Outstanding Heroes, Each Leading Their Field (Part 3)
Section 3: Master Craftsmen of Unrivaled Talent. Hunan Cuisine Master — Shi Yinxiang. Shi Yinxiang, a native of Changsha, Hunan Province, and a provincial model worker, began his apprenticeship at age fifteen at the old Changsha restaurant Quyuan, studying under renowned chef Shi Yuhe. From then on, he devoted his life to Hunan cuisine, constantly refining his skills. He long served as head chef and technical advisor at the Provincial Party Committee Reception Office, cooking for and working with many visiting leaders...
This article has been compiled from historical materials in the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com · City Overview section). Some administrative divisions, population, socioeconomic data, and policy information may be outdated and are for reference only; for the latest situation, please refer to official releases by the local government and scenic areas.
Section Three
Master Craftsmen, Talents Unsurpassed
Master of Hunan Cuisine — Shi Yinxiang
Shi Yinxiang, a native of Changsha, Hunan Province, and a provincial model worker. At the age of fifteen, he joined the kitchen of the old Changsha restaurant Quyuan as an apprentice, studying under the famous chef Mr. Shi Yuhe, and from then on devoted his life to Hunan cuisine, with his skills steadily improving. He long served as the head chef and technical consultant at the Provincial Party Committee Reception Office, and successively served central leaders such as Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Peng Dehuai, Hua Guofeng, Hu Yaobang, Wang Zhen, Peng Zhen, and Qiao Shi who came to Hunan for inspection and work, receiving much praise. Since the 1970s, taking it as his mission to inherit tradition and promote Hunan cuisine, he began to organize the Hunan cuisine repertoire. After more than a decade of hard work through cold and heat, he wrote four monographs on Hunan cuisine including "A Collection of Hunan Cuisine," with nearly a million words, fulfilling his life's ambition. In 1991, he was awarded the supreme honor of "Master of Hunan Cuisine" by the provincial government.
Hunan's First Hunan Embroidery Arts and Crafts Master — Yang Yingxiu
Yang Yingxiu (1912-1993), industrial artist, native of Ningxiang. He created and designed thousands of embroidery drafts. His main works include "Flowers in Full Bloom Across Hunan," "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix," "Lion," and "Tiger." Albums such as "Yang Yingxiu's Painting Collection" and "Collection of Line-Drawing Flower Sketches" have been published. At the National Congress of Arts and Crafts Artists and Creative Designers held in 1979, he was awarded the title of Arts and Crafts Artist. In 1988, he was honored as a Chinese Arts and Crafts Master, the first in the history of Hunan embroidery. Professor Pan Zhizi of the Central Academy of Fine Arts once inscribed a poem praising his works: "His skill partakes of creation, his brush communicates with the spirit; flowers, birds, fish, and insects all have feeling. A thousand valleys and ten thousand cliffs emerge as he wills; let the master walk with his staff. Hunan embroidery has long been famous throughout the world; inch by inch the draft is painstakingly managed. Flying needles and threading lines are guided by slender hands; for merit, the first is the master."
The Arts and Crafts Master Who Embroidered the World's Largest Hunan Embroidery — Jiang Zaihong
Jiang Zaihong, female, born in 1968, senior arts and crafts artist, junior college graduate, general manager of the Changsha Kaifu Hunan Embroidery Research Institute. She is a member of the China Arts and Crafts Association and a member of the China Embroidery Committee. She has long been engaged in Hunan embroidery art and embroidery work. The work she mainly participated in creating, "The Road Mao Zedong Walked in His Life," was permanently collected by the Mao Zedong Memorial Hall as a national cultural relic; the double-sided embroidery "Yin Gong Zhou" (with a total area of 50 square meters) embroidered in 2004 is the world's largest Hunan embroidery, and when exhibited in France, it was praised as an "astonishing work"; her work "Majestic Lion" won the Gold Award at the China Arts and Crafts Hundred Flowers Cup. In 2006, she was awarded the honorary title of "Chinese Arts and Crafts Master" by the National Development and Reform Commission.
