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It was also a good thing to stay in New York for an extra day to watch the troupe of "Youth Edition of The Peony Pavilion" that came from China to tour the United States. It gave Zhou Buqi a chance to meet with Carl Icahn for a second time.

This time it wasn't Zhou Buqi who came to the door on his own initiative.

Carl Icahn asked him to talk more about Yahoo.

Zhou Buqi told him that at 10 o'clock in the morning, he would go to Changyou's side and the two parties could meet there. I got up early in the morning and went to the airport to pick someone up.

Not only Li Xinwan came, but also Jiang Bingjie.

The two walked down the gangway hand in hand, smiling broadly and waving from a distance. But it wasn't until they got in the car that they boldly threw themselves into Zhou Buqi's arms and made out for a while.

Zhou Buqi's car was a black Lincoln. It was very bulky and could not be driven without good driving skills.

But there is also an advantage.

Can be bulletproof.

New York is much more dangerous than Silicon Valley.

After the kiss, Li Xinwan was panting, with a pink face, and said excitedly: "Do you really want to watch "The Peony Pavilion for Youth"?"

Zhou Buqi said: "Well, the tickets are all bought. I read the introduction...it seems like they are doing some kind of global tour."

"Yes, global tour." Li Xinwan nodded beautifully, with the corners of her mouth turning up slightly, feeling a sense of pride that resonated with her own experience. "This is the best opera art in the country and the ancestor of all operas. It has appeared since the end of the Yuan Dynasty. The existing ones in the country Most of the operas came into being in the Qing Dynasty, and many elements of singing, chanting, and beating are taken from Kun Opera."

She was born in a folk art family and had received folk art education since she was a child. Of course she was very aware of this kind of thing.

Zhou Buqi was half-illiterate in front of her, "Is it the end of the Yuan Dynasty? Then all the opera forms of the Tang and Song Dynasties and even earlier ones were lost?"

Li Xinwan said softly: "Yes, it has been lost. Different eras have different preferences, especially foreign invasions that have the greatest impact on culture. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, Peking Opera dominated the entire drama world, and a large number of Peking Opera masters appeared. At that time, Kun Opera was almost lost. Fortunately, some seniors from the Kun Opera family couldn't bear it, so they found comprador capitalists in Shanghai, asked for a sum of money, found more than 40 children, and taught them boy skills to learn Kun Opera. . These children are the predecessors of the 'chuan' generation who brought Kun Opera back to life. The disciples of the 'chuan' generation are the 'step' generation, and my grandfather is a disciple of the 'step' generation."

Zhou Buqi winked at her, "Expert."

Li Xinwan pursed her lips and said softly: "However, after the reform and opening up, various new forms of entertainment have come in, and Kun Opera will not be able to do it... Not only Kun Opera, but all folk arts projects will not be able to do it. Peking Opera is the quintessence of the country, and it has A lot of financial funds are needed to support it. Kunqu Opera is relatively niche, so there is no money. Many seniors who are still alive are level 6 actors and level 7 actors, and some are even farming in rural areas. Not even subsistence allowance."

Now Zhou Buqi understood why Ning Yameng was so active in persuading him to move closer to art.

This can not only cultivate your moral character, but also improve your personal taste and aesthetics.

The point is that many traditional arts are really struggling to survive in modern society.

This requires money!

Li Xinwan continued: "Fortunately, Mr. Bai came at this time. He is a great writer. He re-written and deleted "The Peony Pavilion". He also invited Professor Zhou, a Qing composer, for guidance, and also invited the "successor" generation Seniors came to teach, and everyone worked together to create "Youth Version of Peony Pavilion". After this play was released, it became popular immediately, and Kun Opera came back to life again, which also attracted the attention of the country. Sister Shen is very young By then he will be a national first-class actor.”

This pile of names made Zhou Buqi a little dizzy, and he could only ask one by one: "Mr. Bai? Who is it?"

Li Xinwan said: "Bai Xianyong, a great writer."

Zhou Buqi said "Oh" like thunder, "The son of Bai Chongxi, the warlord of the Republic of China!"

Li Xinwan blinked and nodded lightly, "Well, that's him. When he was a child, he lived in mainland China and was influenced by Kun Opera culture, which he remembered for his whole life. When Kun Opera encountered a crisis, he took the initiative to come. He is a member of "Youth Edition" The biggest contributor to "The Peony Pavilion" is that he is the screenwriter, and he promoted this project. He also raised the money from his friends. It is said that he spent tens of millions to make "The Peony Pavilion for Youth" what it is today."

Zhou Buqi then asked: "Who is Professor Zhou? His surname is Zhou, just like me."

Li Xinwan chuckled and said: "Qing opera masters are very educated. They come from a Kunqu opera family and are the greatest authority in this field. Even if the Kunqu opera is sung by an old gentleman of the 'pass' generation or the 'succession' generation, he He can also pick out the mistakes and then provide guidance, and he even gave guidance to me."

Seeing that the sponsor's father didn't seem to understand, Li Xinwan further explained, "Kun Opera is different from Peking Opera. Peking Opera was for the Lower Riba people back then...Popular music was a popular entertainment in the Qing Dynasty and a folk thing. Kun Opera is not the same." It’s the same. When it was born, it was either a folk thing or an art of the scholar-bureaucrat class.”

