Ying Ruocheng - Voices Carry: Behind Bars and Backstage during Chinas Revolution and Reform (Asian Voices)

The riveting autobiography of renowned Chinese actor and cultural ambassador Ying Ruocheng

BEHIND BARS AND
BACKSTAGE DURING
CHINAS REVOLUTION
AND REFORM

YING RUOCHENG and CLAIRE CONCEISON

ASIAN VOICES
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Behind Bars and Backstage during Chinas Revolution and Reform
Ying Ruocheng and Claire Conceison ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC. Lanham Boulder New York Toronto Plymouth, UK
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC. In loving memory of Wu Shiliang In loving hope to Bayan

Published in the United States of America

Estover Road, Plymouth PL6 7PY, United Kingdom
by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.rowmanlittlefield.com
Copyright 2009 by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ying, Ruocheng.
Voices carry : behind bars and backstage during Chinas Revolution and reform /

Ying Ruocheng and Claire Conceison.

p. cm. (Asian voices)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7425-5554-9 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-7425-5554-2 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7425-5555-6 (paper : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-7425-5555-0 (paper : alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7425-5746-8 (electronic)
ISBN-10: 0-7425-5746-4 (electronic)
1. Ying, Ruocheng. 2. ActorsChinaBiography. 3. Theatrical producers and

directorsChinaBiography. 4. TranslatorsChinaBiography. 5. Motion picture actors and actressesBiography. 6. College teachersUnited StatesBiography. 7. Beijing (China)Biography. 8. China. Wen hua buOfficials and employees Biography. 9. ChinaHistory19121949Biography. 10. ChinaHistory1949 Biography. I. Conceison, Claire, 1965 II. Title.

CT1828.Y55A3 2009

2008023410
951.04092dc22
[B]
Printed in the United States of America

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Contents

Acknowledgments ix Introduction xv Claire Conceison

Part I: The Adventures of Prison Life Chapter 1
Chapter 2

Part II: Family History and Early Education
Chapter 3 The Ying Legacy 61
Chapter 4 A Princely Childhood 95

Part III: Professional Life in Arts and Politics
Chapter 5
Claire Conceison

vii viii Contents

Acknowledgments

It is ironic that the kindness, wisdom, and assistance of so many was necessary to produce the life narrative of one single individual in his own words, but Ying Ruochengs story could not have been told the way he wanted it to be without the contributions of the following people. I have been humbled by their enthusiasm for the project and I am deeply grateful.

Above all, of course, I must thank Ying Ruocheng, a great man who became my good friend. It is an understatement to say that it was an honor, privilege, and pleasure to sit by his side and listen to his remarkable story in his remarkable prose. Our partnership, which I discuss in the introduction, was a unique experience in my life. It is my sincere wish that the pages that follow represent his voice, life, and legacy the way he intended.

Ying Ruocheng had many significant partnerships in his life. The greatest, of course, was with his wife Wu Shiliang, who, as you will read, was missed by her husband every day after her death in January 1987. One of Yings pleasures in narrating his life experiences in English was that it brought back fond memories of speaking English with her.

Another great partnership in Yings life was with Arthur Millertogether they collaborated on a Chinese production of

Death of a Salesman in Beijing in 1983. Mr. Miller had kindly agreed to author the foreword to this book, but he passed away in February 2005 before writing it. I am grateful to him for his four years of correspondence with me and his support of the project, as well as his deep affection for Ying Ruocheng. In the absence of his foreword, I have selected excerpts from his published book Salesman in Beijing

ix x Acknowledgments

to share in the introduction. I also wish to thank Julia Bolus and the late Inge Morath for their kindness, as well as John Jacob and Emma Winter of the Inge Morath Foundation in New York.

My deepest gratitude lies with the Ying family, especially Ying Ruochengs daughter Xiaole (Felicia King) and son-in-law Jin Yijian (John King); his son Ying Da and daughter-in-law Liang Huan; his brothers Ying Ruocong, Ying Ruoshi, and Ying Ruozhi; his nephews Ying Zhuang and Ying Ning; and his sister Ying Ruoxian. They opened their homesand their memoriesto me, and trusted me with their contents (including fragile photographs and precious moments in their lives), for which I am forever grateful. Ying Ruochengs adopted sister Stella Shen (Han Gongchen) provided a rich archive of documents and photographs pertaining to both Ying Qianli and Ying Ruocheng that were immensely valuable to the book. Chen Yanni (Jenny Ma) likewise offered materials and her friendship.