Broadway's Chinese Themes and Chinese Opera

Author: Du Wenwei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-04-01
Features: This poem was written as the theme song for Wang Da and was repeatedly performed in various settings. When Wang Da gained insights about love, he would sing this poem. Originally, Wang Da planned to recite this poem to Linda, but Linda and the girl in the poem were clearly of different types. Linda was only interested in money and showed no interest in the poem. It was only when Li Mei, after being emotionally hurt, revealed her true feelings to Wang Da that he realized Li Mei was like the girl in the poem: "Li Mei had also just drifted away from me."② The poem is labeled with a "China" tag, yet it exudes a traditional American-style melancholy. Although phrases like "Yellow River," "flower boat," and "lotus leaf" are used to create a superficial Chinese atmosphere, the overall spirit remains American romantic melancholy. Traditional Chinese poetry employs more indirect methods to express romantic love between the sexes, often using metaphors like "swallow pairs," "butterflies," and "mandarin ducks," or employing metonymy to make deeper emotions more subtle, rather than using blunt statements like "You are the girl I am to love" (the phrase "" was slightly softened for rhyme in the Chinese translation of the poem). In the poem "Yellow River Valley," the scene where two boats pass each other and their eyes meet clearly depicts the romantic fantasy of love at first sight. The image of the male protagonist's dream lover is no more than "Lili," "delicate," "shy," and "gentle"—all of which are stereotypical Western perceptions of Chinese women. It is this poem that leads Wang Da to transfer his affections from Linda to Li Mei, abandoning Linda's materialistic values and instead developing a romantic love with the stereotypical "Chinese doll." This dominant theme is based on the one-sided perception Americans have of Chinese women, rather than the true Chinese spirit. The mysticism conveyed in the flower drum opera that Li Mei repeatedly sings further reinforces this so-called "Chinese" spirit. A billion miracles, a billion miracles, happen every day. Those who say they disagree can't actually hear or see anything. My father said the sun will always rise above the eastern mountain. My father said he didn't know why. But somehow, the sun always rises, the sun always rises.① According to general American perceptions, mysticism is the essence of Chinese and Eastern philosophy. The author uses Chinese flower drum opera to praise the mysterious will of heaven, catering to this view. The series of miracles mentioned in the song are all attributed to a mysterious ruling force. This "optimism in waiting for miracles" actually reflects Christian doctrine. It is this mystical hope that allows Li Mei to embrace a simple, traditional life and ultimately leads to her marriage with Wang Da. Thus, both the poem "Yellow River Valley" and the lyrics of the flower drum opera "A Billion Miracles" do not fully align with the true Chinese spirit. This demonstrates the creator's interest in using China as a medium to promote traditional American values and criticize contemporary materialistic culture. To American audiences, Linda, a product of materialism, is just one of many unrestrained young women around them, while Li Mei