China Kunqu

Author: Zhu Hengfu / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-01-01
Features: Chinese opera is one of the world's three oldest theatrical cultures and remains active on stage to this day. This book provides a historical and comprehensive account of two major representative schools of Chinese opera—Kunqu Opera and Peking Opera. Kunqu Opera is the most exquisite form of opera that developed during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It boasts thousands of classic scripts, such as The Ballad of the Washing Silks, The, The Peony Pavilion, The Qingzhong Pu, The Peach Blossom Fan, The Palace of Eternal Life, and The Pagoda of Lei Feng, among others. It features melodious and captivating singing styles and a set of elaborate conventions that portray human speech, gestures, joys, sorrows, and emotions. On the other hand, Peking Opera is the most widely performed and attended opera genre, having produced many renowned actors such as Cheng Changgeng, Tan Xinpai, Mei Lanfang, and Cheng Yanqiu. It has had a profound influence on over 300 local opera genres across the country and represents Chinese opera's first step in stepping out of China and showcasing the charm of Chinese art to the world. This first step also infused the story with anti-feudal ritualistic ideas. In terms of art, The Dong Xixiang not only preserves and enriches the original characters of The Story of Yingying but also creates many new characters based on the story's needs. These characters are all distinct and vivid. Additionally, the plot is richer and more intricate than the original. All of these laid a solid foundation for Wang Shifu's later writing of the zaju The West Chamber. Wang Shifu's The West Chamber by Wang (commonly known as Wang's West Chamber) narrates the story of Cui Yu, the prime minister of Emperor Dezong of the Tang Dynasty, who dies. His wife, Lady Zheng, brings their daughter Yingying, the maidservant Hongniang, and the young boy Huanlang back to their hometown Bojing for burial. Upon reaching Hezhong Prefecture, due to instability on the road, they temporarily reside in the western wing of Pusa Temple. Zhang Gen, a scholar from Luoyang, travels to the capital for an examination and passes by Hezhong Prefecture. He visits Pusa Temple and coincidentally meets Yingying, falling deeply in love with her at first sight. Yingying has already been betrothed to her cousin Zheng Heng by her mother, but she is deeply unhappy with this marriage. Zhang Gen pretends to need a quiet environment for studying and stays in the temple. Once, while Yingying burns incense in the garden at night, Zhang Gen and she recite poems to each other across the wall, their deep affection evident in their exchange. During the memorial service for the prime minister, Zhang Gen asks a monk to carry out a memorial service for his deceased parents, thereby meeting Yingying again. Unbeknownst to them, Yingying's beauty is discovered by the bandit general Sun Feihu, who besieges the temple to abduct her as his wife. The lady is panicked and declares that she will marry anyone who can drive away the bandits. Zhang Gen sends the monk Huiming to deliver a letter to General Duque, a former classmate who now commands the defense of Puguang, asking him to send troops to quell the chaos. When the troops arrive and the rebellion is suppressed, the lady retracts her promise, leaving Zhang Gen and Yingying deeply disappointed and heartbroken. Later, Zhang Gen becomes so sick from longing that Yingying once considers meeting him in secret, but she lacks the courage when the time comes. Eventually, with the encouragement and help of Hongniang, she fulfills her wish to be with Zhang Gen. When the lady discovers this, she tortures Hongniang, who boldly rebukes her for breaking her word and being ungrateful. The lady, though reluctant, is unwilling to give up and immediately demands that Zhang Gen go to the capital for the examination, promising to marry Yingying only if he passes and achieves fame. Zhang Gen goes to the capital and passes the imperial examination, becoming a. Suddenly, Zheng Heng arrives and falsely reports that Zhang Gen has married the daughter of the Minister of War. The lady, furious, considers betrothing Yingying to Zheng Heng again. Fortunately, Zhang Gen is appointed as the governor of Hezhong Prefecture and returns in glory, exposing Zheng Heng's deceit. Humiliated, Zheng Heng commits suicide by touching a tree. Zhang Gen and Yingying finally become husband and wife. Compared to The Dong Xixiang, The West Chamber by Wang takes a further step in opposing feudalism and has a clearer. Through the process of Cui and Zhang's love story, it expresses dissatisfaction with the feudal marriage system of "parents' command and matchmakers' arrangement" and directly proposes the idea of "may all those in love become couples." Besides the aforementioned works, other famous ones include Ji Junxiang's The Orphan of Zhao, Kang Jinzhi's Li Kui Carrying the Scabbard, and the anonymous Chenzhou Rice Selling. As the saying goes, "No flower blooms forever." After the Yuan Dynasty defeated the Southern Song and unified the country, Yuan zaju began to decline from its peak. The main reasons for this decline are as follows: First, zaju writers and artists migrated south in large numbers. Compared to the south, which was far superior in both living environment and economic level, the north saw its top playwrights and actors seek opportunities in the south after the border between Jianghuai was removed. However, one of the defining characteristics of Chinese opera is its strong regional identity. The folk customs, life stories, and tunes of each opera are deeply rooted in a particular region, often with one region nurturing one opera genre. Northern zaju depicted the lives, stories, and personalities of northerners, sang tunes that were high-pitched and passionate with few words and long melodies, and used northern dialects for dialogue. Once they moved south, how could they compete with the theater art nurtured and protected by the southerners—the Nanxi? As a result, artists had to adapt zaju to the artistic techniques of Nanxi, gradually losing their original identity. Second, during the peak and mature period of Yuan zaju, its various artistic forms became rigid conventions that stifled artistic development, such as the structure of one play with four acts, the singing style where only the lead performer sang, and the strict tonal patterns. These conventions could not encompass the rich and diverse life of society or meet the aesthetic needs of different audiences. Thus, like clusters of delicate zaju flowers, some faded away due to transplantation to unfamiliar lands, while others withered from a lack of new nourishment.
