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 1 - Wang Shiyao, “Enquiry of the Rat” (“Fangshu” 訪鼠) from Fifteen Strings of Cash (Shiwu guan 十五貫)
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 on 21 October 2010
Translated and annotated by Anne Rebull
Actor
Wang Shiyao 王世瑤 (1939–2020) was a Zhejiang Troupe performer and the son of Wang Chuansong 王傳淞, a member of the legendary “chuan” generation (chuan zi bei 傳字輩) [both Appendix H] of kunqu 崑曲 performers. Like his father, many of whose roles he inherited, Wang Shiyao was a leading chou 丑 of his era.
Synopsis
Fifteen Strings of Cash (Shiwu Guan 十五貫) is a play by the Suzhou-based, early Qing dramatist Zhu Suchen 朱素臣, drawing on earlier vernacular stories by Feng Menglong 馮夢龍 and Li Yu (II) 李漁 [all Appendix H] that themselves were based on the historical figure Kuang Zhong 况鍾. The version of Fifteen Strings of Cash that is performed onstage today is a heavily revised and abridged 1956 adaptation of Zhu Suchen's version by the Zhejiang Kunqu Troupe (Zhejiang sheng Kunju tuan 浙江省崑劇團) [Appendix I]. This adaptation is considered “a centerpiece of drama reform” (Fox 2019, 385; see also Scott 1969; Ji Hu 1985; Rebull 2017a) and also became a popular xiqu 戲曲 film (Rebull 2017b). Its success was in large part due to the approval of senior People's Republic of China (PRC) officials, including Zhou Enlai (1989, 204), who praised it as “rich in ideological content, because it stigmatizes subjectivism and bureaucratism.”
Wu Xinlei (2002, 120–22) provides a summary of both the full original play and of the individual zhezixi 折子戲 derived from it, as they appear in kunqu repertoire. One of the first translations of any kunqu performance text into English was that of the Foreign Languages Press in 1957, although A. C. Scott's 1969 translation is more widely available (Chu Su-chen 1957; Scott 1969). Scott had seen the play performed in Beijing in 1956 and his text contains one of the earliest extensive descriptions of kunqu in English, providing photographs, extensive stage directions, and descriptions of costumes.
The original Qing script concerns two brothers who are condemned to death because they are falsely accused of complicity in murder cases.
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- Information
- Kunqu Masters on Chinese Theatrical Performance , pp. 29 - 58Publisher: Anthem PressPrint publication year: 2022