally went after the stars, and I was very excited to meet Mr. Zhao, and I didn't have much to give him, so I gave him a script. After he read it, he talked to me and said I was very talented and introduced me to Mr. Yu Chen and Cui Guangli. Mr. Yu Chen was the first one to use me in his opera. Cui Guangli had the heart to introduce me to two teachers, Li Zhenyu and Kang Shizhao, who have been helping me to change the script, and have never drunk a cup of tea from me until today, including Mr. Zhao.

Note: I know that Zhao Zhigang knows you well, that time I interviewed Zhao Zhigang, he also introduced you to me, saying that you are a talented woman.

Zhang: He was the first person to hire me to write a play.

Mr. Zhao called me in 2004 and asked me if I was interested in writing a modern play, and I said yes. He said, "Fly to Shanghai right away, I have a play in Ningbo, and I want you to write it. I was so excited. He knew that my factory salary is relatively low, said you first put the plane ticket money on the advance, after I came I will give you the newspaper. He arranged for me to fly back to work during the May Day holiday, which was over.

Flying to Shanghai, I realized that I have to write about this person is Sha Jie, Xu Beihong's students, crazy, a great painter, but also a very legendary person, all of a sudden I feel the burden is heavy. And the cast is the best team, director Yi Tianfu, choreography Hu Zuo, are Shanghai Theater Academy mentor level, music design blue sky, singing design Chen Jun are very famous, starring Zhao Zhigang, Zhao Haiying are Plum Blossom Award winners. All of them were top-notch, and I was the only one who was a blank slate. Mr. Zhao cheered me up, he said they were so good, if you weren't good, you wouldn't be able to come to this place. Because I was just a worker, I didn't pay much attention to my appearance, and I usually walked with my head down when I arrived at a big venue. That time we went to a seminar, Mr. Zhao said to me: walk with your head up, eyes wide open to see the world.

Note: In fact, it is the "Quinoa Lenten Dreams" of the play to change you.

Zhang: Yes, Mr. Zhao hired me to write about Shajian, it is really a life-changing art, eyes opened. A girl doll has never stepped out, her eyes are as big as a factory, as big as Chengdu. When that door was opened to me, I really felt that my life had changed forever, and it was Mr. Zhao who pushed open the door for me. I was the first member of the creative team to go into Shacun, to learn about Shaji, to visit Shaji in the hospital in Shanghai, and he took my hand and refused to let go for a long time. At that moment, I felt that I had truly stepped into the character in history. Writing this play, I also went through an experience in my heart, experiencing the kind of pain he felt. The script was written by me and Yu Qingfeng***, and the play won many awards.

5-12 Disaster Relief Performance

The Most Meaningful Thing in My Life

Note: There is a dark horse in the theater world, and many people didn't think you were an amateur screenwriter in Chengdu, right?

Zhang: It's mainly because of Zhao Zhigang, Zhao Haiying, Chen Ping and their wonderful interpretations, and also thanks to the very legendary life of Mr. Shajian.

Note: But the script is the basis of a play.

Zhang: In fact, many people do not know Mr. Shaji, he studied in Belgium for ten years, and when he came back, his wife left the house. The reason he didn't come back for ten years is that he fell in love with a woman in Belgium. At that time he opposed the government was sentenced to two years in prison, Xu Beihong to find Du Yuesheng help, released him from prison, let him to study in Belgium. Studying abroad for a year he won the Belgian Royal Gold Medal, and also painted portraits of the Queen and Princess of Belgium, who was said to be very fond of him. Many of his paintings were collected by the palace and museums. But this talented painter, who was called the "Chinese Van Gogh", suddenly went crazy. At that time, many experts saw this play and said that the best line written was "The road to Shacun is not long". This line contains my sighs of regret for Shajian's peculiar life situation, and I am so saddened by it. The whole farewell was very beautiful, and Mr. Zhao praised me for the beauty of the lyrics.

Note: I read the script, and the lyrics are really beautiful, and you're very good at writing "love".

Zhang: Because I paid a lot of love to write about him, not to say to sing his praises, as a person, why he did not return to China for ten years, because he had his own love; why he came back, because he lost this love, and went back to China to find the lost love. This world is not such a good thing, lose the other, quinoa Zhai remnants of the dream ah! Quinoa Zhai is where he lives, is a elegant and classical small courtyard, the Sha family is a rich merchant, in the local is a big family.

