At the end of the late Qing Dynasty, there was an official named Yu Geng. He had two daughters named Deling and Rongling. They are both beautiful and clever, and Yu Geng and Mrs. Yu are very fond of them. Due to the high official rank of Yu Geng, according to the practice of the Qing court, the birth of children in the family should be registered first, and when the girl grows up, she should be elected as a concubine in the palace. However, Yu Geng had the courage not to register, and he wanted his daughter to study and receive education.
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When Deling and Rongling were only a few years old, Yu Geng hired a tutor for them. Rong Ling is young, smart and lively. One day, the teacher was explaining Chinese to her, and found that she didn't listen at all, but she was humming a song, singing and dancing. The teacher knows music and is also a lyre player. He can't help saying, "Xiaogege, you sing beautifully and dance lightly. If you have music accompaniment, it will definitely add a lot of luster. Let me accompany you." The lyre music is melodious, which makes you dance. Since then, the young Rong Ling has written and performed many dances, and the teacher became the first mentor to support her in dancing.
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When Yu Rongling was 12 years old, Yu Geng became the ambassador to Japan, and he led his family to Japan.
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In Japan, Yung Ling often goes to dinner with his father. At a banquet, a famous Japanese maiko performed a Japanese classical dance. Her graceful dance deeply attracted Rong Ling, and it was the first time in her life that she really enjoyed the dance. Rong Lingben wanted to tell her parents about her wish to study dance, but she didn't have the guts. Because her father was a high official in the Qing Dynasty, she would never let her daughter learn to dance. She was extremely distressed for this.
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At this time, there happened to be a young Japanese maid in her house who could sing and dance well. So Rong Ling secretly learned Japanese dance from the maid. In a short time, Rong Ling has learned several dances and can accurately master the style and characteristics of Japanese dance. One day, the wife of Mr. Earthwork, the Japanese palace minister, came to visit Mrs. Yu. Rong Ling wanted to take the opportunity to show Mrs. Earthwork the Japanese dance she had learned, so she went back to her room and put on a Japanese kimono and came to the living room. Rong Ling said, "Mrs. Earthwork, in order to welcome you, I will perform a Japanese classical dance, Crane Turtle Dance." Mrs. Turku praised her after watching the performance. Unexpectedly, after the guests left, her mother reprimanded her and said, "Why don't you have any tutor at all? Who asked you to dance without the permission of adults?" I was so wronged that tears almost came out. The father dotes on his daughter and says, "Since you like dancing, you can dance as a pastime, but you can't perform on stage." And Rong Ling has secretly determined to be a dancer. Soon, my father invited a famous dance teacher from Hongye Hall, a first-class restaurant in Tokyo. After attending Chinese, Japanese and other courses every day, Rong Ling and her sister Deling learned Japanese dance with the teacher very happily.
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Yu Geng was transferred to France after serving as Minister in Japan for four years. So their family went to Paris, the capital of France. Once, the wife of a diplomat visited Yu Geng's house and saw that Rong Ling and Deling were beautiful and lovely, especially Rong Ling's slim figure and elegant demeanor. The wife said, "Isadora of the United States? Duncan is teaching dance in Paris. I have two daughters and you have two daughters. We can open a class for these four girls and ask Duncan to teach them. " Rong Ling was not nervous to see this modernist dancer. She improvised a few dance moves for Duncan to see. Duncan saw her graceful and free dancing posture and her body that was good at expressing her sense of * * *, and said with amazement, "Oh! This China girl has an extraordinary dance talent, and I will teach you for nothing. "
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after three years' hard work, Rong Ling got excellent grades, which surpassed all the students. On one occasion, Duncan compiled a dance drama based on ancient Greek myths and legends. When Duncan was looking for actors, he thought that Yu Rongling was the most suitable one to play, so Rong Ling played the leading role in this dance drama. Soon, this ballet came out, and her parents were invited by French friends to watch it. When Yu Geng and his wife saw that there was a girl in the play with long hair, a long skirt wrapped in white gauze and half her arms barefooted, it turned out to be her little daughter Rong Ling, and they immediately suppressed their anger. As soon as Rong Ling got home, Yu Geng said angrily, "You are a duke's princess. You must reflect at home on who made you show off on the foreign stage." So she was locked in a room, and the servant sent some bread and water to Rong Ling every day, and she was shut up for a week. But this punishment did not shake Rong's desire to become a dancer. She said to her father, "I want to dance anyway, and I have to learn ballet!" " Yu Geng saw that her daughter was determined and could not beat her, so she agreed to study ballet at Sanafni, a famous professor at the French National Opera House. So Rong Ling embarked on the road of ballet art, and then entered the Paris Music and Dance Academy for further study. Yu Rongling finally performed publicly in Paris. She performed two programs: One was Greek Dance and the other was Roses and Butterflies.
