On the afternoon of April 14th, the Naya Lecture Hall, themed "Encountering Mei Lanfang in the Campus: Traditional Chinese Opera Meets the Students", was held at the Fuzhongyuan Lecture Hall, organized by the CUMTB Youth League Committee. The event featured Mr. Mei Wei, the fourth-generation descendant of Mei Lanfang, as the main speaker. National Peking Opera Theatre performers Song Chengzhi and Yu Huikang presented "Three Way Fork in the Road", while Meng Ruyi, a student from the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, performed "Drunken Concubine."
Mei Wei, with the theme "Opening the Door to Peking Opera", combined with the performance works of Mr. Mei Lanfang, discussed the performance characteristics, singing styles, performance techniques, and the costumes of the four major roles (sheng, dan, jing, chou) in Peking Opera. Through on-site demonstrations of body movements, opera steps, and Mei-style gestures, he deepened everyone's understanding of Peking Opera performance. Following the philosophy of "knowing opera, feeling opera, listening to opera, and watching opera," Mei Wei aimed to help university students comprehend and appreciate traditional Chinese opera.
"Three Way Fork in the Road" is performed by the martial and comic actors, with no dialogue or singing, relying entirely on their martial arts skills. The coordination between the two performers is excellent, with every move precise and impactful. "Drunken Concubine" is based on the story of Yang Guifei, a historical figure from the Tang Dynasty in China. It was created by the renowned Peking opera artist Mr. Mei Lanfang and is widely known for its artistic representation. It is one of the representative works of the Mei school.
Peking opera, as a part of aesthetic education, plays a role in cultivating students' understanding and creation of beauty. It carries the spiritual essence of national culture and embodies the essence of traditional Chinese culture. This lecture enriched the artistic and cultural life on our campus, contributing positively to enhancing the effectiveness of humanities and arts education, and promoting the comprehensive development of young students in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics and labor.
