Chapter 3 The second quarter of excellent performance

Chinese opera is a comprehensive art. While singing and dancing are important, performance is also indispensable.Songs and dances focus on expressing emotion and interest, and performances are better than retelling stories.The earliest performances can be traced back to the pre-Qin comedians (also known as advocates and actors), who were differentiated from witches.Shamans entertaining gods also entertain people, while comedians turn from entertaining gods to entertaining people.Youren is eloquent, funny and intelligent, with superb language skills and imitation performance talents.It can not only provide sensual entertainment for monarchs, princes, and nobles, but also be good at making "deceitful advice" in a roundabout way.Sima Qian's "Historical Records: Funny Biographies" recorded several stories of "deceitful remonstrance" by Youren.One day, Qin Shihuang had a whim and wanted to expand the imperial garden by thousands of miles.The civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty were obsequious, and Youzhan (zhanzhan) pretended to agree, and suggested: "Make the garden bigger, and raise more elk in it—" Qin Shihuang didn't understand what he meant, and listened to Youzhan's serious words: " When the enemy comes, let the elk resist, and your king can rest easy." Everyone knows that the elk cannot resist the enemy, so Qin Shihuang slowly realized his implication and gave up the plan to expand the garden.After the death of Qin Shihuang, his son Qin II actually gave birth to the absurd idea of ​​"painting the Great Wall" to prevent the Huns from invading.Youzhan deliberately said to the second king: "Your idea is really wonderful! The city wall is so bright and bright that the enemy can't climb up it. It's just that it can't be exposed to the sun after painting, and it must be dried in the shade with a pergola. Such a long shed is not easy to build." Get up!" Hearing this, the second emperor smiled helplessly, and the idea of ​​wasting money and people was finally dispelled.

Youmeng is a famous actor in the state of Chu.Once, the beloved horse of King Zhuang of Chu died.King Zhuang wanted to be buried in a coffin and buried with the etiquette of a doctor.The left and right ministers thought it was inappropriate, but the king of Chuzhuang had made up his mind and ordered: "Anyone who dares to come to dissuade him will be put to death!" Youmeng was so ingenious that he went to the hall and cried loudly, saying that the horse was only buried according to the etiquette of a doctor, and the standard was too low , should be buried with the ceremony of a king, and he talked about the content of the funeral.After hearing this, King Zhuang of Chu felt that he had lost his sense of proportion, so he gave up.

The above-mentioned "deceitful remonstrance" story shines with the light of superior wisdom and the spirit of justice in pleading for the people, which can give people pleasure.However, they are by no means acting.Only the story of "Youmeng Yiguan" began to have the element of acting.The story is that after Sun Shuao, Prime Minister of Chu, died, his family was poor and could not live on.His son followed his father's last will to find Youmeng.You Meng expressed deep sympathy, so he put on Sun Shu'ao's clothes and imitated Sun Shu'ao's behavior.After the imitation was perfect, he took advantage of the grand banquet in the palace to meet King Zhuang of Chu.King Zhuang was shocked, thinking that Sun Shuao had come back to life, and still let him be the prime minister.Youmeng asked to go home and discuss with his wife before making a decision.Three days later, Youmeng pretended to be a woman and told King Zhuang that being a chancellor of Chu was not worth it: being as loyal as Sun Shuao made the Chu Kingdom hegemony, and the credit was not insignificant; It's really chilling!King Zhuang of Chu listened to his words and rewarded Sun Shu'ao's son.In this way, by playing Sun Shuao, Youmeng skillfully achieved the actual utilitarian purpose.Although he was engaged in politics by means of acting, he did not reach the level of aesthetics, and he could not be said to be acting; but in the imitation, he has noticed the voices and smiles of the characters, and they are quite lifelike, which will undoubtedly have an impact on later dramas.Some people even regard "Youmeng Yiguan" as the source of Chinese drama, and call Youmeng the earliest actor in China.