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Gao Yuanjun

Shandong kuaishu performer and founder of the Gao school, who gave the form its name when recording Lu Da Rids the Town of a Bully in 1949 and was famed for his Wu Song cycle.

Also known as Born Gao Jinshan

Gao Yuanjun, born Gao Jinshan in Ningling, Henan, left home at seven to earn a living as a street performer, reached Nanjing at eleven and at fourteen became a pupil of Qi Yongli in Shandong kuaishu, then popularly called Wu Lao'er after its Wu Song stories. In June 1949, recording Lu Da Rids the Town of a Bully at the Great China Record Company in Shanghai, he formally named the form Shandong kuaishu. His fiery, humorous delivery became known as the Gao school, and his many pupils spread the art widely. His best-known pieces include the long Wu Song cycle, Lu Da Rids the Town of a Bully, Li Kui Seizes the Fish and Zhao Kuangyin Raises Havoc at the Ma Family Inn. He died of illness in Beijing on 3 March 1993.

Life and times

  1. 1916 CEBornRepublican EraModern Era
  2. 1993 CEDied

Works

  1. Stage · Storytelling2
    1. Wu Song Fights the Tiger1930s–1940s (Gao Yuanjun's performing version)The Jingyang Ridge section of the long Shandong kuaishu Wu Song story, usually performed on its own
    2. Lu Da Rids the Town of a BullyJune 1949 (recorded by Gao Yuanjun in Shanghai)Gao Yuanjun's 1949 record of this piece gave Shandong kuaishu its name