Her performance in "Ode to Longjiang" was hailed as "a great play performed for 500 million Chinese farmers"; the Peking Opera film "Legend of the White Snake" starring her swept across the nation; she inherited the essence of the Mei School performance style while also incorporating strengths from various other schools... Renowned Peking Opera artist Li Bingshu, honored with the 8th Shanghai Culture and Arts Award "Lifetime Achievement Award," has left a series of unique and distinctive classic images on both the Peking Opera stage and the film screen through her solid foundation, exquisite skills, and unwavering dedication, and her diverse performance practices have witnessed the development and evolution of Peking Opera art in New China.
Born in 1942 in Suxian County, Anhui, into a family deeply fond of Peking Opera, Li Bingshu enrolled in the Suxian Peking Opera Troupe at age 14 in 1956, formally embarking on her artistic journey. The following year, she entered the Suxian Opera Training Class for further study and later joined the Bengbu Peking Opera Troupe. With her clear, sweet voice and outstanding stage presence, she quickly gained recognition within the industry. In 1959, Li Bingshu entered the Shanghai Theater School as a special transfer student. Yang Wannong, a direct disciple of the Mei School, upon hearing her singing, immediately broke the academic regulations and enrolled her into the "Jing Da Ban" class, which had already been running for three years. Subsequently, she received personal instruction from many masters; her primary teacher, Yang Wannong, imparted the essence of Mei School classics such as "The Phoenix Returns to Its Nest," "Farewell My Concubine," and "The Story of Su San," while masters like Yan Huizhu and Wei Lianfang also provided careful cultivation.
During the Spring Festival of 1960, at the school's experimental theater on South Shaanxi Road, Li Bingshu's performance in "The Runaway Nun" was introduced to Shanghai audiences for the first time. Her appearance immediately captivated the audience, who marveled at this newcomer's excellent voice and striking stage presence. The name Li Bingshu began to circulate among opera fans, and she ultimately remained in Shanghai to deeply cultivate her Mei School art. In 1961, Li Bingshu joined the Shanghai Youth Jingkun Experimental Troupe, embarking on a new phase that combined artistic practice with school inheritance. At the end of that year, the troupe's performances in Hong Kong left a significant mark in the history of Chinese opera performances in New China. The troupe brought two major productions, "Women Generals of the Yang Family" and "Legend of the White Snake," to the stage of Hong Kong's Po Hing Theatre, performing 39 consecutive shows to full houses. At that time, the budding Li Bingshu took on the two core roles of "Mu Guiying" and "Bai Suzhen" in the respective plays, performing alongside a group of young artists from the troupe, vividly showcasing the charm of traditional opera.
Through long-term artistic practice, Li Bingshu developed a unique performance style. She adhered to the Mei School, inheriting the essence of Mei Lanfang's performance art, while also incorporating strengths from the Zhang School, seamlessly blending the artistry of both schools. Her voice is clear, sweet, and mellow, her delivery of melodies smooth and fluent, and her performance dignified and graceful yet nuanced and profound. The roles Li Bingshu portrayed spanned a wide range, from modern Peking Opera to traditional classics. In 1972, she played the role of "Jiang Shuiying," the Party branch secretary of the Longjiang Brigade, in the modern Peking Opera "Ode to Longjiang." She recalled her initial experience portraying this model character with distinct era markings: "When I first stepped on stage, I didn't know where to put my hands or how to move my feet." To get closer to the character, she went to the countryside five times to experience life, living, eating, and laboring alongside a female production team leader. While learning to transplant rice seedlings in the paddy fields, she developed lifelike stylized movements such as "pushing up sleeves to wipe sweat" and "wading barefoot through water," successfully shaping a heroic image.
After the nationwide success of "Legend of the White Snake," Li Bingshu courageously explored new paths for opera development. In 1980, the opera film "Legend of the White Snake," starring Li Bingshu, began production, and this work became another peak in her artistic achievements. "Legend of the White Snake" maximized the use of film-specific artistic techniques for its time. Director Fu Chaowu extensively employed special effects and location shooting, innovatively combining classic Peking Opera arias and spoken parts with film special effects and exterior scenes. The "Boating on the Lake" scene filmed at the actual West Lake, the悲痛 close-up during the "Wine Transformation," and the genuine emotions displayed in the "Golden Bowl" scene all helped convey the charm of Peking Opera art to a wider audience through the screen. Initially, some told Li Bingshu, "No one will want to watch this movie." Yet, this underestimated opera film went on to set a box office record for Chinese opera films after its release, attracting a massive 700 million viewings. It also won the "Excellence Award" from the Ministry of Culture and the "Best Feature Film Award" at the 5th Hundred Flowers Awards. At the time, letters from enthusiastic viewers poured in like snowflakes to Li Bingshu. Some wrote that theaters in their hometowns were screening "Legend of the White Snake" 24 hours a day, and they would immediately queue for another ticket after watching one show, feeling it was still not enough even after repeated viewings. Another viewer wrote that they specifically rode a bicycle to the town cinema to see the play, fell off on the way, but didn't bother to brush off the dust, getting up to continue rushing to the theater.
The success of "Legend of the White Snake" filled Li Bingshu with confidence in the innovative development of Peking Opera—"Through the filming of 'Legend of the White Snake,' I became even more confident in the vitality of Peking Opera art. In the future, stage performances of Peking Opera must also consider the audience's viewing habits and demands more, actively adopt various measures, strive to innovate while discarding the stale, achieve appeal for both refined and popular tastes, and attract more new audiences." In 1983, Li Bingshu responded to the structural reforms at the Shanghai Peking Opera Theater, joining artists like Tong Xiangling in forming independent contracting performance troupes. At that time, the opera industry faced a crisis of audience loss and outdated repertoire, with many practitioners having few plays to perform and relying solely on fixed salaries. This reform meant the troupes operated with independent financial accounting, with the state covering only 70% of wages and the remaining expenses needing to be solved through performance revenue. Facing this challenge, Li Bingshu did not flinch, leading her team on a national tour. Whether in scorching heat, rain, or while suffering from a cold, Li Bingshu persisted on the front line. Out of 264 performances, Li Bingshu herself performed in 198, sometimes even performing three shows in a single day, "singing five years' worth of operas."
Beyond her achievements on stage and screen, Li Bingshu has also been untiring in her efforts for artistic inheritance and promotion. In 1988, she was invited to the UNESCO International Forum, where she used a combination of lecture and performance to help more international friends understand Peking Opera art. In 1999, she received the first prize of the Asian Outstanding Artist Award at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, becoming the first Chinese Peking Opera actor to receive this honor.
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