Chapter 39 Foreigners Watching Peking Opera and Others

It is also a meaningful thing to look at everything in China with the eyes of foreigners watching Beijing opera.Bamboo poles were set up on the head, and the children's crotch pants were hung to dry; the glass jars on the counter were filled with "ginseng beer wine"; Mei Lanfang was singing on the loudspeaker in one house; scabies medicine was sold on the radio in another house; Put some cooking wine under the signboard of "Taibai Legacy"... This is all Chinese, diverse, dazzling, mysterious, and funny.Most young people love China and don't know what they love.Unconditional love is admirable—the only danger is that sooner or later the ideal will collide with the reality, and every time it makes them gasp and cool their hearts.We are unfortunate to live among the Chinese, and we are inferior to the overseas Chinese. We can safely worship the sacred motherland from an appropriate distance for the rest of our lives.So, simply take a closer look!Take a tour with the eyes of a foreigner watching Beijing opera. Only when you are surprised and dazzled can you understand and have reliable love.

Why can't I stay away from Peking Opera in three sentences?Because I am a layman who is very interested in Beijing opera.Is everyone a layman who knows little about life?I only chose Beijing opera for the sake of this appropriate attitude. Ladies who have been on the stage and have been in the theater, when they hear that you like Beijing opera, they always smile slightly and say: "Peking opera is very complicated. Even a few outfits, those exquisite ones, are enough for you to study for a lifetime." No , I don’t understand if the actor wears the wrong clothes;All I know is sitting in the first row watching martial arts, admiring the Qingluo battle robe, which fluttered away, revealing the red lining, and the rose-purple lining in the jade-colored trousers, kicking and kicking the table full of dust; and the long series of tragic and tense The sound of clapping clappers - used to represent the stillness of the night, or strenuous thinking, or a cold sweat after a deep sleep, there is no better sound effect than this.

The opinions of laymen are precious. Otherwise, why do American journalists always choose irrelevant topics to discuss when interviewing celebrities?For example, I met the heroine of the murder case and asked her if she was optimistic about the overall situation of the world; met the boxing champion and asked him whether he was in favor of Shakespeare's script adapted into a fashion drama.Of course it was for the sake of gimmicks, the readers laughed and thought: "I know more than him. So celebrities are not as good as others!" Half of it is because the comments of laymen are relatively fresh and stupid, and there are some merits.

However, in order to avoid the important and ignore the minor, let's talk about the flat drama in the talk drama first. The drama "Qiu Haitang" became popular all over Shanghai, which cannot but be attributed to the strong atmosphere of Beijing opera in the story.Immediately following the unprecedented success of "Begonia", there were five or six dramas that called for interspersed dramas.Since its inception, China's new realistic drama has always been on the opposite side of Pingju, but the reason why the first popular drama was popular among the people was that it borrowed heavily from Pingju—this phenomenon is really surprising.

Why is Peking Opera so deeply rooted and popular in China, although its artistic value is not without problems? The most touching sentence in "Qiu Haitang" is the libretto of Beijing opera, and the Beijing opera is a quotation from Gu'er: "A thousand cups of wine is less than a thousand cups, and it is more than half a sentence if you don't speculate." The mantra is familiar, but Qiu Haitang, who has been down and out, is so Aftertaste, infinite desolation is added out of thin air.The Chinese have always liked to quote classics.Beautiful, precise sentences, and old jokes from two thousand years ago are freely used in daily conversation.These invisible fibers make up our living past.Tradition itself strengthens because it is constantly being referenced to new people, new things and situations.As long as a suitable idiom is available, the Chinese are unwilling to speak directly.And thinking about it carefully, almost every possible situation has a suitable idiom to match.Writing prefaces for other people is "Buddha's head with dung", and writing postscripts is "continuing the ermine with the dog's tail".Ninety percent of the proverbs that have been circulating in our country in recent years are the ingenious use of idioms.It's no wonder that when Chinese students study foreign languages, they always have a "Collection of Proverbs", thinking that as long as those sentences are connected grammatically, it will be a good article.Only in China is history still alive and well in everyday life. (History here generally represents public memories.) If we examine our catchphrases from this point of view, the relationship between Beijing opera and today's society also has the nature of catchphrases.

