Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures
- Foreword
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- Notes on Translation
- Abbreviations and Acronyms
- List of Contributors
- Introduction
- Lecture 1 Wang Shiyao, “Enquiry of the Rat” (“Fangshu” 訪鼠) from Fifteen Strings of Cash (Shiwu guan 十五貫)
- Lecture 2 Wang Shiyu, “The Stirring Zither” (“Qintiao” 琴挑) from The Jade Hairpin (Yuzan ji 玉簪記)
- Lecture 3 Zhang Jiqing, “The Mad Dream” (“Chimeng” 癡夢) from Lanke Mountain (Lanke shan 爛柯山)
- Lecture 4 Liu Yilong, “Descending the Mountain” (“Xiashan” 下山) from Ocean of Sin (Niehai ji 孽海記)
- Lecture 5 Huang Xiaowu, “The Tavern” (“Jiulou” 酒樓) from The Palace of Lasting Life (Changsheng dian 長生殿)
- Lecture 6 Cai Zhengren, “Instating the Statue, Lamenting the Statue” (“Yingxiang, Kuxiang” 迎像哭像) from The Palace of Lasting Life (Changsheng dian 長生殿)
- Lecture 7 Ji Zhenhua, “Playing the Ballad” (“Tanci” 彈詞) from The Palace of Lasting Life (Changsheng dian 長生殿)
- Lecture 8 Hua Wenyi, “The Stroll in the Garden” (“Youyuan” 遊園) and “The Dream Interrupted” (“Jingmeng” 驚夢) from The Peony Pavilion (Mudan ting 牡丹亭)
- Lecture 9 Hou Shaokui, “Sword Meeting” (“Daohui” 刀會) from Single Sword Meeting (Dandaohui 單刀會)
- Lecture 10 Fan Jixin, “Writing the Accusation” (“Xie zhuang” 寫狀) from Tale of the Mermaid Silk Handkerchief (Jiaoxiao ji 鮫綃記)
- Lecture 11 Liang Guyin, “The Tryst” (“Jiaqi” 佳期) from The Western Chamber (Xixiang ji 西廂記)
- Lecture 12 Yue Meiti, “The Inn on the Lake” (“Hu lou” 湖樓) from To Win a Peerless Beauty (Zhan huakui 占花魁)
- Postface
- Appendix A Correspondence between Lectures in This Book and Masters’ Lectures
- Appendix B How Scenes Open and Conclude
- Appendix C Musical and Vocal Terms
- Appendix D Movement and Body Terms
- Appendix E Costume Terms
- Appendix F Plays, Scenes, and Drama Collections
- Appendix G Late Imperial Theatre Figures
- Appendix H Modern Chinese Theatre Figures
- Appendix I Kunqu Troupes and Other Ensembles
- Appendix J Other Genres and Troupes
- References
- Bibliography
- Index
Lecture 7 - Ji Zhenhua, “Playing the Ballad” (“Tanci” 彈詞) from The Palace of Lasting Life (Changsheng dian 長生殿)
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 January 2023
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures
- Foreword
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- Notes on Translation
- Abbreviations and Acronyms
- List of Contributors
- Introduction
- Lecture 1 Wang Shiyao, “Enquiry of the Rat” (“Fangshu” 訪鼠) from Fifteen Strings of Cash (Shiwu guan 十五貫)
- Lecture 2 Wang Shiyu, “The Stirring Zither” (“Qintiao” 琴挑) from The Jade Hairpin (Yuzan ji 玉簪記)
- Lecture 3 Zhang Jiqing, “The Mad Dream” (“Chimeng” 癡夢) from Lanke Mountain (Lanke shan 爛柯山)
- Lecture 4 Liu Yilong, “Descending the Mountain” (“Xiashan” 下山) from Ocean of Sin (Niehai ji 孽海記)
- Lecture 5 Huang Xiaowu, “The Tavern” (“Jiulou” 酒樓) from The Palace of Lasting Life (Changsheng dian 長生殿)
- Lecture 6 Cai Zhengren, “Instating the Statue, Lamenting the Statue” (“Yingxiang, Kuxiang” 迎像哭像) from The Palace of Lasting Life (Changsheng dian 長生殿)
- Lecture 7 Ji Zhenhua, “Playing the Ballad” (“Tanci” 彈詞) from The Palace of Lasting Life (Changsheng dian 長生殿)
