Eternal Love Story – Couples in Chinese Opera Classics
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Introduction
Parting has always been such heart-breaking sorrow,
More so on a crisp, forlorn autumn day.
Where shall I be when I wake from my drunken sleep tonight?
By the willow bank, in the morning breeze, under the sickle moon.
I shall be gone for a long time, good times and beautiful sceneries are now meaningless.
Despite a thousand feelings and thoughts, to whom can I tell?
This is one of the poems by Song dynasty poet, Liu Yong (circa 984 – circa 1053) that have “hundreds and thousands of nuanced feelings of love” embedded in them. For the last eight hundred years, these nuances have created classic stories of love in Chinese opera, from the zaju (Za Opera) and nanxi (Southern Opera) of the Yuan period to the numerous regional operas of today. They may have ‘happy endings’ like The Story of the West Chamber; or ‘bad endings’ as in many other classics with lovers forced to take the bane of love, but they have gone down in history and been celebrated by time.
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and the Imperial Concubine Lady Yang: even the sky and earth may end, yet this regret shall forever remain
The love story of Yang Yuhuan (Lady Yang) and Li Longji (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang) must be the most exemplary ‘love of everlasting regret’ in Chinese history. A similar king-and-consort type of love story, that of the overlord of Western Chu, Xiang Yu, and his concubine Yu Ji, has a different overtone. Yu Ji chooses to sacrifice her life for Xiang Yu - she would not be her lover’s burden, so he can go back to his home country without worries and return for his vengeance in the future. This beautiful and touching love story focuses on the strongly proactive portrayal of the female versus the hero with a frustrating dilemma. Because of this, Yu Ji is remembered as a woman of dignity and loyalty. Yet in the ‘Yang and Emperor’ story, Yang Yuhuan is killed in a political crisis which her lover the Emperor is helpless to resolve. She ends up being regarded as the face that only brings bad fortune to her lover and calamities to others. Despite this, her tragic love story is no less touching than that of Yu Ji.
Tang dynasty poem Song of Everlasting Regret
The unfulfilled love between Lady Yang and Emperor Xuanzong is canonized in the long poem, Song of Everlasting Regret, by Tang poet, Bai Juyi, of the 8th century. In it there are these lines, ‘(Yang’s) natural beauty could not be concealed, and she became the chosen companion of the Emperor’. They were so passionately in love that ‘romantic nights were too short, even though the sun was already high in the sky’. The Emperor no longer wanted to hold the early court. What followed was that “one day the war drums from Yuyang came thundering and shook the earth, interrupting the tune of the Rainbow and Feather Garments’. It was an uprising led by General An Lushan. The Emperor’s ‘indulgence in a beautiful face led to the fall of the empire’, and caused extreme grievance in the army. The soldiers refused to go into battle, and even the Emperor could not move them. At the end, Yang, the ‘beauty with such frail charm’ was brutally strangled to death before the army at the Mawei Slope. The country was saved – at least for a while. The Emperor continued mourning and missing his beauty day and night. ‘On the seventh day of the seventh moon, in the Palace of Eternal Life, they shared sweet whisperings in the quiet of the night’. But that only took place in a dream.
Japanese literature The Tale of Genji
The penchant for tragic love stories seems to be universal, and the story of Lady Yang crossed the ocean and landed in Japan. In The Tale of Genji, the earliest classical narrative in Japanese literature written by Murasaki Shikibu in the 10th century, opens in Chapter 1, The Paulonia Court, with the story of Lady Yang as the reference, and points the direction for the heart-breaking love story of Kiritsubono Koui and Kiritsubo Tei.
Classics in Chinese Opera
On the Chinese opera stage, Lady Yang’s story has inspired many versions. From Bai Pu’s zaju (Za Opera) entitled The Firmiana Rain of the Yuan period, Hong Sheng’s The Palace of Eternal Life of the Qing period, to Mei Lanfang’s renowned Peking Opera The Unofficial Biography of Taizhen (written by Qi Rushan) of the 1920s, and Mei’s signature playlet, The Drunken Imperial Concubine, which was adapted from the old pihuangxi – the love story of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and The Imperial Concubine Lady Yang has been performed over and again on theatre stages, and at various private and public entertainment venues where their everlasting love, sorrow and regret stay on.
Kunqu Opera The Palace of Eternal Life
Traditional Kunqu has preserved many excerpts from Hong Sheng’s The Palace of Eternal Life. The frequently performed ones include The Tavern, The Dance, Complaints in the Pavilion, The Secret Vow, The Small Feast, Shocked, Burying the Beauty, Hearing the Bell, and Lamenting the Statue. Since the 1980s, using the excerpts passed down from the ‘Chuan’ generation of veteran Kunqu artists as basis, the Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe has supplemented and revised various aspects like the stylised movements, vocal styles and music of the play, so as to highlight the exquisite presentation flow, singing and dancing characteristics of Kunqu. The final outcome was a full-version of The Palace of Eternal Life with martial arts included as well. Yet improvement to the staging continues to this day. One of the remarkable pairings of stars was Cai Zhengren and Zhang Jingxian, and together they created an exemplary masterpiece of Kunqu on The Palace of Eternal Life. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe has been able to groom three generations of consummate performers to continue with the staging of the legend.
Peking Opera The Unofficial Biography of Taizhen and The Drunken Imperial Concubine
But the legacy already began forming a century before. In the 1920s, Mei Lanfang put together the serialized Peking Opera performance of The Unofficial Biography of Taizhen with a star-studded cast, such as casting Wang Fengqing as Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and Jiang Miaoxiang was Gao Lishi. A new vocal style was also created. The play instantly became one of the classics in the stock repertory of the Mei school of Peking Opera. To this day, the performing system has been passed down by the China National Peking Opera Company. The star pairing of Yu Kuizhi as Emperor Xuanzong and Li Shengsu as Lady Yang is considered as the most exemplary for the Peking Opera stage today.