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after Yu Geng's term in France ended, his family returned to China. Soon Mrs. Yu, Deling and Rongling became empress dowager cixi.
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at the beginning of the three ladies' entry into the palace, one day after watching a play at the Leshou Hall, Cixi asked them about the manners and customs of foreign courts, and then asked Lady Yu, "Do you like music? What do you think of today's play? " Mrs. Yu said, "Today's play is excellent, but unfortunately I have no research on music. Although my second daughter is not good at school, she likes music very much. I have studied music and classical dance in foreign countries for several years. " Cixi said, "that's great. I always want the princess in Wangfu to learn dance, but I can't find the right person." Since Rong Ling can dance, let her study dance in the palace. " At that time, Rong Ling was still a layman to China dance. However, the acting activities in the palace created favorable conditions for Rong Ling. Palace practice, every day, 15th, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Chinese Valentine's Day, New Year, Cixi's birthday, the birthday of the emperor and queen. Tan Xinpei, Yang Xiaolou, Wang Yaoqing and others are the famous actors who are often introduced into the palace for acting. Whenever Cixi watched the performances of these famous actors, Rong Ling always stood by to watch, and soon she learned Kunqu Opera and many operas and dances.
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Yu Rongling attended the biggest performance in the court at the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War. At that time, Cixi was uneasy and worried. Li Lianying, the eunuch and general manager, came up with an idea to relieve the boredom of Cixi and said to Mrs. Yu, "Five girls can dance, so let her show it to Lafayette to solve her troubles." Mrs. Yu told Rong Ling. Rong Ling said, "I have practiced several China and foreign dances, but there is no band." Li Lianying said: "Foreign music is not a problem. Yuan Shikai has a western band. You can call them from Tianjin."
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On the fourth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival, spring is in full swing, and the Summer Palace is in full bloom, which is very beautiful. The "stage" is located in the courtyard of Leshoutang, with the throne of Cixi in the center, and the melancholy Guangxu sitting next to Cixi, with the queen and the Fujin and Gege of each palace standing on both sides. There is a big red carpet on the open space in the yard. On one side, there is a Chinese band, and the players are eunuchs. On the other side, there are more than 2 western bands of Yuan Shikai.
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The first dance that Yu Rongling danced was Spanish Dance. The second program, Ruyi Dance, was compiled by her according to the dancing of China's traditional operas and ancient paintings. She wore a red embroidered robe, combed her hair, and held a red "Ruyi" in her hand, symbolizing good luck and wishful thinking, accompanied by music with China ethnic characteristics, and her dance steps were elegant. When she finished the dance, she slowly danced to the front of Cixi and knelt down gently, and raised her hands. Eunuch Li Lianying took the "Ruyi" and handed it to Cixi. Cixi was really very happy. Then, Rong Ling changed clothes and danced the Greek Dance he learned in France. This performance made Cixi very satisfied. The Queen, Fujin and Gege admired Rong Ling's performance, which once again caused a sensation in the whole court. Since then, Rong Ling has often performed dances in the palace.
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Mrs. Yu, Deling and Rongling were female imperial officials in the palace for three or four years. Later, due to the recurrence of Yu Geng's old illness, they told Cixi that they were allowed to leave the palace. After a year, Guangxu and Cixi passed away one after another, and the three of them never returned to the palace. Rongling's dance art activities also stopped.