Chapter 9 Section 2: Guan Hanqing, the first family of Yuanqu

Guan Hanqing is the most outstanding playwright of Yuan Dynasty. Not only is he famous in the history of Chinese opera, but he is also well-deserved to be included in the ranks of the best playwrights in the world.Since he does not belong to the orthodox literati, there are few written records about his life and background, and there are different opinions.It is generally believed that he was a native of Dadu, who was born in the end of Jin Dynasty and died in the Dade reign of Emperor Chengzong of Yuan Dynasty. He was born in a medical family.Hanqing is his character, and Jizhaisou is his nickname. "Analysis of Jin Zhi" said that he was "born suave [titang for if], erudite and literary, funny and wise, romantic and subtle, and he was the crown of the moment".He "can recite poems, seal script [zhou Zhou], play silk, and taste bamboo"; Hang your hands down, know how to play siege, play cuju [cuju cuju] (ancient martial arts practice in the army, similar to today's football game), know go, and Shuanglu (ancient Bo opera)" ("Nanlu Yizhihua Bufu Lao ").He is also proficient in five tones and six rhythms, which can be described as versatile.

Guan Hanqing has been to many places in his life, broadened his mind, increased his knowledge, and has a broad and profound understanding of the sufferings of the people.He liked to make friends, and he was close friends with Yang Xianzhi (nicknamed "Yang Patch"), Ji Junxiang, and Liang Jinzhi, who were drama writers at the time, and established a close friendship with Zhulianxiu, a famous actress at that time.He "practices pomp, paints his face with paint, thinks that my family lives, and even advocates excellence without giving up" (Zang Maoxun's "Yuanqu Selection Preface"), and has rich stage experience.All these have provided him with a solid foundation and good conditions for engaging in drama creation.Jia Zhongming praised him in the poem "Ling Bo Xian": "The pearl language flows naturally, even if there is a golden etymology, the exquisite heart is born...the leader of the driving opera, the chief editor and the head of the drama team".Zhong Sicheng's "Record of Ghost Book" respects him as the first master of Yuan opera.Wang Guowei praised him in "A Study of Song and Yuan Operas" for "relying on the sky, creating great poems by himself, and his words are full of human feelings, and the characters are true, so he should be the first in the Yuan Dynasty".Guan Hanqing was more than 300 years earlier than the great British dramatist Shakespeare. His artistic achievements and historical status are comparable to Shakespeare. He is not only deeply respected by the Chinese people, but also listed as a world cultural celebrity and commemorated by all mankind.

Guan Hanqing has a stubborn and unyielding character who is not afraid of violence.He compares himself to "a copper pea that can't be steamed, cooked, smashed, or fried, and resounds like a copper pea" ("Nanlu Yizhihua·Unforgettable").He devoted himself to the art of zaju, claiming, "Even if you lost my teeth, crooked my mouth, limped my legs, and folded my hands, God-given me with such nasty symptoms, I still refuse to give up!" (ibid. ) He has been engaged in the creation of Zaju all his life, and has created more than 60 kinds of Zaju, of which about 18 kinds have been preserved up to now: "Fake Nizi Tune the Wind and Moon", "Mrs. The King's Single Swords Club", "Zhao Paner's Wind and Moon Rescue the Wind and Dust", "The Pavilion of the Ladies and Beautiful Women Worshiping the Moon", "Du Ruiniang's Wisdom Rewards the Gold Thread Pool", "Guan Zhangshuang's Dream of Going to West Shu", "Wangjiang Pavilion Mid-Autumn Festival", "Wen Wen Taizhen Yujingtai", "Qian Dayin Zhikan's Dream of Scarlet Clothes", "The Injustice of Dou E", "Yuchi Gong's Single Whip Seizes the Sword", "Qian Dayin Zhifa's Love and Xie Tianxiang", "Pei Du of the Mountain Temple" , "Mother Chen Teaching Son in Zhuangyuan Hall", "Madame Liu Celebrates the Banquet of the Five Marquises", "Bao Daizhi Wisdom Killing Lu Zhailang" (whether a few of the dramas are Guan Hanqing's works is still controversial).These works were scattered in anthologies such as "Thirty Varieties of Yuan Zaju" and "Selected Songs of Yuan Dynasty", and were later compiled and published as "Guan Hanqing Opera Collection".In addition, there are residual songs in "Tang Minghuang Crying Sachet", "Merry Kongmu Chunshan Ji" and "Meng Liang Stealing Bone".