Another signature play of Mei Lanfang was The Drunken Imperial Concubine. It calls for the stylised acting of two different genres of female roles, qingyi (virtuous female) and huashan (a virtuous, vivacious and unmarried woman), with emphasis on both the singing and the acting. The episode describes Lady Yang’s mounting jealousy as she waits for the Emperor at the Hundred Blossoms Pavilion to enjoy the flowers and drinking together. As he fails to keep the appointment and favours another concubine instead, Lady Yang can only drown her frustration with wine. The play uses sipingdiao, a vocal style of Peking Opera that mesmerizes many audiences. The three times she drinks from the cup are delivered in three different stylised movements, a twisting of the waist, a flip and a backward bend. The acrobatic-like movements give vivid externalization of the pent-up feelings of the jealous woman, and give an effective visual presentation of the pains of unfulfilled love.
The young lovers from The Dream of the Red Chamber, Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu – “People laugh at me for being sentimental in burying the fallen blossoms, but who knows who would be the one to bury me when I pass away?”
Daiyu prefers separation to being together, while Baoyu prefers being together to separation – this is the best summing up of the fate of these two young lovers who remain apart in the end. Like fallen leaves that gather on the ground and then go their separate ways, their love ends with Daiyu passing away in lonesome sadness, while Baoyu takes the tonsure to pursue spiritual awakening. Qing Dynasty writer Cao Xueqin (1715 – 1763) finished his 120-chapter masterpiece The Dream of the Red Chamber, also known as The Story of the Stone, in the first half of the 18th century. It tells of a stone falling from heaven to the human world, and is fated to go through the joys and sorrows of life until it comes to be enlightened, as depicted in Buddhist thoughts. There is also the depiction of the fate of each of the twelve women of Jinling, who are doomed to sorrow for their complicated, entangled love for Baoyu. Adaptations of The Dream of the Red Chamber in Chinese opera and other forms of art mostly focus on the love triangle among Daiyu, Baoyu and Baochai. But the love between Daiyu and Baoyu – albeit unfulfilled – forms the core of the story.
Kunqu Opera The Dream of the Red Chamber
During the Qianlong-Jiaqing period of the Qing dynasty (or the turn of the 19th century), Jiangsu writer Zhong Zhenkui made the first opera adaptation of The Dream of the Red Chamber, and produced the Kunqu playlet Burying Flowers. He went on to complete Legend of the Dream of the Red Chamber, an opera of over 50 acts. Zhong was the first to adapt Cao Xueqin’s magnum opus, The Dream of the Red Chamber into operatic work on stage, and it was already the last decade of the 18th century when he did that. By the 21st century, the Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre created a two-part grand production of extravagance and mega investment, the ‘extravagant youth version’ of The Dream of the Red Mansions, performed on two nights. The production has a brilliant cast accompanied by a full-scale orchestra, with added intermezzo written in Chinese music style. The strong cast includes Wei Chunrong as Wang Xifeng, Shi Hongmei as Lady Wang, and Yuan Huiqin as Dowager Jia. The young actors Weng Jiahui (the female actor in transvestite role) and Shi Xiaming as Baoyu, Zhu Bingzhen and Zhang Yuanyuan as Daiyu, and Shao Tianshuai and Wang Liyuan as Baochai. Among the young actors, Weng’s transvestite performance of Baoyu has cast deep impressions on the audience. Since its premiere in 2010 by the Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre, the play has received numerous national awards and continues to be performed in China as well as abroad.
Yue Opera The Dream of the Red Chamber
If there is a certain genre of regional opera that can create a repertory of ‘artistic identity’ vis-à-vis cultural, historical and social factors as well as their artists, the two Yue Opera versions of The Dream of the Red Chamber and The Butterfly Lovers may fit the bill. Mentioning of the titles seems to be invariably associated with Yue Opera. Premiered in 1958, The Dream of the Red Chamber has a star-studded cast that features Xu Yulan (Baoyu), Wang Wenjuan (Daiyu), Chen Lanfang (Baochai), Tang Yueying (Wang Xifeng), Zhou Baokui (Grandmother Jia), Xu Huiqin (Jia Zheng), Meng Liying (Zijuan) and more. It has achieved an impressive record of 55 full-house performances non-stop. The successful portrayals of the young protagonists – the candid and rebellious Baoyu and the sentimental Daiyu – and the beautiful elegant lyrics attracted audiences of all backgrounds. As a relatively young genre in Chinese opera, this Yue Opera production won a wide following everywhere it went. The 1962 two-part colour film version of the play was equally well received. When the film was released again in China in 1978, it hit the highest box-office record of the time.
Cantonese Opera The Romantic Monk
A Cantonese Opera counterpart enjoyed similar success in another part of China. After World War II, at the end of the 1940s, Cantonese Opera superstar Ho Fei-fan and his Fei Fan Heung Opera Troupe teamed up with renowned Cantonese Opera actress Chor Chuk-wan, to stage his signature play, The Romantic Monk. With his one-of-a-kind vocal style, his debonair persona and gentlemanly mien, Ho created a uniquely different image of Jia Baoyu. Together with the brilliant acting of his co-star in the scenes of Burying Flowers and Burning the Manuscripts before Death, the ingenious stage and lighting design, The Romantic Monk made a record 300 full-house performances. In 1956, the play was made into a film with Chun Kim as director, but the female lead was changed to Cheng Bik-ying as Daiyu.
Peking Opera Daiyu Buries Fallen Flowers
Peking Opera came into its own as a genre after 1790, the year when the four major Anhui opera troupes went to Beijing to perform in honour of Emperor Qianlong’s 80th birthday. However, plays derived from The Dream of the Red Chamber story did not seem to thrive. This probably had something to do with its acting, which was very different from other action plays like Three Kingdoms, The Water Margin etc., which could easily synergize with a Peking Opera performance. It was not until the latter half of the 19th century that actors started performing playlets like Daiyu Buries Fallen Flowers and Baoyu Discards His Jade. But the traditional costumes and images, such as Daiyu donning a huge hairdo and a cape, were often ridiculed for not conforming with the popular imagination of Daiyu at the time. In the early 20th century, Mei Lanfang staged the Peking Opera version of Daiyu Buries Fallen Flowers, adapted by Qi Rushan, at the Jixiang Theatre in Beijing. The cast included Jiang Miaoxiang as Baoyu and Yao Yufu as Zijuan. The hairdo and costumes followed the image of the ladies in ancient Chinese paintings, and this innovative change received great reviews. A critic wrote, ‘The image of Daiyu is thoughtfully designed. When she buries the flowers, she wears a rose coloured jacket of soft silk that opens at the front and a long white skirt, a short organza apron around the waist, ribbons on both sides with jade pieces dangling…’ From that moment on, the frail beauty and melancholy image of Daiyu were all depicted along these lines, even to this day. Her lamentable love is also captured in these famous lines, ‘I bury the flowers today, who will bury me tomorrow?’ The scene of Baoyu mourning at her chamber follows, but the lovers are forever separated by death.