The Embroidery Master Who Created the Most Embroidery Stitches in Hunan — Li Jing
Li Jing, a native of Changsha, Hunan. Starting in 1992, based on the expression of different patterns, she created 12 new embroidery stitches. The number of stitches she alone created equals one-sixth of the traditional stitches. At the age of 18, Li Jing was selected for the embroidery class of Hunan Longteng Arts and Crafts Garments Co., Ltd. for her superb embroidery skills, and in 2006 she was selected as a Hunan Embroidery Master. Among the stitches Li Jing created, the most representative are "stacked stitch," "flat gold and silver," and "wrapped relief embroidery," which raised the expressive forms of traditional Hunan embroidery to a new height. The invented "stacked bead embroidery"
is even more a breakthrough in the materials used in traditional Hunan embroidery, becoming a unique new variety among nearly a hundred enterprises in the Hunan embroidery industry.
The Earliest Photographer to Focus on Dongting Lake Wetland Conservation — Fu Wanquan
Fu Wanquan, born in November 1956, a native of Changsha, loved calligraphy and art from childhood. He joined the army in 1974, began photographic creation and published works in 1980, and in 1983 served as a full-time photography officer in the Xinjiang military, receiving multiple merits and awards. In 1988, he transferred to Changsha, serving the Bank of China Hunan Branch, engaged in external publicity work such as art editor for "Hunan International Finance" magazine and the "Bank of China Deposit and Remittance" newspaper. From 2005 to the present, he has been a professional photographer. Over more than 20 years in photography, he has published more than 2,000 works in national and provincial newspapers and magazines such as "PLA Pictorial," "Nationalities Pictorial," "China Photography News," "Chinese National Geography," "Museum," and Hong Kong's "Phoenix Life," and more than 100 works have won awards in national and provincial photography competitions. He has held special photography exhibitions in Changsha such as "Lotus Charm" and "Beautiful Homeland: Dongting Wetland." He photographed special collections such as "Hunan Tourism" and "Hundred-Li Tea Corridor" and participated in photographing more than 10 large-scale promotional albums. He is a national first-class photographer and a specially invited photographer for "Hunan's Best."
Representative Inheritor of China's Fireworks and Firecracker Industry — Zhong Ziqi
Zhong Ziqi, a senior arts and crafts artist, is called the "Son of Liuyang Fireworks." In June 2009, the third batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage project representative inheritors was announced, and Zhong Ziqi, chairman of Dongxin Fireworks Group, was on the list, becoming the only representative in the domestic fireworks and firecracker industry and the first individual in Liuyang to receive the title of national-level intangible cultural heritage project representative inheritor. He inherited and carried forward the traditional Liuyang fireworks and firecracker industry and culture, and continuously summarized experience and innovated. Through more than twenty years of practice and effort, Zhong Ziqi and his company, on the basis of absorbing the essence of traditional fireworks and firecracker culture, innovatively developed a series of new products and new technologies, greatly promoting the development of the entire fireworks and firecracker industry and the widespread dissemination of fireworks and firecracker culture.
The First Generation "Miao Female Drum King" of New China — Long Yingtang
Long Yingtang, born in 1928 in Jishou City, is recognized as the first generation "Miao Female Drum King" of New China and was named an "Outstanding Inheritor of Chinese Folk Culture." Long Yingtang became famous nationwide for her drum dance. In 1957, the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture specifically named Long Yingtang to perform in Beijing. At the Huairen Hall in Zhongnanhai, Long Yingtang participated in a special performance arranged for Chairman Mao and other central leaders. In 1958, the Art Department of the Central South Nationalities College specially appointed her as a guest professor to teach Miao drum dance in Wuhan.
