Liu Xiaolingtong's First Autobiography: The Walker

Chapter 3

the power of death,

Brother Kong Huai.

The original Xie is gone,

The brothers are asking for it.

-"Book of Songs"

Ancestors: From the Shaoxing stone road to the Western Paradise to learn Buddhist scriptures
My family is of Mongolian descent.At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, after the defeat of Mongolia, Zhu Yuanzhang gathered the Mongolian troops stationed in the south to live together and demoted them to the people. For generations, they could only do jobs at the bottom of society such as Taoist priests, drummers, bridesmaids or bridesmaids. , men are not allowed to read books, and women are not allowed to bind their feet.

My ancestral home is Shangyu, Shaoxing, Zhejiang, and the four generations of monkey kings of the Zhang family originated from my great-grandfather's "Living Monkey Seal".

Since my great-grandfather, my family's monkey show has gained some fame.The great-grandfather often held a hoe in the field, put on a woodcut Monkey King face, and played the role of Monkey King barefoot.After a long time, it has become famous far and near, and won the reputation of "Living Monkey Badge".

It was my grandfather who really carried forward the monkey show of Shaoxi opera.Grandfather formed his own unique folk style in the performance of the monkey show, and won the title of "Monkey Race" and became a famous actor in Shaoxing.Unfortunately, my grandfather accidentally broke his leg during a performance, and he will never be able to perform on stage again.But with his flexible mind, my grandfather started a theater business and gradually accumulated funds. He came to Shanghai and opened four large theaters including the Laozha Grand Theater. Since then, Shaoxi Opera has stepped onto the national stage from a local folk opera.By 1950, Shao Opera was officially named "Shao Opera", which is a later story.

The grandfather became the "boss" and the family was rich, so he didn't want his children to be in the "untouchable" profession.So the grandparents were determined not to let all their children act.At first only my uncle was allowed to learn.When he was a teenager, his uncle Qilingtong began to perform on stage at Shanghai Laozha Theater and gradually became popular.The father, who was obsessed with drama since childhood, was unwilling, so he and his uncle continued to lobby his grandparents.Finally, the grandfather agreed to his father's acting, but unexpectedly, his father became an instant hit. His father had the stage name "Liu Lingtong" and soon became a child actor in the Taipan of Shaoxing.Relying on his own hard work, after suffering from comminuted fractures, "inverted voices" (drama actors' voices changed for the worse during adolescence), the stubborn father still did not flinch, but became more and more courageous as he fought.While watching the Beijing Opera "Journey to the West", my father was fascinated by the modeling and performance of Monkey King by Gai Mingtian's son Zhang Yipeng and Zheng Faxiang.

My father watched monkey operas of various genres such as Peking Opera, Kunqu Opera, Wu Opera, Shanghai Opera, etc., integrated the art of monkey operas of various genres, learned from others' strengths, and created the monkey opera style of Shaoxing opera with local flavor of Shaoxing.And carefully study facial makeup, headgear, clothing, etc., and improve on the basis of predecessors to make them more life-like.My father also raised many little monkeys. He learned the movements of the monkeys in front of the mirror every day, and he took the monkeys with him wherever he went.Over time, my father finally figured out the monkey's emotions, beautified and transformed it, and applied it to the image of Monkey King.In this way, he learned, practiced and acted, and sold what he learned. His father acted from "The Birth of the Monkey King" and "Floating the Sea" to "Havoc in Heaven". The Monkey King he played finally became his own family, and was honored as the creator of the monkey show "live, "Spirit" style "Southern Monkey King".

After the founding of New China, my father served as the head of the Zhejiang Shao Opera Troupe, participated in various opera performances, won many awards and honors, performed for party and state leaders many times, and was recognized.

During the "Cultural Revolution", my father was labeled as "big opera bully", "big rightist", "reactionary academic authority" and "counter-revolutionary revisionist". He was also incorporated into the "ghosts and snakes" reform-through-labour team, and sent to the countryside to serve hard labor.It was not until the end of 1972 that my father was released from the "Five Elements Mountain". In 1974, Zhejiang Shao Opera Troupe went to the army to show condolences, and his father, who was suffering from pleurisy, performed a martial arts scene in Shao Opera "White Water Beach".The 52-year-old father finally reappeared on the stage, and the "Southern Monkey King", who had been suppressed under the "Five Elements Mountain" for a long time, came out again!
Second brother: Father's favorite successor
The parents had a total of 11 children, 6 sons and 5 daughters.When my father performed monkey shows, whenever the number of little monkeys on the stage was not enough, he would pull all the children in the family onto the stage—but my father didn’t let us all engage in monkey shows, except for the second brother Zhang Jinxing.

