● Overview
From a little girl who likes singing and dancing to an actor who is active in an anti-Japanese drama team, to a choreographer who created folk dances, Wang Kefen finally embarked on the road of dance history research and became an authoritative figure in academic circles. This road has gone for more than 7 years. When she was a teenager, she left home to escape marriage and fell ill on her beloved stage. However, Wang Kefen never gave up dancing, and this persistence made her an academic leader in the dance world. Those who have been called "everyone" since ancient times, in addition to rigorous knowledge, are more expensive in their noble character and humility. In life, Wang Kefen has the temperament of the older generation of scholars-tolerance, introversion, simple room decoration and simple furniture. Only rows of books and old photos hanging on the wall have witnessed her wonderful dance life for more than half a century.
● The drama team against the enemy accepted the little girl who escaped from marriage
Wang Kefen was born in Yunyang, Sichuan in 1927, and her father was a scholar in the last imperial examination in Qing Dynasty. Before school, she hung out in her father's private school at home, and began to read "Guan Guan Ji dove, in the river continent" in a confused way. In this edification, Wang Kefen's interest in ancient prose was cultivated. Later, when studying the history of dance, she needed to read a lot of ancient prose materials, so she didn't feel bored. In the 193s and 194s, under the background of the New Culture Movement, physical education class was popularized in primary and secondary schools all over the country. Because the students were still young, Wang Kefen's Yunyang Women's Simple Normal School turned physical education class into a singing lesson. At that time, the little girl became fascinated with school songs and dances-Sparrows and Children, Little Painter and Poor Chou-heung, which opened her first dance enlightenment. In 1941, Wang Kefen was admitted to Wanxian Senior Normal School in Sichuan Province with excellent results, and joined the Bugu Literature and Art Society and the Spring Drama Society of the school. Under the guidance of the Sixth Anti-Japanese Drama Team led by the underground party (one of the ten anti-Japanese drama propaganda teams formed by Zhou Enlai Care during the cooperation period between China and Japan at the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War), Wang Kefen and her progressive students began to contact and rehearse some dramas, including The Nation is Supreme by Song Zhi and Lao She, Candle Night by Xia Yan and Peking Man by Cao Yu. These dramas promoting the war of resistance and progress not only made Wang Kefen enter the stage for the first time, but also helped her to grow ideologically. In the winter of 1944, Wang Kefen was forced by his mother to stay at home and get engaged during a school holiday near graduation. At this time, she is not just a little girl who likes singing. She has read Ba Jin's Home, Spring and Autumn, and has her own understanding of society, life and marriage. So while going back to school to take the graduation exam, she ran away from home and joined the anti-enemy drama team.
This decision became the first turning point in her life. If it weren't for the reception of the drama team, Wang Kefen might never have embarked on the road of literature and art. More importantly, she learned how to be a man in the drama team. "At one time, the life of the drama team was very difficult, and even the lunch could not be opened. The male players went out to play wild dogs and cooked them for the female players and small players, but they went to the playground to play basketball hungry." Wang Kefen has always remembered these things. She said that the spirit of unity, optimism and selflessness that she felt in the drama team is the most precious wealth in life. Later, when the members of the drama team were sick, she exchanged her ring and collar for money to treat her teammates. Although this was the only souvenir left by her sister, Wang Kefen did not hesitate. "This was learned in the drama team and I will never forget it."
● Became attached to dance and teacher
In the anti-enemy drama team, Wang Kefen accumulated a lot of stage experience and gradually showed her literary talent. In 1946, Long Zhengqiu, one of the first students taught by Mr. Dai Ailian when he returned to China, came to the theatrical troupe, and Wang Kefen began special dance practice under his guidance. Because the troupe has to perform normally during the day, Wang Kefen didn't have time for physical class until after 11 pm. She started from the simplest basic skills of leg press, and the hard work at that time can be imagined, but Wang Kefen persisted. In the summer of 1947, Dai Ailian returned to China and set up the China Music and Dance Academy in Shanghai. Wang Kefen came to Shanghai at the invitation of Long Zhengqiu, and with solid dance skills, he joined Dai Ailian. This friendship between teachers and students lasted for half a century.
Dai Ailian was born in a ballet class, and she also has profound attainments in folk dance, and her artistic compatibility is very admirable. Wang Kefen recalled that Mr. Dai was good at ballet and modern dance, and the choreographed dance "March" was a blockbuster and became her repertoire. In Shanghai, Dai Ailian gave Wang Kefen not only guidance in dance art, but also concern in life. At that time, the number of students who paid for study in the Music and Dance Academy was not large, and all the students who Mr. Dai taught himself that they had a future were free, and life was very difficult. They live on the second floor of a funeral home, and sometimes even eat spoiled rice. Mr. Dai couldn't stand it any longer. He went directly to Soong Ching Ling to reflect the situation, and later received two cars of relief materials from Soong Ching Ling, which eased their living difficulties.