Note: In fact, opera can also be a good expression of modern themes, such as your "a letter from the disaster area" shows the true power of art.

Zhang: The letter was written during an aftershock. A few days after the earthquake last year, Mr. Zhao called me and said that he wanted to write a subject on earthquake relief, and it was best to write it with a sense of site, and we immediately performed a disaster relief show, titled A Letter from the Disaster Area, which was sung by him. At that time, there were still aftershocks, the factory was still insisting on working, aftershocks came to write, and then write again, and wrote it in one day. Mr. Zhao sang the letter, which culminated in the disaster relief performance (laughs).

Note: Do you remember the sentences in it?

Zhang: When the earthquake came, the ground shook, I didn't know what to do, and the first thing I felt was that life was so small. For example, write when the earthquake occurred: "colleagues panicked and shouted, my first reaction was to run," on the write I ran out of the feeling: "remembered the mother at home, remembered the son at school, remembered the same life with the lovebirds, fear of loss, tears often thrown." These are all things from the heart, because at that time when the earthquake occurred, thinking of loved ones ah, are running directly to home. This is the instinctive reaction of human beings. The singing was very simple and real, and Ms. Zhao's singing touched so many people that I heard that some people were in tears listening to it, and that show raised 560,000 dollars. I think I did one of the most meaningful things in my life. Of course, the back of the book is also written about us Chengdu people donating blood, rescuing, insisting on going to work, and about how we will be better off in the future and so on.

Valuable

Don't play the game, play the game and it's over

Journal: Tell me about the five folding plays you've written recently, why do you want to engage in small plays?

Zhang: Because the theater every performance, usually control in about two hours, I will engage in folded drama, want to choose the best, do shocking, I am trying to do my best to push up, show Chengdu Chuan Theater group strength. Chengdu Chuan Theatre is now dominated by young actors, I am also a young screenwriter, I hope to let the young actors on the theater, but also give me an opportunity to let us all be recognized by the community.

Note: You have not yet been recognized by the Sichuan opera community?

Zhang: No. Sichuan opera is profound and inclusive. Sichuan opera is profound and inclusive, and it can be innovative. I am a doll in the Sichuan Theater, and I also want to prove that I am able to write good Sichuan opera through these five plays. After all, I was born in Chengdu, I can't run around for Yueju Opera, I prefer to do things for the local community. I also have a big wish, I have been carried by so many people in my life, I owe them too much, all the people who helped me so far have not returned the favor, not even a cup of tea for me, especially after Mr. Wang Zuanfei found me, and urged me to be transferred to the Sichuan Theatre, so what I return to you must be the work (laughs).

Remarks: You have a boldness in your bones, and you are most afraid of letting others down?

Zhang: I'm just dipped in the light of this pen, because I don't have anything, I'm not good at housework, I'm not good at making tubes in the factory, the only thing I'm proud of is this pen, because I'm often on-site writing, "Quinoa Lenten Remaining Dreams" are all on-site writing, on-site changes, all of them, the director, the actors, the music, all of them are waiting for you, I'm writing in the morning afternoon open rows, write in the afternoon evening open rows, three shifts, and I'll be back to work in Chengdu. I wrote in the morning and rehearsed in the afternoon and rehearsed in the evening, working three shifts. At that time, it was just a case of "take it down, take it down, take it down, take it down". That's where I got my swagger from. I don't have anything to be proud of, the only thing is this pen, I think I can still sweep it (laughs).

Note: Nothing but a pen?

Zhang: And my father's words. When I'm too tired to write, I can't hold out, I don't want to do it, I often say to myself, come on! Come on! I always believe that perseverance is victory. When I was a child, my father knew that I liked literature and said that I had wasted my education because I liked literature, so I hope that you will stick to it and not play with it, for it will be the end of the game. I have always remembered my father's words: perseverance is the key. My father passed away, and I regret that he did not see me today. He thought I would never make it.

Note: Pursuing ideals and living for art is a beautiful thing!

Zhang: Yes, I wrote eight plays this year, and the dance drama "Painted Skin" was performed by the Hong Kong Dance Company. Now my 280,000-word novel "One Touch" has already been published by Guangxi People's Publishing House, the novel came out, there is a movie and television drama adaptation immediately. I am also ready to write my next novel.