The Butterfly Lovers: unfulfilled ‘brotherly’ love
Without the performing art of Chinese opera and literature as cultural vehicles, most probably the love story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai – better known to the English reader as ‘the butterfly lovers’ – would not have become part of the colourful tapestry of contemporary everyday life. The story of the Liang-Zhu lovers has quite a long history in Chinese folklore. A simple account of the story can be found in local histories and notes as early as the Tang period, but it has not been canonized like The Departed Soul and The Story of Ying Ying. The early narratives featured Zhu Yingtai as the protagonist and lauded her as a virtuous woman. One example was the designation of Zhu’s tomb as ‘The Tomb of the Virtuous Woman’, a move initiated by Xie An, Prime Minister of the Jin dynasty, in praise of her sacrificing her life for her lover. From the title of the zaju (Za Opera) play by the Yuan dynasty playwright, Bai Pu, Zhu Yingtai’s Marriage in Death to Liang Shanbo, now lost to time, one can see that the story’s protagonist is Zhu Yingtai. Only fragments of libretto and playlets on the Liang-Zhu theme from the Yuan and Ming periods survive today. One reference came from the lyrics of a narrative singing with drum accompaniment, which existed in the Qing period, called The Tale Under the Willow Shade, so named because in the story, that is where the lovers meet for the first time.
The Rise of the Liang-Zhu Story
But from the zaju (Za Opera) of the Yuan period to the Peking Operas and regional operas of the early 20th century, Liang-Zhu had never been one of the love stories frequently performed on the opera stage or told in literature. Compared with other love stories that had become ‘classics’, such as Cui Yingying and Scholar Zhang (The Story of the West Chamber), Du Liniang and Liu Mengmei (Peony Pavilion), Yang Yuhuan and Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (The Palace of Eternal Life), and Lin Daiyu and Jia Baoyu (The Dream of the Red Chamber), the Liang-Zhu couple was never regarded as being on the same par. The story only grew in popularity in the 1950’s, when it was performed on stage as Yue Opera and Sichuan Opera, with the latter giving rise to an adaptation in Peking Opera. In 1953, a colour film version of the story titled The Butterfly Lovers was a hit in China and other Chinese communities all over the world. The heat wave culminated in the 1963 Huangmeidiao film, The Love Eterne, produced by the Shaw Brothers Pictures, which took the box office everywhere by storm. The actress, Ivy Ling Po, who played the transvestite role as Liang Shanbo, rose to idol status and was dubbed by her fans as ‘the eternal Brother Liang’. Since then, the Liang-Zhu legacy has continued in different genres: films, television drama series, Chinese opera performances, etc. It has extended into the fabric of everyday life to this day. As a result, the Liang-Zhu story has finally found its pedestal as a classic among love stories.
Yue Opera The Butterfly Lovers
In the early days of Yue Opera, the performing practice involved a small group of male actors travelling to different villages and visiting houses to sing and perform. There were already self-contained playlets of the Liang-Zhu story. After the system changed to an all-female cast, a complete version, The Sad Story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, was in place by the end of 1930’s, with Yuan Xuefen as Zhu and Ma Zhanghua as Liang. In the late 1940’s, Yuan and Fan Ruijuan (as Liang Shanbo) formed a new partnership on stage, and the script was expanded into two parts. They also created the vocal style of xianxiadiao. There is also another version with Fan Ruijuan and Fu Chuanxiang (as Zhu Yingtai) playing the two main characters. In 1952, both the Yue Opera and Sichuan Opera versions were presented at the National Chinese Traditional Theatre Demonstration Show and were a phenomenal success. The following year, when the film version of the Yue Opera featuring Yuan Xuefen and Fan Ruijuan was launched, it was a milestone event because it was the first colour film made since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. It was a hit both at home and abroad as well. As a young operatic genre, Yue Opera distinguishes itself with its elegant style of performance, accessibility to the masses, and a flowing vocal style. All of these come together as elements of success in mass entertainment. By using a female actor to play the male role of Liang Shanbo, and a female actor to play the female Zhu Yingtai disguised as a male, this exemplary operatic performance vividly illustrates the strong power of hearts calling for love and portends the devastation to follow. Whether it is stage performance or on the cinema screen, all successful ‘Liang Shanbos’ were played by female actors. In Yingtai Mourning, which is one of the ‘three famous crying scenes’ in the repertoire of the Yuan Xuefen stylistic school, the singing and the lyrics seem to tear from a heart dripping with blood as Yingtai bids the last farewell to her love. The artistic rendering makes the Yue Opera version of the Liang-Zhu story the ultimate classic among all genres of Chinese opera.
Sichuan Opera The Tale Under the Willow Shade
In the early 1950’s, artists in the Sichuan Opera circle revised the old script by referencing relevant scripts in the other Chinese opera genres, narrative singing etc., and came up with The Tale Under the Willow Shade. It was a great success at the National Chinese Traditional Theatre Demonstration Show and later became, in turn, a reference for other Liang-Zhu stories in Peking Opera and other operatic genres. The most prominent feature of this Sichuan Opera version is that it ends with the lovers transforming into birds rather than butterflies. It is said that though butterflies are gorgeous in looks, they are fragile and short-lived, while birds live longer and are stronger. As writer Yu Qiuyu describes, Sichuan people are ‘rebellious with stunning glamour’. Using the image of birds to represent the ill-fated lovers is perhaps an effective reflection of the character of the Sichuan people.