Guan Hanqing's Zaju is famous for its current style, ingenious structure, appropriate tailoring, fascinating storyline, distinctive and outstanding characters, simple and natural writing, bold and unrestrained nature, which is very suitable for performance.Many of his dramas are still alive on the stage, and many of them have been translated into English, French, German, Japanese, Russian and other languages. Among the existing Guan Hanqing plays, it is an immortal masterpiece, "it is not ashamed to be listed in the world's great tragedies" (Wang Guowei's "Song and Yuan Opera Research").The author borrows the legendary story of "a filial woman in the East China Sea" (see "Hanshu·Yu Dingguo Biography" and Ganbao's "Sou Shen Ji"), and integrates it into the content of real social life, depicting the dark scene of officials in the Yuan Dynasty and the people's desperation, reflecting the The awakening and struggle of the oppressed.

Dou E is a kind, weak, lonely and helpless woman.She lost her mother at the age of three, was sold to the Cai family as a child bride at the age of seven, got married at the age of seventeen, and her husband died two years later.Dou E wanted to be a law-abiding widow, but the gangster Zhang Lver forced her to marry in broad daylight; it was Zhang Lver who accidentally killed his father, but the villain first sued and took the opportunity to frame Dou E.The prefect of Taowu (wuwu) regarded the complainant as a "parent of food and clothing", corrupted the law, and made Dou E "be tortured in every possible way, tortured in all kinds of ways, with one stick, a streak of blood, and a layer of skin", He was beaten into a trick and sentenced to death.The cruel reality opened Dou E's eyes, awakened her from the mental state of resignation, and ignited the anger of revenge in her heart.Before her execution, she issued a heart-piercing cry and accusation:

[Duanzheng] There is no reason to violate the king's law, not to be wary of being punished by the Constitution, and the cry is shocking.In an instant, the wandering soul went to Senluo Hall first, why didn't the world also complain? [Rolling Hydrangea Ball] There are sun and moon hanging at night, there are ghosts and gods who hold the power of life and death, and heaven and earth can only distinguish between clear and turbid, but how can they get confused and suddenly Robber Zhi [zhi] Yan Yuan?Those who do good will suffer from poverty and have a shorter life, while those who do evil will enjoy wealth and honor and prolong life.Tian Di also acted to be afraid of the strong and bully the weak, but Yuan Lai also pushed the boat along like this.The land, why do you not distinguish between good and evil?God, you are wrong to be stupid and foolish!Hey, I only shed two tears.

Dou E blatantly pointed at the heavens and the earth and denied ghosts and gods. This is undoubtedly a violent condemnation and bold attack on the dark reality of the Yuan Dynasty.Immediately afterwards, Dou E made three vows: blood splashing in vain, snow in June, and three years of drought in Chuzhou to show her innocence.Later, it really came true one by one.After death, Dou E's ghost continued to attack the dark reality, not only to avenge herself, but also to "swing the golden sword from now on, and kill all corrupt officials!" Emotions, pungent and refined language constitute the active romantic style of the play, producing a shocking artistic effect.

