How could she, who is also a well-known opera actress, not admire Mei Lanfang, a talented, young and handsome drama master?
She also comes from a drama family, how could she not feel happy when facing Mei Lanfang, who is also profoundly accomplished in drama and has the ultimate pursuit?
The turbulent love in her youth caused her to ignore that the man was suave and romantic, and he was an amorous actor. His wife was also a drama actress, and she gave up her career as a drama actress for him.
In 1908, Meng Xiaodong was born in Guanshengli, Tongqing Street, Renmin Road, Shanghai, and his nickname was Ruolan.
Meng Xiaodong was born in a drama family. His grandfather was Meng Changqi, a famous opera actor during the Taiping Rebellion. His eldest uncle, second uncle, third uncle, and sixth uncle were all from drama backgrounds. Third uncle Meng Hongrong was even more famous. Known as Xiao Meng Qi, Meng Xiaodong's father Meng Hongqun and uncle Qiu Yuexiang are also drama actors. She began to learn singing from her father when she was four years old.
At the age of seven, because his father did not allow Meng Xiaodong to enter the Dan profession, Meng Xiaodong became a teacher of Sun Jusheng, an old student of the Sun School, and learned to sing Laosheng.
In that era of the old society, people could not have as rich and diverse cultural and entertainment activities as in modern times. Foreign musicals and musicals collided with Chinese dramas and dramas. It is undeniable that Yes, if you can relax and listen to music or sing an opera at that time, you will be a member of the upper class at that time.
Meng Xiaodong, who is only eleven years old, has just emerged. She sang this in her debut song "Catch and Release Cao", playing the role of Chen Gong, an old student, with her frightened and angry emotions and special voice tuning. , she suddenly amazed many people. At that time, she adopted the stage name Meng Xiaodong, and this scene was performed in Wuxi for 68 consecutive times.
The following year, Meng Xiaodong once again performed in Wuxi. On the stage of the New World Roof Garden, she was like a shining pearl. With the performances of plays such as "Pingshan" and "Silang Visits His Mother", Meng Xiaodong quickly became popular and became a much-talked-about new star in the theater industry.
Not long after Meng Xiaodong became an official actor, he officially joined Huang Huangrong's professional stage and changed his stage name to Meng Xiaodong.
At that time, Meng Xiaodong had already performed on the same stage with famous drama masters Fen Juhua and Li Chunlin at a young age.
The summer starry night in Hankou was particularly beautiful that night. The cool wind blew the skirt of the woman's cheongsam slightly. Meng Xiaodong, who was only fourteen years old, tiredly said goodbye to the piano master Sun Zuochen after finishing practice. I saw a beautiful woman not far away.
Meng Xiaodong knew that woman. When she put on the costume, she was Yao Yulan, the old master she admired. When she took off the costume, she was the lover of the charming Du Yuesheng.
Yao Yulan fell in love with this little girl at first sight and regarded her as a sister.
So Yao Yulan and Meng Xiaodong became sworn brothers.
I just didn’t expect that this little girl would marry the same man as her in the future.
Three years later, the well-known Meng Xiaodong, who had already appeared on stage in many famous classic dramas, co-starred with Mei Lanfang in the Tang Dynasty play "Silang Visits His Mother" in August of that year. It was the young Meng Xiaodong who Xiaodong fell in love at first sight with Mei Lanfang, a handsome and romantic drama talent.
She has longed for him for a long time and does not care that he already has two wives in his family.
However, both of them have great pursuits in drama art and are very busy. Meng Xiaodong does not see Mei Lanfang very often.
It is always easy to be confused by the excitement of youth, not to mention the handsome and talented man who was established at that time, Mei Lanfang, one of the top drama stars.
At that time, Feng Gengguang, the president of the Bank of China, saw what Meng Xiaodong was thinking.
Since the man is in love with the concubine, Mr. Mei and Miss Meng’s great joy may as well make my family happy.
A year later, with the help of Feng Gengguang, Mei Lanfang married Meng Xiaodong at Feng Mansion, but kept it secret. Meng Xiaodong was filled with joy and left the stage after the marriage.
But what Meng Xiaodong doesn't know is that in terms of family status, she is not as good as Mei Lanfang's second wife Fu Zhifang.
From ancient times to the present, most of them are romantic and talented people, but they are too lucky. Meng Xiaodong did not realize that he was also a drama actor. Although Fu Zhifang's family was in decline, she learned singing from teacher Mei Lanfang and was the same as Mei Lanfang. They were from the same family, and Mei Lanfang's original wife, Mrs. Wang, was unable to have anything to do with her.
Fu Zhifang, who once came from a wealthy family, managed the Mei family very well. The eldest wife Wang Minghua and Fu Zhifang even became sisters.
Half a year after the marriage, Li Zhigang, a college student who was in love with Meng Xiaodong, heard that Meng Xiaodong secretly married Mei Lanfang and attempted to assassinate Mei Lanfang. As a result, he accidentally killed Zhang Hanju. For a while, Meng Xiaodong and Mei Lanfang became friends. The tabloids and the focus of people's talk about eating melon seeds after dinner cast a shadow over this marriage.
In 1928, Yao Yulan married Du Yuesheng and became his fourth concubine. Meng Xiaodong and Mei Lanfang, who had just married Mei Lanfang, had a quarrel.
Yao Yulan’s experience seemed to remind her of something. Yes, she is also best at drama.
So Meng Xiaodong left his residence and performed a business drama with Xue Yanqin in Tianjin ***. "Dafeng News" was a newspaper media in Tianjin that recorded the performance at that time. The founder Sha Dafeng wrote an article and sent it for the first time. He gave Meng Xiaodong the title of Emperor Dong.
