For modern Chinese critics, playing the role of women, if not the whole of Mei Lan's art, is the core of his art, and it is also the most controversial part of Mei Lan's art.

Mei Lan is hailed by admirers and supporters as the king of the world because of his masterful art in portraying female characters;

And he was slandered by his detractors because the detractors either thought that his female character was too well portrayed, or that he did not portray a female character at all.

He was praised for being the first famous actor to venture abroad to showcase and spread the Chinese people's drama and culture.

But it is also for the same reason that some people attack him not only not to bring glory to the Chinese nation, but also to bring shame, and he projects China as a socially and culturally weak country, a nation with a weak femininity.

Although the controversy over masquerading as a woman seems to have a social and cultural legitimacy and inevitability in China, it has had little impact on the acceptance of Mei Lan's art of masquerading as a woman in China.

Still, for Mei Lan and her peers, this caused a huge mental burden.

They are very concerned about how the ugly audience and critics will react to Mei Lan's performance, and how they will view Chinese theater art.

In order to let the audience in the ugly country understand and appreciate Mei Lan's Qiandan art, it is necessary to preemptively avoid the occurrence of negative reactions.

Before Mr. Mei's visit to the United States, Li Yaoyang prepared a series of English materials and added an introduction to introduce Mei Lan's art to the audience in the ugly country as a reasonable continuation and perfection of the long tradition of Chinese theater history.

The hostess would emphasize to the audience every night before Mei Lan's show started that Mei Lan was different from the men and women on the Western stage.

He is not pretending to be a woman, but trying to present an "imaginary ideal female image" or symbolize the "eternal female ideal of the East".

In an interview in New York, Merlin himself emphasized the historical justification and necessity of his art as an integral part of some recognized tradition.

Because this cultural tradition was not to allow women on stage until the victory of 1911:

The vast number of Chinese theater audiences have become so accustomed to watching female characters played by men that when an actress plays a female role, she is not considered to be true if she does not perform in the traditional style of male actors.

In the premiere and subsequent performances, critics of the Ugly Country almost unanimously praised Mei Lan's art of masquerading as a woman, marveling at Mei Lan's ability to transform herself into a female character.

One of the critics is typical:

"His assimilation of female characters is so thorough that it's hard to believe he's a man himself."

At the same time, critics objected to the misunderstanding of Mei Lan's Qiandan art as a mere act of masculinity and womanhood, as one of the greatest actors of the era, and one of the greatest actors of all time, and because he believed that his Qiandan art represented the highest achievement of Chinese theater.

One critic called Merlin "breaking the Western prejudice of men dressing up as women."

These critics insist that Mei Lan's artistic symbolism condenses or embodies "the essence of femininity," "the sublimation of women, more feminine than women," "the eternal Chinese concept of femininity," "the eternal oriental feminine ideal," "the eternal feminine," "the universal elements of the female role," and "universal femininity."

Even the author of a major journal on the philosophy of religion, despite the traditional prejudices of Western religions against transvestism, declared that Merlin was the "most beautiful being" he had ever seen on stage.

He believes that the Chinese actor "embodies every aspect of the 'eternal woman', that is, the most charismatic, the most unpredictable, the most delicate and the most invincible".

He even asked in confusion "What happened to today's women".

Joining Merlan's praise are already accomplished figures like Paul Claudel and Martha Graham.

When discussing modern theatre and music with friends, Claudel mentioned his experience of watching Mei Lanfang perform in New York:

Merlin only plays the role of a woman or a girl, but he plays them with a brisk elegance, like a particularly great mirror.

He is neither a man nor a woman, he is an elf.

Because of the pleasant fluidity of his figure, all the emotions and emotions are not so much expressed as they are transformed into music and flow.

In a conversation with Kenneth Tynan, Martha Graham, a former student of St. Denis, recalled:

"I've always been fascinated by oriental theater...... When Merlin came to the United States, I went to see it.

He was the greatest actor in China at the time, always playing female roles.

He was so unusual, both a complete man and a full woman. ”

Of particular note is the assessment of the writer and newspaper columnist Karkichin.

Kitchin compared Mei Lanfang with Julian Erdinger, Carol Norman and other male and female costumes in the ugly country at this time.

Kitchin believes that the vast majority of ugly actors in women's costumes are "just freaks and very little talented."

And Mei Lan is completely different and reasonable, because Hu Xia has a long history of Qiandan tradition, and Mei Lanfang in the audience is a man with dedication to the family and family children.

On top of that, Merlan's virtuosity is such that people have "forgotten the gender perspective" when watching his performances.

The famous American art historian Heertmeier was also impressed by Merlan's "transcendental" art of "eliminating realistic details".

Mel once pointed out in an interview:

"Merlan's performance is neither as eccentric and perverse as the men in vaudeville, nor as grotesquely pale and giggling as the neon women in the musical depictions."