The father thought that the second brother was a genius at performing monkey shows, and gave him the stage name "Xiao Liu Ling Tong"—in order to train him to be his successor.

The second brother, whose nickname is Miaoliang, was born upstairs in Shanghai Laozha Grand Theater. The lullaby he played as a child was the idea of ​​gongs and drums.He could fall asleep peacefully to the sound of the theater gongs and drums, and wake up as soon as the gongs and drums stopped.When he was 8 months old, the second brother was not satisfied with lying on the bed and listening to the gongs and drums. He would only calm down if he sat under the stage with him in his arms and let him watch the play.

The second elder brother grew up watching plays in the theater. By the time he was 3 years old, he was able to memorize the scriptures and lyrics of many plays fluently.The troupe happened to be rehearsing "The Case of Guillotine Beauty". Qin Xianglian cried and complained to Chen Shimei that she had to drag her children to the stage.Someone in the regiment suggested to his father that the second brother should play the role of Qin Xianglian's youngest son.Father thought, anyway, it's just a small trick, and it won't hurt if the performance goes wrong, so he agreed.Unexpectedly, the second elder brother entered the role immediately after he came on stage. He followed behind Qin Xianglian, peeked at her acting, and followed step by step: he walked when she walked, he stopped when she stopped, he cried when she cried, and she cried when she cried. Wiping his tears, he also wiped his tears, and the audience couldn't help applauding.

Since then, the second brother has taken on the roles of children in all repertoires and monkeys in all monkey plays.He has not been to school, but he can understand the plot without a teacher.He also learned how to make up by himself. The make-up artist gave him a make-up, and he would do it himself. All kinds of monkey faces were made by himself.His childlike and serious image on stage has been loved by the audience.At first he couldn't do without the troupe, and later it became that the troupe couldn't do without him.

In 1957, the second brother officially became an "apprentice" of Zhejiang Shao Opera Troupe.He was only 8 years old that year, but he already had 5 years of acting experience.

On December 1957, 12, Premier Zhou Enlai accompanied Mr. U Na Win, who was also the Prime Minister of Myanmar, to watch the performance of "Havoc in Heaven" by the Shao Opera Troupe at the Sino-Soviet Friendship Building in Shanghai. His father Liu Lingtong played Monkey King, and his uncle Qi Lingtong played Yang Jian. The second brother plays the little herald monkey.After the performance, the Prime Minister accompanied the foreign guests to the stage, stretched out his hand, held his father's hand, and said to him: "I am from Shaoxing, and this is the first time I have watched a Shaoxing opera. You performed very well. Foreign guests will watch it." I am very satisfied." The Prime Minister also asked about the tune of the Shao opera, and after the question, the Prime Minister turned around and picked up the second brother who had been jumping around beside him and hadn't taken off his clothes, and lifted him up in the air.At this time, the audience applauded thunderously, and the reporter of Shanghai "Xinmin Evening News" also took the opportunity to capture this classic photo.

During the interview this time, the Prime Minister also said to his father: "The literature and art industry needs successors. You have to bring out the next generation and train more six-year-old children!"

Children who don't want to be called "Daddy"
The second elder brother is a meteor that shines prematurely and is fleeting. He has taken on responsibilities that do not match his age at a very young age, but rarely enjoys the love of his parents.At that time, his parents were running around for their livelihood and had no time to breathe, and they couldn't take care of him even if they wanted to take care of him.The second brother grew up under the care of other people. His mother would entrust him to this neighbor to take care of him, and then sent him to that clerk. When the mother came back, these people would send the second brother back.My mother was very distressed, but there was nothing she could do to make a living.

The second brother has never been to school for a day, but he has a very good memory. He has learned many characters through self-study, can read scripts, and memorize lines—this may be due to his obsession with comic books since he was a child.No matter which city he performs in, the second brother is always a frequent visitor to the small book stalls in the streets and alleys. He has read all the newly published comic strips at that time, and he will tell us the plots in the books after reading them.He is usually very frugal and never spends money recklessly, but he is very willing to spend money on his favorite comics.The second brother’s favorite comics are "Seven Heroes and Five Righteousness", "Shuibo Liangshan", "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", etc. He has a vivid memory of the main characters in the book, such as "Longtuge University Scholar Bao Zheng" and "Nanxia Zhanzhao" "Northern Xia Ouyang Chun", "Leopard Head Lin Chong", "Timely Rain Song Jiang", "Black Whirlwind Li Kui", "Liu, Guan, Zhang", "Cao, Zhou, Zhu" and so on can be memorized backwards.This played a key role in his later career in art.