In p>1949, Wang Kefen followed her husband Zhang Wengang from Shanghai to Tianjin. In 1952, he was transferred to the National Song and Dance Troupe of Beijing Central University for Nationalities, where he performed and choreographed. During this period, they have been to many remote mountainous areas, eating, living and working with local ethnic minorities, and at the same time performing charity performances and collecting folk songs. During this time, Wang Kefen has forged a deep friendship with local villagers, but due to long-term malnutrition, Wang Kefen's body is gradually unable to eat. Once, when choreographing "A Xi jumps over the moon", she had a high fever, and later even developed into coughing up blood, so Wang Kefen had to be admitted to the hospital. Her physical condition at this time is no longer suitable for this stage, but Wang Kefen is reluctant to leave her beloved career. In a dilemma, Mr. Wu Xiaobang, the leader of the Chinese Dance Art Research Association, talked to her and pointed her in a direction: "Ke Fen, your physical condition is really not conducive to the grassroots to engage in dance creation. It is better to engage in dance research." It was this sentence that led Wang Kefen into the study of China's dance history. At that year, she was 29 years old and a newcomer to academic research. At that time, she was bent on working hard on a new stage, but she didn't expect that she would be fruitful in this field in the future.
● Research on Dance History in Half a Century
In October p>1956, China Art Research Association formally established the "China Ancient Dance History Research Group", with Wu Xiaobang as the leader and Ou Yangyuqian, a famous dramatist and literary theorist as the artistic director, and Wang Kefen as one of the first group members. Ou Yangyuqian attached great importance to this work and once said to Wang Kefen, "We want to prove to the world that China also has its own research on dance history." The first central task after the establishment of the group is to consult more than 48, "All Tang Poems", extract, classify, edit and publish "Music and Dance Materials in All Tang Poems". In order to complete this voluminous research on historical materials, Wang Kefen delved into historical materials every day, so that people in museums and archaeological institutes remembered this young and studious lesbian and provided her with a lot of help. Wang Kefen's persistent professionalism touched many people. She was not only a student in Dai Ailian, but later, Wu Xiaobang, Ou Yangyuqian, Yin Falu, Yang Yinliu and Zhou Yibai all became teachers of Wang Kefen's life.
The books written by Wang Kefen never make people feel difficult and boring to read, which is very rare in historical works. Whenever it comes to history and the quotation of ancient books, Wang Kefen will thoroughly study the ancient prose first, and then elaborate it in popular modern Chinese. In her own words, it is "in order to make readers understand. What do you write about a book that no one understands and doesn't want to read? " Over the past 5 years, Wang Kefen has published more than 1 papers, created and edited more than 2 monographs on dance, and won many national awards.
The History of Dance Development in China, published for the first time in p>1989, systematically discusses the historical track of the emergence, development, inheritance and variation of Chinese dance art from primitive society to Ming and Qing Dynasties, and shows the style, achievements and artistic characteristics of China dance art in different historical periods. The concise refinement and summary of the book and the precious accompanying pictures finally won the second prize of the first outstanding achievements in culture, art and science of the Ministry of Culture. Because he practiced dance and studied folk dance when he was young, it provided great convenience for Wang Kefen to study dance history later. Her study of history is famous for her scientific and rigorous style of study. In 21, Wang Kefen edited the dance picture scroll in the Complete Works of Dunhuang Grottoes, which was planned by Dunhuang Research Institute. In order to master the first-hand materials, Wang Kefen inspected all the murals in 492 caves in Dunhuang Grottoes, participated in several grotto seminars, and finally completed the Complete Works of Dunhuang Grottoes Dance Volume, which contributed a precious history book to Dunhuang dance. The History of Chinese Dance Pictures, first published by Taiwan Province Wenjin Publishing House, is a beautifully printed book, which collects 669 precious pictures carefully selected by Wang Kefen from a large number of dance cultural relics. The book, published in both Chinese and English, shows the unique dance culture of the Chinese nation with a long history in chronological order, and won the first prize for outstanding achievements in culture, art and science of the second Ministry of Culture. This first prize of the Ministry of Culture is unprecedented in the dance world.
● She kept on writing in the year of Gong Chao
From 1952 to 28, Wang Kefen witnessed the growth of dance history research, and her persistent dance research also constantly opened up new topics. Since 28, she has been more concerned about the protection and inheritance of national dances. During the conversation, she will lament that Dai Ailian's Lotus Dance and Flying in the Sky have faded out of people's sight, and that such dance classics as Rain on Silk Road are performed less and less. Wang Kefen said that the protection of intangible cultural heritage has been gradually paid attention to today, but the protection of classical dances that appeared in modern times is far from enough. "Some classic dances have been achieved under careful arrangement and strict training and performance system. Every generation of actors has made great efforts. These precious cultures must pay attention to inheritance from now on."
In p>28, Wang Kefen was 81 years old. According to the ancient saying, she was in her prime, but when she saw the books and glasses in front of her desk, she knew that she had no intention of relaxing. It took eight years to compile China Dance Dictionary, and it went through countless hardships. During this period, her husband died of illness, and Wang Kefen continued to work in grief, which finally made a landmark work in the history of China dance. When asked why she likes dancing so much, she said: "I liked dancing when I was learning singing and dancing at school. The love for dancing is also the love for beauty, and it is the love for positive and United spirit. Because it contains not only the miracle of new cultural thought, but also a beautiful human nature education. " Perhaps it is for this reason that Wang Kefen has not stopped writing and left school. As a doctoral supervisor of the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Art, Wang Kefen sometimes doesn't need to turn over the handouts when giving students a half-day class, and the students in the audience are not surprised, because they know that this gray-haired old lady is a living dance history of China.