2019年CRI Guo Lanying: Legendary Folk Opera Performer

Guo Lanying: Legendary¹ Folk Opera Performer

China's National Honorary Titles are awarded to 28 prominent citizens in various fields for their great contribution to the country's development. The titles include People's Scientist, People's Artist, People's Hero and People's Role Model.

To continue our series on the Republic honor laureates, CRI's Guo Yan has the story on the legendary folk opera singer, Guo Lanyin, one of the awardees, whose music recorded some of the significant moments of the history of the People's Republic of China.

The 90-year-old folk opera performer and vocalist performed one of her masterpieces "My motherland" at this year's mid-autumn festival gala. Guo Lanying has made enormous contributions to China's folk music and music education. The vocal² artist has left an indelible mark with her masterpieces of music and classic characters in various folk operas and movies.As a music educator, she also helped establish the folk opera performance system and played an important role in developing traditional Chinese vocal arts.

She has spent her whole life in the art of folk music and opera, establishing herself as a household name in China. She's extinguished herself with a unique style of singing from traditional folk opera that originated from her hometown Shanxi province.

Qiao Yu is a renowned³ Chinese songwriter and he recommended Guo Lanying to perform his masterpiece"My motherland". He believed Guo was the only artist who could precisely⁴ deliver the core message of the song.

"I told them to ask Guo Lanying sing the song. The first time I heard her audition⁵, I decided⁶ she's the right one. She sang exceptionally well indeed. She's an amazing singer. She knows the art and has a perfect voice. She is a real singer of folk music of the country. She's number one in the profession."

From a village girl born in an impoverished⁷ family to a widely-recognized folk song artist, Guo says her life was deeply intertwined with the fate of the country and the founding of the People's Republic of China changed her destiny.Guo recalls her miserable⁸ childhood in 1930s when she was sold to a local opera troupe⁹ at the age of nine.

"My family was extremely poor at that time. My parents could barely eke¹⁰ out a living. They sent me to a theatre troupe where I had a bitter time and was often beaten and punished by the head of the troupe."

After years of rigorous training, she gradually gained popularity and became a rising star for traditional Shanxi opera at 13 years old.In 1940s, Guo got reunited with her mother with help of a troop from the liberation Army and joined a cultural troupe of the Army.During her time there, she learned to read and write.She also picked up the skills of script writing and artistic¹¹ creation which allowed her to express true feelings and empathy for common people instead of confining to the life of aristocracy. Thereafter, She regained¹² complete freedom from the local troupe to which her parents sold her.This also marked the start of her more than glowing life-long career.

In the 1960s, Guo's superb acting¹³ skills and unique style of singing gained wide recognition across the country. And her success in folk opera was such a phenomenon at that time that even then premier¹⁴ Zhou Enlai became one of her loyal fans.

"I still remember the words by beloved premier Zhou. He told me to not only master the Chinese national art but also learn to appreciate cultures and arts from other nations. I gradually changed my mindset and found that true arts touch people and are borderless. "

Renowned tenor¹⁵ Liu Shiming of the China National Opera and Dance Drama Theatre has worked with Guo Lanying for several decades, co-starring with her in many classic plays.He describes Guo as an exceptional artist who profoundly influenced his career.

"We are old partners. We worked together for over 50 years. I used to study stage play at the Central Academy of Drama. I started my career in opera because I have a good voice. But there are a lot of differences between the two genres¹⁶. Thanks for the cooperation with Lanying, the transition of my career went smoothly¹⁷. She's a great teacher. With her instruction, I mastered the art of traditional drama and was deeply inspired by her exquisite¹⁸ performances."

"Nanniwan" which was written in 1930s became a hit in 1964 when it was recreated and put on stage by Guo Lanying.

"I walked on the stage to get familiar with the environment. And I rehearsed it only once before the opera was officially put on stage."

Nanniwan which is now a popular red tourist destination was a revolutionary base in the 1940s when China was in an arduous¹⁹ war to resist the Japanese invasion.The song depicts²⁰ the massive production campaign launched by the Communist Party to help residents through difficulties during the war by developing agricultural production and boosting economic growth. It soon became critically acclaimed²¹ in China and sent Guo's career to a new high. This masterpiece has been widely sung for over half a century and it's still popular even today with many young singers playing cover of the song.

When she retired²² from her singing career, Guo Lanying started running an art school in Guangzhou and decided to devote the rest of her life to music education. This enabled her to cultivate more talented performers for the national art.

Like many of her peers of the time, Guo struggled through extreme poverty, a miserable childhood, and survived the threat of death during the war.Guo Lanying's strong personality and extraordinary talents helped her, and like many of the recipients²³ of the honorary titles, she finally realized her dream with the turning of the brand new page of the country.

1 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

2 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

3 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

4 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

5 audition   

n.(对志愿艺人等的)面试(指试读、试唱等)

参考例句：

• I'm going to the audition but I don't expect I'll get a part.我去试音，可并不指望会给我个角色演出。
• At first,they said he was too young,but later they called him for an audition.起初，他们说他太小，但后来他们叫他去试听。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

9 troupe   

n.剧团，戏班；杂技团；马戏团

参考例句：

• The art troupe is always on the move in frontier guards.文工团常年在边防部队流动。
• The troupe produced a new play last night.剧团昨晚上演了一部新剧。

10 eke   

v.勉强度日，节约使用

参考例句：

• They had to eke out a livinga tiny income.他们不得不靠微薄收入勉强度日。
• We must try to eke out our water supply.我们必须尽量节约用水。

11 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

12 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

13 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

14 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

15 tenor   

n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意

参考例句：

• The tenor of his speech was that war would come.他讲话的大意是战争将要发生。
• The four parts in singing are soprano,alto,tenor and bass.唱歌的四个声部是女高音、女低音、男高音和男低音。

16 genres   

（文学、艺术等的）类型，体裁，风格( genre的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Novel and short story are different genres. 长篇小说和短篇小说是不同的类别。
• But confusions over the two genres have a long history. 但是类型的混淆，古已有之。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

17 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

18 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

19 arduous   

adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的

参考例句：

• We must have patience in doing arduous work.我们做艰苦的工作要有耐性。
• The task was more arduous than he had calculated.这项任务比他所估计的要艰巨得多。

20 depicts   

描绘，描画( depict的第三人称单数 )； 描述

参考例句：

• The book vividly depicts French society of the 1930s. 这本书生动地描绘了20 世纪30 年代的法国社会。
• He depicts the sordid and vulgar sides of life exclusively. 他只描写人生肮脏和庸俗的一面。

21 acclaimed   

adj.受人欢迎的

参考例句：

• They acclaimed him as the best writer of the year. 他们称赞他为当年的最佳作者。
• Confuscius is acclaimed as a great thinker. 孔子被赞誉为伟大的思想家。

22 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

23 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》