Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 16 Feng Yuanzheng

"She's still too young. Everything has its own place. Fate can't control everything. Let's not rush to resolve it."

Liu Xiaoli looked at him in surprise and doubt, and her previous suspicions disappeared. At least he didn't sell talismans or divinations under the pretext of resolving fate evil, so he was worthy of trust.

Women, how fickle!

Cheng Jingfei wanted to befriend Lu Kuan, but his years of caution in the business world didn't allow him to completely relax. He stood up and invited him, "Concubine Yi is in the training room. Master, please move over so we can meet in person."

He wanted to hear what else the little Taoist priest had to say.

After returning to China and settling down, Liu Xiaoli prepared a dance studio specifically for her daughter. She is also a national first-class dancer, so she has no problem guiding her daughter in doing some basic training in body movements.

Several people stood in front of the frosted glass wall on the lower part. Inside, a tall and thin man was instructing a little girl in breathing exercises.

“Eeeeeeeee~Ahhh~”

"Wrong, try again!"

“Eeeeeeeee~Ahhh~”

"Have you forgotten what I just said? Don't isolate the chest and abdomen. Come again!"

Liu Xiaoli felt a little embarrassed and politely knocked on the glass door: "Teacher Feng, excuse me, can you pause for ten minutes?"

Feng Yuanzheng turned around and waved his hands unhappily. He was not very willing to come this time. It was Cheng Jingfei who found the leaders of the People's Art Theatre to intercede for him, so that he was able to invite this talented actor who had just starred in the hit drama "Don't Talk to Strangers".

"Teacher Feng, this is Grotowski's combined breathing technique you're teaching, right?"

Feng Yuanzheng paused twisting the cup lid and asked, "Who are you?"

Lu Kuan took the initiative to step forward and shake hands, his smiling face much more lively than when he was playing tricks on others just now.

"My name is Lu Kuan, I'm a friend of Director Zhang, and I've heard of Teacher Feng for a long time!"

This is a talented actor who doesn't receive a high salary and has certain acting teaching abilities, which is just right for him to use for free when he starts out in the film and television industry. How can he not lower his posture?

In her previous life, I only heard that when Concubine Liu Yi was in the crew of "The Story of a Noble Family", she invited Xiu Qing, who later played Murong Fu, to guide her performance.

I didn’t expect that they had invited a teacher with outstanding acting skills like Feng Yuanzheng as early as 01. Then how did her lines and voice, which were later criticized, come about?
It is customary not to hit a smiling person. Feng Yuan looked at his handsome and unruly appearance and thought that he was also a son of a wealthy family like Concubine Liu Yi. Although he was not very impressed, he only responded politely.

Liu Yifei didn't seem embarrassed at all by being scolded by her teacher. She asked familiarly, "How did you know I was learning combined breathing?"

Feng Yuanzheng also had doubts. In 89, he went to West Germany to study acting under Ms. Mersin of the Grotowski School. It should be said that at that time in China, he was the only successor of the format acting school.

Lu Kuan was quite pleased with the girl's unintentional performance. He glanced at the slight sweat on the tip of her characteristically hump nose and explained in a showy manner, "I've read a book on acting called 'Plain Drama.'"

"It suggests that the best breathing method for actors is overall breathing, also known as combined breathing, and there are roughly three training methods."

"The first is a compound movement that utilizes spinal stability, the second draws inspiration from Indian Hatha Yoga, and the last is derived from Chinese Peking Opera." "Teacher Feng should have just taught the last one, am I right?"

Zhang Jizhong nodded slightly. Such insights could to some extent explain Lu Kuan's outstanding performance as Yin Zhiping in the crew.

How could a young man who has lived in a Taoist temple since childhood possess such talent? Is there really someone in this world who is born with knowledge?
Cheng Jingfei and Liu Xiaoli looked at each other silently, and felt that the mysticism of this little Maoshan immortal was becoming more and more intense.

Feng Yuanzheng threw aside his depressed mood. He didn't expect this guy to be so knowledgeable. "Xiaolu, do you still have this book? If it's convenient for you, I'd like to borrow it."

Lu Kuan didn't know whether there was a Chinese translation of "Towards Simple Drama" in China in 2001. This was all learned from his studies at the University of Southern California in his previous life under the tutelage of a Polish performing artist.

"Let me look for it. We'll leave contact information for Teacher Feng later."

Feng Yuanzheng said with a smile: "Can you show me your combined breathing method and see if there is any difference."

Lu Kuan spread his legs slightly apart, letting air flow through his chest, creating a column of air that went straight to his head: "Yiyiyi~Ahhh~"

An expert can tell the difference with just one move. Feng Yuanzheng's eyes lit up and he called out to his temporary apprentice: "Xiao Liu, come here and put your hand here. Feel the difference between you and me."

Liu Yifei came forward obediently and, following Feng Yuanzheng's instructions, placed her hands on the lowest end of Lu Kuan's ribs, feeling the rhythm of his muscles and breathing movements.

Lu Kuan focused on the monosyllabic pronunciation and was willing to be Feng Yuanzheng's cadaver teacher.

It was just the fragrance from the little girl that filled his nostrils, which made his heart flutter. He caught a glimpse of her soft and graceful figure out of the corner of his eye, and his heart became a little unstable.

Liu Yifei felt his abdomen and ribs expanding at the same rate as the uniform sound he was making. During this process, Lu Kuan's abdominal wall would contract inward, while the muscles would expand outward.

"Your basic skills are better than any young actors I've seen from the Central Academy of Drama, Beijing Film Academy, or even the People's Art Theatre!"

Feng Yuanzheng withdrew his hand and couldn't help but admire, saying that all teachers love talents, and Lu Kuan is obviously a more talented student than Liu Yifei.

Zhang Jizhong asked curiously, "Teacher Feng, Lu Kuan's breathing and vocalization are so professional? Is this the Grotowski acting method you've been teaching me?"

In front of outsiders, he did not blurt out the charlatan-like name "Master Lu".

Liu Xiaoli was a dancer by profession. Although she didn't have much knowledge of performance theory, she was also very surprised that Lu Kuan could easily master something that her daughter had been unable to master for so long.

Lu Kuan laughed and said, "The mysterious things that foreigners pass on are actually very simple to explain in the words of our ancestors. It is the effect of straightening the chest and tightening the abdomen, and sinking the qi into the dantian."

Feng Yuanzheng explained: "Yes, although Grotowski's school of thought is different from that of Stanislavsky, Brecht and others, they all draw on our traditional culture in many aspects. It's just that the Chinese people themselves have not yet realized the value of these treasures."

Flowers bloom outside the wall, but they smell better inside. In this era, Chinese people are generally not so confident and always think that imported products are the highest quality.

"Ms. Liu, Mr. Cheng, I have something to tell you. Let's go outside."

Feng Yuanzheng glanced at the serious girl again, but because of his own work arrangements, he decided to quit his part-time job as an acting teacher.

(End of this chapter)