Kitchin probably ignored both Mei Lan's early career as a Qiandan and Mei Lan's social life off the stage after becoming famous.

Their evaluation, which is basically the same as that of most critics of the ugly country, represents the practice of essentializing and aestheticizing Mei Lan's art.

This anti-realistic and ahistorical approach to modernism declares that Merlin's art represents essential, universal, and timeless femininity that is supposedly unattainable even for actresses.

In this regard, the aesthetic modernity of Western anti-realistic drama has formed a synergy with the aesthetic tradition of Chinese drama that defines the Qiandan art that Mei Lanfang represents and defends.

Moreover, this aestheticization, which is both modern and traditional, obscures the fact that the essence of the feminine is defined by the male perspective, and therefore this feminine essence is in the end only a reconstruction of femininity by men.

This feminine essence is by no means universal or eternal, but is conditioned by social and cultural contexts.

In fact, there was nothing universal or eternal for radical contemporary theatrical reformers, who attacked Merlan's art as too refined, aristocratic and decadent, in an attempt to completely subvert tradition.

But even postmodern feminist criticism itself, and its critique of the art of masquerading and its traditional and modern views, is not universal or timeless.

Mei Lan's achievements in art have almost reached the point where Chinese people are well-known.

But he has another identity that few people know, and he is also a wealthy man.

As for how much money Meilan has, it is actually difficult to say clearly.

But at that time, the people in the capital gave Mei Lan a nickname called "Mei Bancheng".

It means that the wealth that Mei Lan has accumulated in her life is enough to buy half of the capital.

Of course, this nickname is somewhat exaggerated, but if you don't have huge financial resources, obviously others won't use it.

Mei Lan acted in a play, and the remuneration was about three or four hundred silver dollars.

That was a lot of money at the time.

The average annual cost of a family of five in Beijing is about 100-150 silver dollars.

Mei Lan's remuneration earned after a play is enough to support an ordinary family for three years.

Moreover, Mei Lan can perform on stage every day, instead of being ready for a long time like later singers holding concerts.

One year, Mei Lan went to the magic capital to perform and sang for 45 days.

According to the remuneration of three or four hundred silver dollars per game, you can earn more than 10,000 silver dollars in 45 days.

At that time, the price of a small courtyard house in the capital was about 1,000 silver dollars, and Mei Lanfang could really buy a house in the whole area after this performance.

However, although Mei Lan is rich, he is not ostentatious in his personal life.

His biggest hobby is to splash ink and place his love on calligraphy and painting.

In addition, Mei Lan often helps the children of Liyuan.

Before the Chinese New Year, he would come forward to organize the singing of compulsory operas and distribute the income from the performances to his poor peers, so that they could survive the New Year.

It is precisely because of this that Mei Lan enjoys a high reputation in the industry and has become a respected master of art.

So in terms of financial resources, in fact, Mr. Mei is not weak, of course, he must not be compared with Li Yaoyang, but it is not high.

At least Li Yaoyang himself didn't feel superior in status, and he really wanted to make Mr. Mei a friend.

But Mei Lan was different, he knew very well what his identity was, and when he heard Li Yaoyang's words, he was greatly shocked, and he couldn't help but burst into tears.

Artists are sensitive, and reason cannot create works that stimulate people's senses.

And it is said that it is an artist, but in this era, the opera is also a part of the rivers and lakes.

Since he is a Jianghu person, he attaches more importance to the feelings of righteousness, and it is common for him to marry Jin Lan when he is strong!

In ancient times, this kind of thing was even more so.

In "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei did something behind Zhang Fei's Zhuangzi that affected the general trend of history.

At that time, the peach blossoms in Zhuangzi were in full bloom, and the three future heroes prepared black oxen and white horses, burned incense and sacrificed to heaven and earth, saying that they wanted to become brothers with different surnames, and did not seek to be born on the same day and month in the same year, but only wanted to die on the same day and month in the same year.

What is the meaning of righteous knot Jinlan? In the Book of Changes, it is said:

"The two are of the same heart, and their profits are gold; With one heart, it stinks like an orchid. ”

利, refers to sharp, broken, refers to cutting, breaking, smelly, of course, not our modern Chinese said bad taste, its pronunciation is xiù, is the general term of smell.

The meaning of this sentence is a metaphor for two people with one heart, which can exert great power.

Metal is the hardest thing, but as long as it is united, it can be broken, and this emotion is as beautiful as an orchid.

So, Jin Lan, it's very beautiful.

According to the old rules, two or three people (or more) are to exchange scores, this score is called Jinlan spectrum or directly called Lan spectrum, what is written on the orchid spectrum?

Write out each person's hometown, three generations of parents and ancestors, their names, birthdays, and everything they can remember, and then each person will have one, put the tablet of heaven and earth, burn incense in turn according to age, and make a heavenly oath together.

