The first stage: Huiban went to Beijing and evolved into Peking Opera. The representative figures in this period are Cheng Changgeng, etc. Cheng is regarded as the founder of Beijing Opera.

The second stage: Beijing opera began to appear in its first heyday, entered the court and was regarded as a prominent art by the upper class nobles. The most important representatives are Tan Xinpei, including Yang Xiaolou. Tan created the first school of Peking Opera, which is also the most influential one. Yang founded the most influential Wu School. For a long time, they were also the main standards for Beijing School to measure the norms of Beijing Opera. At that time, the upper-class aristocrats were almost proud of being able to hum a few authentic Peking Opera songs.

The third stage: Mei Lanfang's "classical aestheticism" performance shines in the chrysanthemum altar. Mei's Drunk Imperial Lady and Farewell My Concubine are immortal models of "classical aestheticism". Mei Lanfang has become a symbol of China's drama. In a sense, without Mei Lanfang, Peking Opera might not have the status of "national drama" in China. The performance of "classical aestheticism" is especially in line with the appreciation requirements of intellectuals and the middle class who pursue "classical beauty and elegant beauty" fashion. On the basis of inheriting Tan Xinpei and others, Yu Shuyan has made great progress in the evolution of life art, which has made Peking Opera develop in the direction of "literati interest, elegance and fashion". Mei Lanfang advocates justice and peace and pursues "beauty and elegance". Cheng goes against the path of Mei, and he knows the path of Tai Chi, singing extremely yin and yang, rebelling, opening and closing, frustrated and changing tactfully; Ma found a new way outside Tan and Yu, and created a gorgeous new style. He is like Shang Yang, Xun, Gao, Tan, Yang, and Jin, Hao and Hou, all outstanding in this field. Everyone has his own artistic concept and style characteristics. But I think that no matter Mei, Yu, Cheng, Ma, etc. Their sexual behavior is generally inseparable from the performance principle dominated by this "classical aestheticism". For example, Cheng's Young Woman's Dream and Lock Linnang are also outstanding classics in this field (but it should be pointed out that Cheng's art is also permeated with strong realism). Starting from this principle and combining their own characteristics, they founded various schools, formed a colorful situation, and created a large number of wonderful plays and popular aria. He made an indelible historical contribution to the prosperity of Beijing Opera. During this period, sometimes even the pursuit of "beauty" in singing, body and other performance techniques becomes the first priority, while the rationality of plot theme, script structure and character relationship is not so particularly important.

The fourth stage: strictly speaking, it should be at the same time as the third stage (listed separately for the convenience of narration). Shanghai-style Peking Opera, represented by Zhou, was then located in the southern economic open zone. Facing the extensive and in-depth foreign culture, it emphasizes the performance techniques and forms with distinctive modern characteristics (including the use of modern means), the story plot and the personalization of characters, and emphasizes "targeting civilians everywhere" to meet the appreciation needs of the general public. Zhou himself held high the banner of realism, dared to break the shackles of formalism, and created a unique art of strangeness. If the Beijing art advocates elegance, implication, integrity, generosity, implication, grace and even sadness, then the Shanghai art emphasizes popularity, generosity, excitement, openness and grandeur (of course, it does not exclude those who share with each other). We might as well call it "mass realism" or "mass magnificence". Its outstanding contribution and significance lies in making Beijing Opera become a popular art, which is closer to the common people. Its influence is widely spread to other industries of Peking Opera and some local operas, even plays and movies. Qiu He, who calls himself "the seven schools", is proud of "the seven schools of Hua Dan" and is a drama master of the seven schools in Jinshan. . . . ) At that time, even people who shaved their heads and pedicures would sing "Chasing Han Xin". After the outbreak of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, a number of plays with patriotism and national consciousness, such as Qin Hui the Great and Shi Kefa, were created by Zhou. At this stage, Beijing School and Shanghai School influenced and infiltrated each other.