Peking Opera The Tale Under the Willow Shade
The Peking Opera The Tale Under the Willow Shade was adapted from Sichuan Opera in 1953 by the China National Peking Opera Company, and the style of the original source was maintained to a large extent. Renowned actors Ye Shenglan and Du Jinfang played Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai respectively; the vocal style was devised by Wang Yaoqing. The lyrics also followed that of the Sichuan Opera, and Liang’s lines: ‘As the older brother, I blame myself for being so dumb to the realise the loving intention of my younger brother’, a premonition of the fate of the two lovers in the end. In 1954, Cheng Yanqiu, one of the ‘Four Greats in Female Roles’, created the new playlet, Zhu Yingtai Refuses to be Married. It was also the last work of his illustrious artistic career. In it, there were many breakthroughs whether in terms of lyrics or vocal style. To this day, the story of Liang-Zhu is still often performed in Peking Opera – the more recent being the 2014 version of Liang-Zhu, and the 2016 re-staging of The Tale Under the Willow Shade by the China National Peking Opera Company, with Du Jinfang and Ye Xiaolan (son of Ye Shenglan) giving personal training of young actors born in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
Cantonese Opera The Lamentable Story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai
In Cantonese Opera, the most representative interpretation of the Liang-Zhu story may be The Lamentable Story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, an original production starring Fong Yim-fun and Yam Kim-fai in 1955. The Chinese title was only different from that of the Yue Opera by one character, The Sad Story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. The Cantonese Opera production impressed the audience with its beautiful and elegant lyrics, the touching and lilting vocal style, and the stage design which was complete with ‘a revolving stage, seven three-dimensional settings, and glamourous costumes’.
Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen: love between a mortal and a spirit
The Legend of the White Snake was first told in Jiangnan, the area south of the Yangtze River, and became popular in Chinese folklore over time. The earliest documented version can be found in The Story of the Three Pagodas of the West Lake, in the collection entitled Tales of Qingpingshan Hall. Written during the transition years of the Song and Yuan regimes, the book contained tales from the Song, Yuan and Ming periods, and was published during the Ming dynasty. There was also Madam White Trapped Forever under the Leifeng Pagoda in Stories to Caution the World by Feng Menglong (1574-1646). The Legend of the Leifeng Pagoda, a chuangqi play by another Ming dynasty writer, Chen Liulong, is said to be the earliest Chinese opera on this story although the text has already been lost. During the Qianlong period of the Qing dynasty, both Huang Tubi (1700 – ?) and Fang Chengpei (1713 – ?) had written The Legend of the Leifeng Pagoda, and it was Fang’s version that had the stronger influence on the stage adaptations that followed. Chen Yuqian of the Qing dynasty had written the tanxi piece, The Full Legend of the Righteous Demon, for narrative singing performance.
Story about the White Snake
As theatrical performances, most genres of regional Chinese opera have the White Snake story in their repertory. The story is about the love between the white snake demon, Bai Suzhen, and the scholar Xu Xian. But their love is condemned by Monk Fahai, a self-proclaimed upholder of righteousness who regards the relationship as being in violation with the Laws of Nature. Fahai believes that the snake demon is set out to harm the human, and her love cannot be true. But the truth is otherwise. The White Snake is wholeheartedly in love with Xu Xian: ‘though I’m a spirit, I love you dearly’ (line from Tian Han’s play). Although the scholar is not as steadfast in his love for her, he realizes in the end that ‘although you’re a snake, my heart will never change’ (ditto). In order to save Xu Xian, the White Snake joins hands with the Green Snake to steal the celestial herb, and later, in order to find Xu Xian, she fights against Fahai despite being pregnant. She loses the fight, and after giving birth to a baby on the Broken Bridge, she is trapped under the Leifeng Pagoda by Fahai’s magic.
Peking Opera The Legend of the White Snake
The Legend of the White Snake is in the repertory of many genres of Chinese traditional theatre. The script in the Peking Opera repertory was written in the early 1950’s by Tian Han, initially entitled The Story of the Gold Alms Bowl. The play was adapted from an old version in the Peking Opera and Kunju repertories. The episode of Stealing from the Treasury was taken out from the final version, and the rescue of the White Snake by the Green Snake was added. The vocal style of this Peking Opera was devised by Wang Yaoqing. Liu Xiurong and Du Jinfang played the White Snake, and Zhang Chunxiao and Ye Shenglan played Xu Xian. With elements of traditional theatre all deployed - martial art, acting and singing in the ‘civil’ category – this Peking Opera version has its own unique characteristics. Now sixty years on, it has become one of the classics in the Peking Opera repertory. The spin-off playlet, Jinshan Temple, featuring two pairs of stars - Mei Lanfang with Zhu Guifang, and Cheng Yanqiu with Song Dezhu – was also highly acclaimed. Another spin-off, The Broken Bridge, performed by Mei Lanfang and Kunju actor Yu Zhenfei, has long been regarded as ‘the best there was’ in the Kunju repertory.
Yue Opera The Legend of the White Snake
The Yue Opera version popularly found in Zhejiang used to be performed during the Dragon Boat Festival in the early 20th century. At that time, the troupes had an all male cast. But in the early 1950’s, it was adapted to contain a mixed gender cast, with female actors in transvestite roles. The new version cast Yuan Xuefan as the White Snake, Fan Ruijuan as Xu Xian, and Wu Xiaolou as Fahai. A lot of attention was given to creating the aesthetic appeal of this production, such as scenography, costume, lighting and choreography, and it was a huge success. Later Qi Yaxian (as Bai Suzhen) and Bi Chunfang (as Xu Xian) re-staged it and it was recognized for its unique presentation. For the past six decades, The Legend of the White Snake has always been popular on the Yue Opera stage. There was a film version made in late 2015 for nationwide screening.
Wu Opera The Legend of the White Snake
Among the many stage productions of the ‘White Snake’, the Wu Opera version is perhaps the most lauded. As a theatrical genre that uses many vocal styles of singing, Wu Opera only came into its own in the early 1950s. Its presentation of The Legend of the White Snake is exemplary of how Wu Opera crosses the line between the ‘martial’ and the ‘civil’ categorisation, with the ‘civil’ part showing a soft, feminine charm, and the ‘martial’ part, filled with crisp, fast action. In it, the actor playing Xu Xian needs to deliver acrobatic stunts like the ‘crouching stance’, ‘headlong flip’, ‘rolling off the back’ and ‘tiger pouncing’. As for the actors playing the White Snake and Green Snake, they need to dance and execute stylised movements such as ‘the snake slither’, ‘the serpentine body’ etc. to portray their original beastly form. When the playlet Broken Bridge was performed in Beijing during the early 1960s, Premier Zhou Enlai praised it as ‘the number one Bridge’ in Chinese theatre, and this catapulted the playlet to nationwide fame.