Dozens of the most popular Beijing operas, each of which provides us with a timeless, standard situation-the father-in-law dislikes the poor and loves the rich, the children do not make progress, the conflict between family love and sex... "The Prosperity of the Dragon and the Phoenix" and "Siro Visits His Mother" can all be included in the last example, which strongly confirms the saying "girls are extroverted".The selfishness of men is meticulously described.Xue Pinggui devoted himself to his career for eighteen years, and calmly left his wife in the cold kiln like a fish in the refrigerator. One day, he suddenly became worried and rushed home at night.The best years of her life had been ruined by poverty and the loneliness of a social traitor, but he thought the joy of reunion was enough to compensate for everything before.He didn't put herself in her place to think about it—he made her a queen, a queen in Princess Daizhan's territory!Living in the hands of a young, powerful concubine!No wonder she died 18 days after becoming a queen—she didn't have such a blessing.However, although Xue Pinggui is not very considerate to women, he is still written as a good person.The cuteness of Beijing opera lies in this simplicity and subtlety. "Yutangchun" represents the countless stories about virtuous courtesans popular in China.A good whore is the ideal wife for most people.Since she relies on her appearance to make a living, it can be seen that she must be beautiful, and morality is added to beauty.This is an exception to the modern Chinese who have abandoned many of their long-held ideals.Not long ago, there was a film "Sweet Boudoir Wind and Cloud". In order to save advertising space, in addition to the title, there was only one line of eye-catching introduction in the newspaper: "The Wizard of Zhenlie." In a bowl used as a commode.Westerners can never understand how such dirty and ridiculous things that cannot be mentioned are mixed with noble tragic elements-unless the playwrights and audiences all belong to a nation that does not understand humor.That's because Chinese people have a straightforward attitude towards physiological functions, and there are no unhealthy taboos.Therefore, the Chinese people only fear the suffering of the souls in the black basin, and have no hatred or ridicule. "Sisters Love Beauty" is often too "love money", so the uncle who spends money has suffered the pain of unrequited love in "Oolong Courtyard".The playwright described Song Jiang in a sympathetic way—the hero of the world, but he was also despised by women, purely because he loved her and she didn't love him.The saddest thing is the part where he has nothing to say: Sheng: "What are you holding?"

Dan: "Your hat." Student: "Hey, it's clearly a shoe, why is it a hat?" Dan: "I know you still ask!" The "Spinning Cotton", which is close to juggling, escaped from the scope of Pingju, and the popular "New Spinning Cotton" was just a scene extracted from the whole play.The original story was about the crime of rape and murder. From this grim subject matter, we extracted this sensational comedy.Chinese humor is relentless. The popularity of "New Spinning Cotton" is of course for the fashion stage, but also because when the protagonist sings two southern and northern tunes at will, the audience can occasionally intervene in some drama, and the stage and the audience mingle together. The pleasant and informal atmosphere is close to that of a school. The entertainment here.Beijing opera has strict rules, and it is rare for such an indulgence to make the whole country go crazy.

Chinese people like the law, and they like breaking the law.The so-called breaking the law does not necessarily mean killing people for money, but a small deviant act, which is purposeless.There is a wooden sign "Keep to the right" erected beside the road, and you have to go to the left. The foul of "Spinning Cotton" is a book of this spirit. It is not a rebellion against the basic system of Pingju opera, but a slight push and shoving of the golden rule that everyone admires—this kind of objection is actually yes to admit. The Chinese often delude themselves that they are evil--they take great pleasure in this assumption.Pedestrians on the road were chasing the tram, and the tram was very crowded. He saw that it would not stop, so he yelled viciously: "No! Don't stop! Do you dare to stop?"——It did not stop.he laughed.

It is said that only the Chinese in the world are orderly and logical when they scold others.The British don't believe in the existence of hell, but they still curse people "go to hell". For example, their most poisonous word is "bloody". Calling people "bloody donkey" doesn't make much sense except to say people are stupid, just choose the tone. Excited, just chatting to vent my anger.But the Chinese said: "How dare you scold me? You don't know your father?" It implies that he has had friendship with the other party's mother, which gives him spiritual satisfaction. "Spinning Cotton" succeeded because it was the first play to cater to this tofu-eating addiction.Zhang San interrogated his wife, who is her lover.She pointed to the audience, and he bowed to the audience and said: "When I go out, my wife takes good care of me." The audience was deeply moved.

When we analyze the content of Pingju, we may be surprised. China is not a country that favors martial arts. Why do martial arts dominate the majority?Just based on the string of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the number is considerable.The most rapid change is on the battlefield, so we can most easily see a person's personality and attitude in war.The failures of Chu Overlord and Ma Di are simple lessons, and the spectators in the audience, whether they are officials, businessmen, or daughter-in-laws, are all the same thing. I don't know if people just want to shed tears after watching "Empty City Strategies" like me.Zhuge Liang, whom the veterans absolutely believed in, is a rare perfect man in all ages and in all over the world.Here, he has whitened his beard.Leaving behind the free life in Wollongong to do great things, for the memory of "the first emperor" to have a little confidant's kindness, he sacrificed his life to fight the world for Ah, did he also secretly feel that it was not worth it?The gongs and drums are noisy, and there is a little bit of desolation.