Chapter 5: Kunqu Opera—Five Hundred Years on the Stage
1. Kunqu Opera—One of the "Four Major Tonal Styles"
While northern zaju faded into obscurity, Nanxi continued to develop at an astonishing pace. In terms of quality, the emergence of the four major Nanxi plays and Gao Ming's The Ballad of the Pipa indicated that Nanxi had moved beyond its infancy and become more mature. In terms of quantity, it spread far and wide, reaching regions like Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, and Jiangxi, giving rise to many sub-genres. Due to its flexible and loose form, with no fixed number of acts (ranging from dozens to over fifty), and its relatively free tunes that did not strictly adhere to the pentatonic scale, Nanxi was highly adaptable. It could be performed anywhere, incorporating local dialects and folk tunes, quickly taking root and evolving into new, beloved opera genres. Before the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty, Nanxi had already developed into the four major tonal styles: Haisan, Yuyao, Yiyang, and Kunqu. Kunqu style emerged later, with the first three styles maturing around the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties. In Miscellaneous Records of the Shu Garden, Lu Rong, a jinshi in the second year of the Chenghua era, wrote in Volume 10: "In Jiaxing, Haisan; in Shaoxing, Yuyao; in Ningbo, Cixi; in Taizhou, Huangyan; in Wenzhou, Yongjia—all have companions who practice as actors, known as 'xiwen disciples.' Even noble families are not ashamed to do so." The Haisan style was named after its formation in Haisan, Zhejiang. After Nanxi spread to Haisan, it merged with the local dialects, folk songs, and tunes, depicting local life stories and gradually transforming into a new opera genre. Haisan style once became the dominant tonal style of Nanxi, spreading to Jiangsu, Shandong, and even Beijing. Its performance style was gentle and refined, incorporating rolling tunes, with percussion instruments like drums, clappers, and gongs, but no string instruments. Its greatest feature was the use of Mandarin, which naturally emerged after it moved beyond Haisan. Because of the use of Mandarin, audiences from other regions could understand the dialogue, eliminating the language barrier and making it highly popular. The novel The Golden Lotus from the Wanli era, which reflects the social customs of northern China, mentions Haisan plays in chapters 63 and 64: "A group of Haisan disciples were hired to perform The Ballad of Wei Gao's Jade Flute, The Two Lovers' Fate, and the Record of the Jade Ring." Ximen Qing said, "Your Excellency, I have also prepared a troupe of Haisan disciples." The Yuyao style originated in Yuyao, Zhejiang, and likely inherited more of Nanxi's rustic characteristics, unlike the refined Haisan style, making it less favored by scholars. In the preface to the Story of Expectation, the late Ming scholar Jia Rong wrote: "(Yuyao style) uses colloquial and crude tunes, often mixing spoken dialogue with singing, as if using songs to convey the story." As for the descendants of the Yuyao style, Qian Nanyang explained in An Introduction to Xiwen: "Yuyao style has no distinct trace in Jiangsu, but it developed into Qingyang style in Anhui." The Yiyang style, also known as "Yi," was named after its formation in Yiyang. Its development process was similar to the first two styles. By the Jiajing era, Yiyang style had gained nationwide influence, with its performance areas stretching from the capital in the north to Yunnan and Guizhou in the south. Wei Liangshu, a Jiajing-era scholar, wrote in Rectification of Nanzi: "From Huizhou, Jiangxi, and Fujian, all perform Yiyang style. During the Yongle era, both Yunnan and Guizhou adopted it. Those who sing it are quite pleasant to the ear." Xu Wei, another Jiajing-era scholar, noted in Record of Nanzi: "Today, singers call it Yiyang style, which originated in Jiangxi and is used in the two capitals, Hunan, Fujian, and Guangdong." The artistic characteristics of Yiyang style are primitive and rustic, lacking string instruments and using drums for rhythm. As for singing, Li Diyuan of the Qing Dynasty described it in Drama Notes: "There were no fixed tunes, only following local customs, with one person singing and others joining in." It often misused local dialects, and although it had tunes, it did not strictly adhere to them. Because of its simplicity and rich folk content, Yiyang style was deeply loved by the common people. After the rise of Kunqu style, it faced competition between the refined and the rustic, with the former performing on elegant red carpets favored by scholars and the latter on grassy stages during temple fairs. Yet, they both vied for supremacy. Unlike Haisan and Yuyao styles, Yiyang style did not decline quickly; it remained influential until the late Qing Dynasty, evolving into styles like "Leiping style," "Huizhou," "Qingyang style," "Chizhou," and "Siping style." Scripts of Yiyang style have been preserved, including famous works such as The Weaver's Silk, The Schoolmates, The Jade Hat, The Pearl, He Wenshu, The Carp, The White Robe, The Ancient City, The Cottage, and The Snake Gate.
Here, I would like to address a question: We have consistently referred to the sub-genres of Nanxi—Haisan, Yuyao, and Yiyang—as "tonal styles." Why, then, are plays performed with Nanxi tunes after the early Ming Dynasty also called "chuqiang"?