Hunan's Number One Xiaosheng — Zhang Fuguang
Zhang Fuguang, born in 1957, a native of Chenzhou, a national first-class actor, currently the leader in the Hunan Kunqu opera world, and winner of the 12th China Drama Plum Blossom Award. Zhang Fuguang has an elegant and refined appearance, with calm and grand performance. He is proficient in jin sheng, wu xiaosheng, lingzi sheng, guan sheng, and xiepi sheng, and is especially skilled in xiao guan sheng, xiepi sheng, and wu xiaosheng. After more than 30 years of stage training, he is renowned at home and abroad, praised as "Hunan's Number One Xiaosheng," and a xiaosheng actor proficient in both civil and martial arts in the Chinese Kunqu opera world. His representative plays include "The Thorn Hairpin," "The White Rabbit," "Chasing the Fish," "The Legend of Suxian Ridge," "The One-Day Prefect," and "Lost in the Mist." Among them, "The One-Day Prefect" was made into a Kunqu art film "The Mad Scholar Judges a Case" by the Central Newsreel and Documentary Film Studio in 1987.
The Glass-Blowing Painting Artist Unique in the Three Xiang Art World — Tian Rulong
Tian Rulong, born in 1938, a native of Tuojiang Town, Fenghuang County. His glass-blowing painting art has both the solemnity of traditional Chinese painting and the elegance of glass-blowing painting; it both inherits traditional Chinese painting techniques and features modern art characteristics. Plain, solemn, deep, with the interplay of virtual and real, it forms the distinctive characteristics of his glass-blowing painting. Today, his glass-blowing painting has become a unique gem in the Three Xiang art world, renowned both inside and outside the province, and highly praised by famous artists at home and abroad. His glass-blowing paintings have participated multiple times in arts and crafts exhibitions held inside and outside the province and nationwide, and many works have been collected by the China Academy of Painting.
The Folk Paper-Binding Artist Unique in China — Nie Fangjun
Nie Fangjun, born in 1936, a native of Fenghuang. From childhood, Nie was influenced by the paper-binding art of his elder, Nie Bomou, carefully observing the artistic forms of various creatures his father bound in paper, especially the finishing touch of the eyes in Nie family paper-bound lions and dragons. After Nie Bomou retired, the son inherited the father's craft, gathering the strengths of many schools and bringing forth new innovations of the Nie family. He produced various birds and beasts, flowers, birds, and figures. With both spirit and form, uniquely styled, it can be called a wonder of China. His paper-binding art has become renowned overseas, and his works have crossed the seas. He was awarded the title of "Chinese Folk Artist" by UNESCO. His paper-binding art has filled his life in his seventies with joy and added a scenery to the ancient civilized border town of Fenghuang.
Founder of China's First Paper-Cutting Museum — Qin Shijiao
Qin Shijiao was born into a paper-cutting family in Wangcheng County, Hunan Province. He is the vice president of the Paper-Cutting Art Committee of the Chinese Ethnic Culture Promotion Association. He organized and founded China's first paper-cutting museum — the Huaxia Paper-Cutting Museum, and his successfully researched and developed "interwoven color-overlay paper-cutting" has obtained a national patent. At the 2004 National Hometown of Folk Art Paper-Cutting Invitational Competition, he was rated as one of the "Top Ten Divine Scissors of the Nation," and the news media called him the "Scissors God." "Folding and cutting without a draft" is the greatest feature of Qin Shijiao's paper-cutting. When cutting paper, he never looks at a draft but folds and cuts as he goes, integrating the techniques of folk paper-cutting and modern paper-cutting, fully bringing out the qualities of paper being "thin, easy, and foldable." In July 2000, he founded China's first private paper-cutting museum — the Huaxia Paper-Cutting Museum, located at No. 654 Wangwang East Road, Wangcheng County. The museum houses 15,000 works, including 360 paper-cutting monographs published over the years nationwide and nearly 10,000 original folk paper-cutting and modern paper-cutting works from more than 20 provinces and cities, as well as a batch of extremely precious physical materials.