The old plays handed down from generation to generation have given us many emotional formulas.Putting the complex emotions of our real life into the formula, many details have to be removed, but the result is still satisfactory.After the feelings are simplified, they are stronger and more certain, adding the weight of thousands of years of experience.It is the happiest thing for an individual to feel in harmony with the environment, but the so-called environment is largely the habit of the masses. The world in Beijing opera is neither the present China nor any stage of ancient China in its process.Its beauty, its narrow and tidy moral system, are far removed from reality, yet it is by no means a romantic evasion - the extradition from one point of view to another is often mistaken for evasion.The immediate reality, because the distance is too close, must be connected with another clearer reality to see clearly. No matter what is on their minds, the characters in Beijing opera always speak out freely; if they have no confidants around, they just tell the audience. Words are not enough, so they add actions, costumes, colors and patterns of facial makeup.Even crying has its own distinct beat—a string of beads of loud and small sounds, round and clean.Because of this exaggerated confession in many ways, I am used to watching Beijing opera and feel that nothing is lively enough.There may be only one or two actors on stage, but it can also create a crowded impression. Crowding is one of the elements in Chinese theater and Chinese life.The Chinese were born among a large group of people, and they also died among a large group of people-like the French kings in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. (The "Peerless Queen" Mary Anthony gave birth in a large hall, surrounded by only a screen beside the bed, and outside the screen was crowded with ministers and nobles waiting for the good news.) Chinese people can't hide from onlookers anywhere .Women of the upper class, if they are of the old style, even though they live in deep boudoirs, they do not have the right to close the door when they wake up in the morning.In winter, the cotton curtain keeps out the wind, but the door is still wide open, welcoming the investigation of the whole family.It is very dishonorable to keep the door closed during the day.Even at night, when the door is locked, you only need to lick the window paper to see the situation in the house at a glance. Marriage and death are more public affairs.The troublemakers even hide under the bed.When the patient "reflects the light", a dark crowd gathers in a room to listen to the last words of the dying. Chinese tragedies are lively, noisy, and ostentatious, and they have their own reasons; the sorrow in Beijing opera has a bright and fiery color. Just because of the lack of private life, there is a bit of vulgarity in the Chinese personality. "There is nothing you can't say to others", and what you can't say is to do evil.Chinese people are always amazed that foreigners like to keep such unnecessary secrets. As a result of the failure to keep the secrecy, the faintest genial feelings had to be explained in self-defense to the indispensable spectators.This creates a habit of making excuses.I also like to use excuses to prevaricate myself, so Chinese people don't quite understand their own behavior.Living in groups affects the psychology of Chinese people.There are very few real eccentricities among the Chinese.The masters of Tuolue are addicted to bamboo and alcohol, love to go crazy with alcohol, or have a cleanliness addiction, or do not take a bath, and pay attention to talking about lice, but these are all quirks that follow the rules, and there are no shortage of precedents.They jumped out of the crowd and joined another crowd. You can't escape the rules wherever you go.The heaviness of the rules can be said to be at its peak on the stage.The regular and graceful movements in Beijing opera are called dance by foreigners, but in fact that is the essence of all etiquette.Etiquette does not necessarily have meaning and function, it is often just salutation for the sake of salutation.Kowtow in peace has now been abolished.It is said that kowtowing looks good, so it needs some research.Although I don't know how to kowtow, I am willing to kowtow twice during festivals.Ordinary elders always yelled: "Bow! Bow!" Only once, when I went to my aunt's house, I kowtowed several times in succession without anyone stopping me.People who are used to kowtow like them are rare these days.Such small, non-obtrusive restraints like kowtow, people probably didn't find it cute in the past, but now they are about to be lost, and they just feel sad.But watching the students file on stage to receive their graduation diplomas, one knows that most Chinese people don't know how to bow. Gu Lanjun broke up with her husband in "Nongben Infatuation" and was about to divorce. Before leaving, she reached out her hand to say goodbye to him.He suspected her of infidelity and ignored her.She left sadly.This scene, if in the West, is certainly reasonable and touching, but in China, it is not.The habit of shaking hands in the West has a history of hundreds of years, so shaking hands has become a natural expression, almost subconscious.The Chinese have also learned to shake hands in the entertainment field, but at the moment of parting from life and death, when they have real feelings, they never think of shaking hands as a sign of eternal farewell.In this case, shaking hands is definitely inappropriate, and you can't say goodbye, give a blessing or bow.Modern China is rude, except on stage.The symbolism of Peking opera is extremely thorough and has the style of the early people. The strange thing is that when Ping opera became popular in China, Chinese civilization had already passed its maturity.How could vulgar folk products be valued by the elegant and romantic ruling class at the end of the Qing Dynasty?New Yorkers listened to the enthusiastic recommendations of art critics and embraced primitive pictures and rural homemade pottery.The Chinese give up Kunqu opera and focus on Beijing opera, which is contrary to the remarks of ordinary drama critics.Civilized people listen to civilized Kunqu opera, which is just right for their status, but the emerging Beijing opera has only a childish force, which contains our inner needs.The originality of the Chinese has not been eradicated, presumably because our culture is too casual.At this point, it is not difficult for us to find the secret of the eternal youth of the Chinese.