The fifth stage: the establishment of New China. The new literary and artistic ideas have had a great influence on the development of Beijing Opera. The times require literature and art to reflect modern life and praise heroes and lofty spiritual realm. This will inevitably become the requirements of the times, society and people for Beijing opera. Li and his colleagues and their theatrical troupes, including,, and directors Weng Ouhong, Fan and Jia. Stand in front of this trend. During this period, on the basis of inheriting the tradition, they persisted in reform and innovation, implemented the system of combining editing and directing, and edited and performed new classic plays, such as Wild Pig Forest, General Harmony, Noisy Palace, Legend of the White Snake, Jiujiangkou, Legend of the Horse, Xie Yaohuan, Manjianghong and so on, as well as Beijing Peking Opera Theatre. . . . It has attracted audiences from all walks of life. These new dramas are really a kind of "new Peking Opera" compared with traditional old dramas such as Shiro Visiting Mother, Detective II, Wu Jiapo's Auditorium and Yutangchun in terms of plot theme, ideological content, performance form and characters. In particular, they created modern Peking Opera such as White-haired Girl and The Red Lantern, which are called "the crystallization of first-class screenwriters, first-class directors and first-class actors". In the history of the development of Peking Opera, it has epoch-making significance. Peking Opera in New China has exerted a far-reaching influence on people all over the world through its performances in various countries. Their above-mentioned series of practices have inspired and influenced various Beijing opera groups throughout the country. Following Mei, Zhou, Cheng, Ma and Tan, a group of outstanding young and middle-aged Peking Opera performers in their thirties and forties have become the main pioneers, pioneers and fresh troops of Chinese Peking Opera in the new period. In addition to the above-mentioned Li, Yuan, Ye, Du, Qiu,,, Li, Guan, etc. , all played their respective roles at this stage. They either aim to advocate the inheritance of "classical aestheticism" or pursue a new concept of modern Peking Opera. They have all made remarkable achievements. After entering this new period, it is no longer the main direction of troupe and actors to pursue "new school" with a single singing method. The theme of the drama, as well as the use of various means of Beijing opera performance-singing, reciting, playing, and even modern artistic means to achieve the best effect of the whole performance, has become a more important symbol. This is one of the reasons why there are few new schools after the founding of New China. )

At this stage, Li is the most prominent representative and leading figure in the reform and innovation of Peking Opera in the new period. Just as Zhou called Li a "young leader", Weng Ouhong a "philosopher" and movie master Zhao Dan called him a "new artist" with a new ideology, he was praised as a "model of inheriting, developing and breaking through schools" by the opera circle. Mr. Cao Yu also praised "Yes, men have Li, and women are related". Peking Opera colleagues called him "Li Shenxian", and Zhang Yunxi, who is the same age as him, said that Li is "a rare all-rounder in Peking Opera for many years, with both civil and military skills, reaching the peak of contemporary times!"

At present, some people in the field of drama theory call the above phenomenon "Li Daqi" and call Li's drama concept and practice "Li Opera School" (how to summarize this phenomenon can be further discussed). This "school" is far from the general personal style school. In my opinion, it takes the embodiment and promotion of the "lofty spirit" quality of the Chinese nation as the guiding concept of Beijing Opera creation, which breaks the boundaries between Beijing School, Shanghai School, majors and individual schools, but integrates the performance characteristics of Beijing School's "classical aestheticism" and Shanghai School's "popular realism", integrates various majors and schools, and absorbs some techniques of drama and film. Their new play. Some people say that if Mei Lanfang advocates "classical harmonious beauty", Li's artistic pursuit is "modern lofty beauty". Personally, I think Li is an organic combination of the two. His performance is both classical and modern, harmonious and sublime. Everything starts with the theme and characters of the play. Under the guidance of lofty realism, we should make full use of the classical methods of Peking Opera. If the old program is not suitable, we must dare to break it and replace it with a new program that conforms to the basic laws of Beijing opera. It is still named "Jing", but it is a "new Peking Opera" suitable for the new era and pushes Chinese Peking Opera to a new peak.

This is an outstanding achievement in creating a new milestone in Chinese Peking Opera. This achievement, of course, belongs not only to Li, but also to a large number of pioneers mentioned above. It also belongs to their predecessors, to all those who support and participate in the reform and innovation of Peking Opera (including the old artists who fought side by side with them). However, Li is undeniably a banner of this period. "Wild Pig Forest" is an important symbol in this respect, a masterpiece of Li's drama view, and an immortal classic with milestone significance in the history of Chinese Peking Opera. The Red Lantern is also called "an indelible milestone in the development history of modern Peking Opera" by some scholars. An adaptation of a traditional Peking Opera and a new edition of a modern Peking Opera will remain in the palace of Chinese Peking Opera forever. Li's name will be immortal in the history of Chinese Peking Opera.

Throughout the nearly 200-year history of Beijing Opera, there are five most iconic milestones in these four or five stages: Cheng Changgeng is the most important representative of the first milestone; The most important representatives of the second milestone are Tan Xinpei and Yang Xiaolou; The most important representatives of the third milestone are Mei Lanfang, Ma, and Cheng. At the same time, the most important representative of another milestone (or the fourth milestone) is Zhou. The fifth milestone, that is, after the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), "New Peking Opera" reached a new milestone, and a number of outstanding representatives emerged, among which Li was the leading figure.

During the nearly 200-year development of Beijing Opera, a large number of outstanding actors have emerged and many schools have been formed. However, I personally think that Mei Lanfang, Zhou, Cheng, Li, etc. It should be advocated to truly form an "art school" from the aspect of drama thought.

At present, people have shouted the slogan of "revitalizing Beijing Opera". While inheriting the artistic heritage of their predecessors, Peking Opera circles need to learn from their experiences and nutrition. Among them, Mei Lanfang, Zhou, Cheng, Li and others' dramatic art thoughts need further in-depth study, especially in the field of Beijing opera and traditional Chinese opera.