With a knock on the head, this brother (sister) with a different surname becomes.

What are the benefits of tying the knot Jinlan?

Emotionally speaking, this has become brothers and sisters, has a dependence, is no longer lonely and lonely, and has a head.

Second, in terms of resources, before becoming brothers, each had its own social circle, and after becoming Jinlan, it was recognized by the clan society, and it was a mutually beneficial thing to expand together reasonably and legally.

Of course, when Eli intersects, there will inevitably be times of splitting, such as the young marshal and Lao Jiang, but the relationship between Liu Guanzhang and the three of them is enviable.

There are also some things to pay attention to when marrying Jinlan, not everyone is suitable, for example, the two of them don't agree or even restrain each other, they can't worship, the two families are feuding, then it will definitely not work.

There is a blood relationship between the two, in-laws or anything can't do it, and there can be no generation difference between the worshippers, for example, you are a grandfather, and your great-grandchildren, no matter how good the relationship is, no matter how old they are, no matter how old they are, no one will approve of it, even if they are worshipped, no one will approve it.

What we seek is a moral identity, everyone shares blessings and difficulties, and good brothers go together!

Originally, neither of them was a high-profile person, but Mr. Mei is now the leader of the Chinese theater industry, although he is not recognized as the head of the four famous artists, but he is qualified enough to speak on behalf of the opera industry.

Although Li Yaoyang is not a serious person in the rivers and lakes, the route he is taking now, as well as the connection with Guangjitang, are inseparable from the rivers and lakes.

After this matter was known to the people around them, almost everyone was asking the two to hold a ceremony, which seemed legitimate, and the most important thing was that it could also tell the world that it would be beneficial to everyone.

The big guy pushed it like this, and it was too late to regret it.

There was no way, Li Yaoyang had to let people prepare, and the rules were simple.

Burning yellow paper is a sacrifice to the gods, and there is a standardized ritual procedure for righteousness, that is, on a voluntary basis, through consultation and consent, an auspicious day is selected, in a place that everyone thinks is more appropriate, such as an ancestral hall.

Statues of Guan Gong and other gods are hung on the top, and three animal offerings are placed on the bottom, namely pork, fish, eggs, as well as a live chicken, a bowl of red wine and "Jinlanpu".

One copy of the "Golden Orchid Book" is written for each person, and each person's name is written in order of age, and the fingerprint is pressed.

After the ceremony begins, each person takes a stick of incense and a "golden orchid spectrum".

Then, the chicken is slaughtered, the chicken blood is dripping into the red wine, the middle finger of each person's left hand is pierced with the tip of a needle, the blood is also dripped into the red wine, stirring well, first three drops are sprinkled on the ground, and finally in order of age, each person takes a sip, and the rest is placed in front of the statue of Guan Gong.

This form is also called "blood alliance".

"Brother Shen!"

"Hmm!"

Shen Changqing walked on the road, and when he met someone he knew well, he would say hello to each other or nod his head.

But it doesn't matter who it is.

There was no superfluous expression on everyone's face, as if they were very indifferent to everything.

on this.

Shen Changqing is used to it.

Because this is the Demon Suppression Division, it is an institution that maintains the stability of Great Qin, and its main responsibility is to kill demons and monsters, and of course there are some other side jobs.

Arguably.

In the Demon Suppression Division, everyone has a lot of blood on their hands.

When a person is accustomed to seeing life and death, then he will become indifferent to many things.

When he first came to this world, Shen Changqing was a little uncomfortable, but over time he got used to it.

The Demon Suppression Division is huge.

The people who can stay in the Demon Suppression Division are all powerful masters, or people who have the potential to become masters.

Shen Changqing belongs to the latter.

Among them, the Demon Suppression Division is divided into two professions, one is the town guard and the other is the demon exterminator.

Anyone who enters the Demon Suppression Division starts with the lowest level of demon slayer.

Then step by step, he is expected to become a town guard.

Shen Changqing's predecessor was a trainee demon slayer in the Demon Suppression Division, and he was also the lowest level of the demon slayer envoys.

Have memories of the predecessor.

He is also very familiar with the environment of the Demon Suppression Division.

It didn't take long for Shen Changqing to stop in front of an attic.

Unlike other places full of slaughter, the attic here seems to stand out from the crowd, and in the bloody Demon Suppression Division, it presents a different tranquility.

At this time, the attic door is open, and there are occasional people entering and exiting.

Shen Changqing only hesitated for a moment, and then stepped in.

Access to the attic.

The environment has changed in vain.

A burst of ink fragrance mixed with the faint smell of blood came to his face, making his brow furrow instinctively, but quickly stretched.

The smell of blood on everyone's body in the Demon Suppression Division is almost impossible to clean.