In the Yuan Dynasty, honored ministers and nobles enjoyed many privileges.In the Yuan Zaju, these dignitaries appeared in the name of "powerful and powerful" such as Ya Nei and Zhai Lang.They are self-dedicated to life and death, crippling the people to succeed, doing all kinds of evil, and have nothing to fear.With great anger and contempt, Guan Hanqing outlined the ferocious faces of these villains, revealing their despicable souls and the nature of being cruel and indifferent.At the same time, it extols the beautiful hearts and superhuman wisdom of the oppressed. Lu Zhailang in "Lu Zhailang" "is too small to be an official, and doesn't want to ride a horse if he is too thin", openly occupying the wife of silversmith Li Si.Then he took a fancy to the wife of Zhang Gui (gui Gui), the capital of the six cases, and ordered Zhang Gui to send her to the mansion himself.Although his bad deeds are obvious, no one dares to mess with him because of the emperor's favor.The stern, selfless and resourceful Bao Zheng used the pseudonym "Yu Qiji" in the memorial to deceive the emperor's sentence of beheading, and then changed "Yu Qiji" to "Lu Zhailang", and finally punished the villain.

In "Wangjiangting", Yang Yanei, in order to seize Tan Ji'er as his wife, was able to obtain the gold medal of the incoming sword and the arrest document from the emperor, and went to take the head of the new Tanzhou prefect Baishi. .While Yang Yanei was mooring a boat to look at the river pavilion, watching the moon and drinking, Tan Ji'er Qiao pretended to be a fisherwoman, and approached Yang Yanei under the pretext of offering freshly cut carp (kuai pieces).Grab his greedy and lustful nature, lure him to write obscene poems, and steal gold medals and documents.Using this as evidence, he and her husband Bai Shizhong reported on Yang Yanei.Not only punished the wicked, but also kept a happy and happy marriage.Guan Hanqing peeled off Yang Yanei's painted skin with a playful and cursing style, and let him be defeated by the unarmed Tan Jier. He used his ugly mane (manhanmanhan) to bring out Tan Jier's intelligence, beauty, wisdom and courage.

In "Saving the Wind and Dust", Zhou She, the sex offender, is a rich and powerful romantic veteran.He seduced Song Yinzhang, an inexperienced prostitute, and abused her wantonly when he got tired of playing.Zhao Pan'er, who has been through the world and has been a hero for a long time, ignited the anger of vengeance in his heart. He made clever arrangements and showed off his romantic methods, which made the cunning Zhou She fascinated, wrote a letter of divorce, and ended up losing his personal wealth and losing everything.Zhao Pan'er lives in filth, but she has a pure heart and a strong character.Knowing herself and the enemy, she played Zhou She in the palm of her hand and rescued her sister Song Yinzhang from the fire pit, which fully demonstrated the wisdom and strength of the oppressed lower class people.The script shows the contest between beauty and ugliness, good and evil between Zhao Pan'er and Zhou She, and writes a struggle full of danger and blood and tears lightly and vividly, with a strong sense of comedy.