Founder of Openwork Chrysanthemum Stone Carving — Cao Mingzhu
Cao Mingzhu, born in 1949, a native of Liuyang, whose grandfather, father, and himself were all chrysanthemum stone carving artists for three generations. He pioneered openwork carving, with techniques that follow the shape in imagination and focus the mind, making chrysanthemum stone carving works either assume the forms of objects or convey meaning through nature. Each lifelike, variously shaped chrysanthemum stone carving handicraft is elegant and distinctive, pure as jade and crystal clear. In 2004, he successfully created the largest openwork work in China to date, "Bamboo Reports Peace." On May 8, 2005, his work "Peace Year After Year" was presented by Provincial Party Secretary Yang Zhengwu to Song Chuyu, chairman of the Taiwan People First Party. In 2003, he was awarded the honorary title of "A Star of Science and Technology Shining Over the Liuyang River — Master Craftsman" by the Liuyang government.
Founder of Sandstone Painting — Li Junsheng
Li Junsheng, founder of sandstone painting, member of the China Arts and Crafts Society, member of the Hunan Artists Association. Born in 1963 in Zhangjiajie City, Hunan Province, the sandstone painting he established after years of research is a new type of painting made by pasting natural colored stones, plants, and other non-fading natural materials. This painting combines the composition of Chinese painting, the techniques of Western painting, and integrates printmaking, carving, and bonsai art into one, with a strong sense of three-dimensionality and realism. Because its painting materials come from nature without any pollution, it has the reputation of being a "green painting type" and an "environmentally friendly painting type." His sandstone paste painting has obtained a national patent.
Founder of Sandstone Painting — Chen Chuhua
Chen Chuhua, Tujia ethnicity, a native of Zhangjiajie, Hunan, born in November 1946. Sandstone painting is a new painting type that Mr. Chen Chuhua single-handedly created through years of dedicated research. It is a gem in the field of Chinese tourism crafts, praised as an "environmentally friendly painting type" and a "green painting type." Sandstone painting uses natural sandstone from Zhangjiajie, plants, and other purely natural materials, refined entirely according to ancient methods through multiple processes such as grinding, washing, drying, sieving, sorting, sprinkling, and scraping. It integrates Chinese painting, Western painting, printmaking, and bonsai art into one, with a very strong sense of three-dimensionality and special texture, praised by collectors at home and abroad as the "Soul of Tujia Art." In 2008, he was rated as a Hunan Arts and Crafts Master.
The First Person from Hunan to Perform Culinary Arts Abroad — Li Yuhui
Li Yuhui, a native of Shuangfeng, Hunan, entered the profession in 1984. He is a national senior Chinese cuisine technician, deputy secretary-general of the Hunan Food Culture Research Association, a Hunan culinary culture master, and a representative figure of Xiang cuisine culture. He serves as executive chef of the Chinese restaurant at Changsha Tongcheng International Hotel, specializing in Xiang cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, and Huaiyang cuisine. During his tenure at Tongcheng International Hotel, he received central leaders and important foreign guests for dining banquets and VIP presentations on many occasions, earning unanimous praise. In 2005, as one of the "Four Great Chinese Chefs" organized by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, he went to the four Nordic countries to perform culinary arts for more than twenty days, winning high praise from foreign friends and overseas Chinese, and bringing honor to Chinese culinary culture and art. He is the person in Hunan's culinary circle who has performed abroad for the longest time and in the most countries.
The Earliest Practitioner to Introduce the Simulated "Farmhouse Leisure" Scene of Xiang Cuisine into Star-Rated Hotels — Wang Daming
Wang Daming, born in April 1966 in Youxian, Zhuzhou, is vice chairman of the China State Guesthouse Association, one of Hunan's top ten management experts, a senior culinary technician, and the current general manager of Rongyuan Hotel under the Reception Office of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee. He was the earliest practitioner in Hunan to introduce the simulated "farmhouse leisure" scene of Xiang cuisine into the Star City Xianghui Hotel. His operation was vividly realistic and extremely popular, causing a strong sensation at the time, and thus began the development of Xiang cuisine "farmhouse leisure" in Star City.
