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 5 - Huang Xiaowu, “The Tavern” (“Jiulou” 酒樓) 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 23 October 2010
Translated and annotated by Guo Chao
Lecturer
Huang Xiaowu 黃小午 (b. 1948), a Jiangsu Company laosheng 老生, studied with “chuan” generation (chuan zi bei 傳字輩) performers, including Zhou Chuanying 周傳瑛 and Zheng Chuanjian 鄭傳鑑 [all Appendix H]. His wife Wang Weijian 王維艱 is among the leading performers of laodan 老旦 roles of her generation.
Synopsis
The Palace of Lasting Life (Changsheng dian 長生殿) [Appendix F] is a chuanqi 傳奇 script by Hong Sheng 洪昇 (1645–1704) [Appendix G], completed in 1688. Also translated as The Palace of Eternal Youth and The Palace of Eternal Life, it deals with the familiar story of the doomed love between the Tang emperor Minghuang 唐明皇 (that is, the Xuanzong 玄宗 emperor Li Longji 李隆基, r. 685–762 CE) and Precious Consort Yang (Yang Guifei 楊貴妃; personal name Yang Yuhuan 楊玉環, 719–756 CE). The story of their love and its consequences already had a long tradition in fiction, verse, and drama before Hong's work. Whereas some of those treatments portray Yang as unfaithful and Minghuang as culpable for the An Lushan 安禄山 rebellion (755–763 CE) as a result of neglecting his responsibilities, Hong presents both figures sympathetically. One of the highlights of Qing drama and the kunqu stage, The Palace of Lasting Life is often cited “for its exceptional musicality, that is, for the marvelous fit between the words and the tune patterns Hong Sheng employed” (Zeitlin 2006, 458). The chuanqi script by Hong consists of 50 scenes, early performances of which reportedly lasted “three days and nights.” Both historically and at present, a more common way to perform this content would be to mix these scenes with highlights from other plays. From the mid-1980s onward, sequential kunqu 崑曲 versions of one or more sessions (for example, on consecutive evenings) have proven popular, including five-scene (1986) and four-session, 44-scene versions in Shanghai (2007) (Yang 2018, 29, 48–49, 63, 205).
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- Information
- Kunqu Masters on Chinese Theatrical Performance , pp. 137 - 162Publisher: Anthem PressPrint publication year: 2022