Zhou Buqi nodded, "Well, I watched the script of "The Peony Pavilion" last night. The words are written like Tang poetry and Song poetry."

"Yes, this is the biggest difference between Kun Opera and other dramas." Li Xinwan talked about Kun Opera, her eyes seemed to be shining. After all, this is something she has studied and been nurtured since she was a child. "Kun Opera is not a folk creation. They were created by great writers in ancient times. For example, "The Peony Pavilion" was created by the drama master Tang Xianzu, and "The Palace of Eternal Life" was created by the playwright Hong Sheng."

Zhou Buqi seemed to understand what he meant, "But the actors in ancient times had no social status and were all illiterate. These illiterate people could make up their own lyrics and sing Peking Opera, but they could not sing Kun Opera on their own."

Li Xinwan said sweetly: "Yes, that's what it means. Because the threshold of Kun Opera is too high, you must first understand the connotation and meaning of the words when performing, but how can the young actors understand it? So the singing and reading of the original version of "The Peony Pavilion" are done In fact, beating can all originate from Tang Xianzu of the Ming Dynasty, who taught the actors to sing word by word, movement and pronunciation, and then passed it down to this day."

Zhou Buqi said: "But actors are uneducated and will inevitably lose shape during the performance, so there will be other writers who understand music to give guidance and corrections."

Li Xinwan smiled sweetly and said: "Yes, this is a Qing opera artist. This is different from Peking Opera. In Peking Opera, Peking Opera masters such as Mei Lanfang and Yu Shuyan are the authorities. They perform how they say they should perform. Kun Opera is different in terms of cultural level. It's too deep. In addition, Kunqu Opera and Suzhou Opera have been influenced by Mandarin in recent years, and the pronunciation is no longer accurate... It must be studied by senior scholars, professors, and literary giants. Those who are "passed" characters, Although the predecessors of the "Zi generation" have performed all their lives and are well-deserved performing artists, they have not received much cultural education since childhood. They are more of a "performance tool". Just like the language of movies, performing artists are actors, and Qingqu Home is the director.”

Zhou Buqi was in awe, "This is an artistic treasure. The threshold is ridiculously high."

Li Xinwan chuckled and said, "So now, children who have learned Kunqu opera since childhood have to go to drama school and do theoretical studies when they grow up. I used to study in the drama school where I went to drama. I can't just learn acting, but also We need to deeply understand the cultural heritage inside.”

Zhou Buqi took a deep breath, "Where's Sister Shen? Who is she?"

Li Xinwan said: "She should be the heroine you saw on the poster, the one who played Du Liniang in "The Peony Pavilion"."

"Oh, it's her." Zhou Buqi nodded, "Do you know her?"

Li Xinwan just smiled.

Zhou Buqi was surprised, "What's wrong?"

"I..." Li Xinwan pointed to her heart, a little bit jealous, "I was also the reserve heroine of "The Peony Pavilion for Youth", and I was the youngest Du Liniang. Since it is "The Peony Pavilion for Youth", it means It can't be like the traditional "Peony Pavilion" where it can be played for a lifetime. It has to be played by young people. At the beginning, I was the most promising Du Liniang to succeed Sister Shen and become the next youth version of The Peony Pavilion!"

Zhou Buqi was shocked. He didn't expect this girl to be so good. "Then why don't you sing?"

Li Xinwan glanced at him with a faint expression, "Isn't this an actor?"

Zhou Buqi was heartbroken, "It's overkill!"

How can a small-time actor be as important as the leading actress in a Kun Opera masterpiece?

This is not a level art form at all.

Li Xinwan sighed softly, "Kun Opera actors are too poor, and this industry is not profitable at all. Today's young people, except for those whose families have taught their children to learn Kun Opera from elementary school, who else can learn it? If you want to learn it, you can do it." A child from a poor family. Even Sister Shen, the heroine of "The Peony Pavilion", became a national first-class actor in her twenties, but the amount of money she makes in a year is probably only ten of mine. One percent. This doesn’t even count the money you gave me and the gifts you gave me.”

…

Send Li Xinwan and Jiang Bingjie home, settle in, and let them get off the jet lag and rest.

Zhou Buqi went to the company.

Met Carl Icahn who had been waiting for a long time.

As soon as we met, Carl Icahn said anxiously: "Zhou, I agree with your plan! As long as the price is right, I will run this thing and sell Yahoo to you!"

Zhou Buqi said with a smile: "This is the best solution. It is good for the investors, the founder team, and even better for Yahoo."

Carl Icahn: "But I have a condition."

"explain."

"Yahoo cannot be delisted."

"Huh?" Zhou Buqi raised his eyebrows, "If we can't cooperate with 100% of the equity, it would be meaningless. I have no interest in investing in Yahoo, and Yahoo is hopeless now. What I want to do is to get 100% of the equity. stake in Yahoo, and then completely transform Yahoo and bring Yahoo back to life."

"It's not a contradiction," Carl Icahn said with a smile.

"Why isn't it contradictory?"

"Isn't Ziweixing International not listed on the market yet? It's just right!"