The second brother lived with his father in the theater troupe when he was less than 3 years old. He is naturally intelligent, flexible in mind, has a strong ability to imitate, and is "proficient in abacus" and good at managing money.Because his father is busy with work, he takes care of everything in life, such as buying cigarettes, old wine, vegetables, meals, supper, fruits, etc., so he learned economical calculation at a young age and used money to calculate carefully. , never extravagant.

The second brother is very family-friendly.Since becoming an "apprentice", he has a salary of 15 yuan a year, of which he gives 5 yuan to his mother to subsidize the family.When he was filming the movie "Monkey King Three Fights the Bone Demon" at Shanghai Tianma Film Studio, he wore slippers to act every day, and when he came back, he would bring us a watermelon to eat.Every time he went to other places to perform with the troupe, the second brother always brought back some specialties from other places.

The second brother is very filial.Acting in the summer, my father was already dripping with sweat after a scene, and the second brother always prepared a basin of water after changing the costume of the little herald monkey he played.In this way, the father will soon be able to act in the next scene.

Although the second elder brother is filial, he seldom calls his father "Dad", but "Sixth Regiment Leader".My mother was always very angry about this and asked him to call him dad many times, but the second brother still didn't change it, and even wrote to his father saying "Hello, head of the sixth regiment".

My father's explanation for this is: other actors in the troupe always call him "the head of the sixth regiment", and the second brother followed suit; in addition, the relationship between the second brother and his father is not a normal father-son relationship, they are subordinates, peers, Master and apprentice.

Perhaps, behind the joke of the "head of the six regiments" is the responsibility that the second brother shoulders that does not match his age.The father was very strict with the second brother in acting, so strict that he was a little unreasonable, but he almost never cared about him in life.Therefore, the second brother called his father "the head of the sixth regiment", somewhat complaining - he is a child after all, and needs the care and love of his parents just like other children.The second brother never got the love he deserved in his childhood.The second elder brother is kind and knows the difficulties of his parents, so he never makes trouble unreasonably, but the child's heart is revealed, and he "refuses to recognize" this father verbally.

The life of the second brother stays at the lonely age of 17

In September 1965, the second brother experienced life in the army, and at the same time acted in "Taking Tiger Mountain Out of Wisdom".One day, the second brother was standing in the queue and suddenly felt unwell:
"Report, I'm not feeling well."

The leader allowed him to leave, but the second brother couldn't bear it anymore and collapsed to the ground.

Immediately, the second brother was sent to Shaoxing Second People's Hospital. The doctor issued a critical illness notice at that time, and then transferred to the Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Medical University in Hangzhou. The diagnosis result:

leukemia!
Leukemia was an incurable disease at that time, and there is no effective treatment until now.In order not to cause too heavy a psychological burden on the second brother, the whole family dare not let the second brother know the truth.

When my second brother was hospitalized, my mother and I were with him all the time.There were no extra beds in the hospital, so I slept under his bed.My second brother didn't want me to suffer. When the illness was not too serious at first, he always let me sleep on the same bed with him.In this ward, I accompanied him through the last days of his life.

The second brother rarely played with toys, but when he was dying, he fell in love with some toys.There was a plastic hook in the shape of an animal that stuck to the wall, and he liked it.There is also a set of cups, 5 cups set together, he thinks it is very fun.

The second brother likes chocolate, and often smashes the whole piece of chocolate into irregular pieces.Whenever the second brother wanted to sit up, he asked me to shake the bed and gave me a small piece of chocolate every time he shook it.

Once, we went to a theater in Hangzhou to watch the movie "Underground Pioneer". The second brother was in good spirits. I naively thought that his body had recovered.But the second brother couldn't do it after seeing half of it, so he had to leave halfway.I found out later that it was the hospital that gave him hormones.

One day, the second brother suddenly said to his mother:

"My illness is not as good as Master Hu from the troupe!"

"A person just comes to this world to have a look, and sooner or later he will leave this world."

Master Hu is the pyrotechnician of the troupe, because he broke his hand while making gunpowder, and works as a guard in the troupe.The second brother said that no matter what, Master Hu can still live and do things related to acting, but it is impossible for him to do it himself.

When the mother heard it, her heart sank: Who said it was a slip of the tongue?