Cantonese Opera Shilin Paying Respects to His Mother Trapped under the Pagoda
The Cantonese Opera versions about the White Snake legend also have their unique appeal, which made them quite popular in Shanghai at one time. During the first two decades of the 20th century, Cantonese Opera huadan actress (in female lead role), Lee Suet-fong was renowned for her portrayal of the White Snake and was so popular that every time she appeared in a performance, she was expected to include this. She was recognized for her innovative vocal style in Shilin Paying Respects to His Mother Trapped under the Pagoda, which is dubbed the ‘pagoda vocal style’. The delivery is in fanxian erhuang and in slow tempo, which vividly expresses the mixed emotions of the White Snake on her reunion with her son after having been trapped under the Leifeng Pagoda for eighteen years. In 1920, Lee performed it in Shanghai and drew a lot of attention from the Chinese opera circles as well as the academia. The ‘pagoda vocal style’ is a highly regarded legacy in contemporary Cantonese Opera in Hong Kong, with new generations of artists working hard to inherit it and reproduce its uniqueness on stage today.
English translation: KCL Language Consultancy Ltd.
Extension Reading
Stirring Stunts of Xinchang Diaoqiang and Ninghai Pingdiao Operas
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Xinchang Diaoqiang Opera
Xinchang Diaoqiang Opera, an important operatic genre in Zhejiang, has a long history. The term diaoqiang first appeared in Ming scholar Zhang Dai’s book Tao An Meng Yi (Memories of Tao An), in which he praised the actors and actresses performing Kunqu and Diaoqiang Operas as equally wonderful. In early Qing, Diaoqiang Opera was popular in the area of Fenghua; it flourished in Shaoxing in mid to late Qing. Diaoqiang Opera troupes had their heyday during the early Republic of China period and went into decline afterwards. Now this local theatre form is kept alive only in Xinchang.
Music of Xinchang Diaoqiang Opera belongs to the qupai (set tune) system, which means that it is made up of different set tunes arranged according to some rules and structures. (There are over three hundred pieces of qupai (set tune) in existence now). Its vocal styles include diaoqiang and two variations of sipingdiao, as well as kunqiang in occasions. As to the role types, traditionally there are three hualian (painted-face), four bai (young and old males), and five dan (young and old females). Collectively they are called the ‘Twelve Masters’. They can also be divided into the ‘Four Pillars’ (leading male, leading female, young male and little painted-face) and ‘Eight Supporting Roles’ (those other than the Four Pillars).
Characteristics and Repertoires
In 2006, Xinchang Diaoqiang Opera was inscribed in the first listing of National Intangible Cultural Heritage of China. At present, 159 manuscripts of libretti dating from late Qing are kept in archive. Its repertoire can be divided into three main categories: the traditional (including nanxi (southern theatre) of Song and Yuan, zaju of Yuan and chuanqi of Ming and Qing), the topical (most of the works came from chuanqi of the mid to late Qing period) and the Monk Mulian series. Two of the topical operas, The Jade Hairpin and The Painting of Two Lions became household names after being presented as Yue Opera. In the Monk Mulian series, Ghost of a Man who Hangs Himself, Ghost of a Woman who Hangs Herself and The Righteous Messenger of Death were originally performances peculiar to Xinchang Diaoqiang Opera and were not found in the Monk Mulian repertoire of other operatic genres; they were made famous through Shao Opera.
Existing Xinchang Diaoqiang Opera repertoire still retains many of the original characteristics. Examples include the romantic dance by the protagonists to express their lovesickness in Appearing in the Dream, Looking for Her Dream from The Peony Pavilion; the masterly stunt of ‘rolling over and kicking off the boots’ in The Last Ming Emperor’s Suicide from The Iron Headgear; the skillful ‘dwarf steps’, ‘chair work’ and the swift ‘change of face’ in Catching Sanlang Alive from The Water Margin. In some operas, singing in Kunqu Opera is inserted, showing that this age-old characteristic since late Ming is still being kept alive.
Singing of Xinchang Diaoqiang Opera has a style of its own, which can be summarized as ‘ganchang’ (singing with percussion accompaniment only), ‘bangqiang’ (the percussion ensemble at the backstage also acts as a chorus to back up the on-stage singing) and ‘dieban’ (inserting spoken parts to the singing before returning to the main sung passage). These characteristics together with its impressive martial scenes make Xinchang Diaoqiang Opera a unique theatre form. The most famous traditional full-length opera of Diaoqiang Opera is The Battle at Jiujiang (its script can be traced back to 1896 during the reign of Guangxu, the late Qing Emperor). It is a story about the fighting for leadership between Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Yauliang at the end of the Yuan dynasty. The play is impressive because it makes full use of the strengths of Diaoqiang Opera in both of its martial and non-martial scenes. The singing and body movements of the actors bring the characters to life and heighten the dramatic effect, while retaining the unique vocal styles of Diaoqiang Opera. Adapted from The Bloodstained Garments of Shanghai Opera, The Old Water-carrier, a light-hearted court case drama, is another work that fully demonstrates the ‘ganchang’, ‘bangqiang’ and ‘dieban’ vocal characteristics of Xinchang Diaoqiang Opera.
Ninghai Pingdiao Opera
Diaoqiang Opera is widely performed in Zhejiang province, and Ninghai Pingdiao Opera, an ancient theatre form, is one of its branches. In the old days, pingdiao troupes did not only sing Pingdiao Opera, but also kunqiang and luantan. It became popular in Ninghai and Xiangshan during late Qing and early Republic of China, but went into decline subsequently. By the mid-twentieth century, professional pingdiao troupes could only be found in Ninghai, and that is why it is called Ninghai Pingdiao Opera.
In 2006, Ninghai Pingdiao Opera was inscribed in the first listing of National Intangible Cultural Heritage of China. Its traditional repertoire now in existence has over a hundred operas from the Ming and Qing period. 36 of them were divided into two groups called the ‘Earlier Eighteen’ and the ‘Later Eighteen’. Some Kunqu and Luantan Operas are also included.
