Hei Tao

Hei Tao was born in 1968 in Dingshu Town of Yixing， Jiangsu Province， the pottery capital of Southern China. His mother is a farmer and his father is a potter. After graduating from junior high school at the age of 16， he left his hometown to study and graduated from Suzhou University at the age of 23. He now lives in Wuxi， Jiangsu Province.

In the past several years， the writer searched for people who witnessed Ah Bing’s life back then and conducted an in-depth interview with 16 witnesses. Among the interviewees， Zhong Qiudi is the half-granddaughter raised by Ah Bing. Li Songshou saw Ah Bing recording music in 1950. Xu Yihe was a neighbor of Ah Bing. Hua Yinsheng is a Taoist priest who often bought wine and read newspapers for him in Dongxu Temple. Zou Peng is an experienced performer of Wuxi Opera who had a deep friendship with Ah Bing. Hua Yulin was a reporter from Wuxi Xiao Daily in the 1950s. Qian Zongkui is an expert on cultural relics in Wuxi. You Maosheng and Zhou Rendi are a couple who are the second generation “Xiao Re Hun” artists in Wuxi. They talked about Ah Bing’s obsession with music， the difficulties of his daily life， the details of how he managed to make a living as a performer in the streets， his personal growth experience， and so on. Those detailed perceptual memories depict to us portrayals close to the actual blind musician who had long struggled at the bottom of society.

The Moon over a Fountain： Sixteen Witnesses Recall Ah Bing

Hei Tao

Guangxi Normal University Press

August 2018

46.00 （CNY）

Interviewee： Zou Peng （born in 1917， a famous experienced artist of Wuxi Opera）

I got acquainted with Ah Bing because of my master Xing Changfa.

Both my master Xing Changfa and Ah Bing were from Dongting Town of Wuxi County. My master’s home was in Mozhaili of Huangcaodu in Dongting Town， while Ah Bing’s house was on Xiaosifang Lane. They could be considered as “brothers from the same nest”. Before becoming a Tanhuang （writer’s comment： Wuxi Opera was first called Tanhuang） artist， my master was a tailor. Ah Bing always went to him to make gowns. Moreover， both of them liked to play huqin and sing operas. So， they were very intimate.

In the summer of 1937， when the Japanese bombed Shanghai， I carried a box of books and went back to my hometown Hongshan to take refuge. After about a month at home， my master Xing Changfa also returned to Wuxi. I had a good relationship with the master. He treated me like a brother and only accepted me as an apprentice in his life. After he returned to Wuxi， he first went to Hongshan and then took me to his home in Dongting.

A few days later， Yuan Renyi， my grandmaster and Xing Changfa’s master， also returned to Wuxi from Shanghai.

Grandmaster Yuan Renyi was a native of Yanjiaqiao in Yangjian Town， Wuxi County. Yanjiaqiao was the birthplace of Wuxi Opera. He was an expert at playing huqin. In his early years， he sang “Touring the Wharf” and other Tanhuang operas accompanied by his huqin， going viral all over Dongxiang， Wuxi. Later， when the Wuxi-Shanghai railway was opened， he went to Shanghai with a huqin and became one of the first-generation Wuxi Tanhuang artists who got popular in Shanghai. When he performed in Shanghai’s “Great World”， his operas were recorded on phonograph records by the Victor Talking Machine Company of the United States. Because of his great influence， Huang Chujiu， his friend and the boss of the “Great World”， specially gave him a house to live at in Shanghai.

The grandmaster returned to Wuxi this time to take refuge， offer sacrifices to his ancestors， and attend a wedding feast. After he arrived in Wuxi， he first came to Dongting and stayed in the home of his apprentice Xing Changfa.

Ah Bing happened to be in Dongting at this time. Why was he in Dongting？ Because the city of Wuxi was also occupied by the Japanese. It was said that one day when he was in the city， Ah Bing came out of Guangfu gate without taking off his hat and bowed to the Japanese guards. The guards punished him by making him stand at the gate for an hour. Ah Bing was so angry that he went back to Dongting. In Dongting， Ah Bing composed the “Scourge” to curse those “Japanese devils”. Its content was probably as follows： “When it comes to the news， it happened at Guangfu Gate of Wuxi City. As a few Japanese soldiers came to the city， people felt unease going in and out. This group of soldiers ate Chinese white rice， but they didn’t know the Chinese people. They barked and bit us at random and hurt their masters， which was really hateful. We 400 million compatriots must unite as one and raise our iron fists to wipe out those invaders and drive away the devils. Then the Chinese people will always live at peace.”