It turned out that the second brother took the opportunity to peek at the medical records, and then found the opportunity to find out that he had an incurable disease. He also went to the hospital library to borrow some books related to his disease to read to understand his condition.

The second brother is extremely smart, how can we hide it from him?

The attitude and reaction of the second brother after learning of the illness made the parents even more heartbroken.They tried everything possible to save the second brother's life.My father invited a number of medical experts for consultation, including Dr. Pan Chenglian, the president of Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Dr. Yu Zhifei, the president of the Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Medical University. Miscellaneous diseases.The mother even cried and knelt down to Dean Yu Zhifei.In short, they tried their best to do whatever they could think of, even if there was a little hope, they fought for it as all hope.

On April 1966, 4, the second day after my birthday, my second brother said goodbye to us forever. The day before his death, my second brother was still celebrating my 13th birthday.When the gate of the Heavenly Kingdom was opened for him, even though I didn't understand what death was all about when I was young, I knew clearly that the second brother was going to a far away place, and I would never see him again I can no longer hear the story he told me about Monkey King and Zhu Bajie, I can no longer go to the movies with him, go to the street to read comic books, and go to those fascinating mysterious places together, the places we once agreed ...

Fifty years have passed in a blink of an eye, and my sorrow for the passing of my second brother has also turned into deep nostalgia.How many times in my dream, I want to go back to the days when we played together, say a few words with him, and talk about my present.But time goes by, like fine sand disappears between the fingers.So I looked up and saw him in the kingdom of heaven, with a soft radiance sprinkled on his body, and endless red flowers spread at his feet, the flowers floated up and swirled one after another, becoming a gentle delicate scene. Rain, in the colorful misty rain, he looked back, looked at me, and smiled.I always want to ask him if there is a water village in the kingdom of heaven, if there is a stage, if there are those interesting stories, and if he still feels lonely.Yes, 50 years have passed like water, but in our memory, the second brother is always a lonely 50-year-old.

To commemorate the second brother, China Workers Publishing House published his biography "Monkey Baby" in 1992 (Year of the Monkey). Beijing Stamp Company issued a commemorative cover of "Monkey Baby" and a commemorative sheetlet of "The Family of the Monkey King".The 8-episode TV series "Monkey Baby" co-produced by the Film and Television Department of CCTV, China Children's Film Studio and Huahua Group was written by Bing Xin and commented by Mr. Xiao Qian. It was loved by audiences at home and abroad after it was broadcast. And won two TV drama nominations that year: the Golden Eagle Award and the Feitian Award for Best Children's TV Series. The party and state leaders also congratulated the drama.I played my father Liu Lingtong in the play.

Looking back at the short life of my second brother again, I couldn't help but burst into tears.The mother said that the second brother left this world without living a day of life (referring to not being married and having children).However, his artistic achievements are obvious to all. "Dictionary of Chinese Opera Artists" praised him as "China's most famous opera prodigy".Although the second brother has played many roles in his short life (he has excellent performances in modern dramas such as "Taking Tiger Mountain Out of Wisdom", "Blood and Tears", "Jie Zhenguo"), and has performed for domestic and foreign heads of state and state guests many times , but unfortunately, the second brother has never really played the monkey king Sun Wukong in his life, he has always played the little herald monkey.

"The day you become Monkey King Sun Wukong, you will be able to meet me."

The second brother’s dying entrustment made me take over the golden cudgel from him, and embark on the journey to the West to learn Buddhist scriptures without hesitation, continuing his art and life.

"Thin-skinned eggs" born by old mothers

Just as I was engaged in the art of monkey theater to fulfill my second elder brother’s unfulfilled last wish, my birth was actually to make up for the regret of a person’s early death, and this person is my third elder brother.

The third brother is named Zhang Jingang, and he is also a child with great acting talent.Unfortunately, the third brother suffered from intestinal obstruction when he was 8 years old. It was not a serious illness, but the third brother was introverted by nature, and he didn't talk when he was uncomfortable.The family didn't know, and the third brother's illness was not treated in time.When the third brother couldn't bear the pain, it was too late.One day when he was practicing the exercises, the third brother suddenly fell to the ground and was immediately sent to the hospital, where he passed away within three days.

Father was a person who seldom shed tears, but the departure of the third brother made him cry like rain, heartbroken.Father bought boards, made a small coffin for the third brother, and sent him to Baobei Cemetery in Shanghai for burial. (Later, the cemetery was bulldozed, and there was no remains of the third brother. We were very sad, so we bought a fluffy fake rabbit, which symbolized the third brother who was a rabbit, and buried it with the second brother. In memory of the third brother, I have never eaten Rabbit meat.) Mother saw that her father was so sad, so she had to comfort her father and said: "Don't be sad, I will pay you another one!"