The Culinary Master Who First Proposed Establishing a Xiang Cuisine Research Institution — Ren Weizheng
Ren Weizheng, born in November 1961 in Hanshou, Changde, is a Chinese culinary master, a member of the National Culinary Association, a director of the Hunan Culinary Association, a representative figure of Xiang cuisine culture, and deputy secretary-general of the Hunan Food Culture Research Association. He served as on-site director and judge for the first, second, third, and fourth China Hunan Mountain Village Food Culture Competitions. He is the culinary master who first planned and proposed the establishment of the Hunan Xiang Cuisine Research Institute, and currently serves as general manager of the Xiang Cuisine Research Institute. In 1990, he won first prize in the first tourism system service skills competition and was awarded the title of "Hunan Provincial Technical Expert"; in 1993, he won two silver medals at the third National Culinary Competition; in 1997, he won one gold and two silver medals at the third Hunan Provincial Culinary Skills Competition; in 1999, he won one gold and one bronze medal at the fourth National Culinary Competition.
Related Records
Shen Congwen and Zhang Zhaohe: A Love as Gentle as Water
In Suzhou there was a wealthy merchant named Zhang Jiyou. Besides owning vast fertile fields, being enthusiastic about befriending educational celebrities like Cai Yuanpei, and investing in education, he was also known to everyone for his four talented and beautiful daughters. Later, the second daughter of this prominent family, Zhang Yunhe, married the accomplished linguist Zhou Youguang, while the third daughter, Zhang Zhaohe, married the renowned great writer Shen Congwen.
Shen Congwen came from the beautiful scenery of Xiangxi. The exquisite landscapes nurtured his talent and romantic personality. This outstanding novelist and researcher of historical artifacts published over 50 collections of short stories and 6 novellas and novels in his lifetime, and was one of the few modern Chinese writers with a worldwide reputation. In his youth, Shen Congwen already made a name for himself in the literary world by writing some trendy vernacular novels.
At 18, Zhang Zhaohe was clever and lovely, innocent and willful. Zhaohe had many suitors, whom she nicknamed "Frog No. 1," "Frog No. 2," and "Frog No. 3." Her second sister Zhang Yunhe joked that Shen Congwen could probably only rank as "Toad No. 13." In the summer of 1952, Zhang Zhaohe graduated from university and returned to her old home in Suzhou. Shen Congwen arrived at the Zhang family's door with a large bag of Western literary classics, and second sister Yunhe came out to greet this uninvited guest. Hearing that Zhaohe had gone to the library, Shen Congwen had no choice but to leave. Yunhe told her sister to openly invite Shen Congwen to the house, and Zhaohe finally mustered the courage to invite Shen Congwen back. After returning to Qingdao with surging emotions, Shen Congwen immediately wrote to Yunhe, asking her to inquire about Father Zhang's attitude toward the marriage.
In the letter he wrote: If Father agrees, let me know early, and let this country bumpkin drink a cup of sweet wine! Zhang Zhaohe's father replied open-mindedly: Their marriage is for them to decide. Carrying this joy, the two sisters went together to the post office to send a telegram to Shen Congwen. The telegram Yunhe drafted was: Shandong Qingdao University Shen Congwen approved. Very simple. Zhaohe's was: Shen Congwen country bumpkin drink a cup of sweet wine. This may be China's earliest vernacular telegram.
After becoming engaged to Shen Congwen, Zhang Zhaohe, in order to be closer to her beloved, went alone to Qingdao and worked at the Qingdao University library. Shen Congwen, devoted to writing, was hopeless in daily life. Once while doing laundry, Zhaohe found a crumpled pawn ticket. It turned out Shen Congwen had pawned one of Zhaohe's rings and forgotten to redeem it. On September 9, 1933, Shen Congwen and Zhang Zhaohe announced their marriage at the Central Park in what was then Beiping, but held no ceremony. Their new home was a small courtyard in Daziying, west of Beiping. Yunhe had been the matchmaker, so whenever Shen Congwen saw second sister Yunhe, he called her "matchmaker."