The music of Ninghai Pingdiao Opera belongs to the qupai (set tune) system. It has over 300 pieces of qupai (set tune). Its vocal style is gentler, more subtle and delicate when compared to Diaoqiang Opera. Hence it derives its name Pingdiao Opera which literally means ‘smooth tune’.
In Ninghai Pingdiao Opera, the role types include three hualian (painted-face), five bai (young and old males), and six dan (young and old females). Traditionally, there is another division called the ‘Four Upper Pillars’ (young male, young female, old male and big painted-face) and the ‘Four Lower Pillars’ (little comic painted-face, second comic painted-face, middle-aged female and old male with high social status).
Characteristics and Repertoires
One of the distinguishing characteristics of Ninghai Pingdiao Opera is its unique skills in special feats such as the extraordinary shuaya (tusk stunt). The eight large wild boar teeth held in the mouth of the actor move according to the plot. There are five techniques in shuaya. First, holding (the actor sings and speaks while holding the teeth in the mouth and the audience does not notice anything special). Second, biting (the actor sticks out the teeth and bite them up and down to produce a rattling sound; the difficult part is to align the upper and lower teeth and hold them firmly). Third, licking (the actor uses the tongue to drive the teeth up and down and left and right as if they are fighting each other). Fourth, swallowing (the actor sucks the teeth into the mouth). Fifth, spitting (the actor spits the teeth out and align them into the upper and lower rows in an orderly manner).
Meeting the Judge from Li Huiniang and Jinlian Killing the Bandit Lijiao are two excerpts that are most representative of Ninghai Pingdiao Operas. Though the characters are different, the actors in both excerpts make use of the techniques of shuaya to express the emotions and feelings of the roles they play. In Meeting the Judge from Li Huiniang, the female painted-face plays the role of the underworld judge. She demonstrates the skill of shuaya thoroughly by playing the eight wild boar teeth, each measuring eight centimeters long, in her mouth brilliantly. The actor playing the role of Li Huiniang puts on a dress with sleeves of four meters long and embroidered shoes for women with three-inches long bound feet. Yet she moves smoothly and gracefully like the flowing clouds. Each tiny step she takes looks like the gliding of a swan on the water. Apart from shuaya, Jinlian Killing the Bandit Lijiao also showcases other special feats like ‘yima shuangan’ (one horse two saddles) and ‘baoping huaxue’ (sliding while holding a vase). These special features together with the qupai (set tune) of Pingdiao Opera, the vocal styles and the percussion music make this excerpt particularly representative of the art of Ninghai Pingdiao Opera.
Chinese text provided by Li Siu-leung (Adjunct Professor, Department of Cultural Studies, Lingnan University)
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Ancient Treasures – Puxian Opera
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History
Puxian Opera has a long history. The earliest recorded history of folklore song and dance theatrical activity of these regions can be traced back to Tang dynasty Kaiyuan era. The art was spread to Putian and Xianyou from the imperial school of court musicians. Gazetteer of Xianxi in Song dynasty describes the Puxian music and dance this way, ‘It is the consummation of Tang golden age’s best antique tunes, reverberations of the most extravagant dance pieces, distinguished gathering of imperial school of court musicians and adoption of folk ditties in hilly village and fields.’ The current appellation was adopted after the formation of the People’s Republic of China. Originally known as ‘Xinghua Opera’, Puxian Opera was popular in Putian, Xianyou and neighbouring regions using the Xinghua dialect. In Song dynasty, the theatres of song and dance of these regions absorbed miscellaneous song theatres and put up opera with story plus song and dance on the theatre stage. With development of commercial traffic between Xinghua and Zhejinag, Southern Opera of Wenzhou was also spread to Xinghua. Most of the traditional Xinghua Opera repertoire can be found in the Song and Yuan chapters in Ming dynasty’s Collection of Southern Opera. Xinghua Opera became even more prosperous in Qing dynasty. From mid to late Qing, there were a total of over a hundred and fifty troupes. After the reform and opening-up in 1978, the newly arranged repertoires Chuncao Barging into the Court Room and The Imperial Scholar and the Beggar were presented in Beijing and were awarded with prizes consecutively. After 2010, the City of Putian organizes Puxian Opera artists to collect, discuss and sort out repertories, as well as to promote the campaign ‘Puxian Opera In School’ and perform among the teenagers. The media regarded it as the second spring of Puxian Opera, the ‘living fossil’ of Chinese Opera.
Music
The music of Puxian Opera uses set tunes with extremely diversified music vocalization. Over the years, folk songs, Putian traditional folk music of shifan and bale, Buddhist music and sound have been assimilated into it to foster a unique and strong local flavor. The titles, phonetics and metrical patterns of the set tunes are the same as the large-scale song and dance music in Tang and Song dynasties as well as Song ditties. The ancient Southern Opera set tune tai zi you si men can only be found in the repertoire Imperial Scholar Zhang Xie, yet this set tune is often used in Puxian Opera. It serves to show that Puxian Opera has preserved some very time-honored ancient tunes. Each of the stock role in Puxian Opera has his/her exclusive set tunes with colourful variations in vocalization like fandiao (change of tune), jiqu (merging of tunes) and others. Male and female roles use the same tune when singing and both use their natural voice too. Traditional music accompaniment consists of only drum, gong and bili (wood/bamboo flute) at first but later chihu, sihu (four-stringed fiddle), bangdi, dongxiao (end-blown flute), sanxian (plucked lute), bajiaoqin (octagonal lute) pipa, dulcima, cello and others have been added to make it into a full band of over ten musicians. Among all the musical instruments, the most characteristic must be the bili for its rarity. This instrument still preserves the old look and structure of Southern Opera in Song and Yuan dynasties and can perform in robust and shrilling style.