Meng Xiaodong once again became famous. Not long after, he reconciled with Mei Lanfang. In November of the same year, he accompanied Mei Lanfang to perform in Hong Kong and Guangzhou.
In February 1929, Meng Xiaodong returned to Beijing with Mei Lanfang.
In December of that year, the wintersweet began to bloom, and she reluctantly bid farewell to Mei Lanfang, who was about to lead a group to perform in the United States.
The farewell photo taken at the apartment before leaving has become a perfect witness to the most beautiful love in Meng Xiaodong's young life.
In 1930, Mei Lanfang's aunt passed away. Meng Xiaodong went to Mei Lanfang's house and wanted to attend the funeral for her mother-in-law as her daughter-in-law, but she did not want to be stopped by Mei Lanfang's wife Fu Zhifang.
Women's possession of men, the arrogance of those who come first versus those who stand last, not to mention the wife who has children, made Fu Zhifang and Meng Xiaodong quarrel and rushed back to Beijing for the funeral. Mei Lanfang couldn't persuade him, so he had to find Meng Xiaodong's uncle to persuade him to return.
In a rage, Meng Xiaodong left Beijing and returned to Tianjin.
After falling out with Mei Lanfang, her marriage, which had lasted only four years, was on the verge of collapse. Meng Xiaodong, who was in a difficult mood, began to eat fast and chant Buddha's name, and also performed for charity.
After a period of calmness, Meng Xiaodong and Mei Lanfang reconciled and still had a glimmer of hope. They performed for charity together. After the performance, Meng Xiaodong returned to Beijing with her husband.
In 1931, his father's serious illness and the attitude of the Mei family made the stubborn Meng Xiaodong completely sober and rational. It was impossible for the two ladies in Mei Lanfang's family to let her get in at all. And it is obviously impossible for Mei Lanfang to abandon the two wives who raised his eight children.
So Meng Xiaodong and Mei Lanfang broke up, broke away from the family relationship, and returned to Tianjin.
The beginning of my relationship with him was like an unreal dream, just like "The Dragon and the Phoenix" that I performed with him. It is true that life is like a play, and play is like life. After all, it is me. Just wishful thinking.
As if to take revenge, Meng Xiaodong published the termination of her relationship with Mei Lanfang in the newspaper.
After three days of serializing the dissolution of marriage with Mei Lanfang in Ta Kung Pao, Meng Xiaodong also announced that he would return to the stage.
Although her first marriage experienced misfortune, Meng Xiaodong did not give up her drama career.
In six years, she sang in many plays and became a famous actress.
In 1937, Meng Xiaodong was invited by the Shanghai Golden Theater to cut the ribbon for the new address of the theater. Yao Yulan, who had been married to Meng Xiaodong, kept her by her side. Her sister, whom she had not seen for a long time, did not She became haggard because of the failure of her marriage, but she still retains her charm.
The graceful figure of a woman taking off her costume is so exquisite, and the young woman is full of feminine charm.
In this way, Meng Xiaodong came into Du Yuesheng's eyes just like the young fourth concubine Yao Yulan.
In the past ten years, Du Yuesheng often had trysts with Meng Xiaodong because of his relationship with his fourth concubine Yao Yulan.
Regarding the matter between Meng Xiaodong and her husband, Yao Yulan, as a person who had been there before, did not care much, but was very interested in promoting their frequent meetings.
In 1947, Du Yuesheng celebrated his 60th birthday, and there happened to be a flood in Shaanxi, so Meng Xiaodong carefully prepared a charity performance.
The benefit performance lasted for ten days and was a great success. Meng Xiaodong also took this opportunity to announce that he would bid farewell to Ju Tan and would no longer perform.
Three years later, Du Yuesheng and his fourth aunt Yao Yulan, who moved to Hong Kong, took Meng Xiaodong to Hong Kong.
After nearly twenty years, Meng Xiaodong once again put on a wedding dress and married Du Yuesheng in Hong Kong during the season when the maple leaves were red again in Beijing.
However, the good times did not last long. Meng Xiaodong's second marriage did not last long. Du Yuesheng died of illness in less than a year in 1951.
Meng Xiaodong was Du Yuesheng's fifth wife. She had no children and only had an adopted daughter, who was named under Du Yuesheng's name. Therefore, she and her daughter were divided into Du Yuesheng's inheritance.
However, the relationship between Meng Xiaodong and her daughter was not harmonious. Because of family relations, Yao Yulan fell out with her, so Meng Xiaodong moved out of No. 18 Kennedy Street, where Du Yuesheng lived.
More than ten years later, Yao Yulan, who had put aside her prejudices, called Meng Xiaodong, and the two regained their old friendship, so Meng Xiaodong accepted Yao Yulan's invitation and moved to Taipei.
In 1977, Meng Xiaodong, who was enjoying his old age, died of a sudden heart attack and emphysema at the age of seventy.
Meng Xiaodong has achieved unparalleled achievements in drama art. Known as the Winter Emperor, she is one of the most outstanding descendants of Peking Opera veteran Yu Shuyan. Her singing voice is rich and dignified, and her appearance is heroic and heroic. , is a rare dramatic talent. She had been married twice in her life and had no biological children, but she had received love and the care of a true husband.
Although neither marriage was perfect, and neither husband ever came to a close, the stubborn Meng Xiaodong had to be clear-headed and rational enough to get out in time and not give up her drama career. Her life, It can be considered a legend.