Not long after the wedding, because his mother was critically ill, Shen Congwen returned to his hometown of Fenghuang to visit her. In the cabin of the boat, he wrote to Zhang Zhaohe, who was far away in Beiping: When I left Beiping, I still planned to spend half of each day writing letters and half writing articles, but who knew that once on this small boat, I would only want to write letters to you and could do nothing else.
The successive political movements of the 1950s and 1960s did not spare Shen Congwen. These unforgettable experiences gave his soul immunity to suffering and enabled him and his wife to endure the arduous and impoverished years with strength. On May 10, 1988, Shen Congwen, weathered by the vicissitudes of life, passed away peacefully, leaving infinite attachment to his white-haired wife, just as he left the infinitely gentle and beautiful Xiangxi to the world.
Renminbi Designer Zhou Lingzhao
Zhou Lingzhao, born in 1919, is a native of Pingjiang, Hunan. He excels in gouache painting, art design, and murals. In 1935, he graduated from the Normal Department of Wuchang Art College. In 1947, he taught in the art section of Shanghai Yucai School. In 1948, at the invitation of Mr. Xu Beihong, he taught at the National Beiping Art College, and successively served as associate professor and professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He painted the portrait of Chairman Mao at Tiananmen for the founding ceremony; designed the national emblem, the Communist Youth League flag, and the Young Pioneers flag; designed the "Shaoshan" Hunan embroidery screen for the Hunan Hall of the Great Hall of the People; participated in the design of the Renminbi and received a certificate of honor; won the Best Stamp Design Award for designing the commemorative stamp for the 10th anniversary of National Day; and won a gold medal for designing the background painting for the group calisthenics at the National Games.
The first series of Renminbi was born at the end of 1948, designed and printed independently by the printing plants of the liberated areas. The design of the second series of Renminbi began in 1950. At that time, the relevant parties approached Luo Gongliu, deputy party secretary of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, who had previously designed border region currency, proposing to design a new version of the Renminbi, and Luo sought Zhou Lingzhao as his partner.
After receiving the assignment, Zhou Lingzhao concealed it from his family and moved into the Beijing Printing Plant. In the division of labor, Luo Gongliu was in overall charge, while Zhou Lingzhao was responsible for the overall design. Not long after the founding of New China, Zhou Lingzhao considered that the design should highlight national characteristics. To this end, he made many trips to the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace to copy the patterns and designs on ancient stone carvings, stone inscriptions, and bronze vessels, filling more than ten sketchbooks. He also specifically studied the patterns of the Yungang and Dunhuang grottoes to enrich his design ideas.
The pattern Zhou Lingzhao used most was one called "Tang grass," which appeared in the Tang Dynasty. The window lattice of the Forbidden City was used by him in the background frame on the back of the 2-yuan note, and the "flying apsara" ribbons in the Dunhuang murals became the border on the back of the 3-yuan note. Even more creatively, he surrounded the denomination numerals with round patterns, whose shape closely resembled traditional Chinese lanterns. In this way, every banknote design was filled with a rich Chinese national flavor.
The numbers on banknotes seem simple, but in fact they are also quite particular. First, they must be placed where they can easily be seen. Second, the background must use very light colors. This is because in the printing plant, quality inspectors have to look at them one by one; if the background color is too heavy, over time it easily tires the inspectors' eyes. For the second series of Renminbi, from 1 fen to 10 yuan, 11 kinds of banknote designs, among the 22 sides front and back, he had to draw every decorative pattern one by one, and draw effect sketches the same size as real banknotes... Thus, when the design of the second series of Renminbi was completed, his eyes were worn out.