Artistic Features
Xinghua Opera adopted an all-male cast originally. It was only in early Qing when female artists were invited to participate. There were even female artists organizing teaching classes from mid-Qing onwards. There were only seven stock roles at first; namely sheng, dan, jing, mo, wai, tie and chou, thus it was also named ‘seven-role troupe’. By late Qing, the number of roles, musicians and stage crew have been increased to over twenty. With the arrival of Peking Opera and Fuzhou’s Fujian Opera in Puxian at the beginning of the Republic of China, the old Xinghua Opera was much influenced. The fighting and acrobatic feats in Peking Opera as well as the stage equipment and machine-operated stage scenery of Fujian Opera were adopted to make it richer and more colourful. The performance of Puxian Opera has a simple and quaint charm with many movements reflecting the deep influence of puppetry theatre. The actor’s foundation movement is collectively known as ‘puppet core’ which means hand gestures must not be higher than the eyebrows or lower than the belly button. Classic unique movements include the ‘stamping’ of dan roles, the ‘raised step’ of sheng role, the ‘striding’ of jing role and the ‘seven-step sequence’ of chou roles, maintaining mostly the image of puppetry. Stylized movements are also used to reflect emotions of the characters like ‘jaunty steps’ for happiness, ‘swaying steps’ for anger, ‘covering face’ for sadness and ‘shoulder shake’ for joy.
Costume
The costume was at first tight and short. With the influence of Fujian Opera during the period of Republic of China, water sleeves were added. The dan role switched to comb the hair flat instead of using hair net whereas the mincing step was also adopted. Strict rules are applied in the use of costume and accessories in Puxian Opera. Main costumes include the imperial robe (for emperor and ministers); kao (armour of military general with four pennants strapped to the back); guanyi (official’s attire, only in red and blue), washan (for scholars, originally in blue, later other colours are added); nuao (in red, light red, blue, black and white silk with white silk as dan’s main costume) and military vest (originally for soldiers but also used by emperor when dressed as commoner and added on top of the yellow washan to represent the dragon robe). The wardrobe for Puxian Opera is rather simple, only four trunks in total. However when performing special Mulian plays, the wardrobe might be increased to over ten trunks. They are mostly on temporary loan and for the roles of deities and ghosts.
Traditional Excerpts
The traditional stock repertoire of Puxian Opera consists of over 5 000 titles. A lot of traditional and modern repertoires have been arranged in the 1960s winning acclaim and awards. Chuncao Barging Into the Court Room, the award-winning traditional repertoire arranged in the 1970s is one of the representative repertoire of Puxian Opera. The scene Bearing the Sedan-chair is unique in that the original scenario of magistrate on sedan-chair with Chuncao walking by the side is changed into Chuncao on sedan-chair with magistrate walking behind. The comic and funny performance routine reflects the contrast between the witty rebellious Chuncao and the slick sophisticated magistrate. Cosmetics Shop from Guo Hua can be traced back to the Yuan zaju, Tale of the Shoe Left Behind. It tells of the love affair between the cosmetics shop lady and Luoyang scholar Guo Hua. The ‘fan routine’ is used to demonstrate the scholar’s romantic airs. In Mourning from The Butterfly Lovers, Yingtai is mourning in Shanbo’s house and on seeing Shanbo’s chair, she gets extremely distressed. The dan role uses the ‘chair routine’ to simulate the reappearance of Shanbo and fantasize meeting him again. The ‘three-legged cane’ and ‘hoe routine’ adopted by the laomo role in Gualao Grows Gourds fully demonstrates the amazing, unique and ancient artistic features of Puxian Opera.
Chinese text provided by Li Siu-leung (Adjunct Professor, Department of Cultural Studies, Lingnan University)
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The Shared Origin of Xiqin Opera and Traditional Cantonese Opera
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The Historical Paths of Xiqin Opera and Cantonese Opera
The vocal styles of Xiqin Opera include zhengxian (orthodox style), xipi, erhuang, kunqu and xiaodiao. Its set tunes were incorporated into the quanqi plays of the Ming dynasty, between the late 16th century and early 17th century. When it spread to Shanwei and Haifeng in Guangdong, it merged with the local folk art and customs to become the operatic genre of Xiqin Opera by the early Qing dynasty (circa mid-17th century). Its popularity continued to spread to the eastern part of Guangdong, southern part of Fujian, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.
Cantonese Opera is popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong and Macao, as well as in ethnic Chinese communities all over the world. The vocal systems of yiyangqiang and kunqiang were introduced to Guangzhou and Foshan during the Ming dynasty. By the early Qing, other systems like gaoqiang and jingqiang were also introduced. There were records of local youngsters trained to sing during the latter half of the 15th century. During the reign of emperor Yongzheng (r. 1722-1735), there were operatic troupes formed by local artists, called tuyou, and they sang in the guangqiang. There were descriptions that ‘their singing was echoed by the masses, and the local dialects were mixed into it’, and ‘the din of gongs and drums could be heard for long periods’. As for exactly when the formative years of Cantonese Opera were, academics in mainland China have come up with three discourses: (1) during the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns (1796-1850); (2) between the Tongzhi reign and the early part of Guangxu reign (1861-circa 1890s); and (3) at the turn of the 20th century, i.e. between the last years of the Qing dynasty and the early Republican period, up to the 1930s. In other words, it took about 150 to 200 years for Cantonese Opera to come into its own as a theatrical genre.
How Their Paths Crossed
Xiqin Opera originated from the vocal system of xiqinqiang, with the dominant style being called zhengxian. Male and female voices have different systems to follow. Singing and delivery of lines are in the ancient dialect of zhongzhou guanhua (the official language of the Central Plains). Among its traditional repertory, there are ‘Four Major Martial Art Plays’ in the civil category. Also there are the ‘Thirty-six Stock Plays’ and the ‘Seventy-two Short Pieces’ (with only plot outlines and no libretto). The xipiqiang system (as exemplified by Executing Zheng En), erhuang system (in Executing Own Son at the Gate) etc. originated from the bangzi of Cantonese Opera, and erhuang of Han Opera of Guangdong. There are ten role types. The accompanying ensembles also have two configurations: the civil type with four string instruments of touxian, erxian, sanxian and yueqin, two wind instruments of suona and haotou; while the military type with the more sonorous percussions of ban, daluo or big gong, dagu or big drum, gutou, and bo or cymbals. The military plays mostly tell historical romances, while their martial art routines are derived from the Southern School. The overall effect is impassioned and lofty.
