Zhang Qingyi's Postscript

The book Zhang in Tsing Yi was written in 2006 and completed at the end of 2009. Its shooting, editing and printing process takes a long time and costs a lot. The motivation for this comes from two aspects. First of all, it is because of Zhang Zhuoyue's artistic achievements and stage charm. Because of her talent, diligence, opportunity and persistence, Peking Opera is widely spread as a national quintessence. The voices, looks and temperament of classical women in China, as well as the feelings of compassion in the blood of national culture, are still the most vivid specimens on the stage. Second, it stems from a sense of responsibility. In the heyday of the 20th century, due to the limitations of technical conditions at that time and various reasons of the times, Peking Opera did not leave enough audio-visual materials, and most of those amazing masters and colorful art schools became famous. Nowadays, science and technology are developing rapidly. From a technical point of view, it is not difficult to shoot and print complete details. If there is a gap in this era, it is the absence and dereliction of duty as a publishing practitioner. In view of this, we hope to record an actor's artistic achievements and performance status at her best peak. I also hope that our records can reflect the beauty of the stage of this era and the charm of Beijing opera, so that this book not only has aesthetic significance, but also has historical value.

The editing of this book began at the end of 2008, and the more we edit it, the more regretful we feel, which is why we make it again and again. The more you shoot, the more you realize the difficulty of stage photography, the subtle change of actors' performance state, the photographer's grasp of rhythm and moment, the grasp of perspective and atmosphere, and the presentation of several writers' words. If it can be perfectly unified, it will not be easy. In this sense, shooting and editing have become endless work. For various reasons, we can only stop here. Although nearly 60 thousand pictures were taken, there are still many shortcomings. Therefore, when this book was published, we all felt uneasy. If we say, "There are many shortcomings in this book, please forgive and correct them", you will know that this is true. I hope we will have a chance to do better in the future. On the other hand, because of the high shooting cost and the difficulty of editing, the profound Peking Opera art is rarely recorded and presented in this way. This also makes us feel a little proud when doing this work. I hope that through our efforts, a trace of Beijing opera, a trace of blood, can be preserved and spread on paper.