The appearance of the portraits of Chairman Mao and other leaders on the fourth series of Renminbi can be said to have come about by chance. Originally, the tasks for the 50-yuan and 100-yuan notes were suddenly added. The design team finished the picture for the 50-yuan note: workers, peasants, and intellectuals. Then what to paint for the 100-yuan note really made the design team rack their brains. On National Day, Professor Zhou Lingzhao turned on the television. It was the grand celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. He saw four floats appear in the parade, bearing huge portraits of four deceased leaders, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, and Zhu De, lined up in a row. Suddenly he was enlightened: why not put the portraits of the four leaders on the 100-yuan note?
"The scenes on banknotes are not imagined in an artist's studio, but created after personally going to the site and doing a great deal of sketching from life." Even the work clothes of the steelworker on the 5-yuan note were drawn according to the steelmaking suit the steel plant issued to him when he went to Shougang to experience life.
The tractor on the 1-yuan note of the third series of Renminbi was found on a state-owned farm in Tianjin. For the sake of realistic detail, every part had to be drawn carefully from life, with no carelessness allowed. But what is gratifying is that the 5-yuan note of the third series of Renminbi is recognized by the world banknote community as an outstanding work. In an international banknote competition, it was rated as a "World Banknote Masterpiece." This banknote is the product of tacit cooperation among design, painting, and engraving, and the crystallization of the fusion of art and technology. First, the design is excellent: the steelworker's tilted posture gives a sense of motion. He grips a long steel rod, and at the tip of the rod is a single bright red point, instantly making one feel the heat rushing at the face and the steel water fiery red — truly a stroke of genius.
Top Hunan Folk Song Singers Shine Brightly
In today's music scene, especially among folk song singers, it is truly "each generation brings forth new talent, each leading the trend for three to five years." After being reshuffled again and again, recently the media has arranged a neat ranking for today's folk song camp, presenting a competitive scene of "Four Great Queens," "Four Great Folk Song Leading Ladies," and "Four Young Folk Song Leading Ladies" vying in splendor, and among them, Hunan girls can be said to hold up half the sky of folk songs.
"Four Great Queens": Hunan girls account for half. Whether in terms of strength, stage presence, or fame, Peng Liyuan can be called the "big sister" of Chinese folk songs. She is the "grand leading lady" on the stage of ethnic singing, the first vanguard of the Chinese folk song camp, and full of commanding presence. Close behind are the "Hunan girls" Song Zuying and Zhang Ye. It should be said that Song Zuying's achievements are obvious to all. Starting from "Little Back Basket" in those years, along with "When I Grow Up I'll Become You," "The Eighteen Bends of Water Reach My Home," and "Good Days," Song Zuying can be said to be at the height of her powers, certain to appear on Spring Festival Galas and eagerly sought for performances everywhere. Besides Song Zuying, another Hunan girl, Zhang Ye, also ranks among the "Queens." Together with Song Zuying, she has become a leading figure of the "Hunan folk song army." In addition, Yu Wenhua, praised as a singer of family affection who "embroiders with her voice," also ranks among the folk song "Four Great Queens."
"Four Great Folk Song Leading Ladies": Hunan girls serve as standard-bearers. Like the "Four Great Queens," the "Four Great Folk Song Leading Ladies" also cannot be without Hunan girls. Tang Can is a typical representative among them. Many people came to know Tang Can through music videos. She has a considerable number of works, and "Bless the Motherland" and "Happiness for Ten Thousand Years" can both be called fine works. What is striking is that Tang Can was the first to propose the brand-new concept of "interpreting folk songs with a sense of fashion and modernity," thereby establishing her prominent position as a "standard-bearer of new folk songs." In addition, among those selected for the "Four Great Folk Song Leading Ladies" are Zhang Yan, who has won
two major awards, the "CCTV-MTV Music Awards" and the Chinese Music Chart; Li Danyang, the "Sichuan girl in military uniform"; and Zu Hai, who became famous across the country with the song "For Whom."