Ge Biao in the book is a royal relative with a high official status.He galloped down the street, knocked down old man Wang, accused the other party of charging his horse's head, beat old man Wang to death, and said: "I don't pay for killing people, I only want to tear a tile off the eaves!" After hearing the news, Mrs. Wang , took three sons, caught the murderer and wanted to go to court to argue.The three sons beat and kicked Ge Biao to death.Granny Wang was not afraid at all, instead she laughed at Ge Biao: "Zei said that you pretend to be a hero on the long street, and who would have thought that your blood would be buried in a pool of blood. It was the time when the general shot the painful arrow, which seemed to shoot someone." The three sons fought for their lives. Grandma Wang tried her best to protect Wang Da and Wang Er, who were born to her ex-mother, but reluctantly chose her own son Wang San to take her life.From Grandma Wang's actions, Bao Zheng thought of his "butterfly dream" at night: a big butterfly rescued two small butterflies in the spider web, but another small butterfly was caught in the net, but the big butterfly didn't try to save it anymore.Bao Zheng suddenly realized something, and after questioning, Grandma Wang told the truth.Bao Zheng was greatly moved, designed to save Wang San from the death penalty, and praised the "virtuousness" of Wang's mother-in-law and the "filial piety" of the three Wang brothers.This play denies the privilege of power and power to "kill people without paying for their lives", affirms the common people's just counterattack, and expresses deep sympathy and understanding for the oppressed.Grandma Wang shines with the brilliance of the traditional virtues of the Chinese people. Guan Hanqing paid great attention to social issues, and even made the fate of women a central theme.He has created a large number of "Danben plays" throughout his life, exposing the abuse and persecution of women by power and power, and taking the fate of women, which embodies many social contradictions, as a breakthrough point, reflecting the suffering and anger, awakening and resistance at the bottom of society.Guanju has successfully portrayed many female images, including prostitutes, such as Zhao Paner and Song Yinzhang in "Saving the Wind and Dust", Xie Tianxiang in "Xie Tianxiang", Du Ruiniang in "Golden Thread Pool"; There are Yanyan in Fengyue; there are ladies, such as Wang Ruilan in "Worshiping the Moon Pavilion", and Wang Guixiang in "A Dream of Scarlet Clothes"; there are child brides, such as Dou E in "Wangjiangting"; There are Tan Ji'er, Mrs. Deng in "Crying and Filial Piety"; Mrs. Liu and Mrs. Liu... have different personalities and fates, but they all leave a deep impression on people. Guan Hanqing's plays have a wide range of themes and styles.Tragedy such as "Wangjiangting" and "Saving the Wind and Dust" have the wonderfulness of laughing and cursing, witty and spicy; works such as "Tune the Wind and Moon" and "Worshiping the Moon Pavilion" combine tragedy and comedy. Artfully blended together to express dignified affection in a relaxed form.In addition, Guan Hanqing also created a large number of historical dramas. For example, "Single Sword Club" is based on the story of the Three Kingdoms. After playing the Battle of Chibi, Sun Wu saw that Liu Bei had a sign of hegemony, so he wanted to seize the important land of Jingzhou from the Shu Han.Frightened by Guan Yu's bravery, he didn't dare to take it directly, so he invited Guan Yu to Jiangdong for a banquet and asked Jingzhou for courtesy.At the same time, ambush the armored soldiers, and if the court fails, they will take Guan Yu as a hostage and ask for Jingzhou to be returned.Guan Yu saw through Soochow's intentions, but out of heroism, he still agreed to go to the meeting alone in a flat boat.The river winds are hunting, and the water is rushing up and down the mountains.The Chibi [aoao] soldiers are in sight, and the blood of the heroes in those days is like a river rushing endlessly. [Shuangtune New Water Order] and [Zhuma Ting] sang Guan Yu's infinite emotions: [Double Tune New Water Order] Da Jiangdong went to Langqiandie, leading dozens of people to drive this small boat for one leaf.It's no more than the nine-level dragon and phoenix palace, but it's exactly the thousand-foot tiger and wolf cave.Husband's heart is farewell, and I look at [qu go] that this single-handed society is like Sai Village. (Cloud) What a beautiful view of the river! [Standing in horses to listen] Where are the young Zhou Lang?Unknowingly disappeared.Poor Huang Gai turned hurt.The masts and sculls that broke the cao were cut off for a while, and the river where the soldiers fought fiercely was still hot, so that it made me feel miserable! (Cloud) This is not river water, (singing) Heroic blood that has flowed endlessly for twenty years. When Guan Yu came to Soochow, he was calm and calm in the face of danger.Surrounded by soldiers, they didn't change their faces.He attacked the case with a knife, angrily rebuked the group of enemies, and finally escaped safely with Guan Ping's support.Through long-distance introductions, close-up foreshadowing, and close-up arrangements, the play successfully portrays Guan Yu's heroic image, expresses his pride, and demonstrates his extraordinary bearing and national spirit.