As for Cantonese Opera, the vocal system developed into the two main streams of bangzi and erhuang by the Daoguang and Guangxu period (circa 1820-1908). The singing and line delivery were in the classic singing style of zhongzhouyun (dialectal inflections of the Central Plains). But they were replaced by the indigenous dialect of Canton (now Guangzhou) by the 1920s and 1930s. The repertory of banghuang works, sung in the classic singing style at that time, consisted of ‘Eighteen Plays of Cantonese Opera’, ‘New Eighteen Plays of Cantonese Opera’, and ‘Grand Eighteen Formulaic Plays’. There were ten major role types, but by the 1930s and 1940s, the operatic troupes streamlined the actors into the Six-pillar System. The military plays adopt the martial art routines of the Southern School, and the actors are mostly those trained in wusheng (military male) and xiaowu (young military male) roles. The performances are therefore rustic and robust in mood.
Selections of Classics from Xiqin Opera and Cantonese Opera
Executing Own Son at the Gate is an exemplary play in the pihuang repertory of Xiqin Opera. It is one of the well-known plays featuring the laosheng (old man) role. It is one of the famous stories from the saga of the patriotic Yang family of Northern Song dynasty. Mu Guiying rescues Yang Zongbao from under the broadsword because his father, Yang Liulang, is going to have him executed. The play has a cast covering all the roles: laosheng, huadan (young female), wujing (black-painted face), hongjing (red-painted face), laodan (old female) and xiaosheng (young male). The story of the Cantonese Opera, Liulang Executing His Son, uses the same storyline as that of the Xiqin Opera, with Mu Guiying rescuing Yang Zongbao. The libretto is taken from the ‘bible’ of Cantonese Opera, ‘Eighteen Plays of Cantonese Opera’, which was published during the Daoguang-Guangxu reigns (1820-1908). The vocalisation is in the classic singing style in the bangzi (or xipi) system. In this play, the four leads of sheng, dan, jing and chou roles all have their highly individualistic vocal styles. Interesting examples are Yang Liulang’s complexly nuanced delivery of his chastisement of his son, which gives rise to the reprimanding tone. Then there is the vivacious and witty singing of Mu Gua in her signature Mu Gua style.
In the traditional repertories of Xiqin Opera and Cantonese Opera, there is respectively a famous play on the theme of ‘execution’, and both are about the emperor killing a good general or minister by mistake. In the Xiqin Opera version of Executing Zheng En, which is one of the ‘Seventy-two Short Pieces’, the first emperor of Song dynasty has killed his sworn brother, Zheng En, who helped him build his Song Empire. Zheng’s death is later avenged by another sworn brother, Gao Huaide, who sees to it that the villainous imperial concubine and her brother are both put to justice. The vocal style is xipi, and the story involves the major role types: wusheng (military male), wumian (black-faced), hongmian (red-faced), zhengdan (virtuous female), huandan, laosheng, etc. It therefore provides a good opportunity for actors of different role types to demonstrate their virtuosity. In the scene of Wreaking Havoc at the Imperial Court, Gao Huaide cuts Han Long’s head at the sweep of his sword, and the treacherous imperial brother-in-law pays for his crime with his life. The singing gets highly impassioned and emotional as the warrior Gao burns with the fire of vengeance. The parallel version in Cantonese Opera, Executing the Duke’s Second Brother, is taken from ‘Eighteen Plays of Cantonese Opera’. It was revived by the stars and playwrights of Cantonese Opera in Hong Kong in the 1990s. The storyline is basically the same as Executing Zheng En, but the characters are fictitious, and there is no direct reference to historical figures. The performance retains a lot of the routines of the traditional Southern School, and ancient formulaic plays abound, such as Cutting the Ribbon for Hanging and Becoming Sworn Brother and Sister, Executing the Duke’s Second Brother, The Sworn Brothers’ Vow by Biting onto Arrows, Breaking Up, The Battle, and The Siege. The formulaic presentation of Executing the Duke’s Second Brother consists of ‘swiping up the chair’ and ‘jumping up a high platform’ which require good training in martial arts.
Masterly Acts in the Xiqin Opera Tradition
Returning to Xiqi is an excerpt from the Xiqin Opera, Phoenix Singing over Mount Qishan, which by itself is an adaptation of the play of the same title in the qinqiang system. The vocalisation is in the orthodox style of zhengxian of Xiqin Opera. The story is taken from The Investiture of the Gods: Ji Chang, the Duke of Xibo, is being persecuted by emperor Zhou and forced to eat the flesh of his own son. The actor playing the laosheng role of Ji Chang needs to sing as he swirls and falls to show his disoriented, devastated state. The stunts include ‘snatching at the back from a high tower’, ‘hair-flinging’, ‘beard-shaking’ and ‘sudden fall’.
Executing Zheng En is one of the plays in the xipiqiang repertory of Xiqin Opera. It belongs to the traditional ‘Four Major Legends’, and is in the martial category of ‘Seventy-two Short Pieces’. In the scene of Wreaking Havoc at the Imperial Court, Gao Huaide cuts Han Long’s head at the sweep of his sword - Han Long’s head would disappear right in front of the audience’s eyes. The masterly act is therefore known as ‘heading off at the sweep of the sword’. Then in the scene of Five Phoenix Pavilion, Gao executes a ‘one-leg standing routine’, balancing with one foot while bending the other in an awe-inspiring stance like a great eagle. It has also become a widely acclaimed ‘master stroke’ that distinguishes Xiqin Opera.
Liu Xi Chastising His Sons is an excerpt from Chenxiang Digging the Earth to Save His Mother, one of the ‘Four Major Martial Arts Plays’ of Xiqin Opera. It is also one of the three significant plays featuring laosheng role. The vocalisation is in the orthodox style of zhengxian of Xiqin Opera. One unique feature of this excerpt is the stunt performed by the actor playing Liu Xi. First he shows his shock by calling out ‘Chenxiang!’ as he sinks into his chair. Then as he sings, with dexterity he makes the chair move forwards and backwards without his hands ever touching it, only balancing it with his hips and waist. He can spin the chair on each of the four legs in turn. While he spins around, he also executes other routines to demonstrate his shock: flinging the long sleeves, shaking his long beard, and making the two wings on his headgear shiver. The amazing routine is considered a masterstroke in Xiqin Opera.
Chinese text: Li Siu-leung (Adjunct Professor, Department of Cultural Studies, Lingnan University)
English translation: KCL Language Consultancy Ltd.