"Four Young Folk Song Leading Ladies": Hunan girls occupy three seats. Among the "Four Young Folk Song Leading Ladies," Hunan girls alone occupy three seats, with Lei Jia, Wang Lida, and Chen Rong all on the list, joined by the "Hui girl" Ha Hui from Shaanxi. Lei Jia, currently a solo singer in the Song and Dance Ensemble of the General Political Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, sang 9 songs of different styles in the 2003 selection for China's highest music award, the "Golden Bell Award," and took the gold prize in one stroke, becoming popular ever since. In terms of stage feel, Hunan girl Wang Lida belongs to the type of performer who excels in live performance. Chen Rong, who once starred in the Navy's large-scale musical "Equatorial Rain," not only has the good voice like a red chili pepper unique to Hunan girls, but also solid acting skills and excellent stage sense.
Yuan Longping's Happy Life
Yuan Longping was born in Beijing in 1930, with ancestral roots in De'an County, Jiangxi Province. He is a Chinese hybrid rice breeding expert and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He currently serves as director of the China National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Center and director of the Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Center, professor at Hunan Agricultural University, guest professor at China Agricultural University, honorary president of Huaihua Vocational and Technical College, chief consultant to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, honorary chairman of the World Chinese Healthy Diet Association, vice chairman of the Hunan Provincial Association for Science and Technology, and vice chairman of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. In April 2006, he was elected a foreign associate of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and is hailed as the "Father of Hybrid Rice." Dr. Swaminathan, director general of the International Rice Research Institute and former Indian agriculture minister, highly praised him, saying: "We call Mr. Yuan Longping the 'Father of Hybrid Rice' because his achievements are not only the pride of China but also the pride of the world, and his achievements have brought blessings to humanity."
Working in rice paddies, teaching graduate students, conducting laboratory research on super rice, attending international academic conferences... Yuan Longping's schedule is packed. Yuan Longping has many titles and honors: director of the National Hybrid Rice Engineering Technology Research Center, member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and recipient of eight international awards including the UNESCO "Science Prize" and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's "Food Security Honor Award." In 2001, he received the first National Highest Science and Technology Award...
As for people calling him a "great scientist," Yuan Longping appears overwhelmed, saying humorously and modestly: "Not great, but my tail is big. Having a big tail also has its benefits — it means you can't wag it."
Usually, Yuan Longping loves sports. No matter how busy work is, he finds time to play volleyball almost every afternoon. He summed up that his good health is due first to regular physical exercise and second to a good mindset. "Colleagues at work often say I have the age of 70, the body of 50, the mindset of 30, and the muscles of 20." In his seventies, Yuan Longping was still the swimming champion of the Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences for the past three years. Every time he swam, Yuan Longping always left the young men of his unit behind and reached the finish line first. Because of his good physical condition, Yuan Longping almost got selected to be a pilot. Under various circumstances, Yuan Longping did not become a professional athlete or pilot, but instead spent his whole life working in agriculture. "I was eliminated as an athlete, eliminated as a pilot, so I came back to do agriculture."
In terms of marriage, Yuan Longping could be said to be a "late marrier." He married at 34, and his wife was his former student. The two knew each other before they began dating, and later, through the introduction of a teacher, they married in less than a month. Yuan Longping's high efficiency was summarized as a "flash marriage." Hearing this, he laughed heartily: "One day she was playing in a basketball game in the county. During a break in the game, I rode my bicycle and took her to get our marriage certificate. To us, the game was important, but marriage was more important."
His beautiful and virtuous wife brought warmth and happiness to Yuan Longping's life. At the time of their marriage, Yuan Longping could not afford to host a banquet, so he took his marriage certificate to the store and bought many candies to distribute to relatives and friends.
As Hunan's "honorary richest man," his mind was wholly devoted to agricultural research. For convenience in going to the countryside, Yuan Longping rode bicycles and motorcycles from village to village for a long time. Only now that he is older has he switched to driving a car.
In his spare time from busy work, Yuan Longping likes to play cards, chess, and sing to relax. In university, Yuan Longping was a member of the choir, specializing in bass. He likes classic old songs, such as "Katyusha" and "Red Plum Blossoms Bloom."
Yuan Longping was just such a happy old man.