So, on April 1959, 4, I came into this world.

When I was born, I was very "monkey anxious", and I couldn't wait to come here before I had stayed in my mother's womb for ten months.The mother had given birth to ten children before. On that day, the mother suddenly felt a stomachache. She was very experienced and did not take it seriously. She greeted her brothers and sisters calmly:
"Boss, take the kettle. Second, take the washbasin. I'm going to the hospital to give birth."

My mother asked my brothers and sisters to pack washbasins and other supplies in net bags and went to the hospital.

After arriving at the hospital, the mother and the doctor discovered that it was a dystocia. Because of the previous ten natural birth experiences, the mother never expected to suffer this time. She couldn't help cursing in pain:

"I don't know what kind of little monster will be born."

In desperation, the doctor asked: "If it doesn't work, should I protect the adults or the children?"

The mother blurted out: "Save the child!"

Finally, the doctor clamped my head with pliers and "pulled" me out.When I was born, my head was squashed, and I was painted with purple potion all over my head.There is a saying that "Buddha's head wears dung", I am "Buddha's head wears medicine".Maybe somewhere in the world, I really have a relationship with Buddha——at the end of "Journey to the West", Sun Wukong was named "Fighting and Conquering Buddha".Immediately after I was born, my elder brother Zhang Jinyan immediately ran to the phone booth near the hospital to report the news to my father who was performing in Xiaoshan, Hangzhou.

After I was born, my father named me "Zhang Jinlai" to commemorate the interview with Premier Zhou Enlai.Later, catching up with the upsurge of learning from Lei Feng, I changed my name to "Zhang Jinlei".Later, it was changed back, and a cursive prefix was added to the top of the word "Lai", which became the current name "Zhang Jinlai".

When I was young, I looked exactly like the third brother. Some people even said that I was the reincarnation of the third brother. Of course, this is just an interesting way of saying.Since my mother gave birth to me at an advanced age, my physical fitness was not very good when I was young. I was slender and introverted. I stayed with my mother all the time and rarely left the house.I have always ridiculed myself as the last "thin egg" my mother gave birth to.

My first childhood impression was that my family lived on the third floor of the Laozha Grand Theater next to the Suzhou Creek, and I lived with my brothers and sisters in a small room of more than 20 square meters.When I was a child, the Suzhou Creek passed the steamer, and when the steamer passed by in the middle of the night, we could hear the rattling sound of the ship's gears hitting the water.I also often went swimming with my friends, and once my elder sister caught me and my friends and I were scolded severely.I found out later that at that time, many children in the neighborhood were drowned while swimming in the river because of careless parents.

Among all my brothers and sisters, my second brother treated me the best.During the critically ill hospitalization, my second brother would tell me the story of "Journey to the West" as long as he was in better spirits. The Monkey King who changed at 72, the lazy Zhu Bajie, and the magical heaven and earth brought me into an unprecedented world.After the second brother told me all the stories of "Journey to the West" he knew, he couldn't tell me anything new, so he gave me a dime a day and asked me to go to the corner of the hospital to rent comic books for a cent. Money can rent a copy.

I was very curious as a child.Once I was curious: How long can a goldfish live if it is out of water?So I fished out the goldfish raised at home to do experiments, and when the goldfish died, I was so frightened that I burst into tears. It was my mother who came to comfort me, and I stopped crying.

There is also the telescope that my second brother brought back from the army. I was always curious to know its principle, so I poked two small holes in the lens of the telescope to see what happened. In this way, the telescope was naturally broken by me.I didn't even let go of my second brother's military belt. I was very curious about how hard the belt could be, so I tested it with scissors, and the belt was broken.

Looking back now, my childhood life at that time was really colorful.We catch crickets and build little houses for them out of popsicle sticks.When I watched my beloved cricket live in the little house I worked so hard to build, it was a beauty in my heart.Because at that time, it was not easy to collect dozens of popsicle sticks.Because of the limited economic conditions at home, there are no toys to play with.But even so, my childhood memories are full of joy.

At that time, we often played games such as pulling foreign films, rolling hoops, bumping knees with friends, and playing table tennis with the washboard as a table... Compared with now, these games and toys are very simple and primitive, but they have become The common memory in the hearts of my generation.

(End of this chapter)