In Dongting， Ah Bing usually performed for a living in small food markets on the streets. One morning， my master Xing Changfa， Grandmaster Yuan Renyi， and I went to the North Street teahouse in Dongting Town for tea while my master’s wife went to a small food market to buy food. She was also familiar with Ah Bing and liked to watch his performance. That day in the food market， she talked with Ah Bing for a while and bought two steamed buns for him. When Ah Bing learned that she bought food to entertain Yuan Renyi， he was overjoyed because he knew that my grandmaster Yuan Renyi was a popular Tanhuang artist in Shanghai. However， he rejoiced mainly because Yuan Renyi was skilled at playing huqin.

Then， Ah Bing immediately wanted to go back with her to visit Yuan Renyi. When he heard that we were having tea at the North Street teahouse in the town， he quickly went to the teahouse to meet us. When Ah Bing arrived at the teahouse， the three bowls of “fish noodles” we ordered happened to be brought. I gave my bowl to Ah Bing， but he was determined not to eat it. He said， “I have just finished my meal.” Introduced by my master Xing Changfa， Ah Bing got acquainted with Yuan Renyi in the teahouse. This was the first time I officially met Ah Bing. I was deeply impressed by him “being tactful”.

Unexpectedly， at two or three o’clock that afternoon， Ah Bing carried his huqin and leaned on a bamboo stick to visit my master’s home in Mozhaili， Huangcaodu. It usually took 30 minutes to walk from Dongting Street to Mozhaili， and there was also a river to cross by Huangcaodu on the journey. When Ah Bing arrived， his blackened and shabby blue cloth gown was covered with mud. It was obvious that he had fallen on the road. The purpose of Ah Bing was clear. He wanted to ask grandmaster Yuan Renyi to teach him huqin skills， especially the playing skills of the “Three Varieties of Plum Blossom”. Seeing that Ah Bing was eager to learn， the grandmaster played the piece for him.

That piece， also known as “Sanliu”， revealed grandmaster’s attainments. Because in the old days， he usually played it as a prelude before the opening of the Tanhuang opera. Grandmaster played it so extraordinarily that as soon as he finished， Ah Bing was profuse in praise and immediately wanted to take Yuan Renyi as his master. However， the grandmaster did not accept his request， saying that they could become “friends”. In spite of this， Ah Bing knelt down and called grandmaster “sir”. It was almost evening and getting dark. When the master and his mother saw that Ah Bing was covered in mud， they asked him to stay. My master’s wife also took out my master’s clothes and asked Ah Bing to take a bath and wear them.

Moreover， my master entertained my grandmaster with wonton that night. In rural families south of the Yangtze River， eating wonton was a grand etiquette. They only enjoyed such a kind of “l(fā)uxury” on special days or when distinguished guests came. But Ah Bing refused to stay. He even didn’t eat the wonton no matter how my master tried to persuade him. Then my master had no choice but to say to me， “Wenbiao （“Zou Wenbiao” was the stage name I used when performing Tanhuang）， you go and help Ah Bing to cross Huangcaodu. “Ah Bing refused to eat “fish noodles” in the morning and wonton in the evening. I secretly admired him for “being tactful” and his “unyielding character”.

Although Ah Bing couldn’t see， with his bamboo stick， he walked faster than ordinary people. On the way I saw him off， he had a good impression of me and called me “Brother”. At Huangcaodu was an unattended ferry attached to the shore with a rope at each end of the boat. After crossing the river， I sent Ah Bing off all the way to the end of Dongting Street， and he was very grateful to me.

Early the next morning， grandmaster Yuan Renyi wanted to go back to Yanjiaqiao， so master Xing Changfa called a rickshaw for him. After seeing grandmaster off， master and I went to the North Street teahouse in Dongting for tea. Coincidentally， we ran into Ah Bing again in the teahouse. After hearing that grandmaster Yuan Renyi had returned to Yanjiaqiao， Ah Bing was very disappointed. He felt that the meeting yesterday was not enough and said that he would go to Yanjiaqiao to consult him face to face. Seeing that Ah Bing was determined to go there， master Xing Changfa wanted to call a rickshaw for him， but he declined. He just walked to Yanjiaqiao and visited grandmaster Yuan Renyi for the third time.

