Every era has its own artistic masters.

He is the first genius in China to establish a systematic theory of drama; his "A Thousand Times" is the first true work on directing in the history of world drama; he is the earliest professional writer in the history of Chinese literature; he is

He is the publisher of the first Chinese painting book "The Mustard Seed Garden Painting Biography"... Li Yu, an artistic master who has been passed down for 400 years, has traveled through time and space and is influencing us.

It was night when we set up the stage to sing. Amidst the fresh and melodious sound of the flute, the rehearsal of Lanxi City's "Oriental Love" gala to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Li Yu's birth gradually began - in the center of the stage, a beam of light fell from the sky and fell on the statue of Li Yu. He held a fan in his right hand.

With my left hand pinching "Idle Love", it comes towards us like a dream... The autumn wind blows away the overlapping curtains of time and takes us along with the plot to visit this artistic master from 400 years ago.

Who in this world would set up a stage on the top of Mount Huashan to sing?

"In addition to the crazy show!" Li Caibiao, the 11th generation grandson of Li Yu, is also the vice president of the Lanxi City Li Yu Research Association. In the summer of 2011, while "looking for Li Yu's footprints", he once again visited the highest stage in the world - Canglong Ridge of Huashan Mountain.

This is the "premiere stage" of Li Yujia Troupe's opera career.

In the sixth year of Kangxi's reign (1667), 57-year-old Li Yu did something special - running a theater troupe.

That year, on the way back to Nanjing after a trip to Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu, he and his family and four children happily climbed Mount Huashan in Xiyue and "sung loudly" on Canglong Ridge.

"Gao Ge" on the top of Mount Huashan can be said to be the "first performance" of Li Yu's family troupe.

Before ascending Mount Huashan, Li Yu had already written 9 scripts, including "Lian Xiang Companion", "Kite Wrong", "Jade Scratching the Head", "Phantom Tower", "Flounder", and "Phoenix Seeking Phoenix", and started a family.

Working in a theater troupe and rehearsing his own scripts has been Li Yu's long-cherished dream for many years.

"Huashan provided Li Yu's troupe with an unprecedented Kunqu opera 'performance' platform, and it also became the beginning of a new era in Li Yu's opera career." Li Caibiao said that Li Yu served as the scriptwriter and director of the troupe and traveled far and wide to perform.

"However, all members of the troupe, no outsiders, are all his family members." In Li Yu's ups and downs life, the few years he lived in Mustard Seed Garden were his most prosperous and happiest time.

In Nanjing's Mustard Seed Garden, Li Yu often used family performances to make friends and make friends through play.

Li Yujia's class also often goes out to perform.

Sometimes, they go north along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal to Anhui, Shandong, Hebei and other places to sing halls and celebrate birthdays for dignitaries.

Sometimes, Li Yu's family also traveled west along the Yangtze River to places such as Wuhan in Hubei, Changsha in Hunan, and Jiujiang in Jiangxi. They performed while traveling and visited more than 10 provinces and cities. Their performances include "Nai He Tian", "Flounder",

"Phantom Tower" and other ten kinds of Li Weng's songs are mainly composed. The content is close to the social life at that time and has left a profound influence in various places.

The ever-living drama soul seems to be hidden in the drama box.

On August 15, 2011, in Xia Li Village, Lanxi, we discovered the play box No. 7 that had been wandering around. It read: In Xixia Li, Wuchen Mengxia, Li Shen repaired the hall and put the clothes box.

Village director Li Zhizhen proudly said that in addition to his hometown, Suzhou was also an important touring location for the Li family opera troupe. Li Yu had stayed in Suzhou Baihua Lane many times and purchased an apartment, which became a place for artistic exchange among opera celebrities at that time.

Li Yu wrote countless novels and scripts, and acted in countless plays throughout his life. However, the most beautiful and bizarre scene he performed may be that of himself - a dramatic genius who showed his talents on the stage. Now he

His life experiences were also reproduced on the stage in the form of drama.

Lanxi Wu Opera Troupe performed "Li Yu's Farewell", bringing Li Yu's image to the stage for the first time; Beijing People's Art Theater launched the drama "Boundless Love", starring famous actors Pu Cunxin and Xu Fan, recreating Li Yu's opera career; Nanjing author Zhao Jingyang

The scriptwriter's opera "The Mustard Seed Garden" will be performed in October this year.

In fact, Li Yu's favorite and most affectionate song in his life was probably Kunqu Opera.

Although a generation of talented people passed away in melancholy, they left behind "Ten Types of Legends of Li Weng", "A Collection of Essays from a Family", "Occasional Letters of Leisure", the novels "Liancheng Bi", "The Twelfth Floor"... for future generations to enjoy.

Life Li Yu once retired to his hometown during the Shunzhi period of the early Qing Dynasty.

In the eyes of the people of Xiali Village, life master Li Yu is still a person who attaches great importance to the quality of life.

In "Xian Qing Ou Ji", which he wrote after running a theater troupe, we can see that he has a lot of research on food and health.

Xia Li Village still uses the Li Yu Dam he invented to irrigate more than 1,800 acres of fertile farmland; it uses the local tap water he developed, uses hollowed bamboo to draw mountain springs, and installs switches so it can be used at any time; it is designed and manufactured by him himself.

A kind of desk used for heating in winter and reading at night.

It is conceivable that Li Yu lived a leisurely and comfortable life at that time. It is no wonder that more and more people in modern times regard him as a role model in life.