- Lecture 8 Hua Wenyi, “The Stroll in the Garden” (“Youyuan” 遊園) and “The Dream Interrupted” (“Jingmeng” 驚夢) from The Peony Pavilion (Mudan ting 牡丹亭)
- Lecture 9 Hou Shaokui, “Sword Meeting” (“Daohui” 刀會) from Single Sword Meeting (Dandaohui 單刀會)
- Lecture 10 Fan Jixin, “Writing the Accusation” (“Xie zhuang” 寫狀) from Tale of the Mermaid Silk Handkerchief (Jiaoxiao ji 鮫綃記)
- Lecture 11 Liang Guyin, “The Tryst” (“Jiaqi” 佳期) from The Western Chamber (Xixiang ji 西廂記)
- Lecture 12 Yue Meiti, “The Inn on the Lake” (“Hu lou” 湖樓) from To Win a Peerless Beauty (Zhan huakui 占花魁)
- Postface
- Appendix A Correspondence between Lectures in This Book and Masters’ Lectures
- Appendix B How Scenes Open and Conclude
- Appendix C Musical and Vocal Terms
- Appendix D Movement and Body Terms
- Appendix E Costume Terms
- Appendix F Plays, Scenes, and Drama Collections
- Appendix G Late Imperial Theatre Figures
- Appendix H Modern Chinese Theatre Figures
- Appendix I Kunqu Troupes and Other Ensembles
- Appendix J Other Genres and Troupes
- References
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Recorded 16 June 2010
Translated and annotated by Kim Hunter Gordon
Actor
Ji Zhenhua 計鎮華 (b. 1943), a Shanghai Troupe [Appendix I] laosheng 老生, is renowned as one of the great male voices of kunqu. In 1987, he became the first kunqu laosheng to win the Plum Blossom Prize (Meihua jiang 梅花獎). He is considered the “pre-eminent performer” of this scene, which is acclaimed as “the signature piece of his career and singing artistry” (Lam 2014, 118).
Synopsis
For the general background of The Palace of Lasting Life (Changsheng dian 長生殿) [Appendix F] see Lecture 5. The scene here concerns Li Guinian 李龜年, a former player in Tang Minghuang's 唐明皇 imperial ensemble, now “reduced to eking out a living as an itinerant balladeer who performs stories to music.” Corresponding to scene 38 in the script of The Palace of Lasting Life, in this scene Li Guinian sings “the tragic history of Lady Yang [Yang Guifei 楊貴妃; personal name Yang Yuhuan 楊玉環] and the emperor to amuse a plebeian audience at a temple fair in Nanjing” (Zeitlin 2006, 485). The flautist Li Mu 李暮, also a refugee from the disasters of the An Lushan rebellion, happens upon him there and the two discuss the glories of the past and the nation's present dire state. Literary scholars have tended to see Li Guinian as the “dramatic persona” of the playwright Hong Sheng 洪昇, and as a way to generate sympathy for “the correlation of the fortunes of the empire and the royal couple,” whose story is the main line of the plot (Wang 2009, 248).
Role Types
Li Guinian wears a long white beard and is a laosheng 老生 of the wai 外 subvariety. Li Mu is a jinsheng 巾生. There are often four other fairgoers of assorted role types listening to Li Guinian recount his tale, though Ji does not mention them.
Performance
A video recording of Ji Zhenhua's rendition was made for the first volume of Kunju Collection (Kunju xuanji 崑劇選輯), published in Taiwan in 1992.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Kunqu Masters on Chinese Theatrical Performance , pp. 191 - 220Publisher: Anthem PressPrint publication year: 2022