Therefore， Ah Bing was by no means born to be a good huqin artist. From his three visits to my grandmaster Yuan Renyi， I could see that Ah Bing was very open-minded and eager to learn. I heard that to play the best Three Varieties of Plum Blossom， Ah Bing had visited 18 famous huqin artists.

The situation was a little stable before long， and the shops in Wuxi city gradually opened. My master Xing Changfa led his partner Qiaoyun and me to the Ludian Lane outside the west gate of Wuxi City and performed Wuxi Opera in a teahouse facing the moat. At that time， Ah Bing happened to come back to Wuxi from Dongting. When he learned that we were performing in a teahouse in Ludian Lane， he came to the teahouse to play huqin for us every night. We performed operas such as “Pearl Tower”， “Jade Dragonfly”， “Jade Interlink”， and “Engagement Contract” in the teahouse. We usually started at six o’clock and ended at nine in the evening. Ah Bing didn’t ask for payment and came to play huqin almost every night.

We performed in the teahouse in Ludian Lane for one month. During that month， Ah Bing and I got to know each other and slowly forged a deep friendship.

During that month， I often went to Ah Bing’s house on the Library Road of Chong’an Temple because my master often asked me to bring some snacks and food to Ah Bing and his wife. Ah Bing’s home was awful and didn’t have a decent piece of furniture. Dong Caidi， Ah Bing’s wife， also smoked opium. I called her “Ah Cai”. She was shorter than Ah Bing， spoke a little bit indiscreet， and looked clumsy.

After the performance in the teahouse on Ludian Lane， my master wanted to take us back to Shanghai to form a new troupe to perform operas. Ah Bing was reluctant to let us go. The day before we left， he especially gave me his mahogany chiban （a Taoist instrument） as a souvenir. I still keep them as they are a gift from Ah Bing.

After we bade farewell to each other in Ludian Lane， several years had passed before I met Ah Bing again. I remembered that it was in the early 1940s. I went back to Shengquan Building in Wuxi from Shanghai to put on a show. Shengquan Building was located in the area of Chong’an Temple that was very close to the Leizun Hall where Ah Bing lived. At that time， when there was a performance， the nameplates of actors would be hung outside opera houses to promote it. On the night of the first performance at Shengquan Building， Ah Bing came to me with the help of Ah Cai. I remembered very clearly that I had already put on my makeup and was waiting to go on stage back then.

Suddenly a message came， saying that someone was looking for me at the door. When I went out， I saw Ah Bing and Ah Cai. Ah Bing had been much older and his clothes had got even worse in the past several years. Instead of calling me “brother” as he used to do， he called me “Wenbiao”. Because I was about to go on stage and didn’t have time to talk， I made an appointment with him to have tea at Tonggeng Hall in the nearby public garden （writer’s comments： now the city center garden in Wuxi） the next morning. Then， I slipped another five yuan into Ah Bing’s hand. Ah Bing declined politely. But I still insisted that he keep it.

The next morning， Ah Bing and I met at Tonggeng Hall in the public garden and chatted for a long time. When I wanted to entertain him with tea， he declined. Instead， he took the pan-fried steamed buns that were meant as a refreshment and didn’t eat them. I asked him why. He replied， “My wife hasn’t eaten.” It turned out that he wanted to take the buns home for his wife.

It rained for the next two days. The weather cleared up on the third day. When Zheng Yongde， a Wuxi Opera actor， and I were having morning tea in the Tonggeng hall， Ah Bing came. Obviously， Ah Bing had had a bad time these two days and was hungry at the moment. Because Ah Bing depended on the weather for a living， he couldn’t go out to make money on rainy days. If he doesn’t go out， he doesn’t have any income; and if he didn’t have any income， he would starve. Seeing Ah Bing like this， Zheng Yongde casually took out two yuan， and I also took out ten yuan. In the end， Ah Bing accepted my money but refused to take Zheng Yongde’s money， no matter how he persuaded him. Ah Bing said that it was not because of the quantity， but that he had no prior friendship with Zheng Yongde and could not accept money from a stranger.

During the war， the theater was struggling and didn’t have a large enough audience. So shortly after performing at Shengquan Building， I was going to leave Wuxi for Changzhou. Before I left， I took some money and a box of cakes to see Ah Bing. This time， Ah Bing accepted the cakes but refused to take the money. This was the last time I saw him.