Text/Luo Han
On the evening of November 17, I watched a special performance of Qin Opera excerpts at the Meixin Theater. One of the plays was called "Zhong Kui" "Married Sister", I have watched it no less than three or four times since it was first released last year and it has left a profound impact on me every time I watch it. When I communicated with some theater fans, I found that many viewers did not actually understand this play. I felt it was necessary to talk about some of my personal superficial understanding of this play in order to communicate and appreciate it with everyone.
? "Zhong Kui Marries His Sister" tells the story of Zhong Kui, a country boy who went to Beijing to take an examination in the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty. On the way, he accidentally entered a ghost cave and became ugly. He had already passed the scientific examination, but was shocked in the palace examination. Jun, was deposed from his position. In a rage, he bumped into the steps and died. Zhong Kui had a good friend from his hometown, Du Ping, who was very charitable and gave a gift of silver to help Zhong Kui take the exam. After Zhong Kui died, he buried Zhong Kui in a grand ceremony. After Zhong Kui became the ghost king, in order to repay Du Ping's kindness during his lifetime, he led the naughty five ghosts home and married his sister to Du Ping, fulfilling his wish to marry his sister. This is the famous "Zhong Kui marries his sister"?
The opera performance of "Zhong Kui Marries His Sister" includes Peking Opera, Sizhou Opera, Sichuan Opera, Yunnan Opera and Kun Opera. The earliest examples include "The Solitary Yuan-Ming Zaju·Alarm Bell Kui" and Zhang Xinqi's "Tian Xia Yue" legend. He Guishan's representative works include the complete "Zhong Kui", which is also performed by Tongzhou Bangzi. This is a very beautiful legend about humans and ghosts in ancient China, and it is also the most tender story. It has been widely circulated from ancient times to the present. "Zhong Kui marries his sister" has become an important theme in the fields of painting, drama, film and other arts in our country, and is generally welcomed by people.
? This is a play with a mixture of sadness and joy. The joyful scenes cannot hide the sadness and desolation. Zhong Kui studied hard for ten years, was alone with his sister, and suffered all the hardships in the world. He finally achieved fame, but was ruined by his appearance, and became a victim of the secular society that judges people by their appearance. This is a sad and helpless story that takes place in the human world. People say that ghosts and monsters are evil and fierce, but they say that the feelings of ghosts are better than the feelings of humans. The world seems to be filled with pink willows and picturesque mountains and rivers, but in reality it is dominated by powerful traitors and cold-blooded people.
? Zhong Kui failed as a human being and turned into a ghost. He looked very ugly, but he was not scorned by the ghost world and was named the "General of Suppressing Evil". After becoming a ghost, the first thing he did was rush home to visit his sister Zhonghua. Will-o'-the-wisps flickered, the ghosts cleared the way, and four little ghosts gathered around. Along the way, I saw the mountains and rivers of the world, the beautiful scenery in the world, the chirping of insects and birds, the smoke of peach blossoms and willow trees, which was so hot and fascinating. Thinking that he has turned into a stranger and become a ghost hero, he feels sad and sad when he sees the scene, and his tears are unbearable.
Thinking of his lonely little sister, Zhong Kui felt like returning home. When he arrived at the door of his house, Zhong Kui was troubled. The little sister he cared about day and night was close at hand, but he didn't have the courage to knock on the door. He was afraid that his ferocious face would scare the little sister. This is the most touching part of the play. When Zhong Hua heard that her only relative had returned home, she was so happy that she went out and hurriedly opened the door. She saw a ghost standing in front of her and was so frightened that she lost her mind. A few months ago, the brother Zhao Kao, who was full of pride and longing for leaving home, has now become separated from the yin and yang, and is beyond recognition. The brother and sister hugged each other and cried, their hearts broken. The profound desolation and loneliness conveyed by Zhong Kui when he "arrives at the door of the house" expresses the deep artistic conception of people and ghosts on different paths, separated by yin and yang, like a fairy tale studio; his strange mannerisms and unfamiliar figure give Zhong Kui a unique character. Ugly beauty. A ghostly stage, a ruthless and sentimental stage - Zhong Kui's complex emotions and situation are all gathered and focused here. The pure beauty of humanity and the beauty of stage routines in traditional drama are clearly displayed in this play. This is also the scene of great joy, great sorrow, sadness and poignancy that Qin Opera is best at expressing.
? Zhong Kui chose a kind and loyal friend as his son-in-law, and led the kid to marry his sister. On a clear moonlit night, accompanied by drums and music, Zhong Kui sent his sister off to marry Du Ping.
On the surface, this is a typical song and dance play. The dance scene of Zhong Kui and the Five Ghosts is like flying all over the stage. The costumes of Zhong Kui and the Five Ghosts are also very dazzling. Some funny plots are also designed to intersperse the play. The little ghosts are all dancing. It’s a smiley face costume that lifts the audience’s spirits. Coupled with the singing and dancing, the changes in the characters that are also human, ghost, and god, and the changes in scenes that are also real, imaginary, and illusory, it is exciting and thought-provoking... The wonderful stage performance is even more refreshing and overwhelming.
? Zhong Kui, played by Song Shaofeng, an outstanding young actor from Qin, Gansu Province, has an appearance and temperament that basically matches the image of the character on the drama stage. Shaping costumes such as breast pads and fake buttocks (called zhafan) are characterized by a strange and bulky image, rough and charming dance figures, and special stunts such as fire breathing and teeth dancing. He stretched out his chest, shoulders and buttocks, put on a red official robe and a helmet, with pointed ears on both sides of his temples. He wore black satin thick-soled boots. He held a fan in one hand and stroked his beard with the other. The performance of Zhong Kui's paintings in the past dynasties is the same as that of other operas on the stage. It has a majestic demeanor but is not so martial, which is in line with Zhong Kui's unique image of being ugly yet beautiful.
? Song Shaofeng's performance in this drama allowed me to see another side of him, and his outstanding performance also added a lot to the drama. This play is a play that tests the actor's comprehensive strength. Looking at the excitement, it is too difficult to act well. Not to mention the craftsmanship but also the text, the joy but also the sadness. Even the grasp of the character's emotions and the expression of personality are not something ordinary actors can grasp. Shaofeng artistically demonstrated Zhong Kui's body movements very well, by tilting his shoulders, twisting his hips, pressing his shoulders, shrinking his neck, bulging his belly, sticking out his buttocks, etc. The series of dance movements should not only show some martial arts routines such as rolling and flopping, but also express a festive and peaceful wedding atmosphere. At the same time, Zhong Kui was a scholar during his lifetime and became like this after his death. How to integrate the inner elegance and the outer fortitude is the most difficult thing for actors to grasp. Shaofeng also handles the emotions and temperament of the characters well. The fire is even and full, and the interpretation is full of delicate tenderness and pathos. It can be seen that the actors put in a lot of hard work and effort off the stage. Zhong Kui worked closely with these little ghosts to create the same look, which not only displayed pictures of sculptural beauty on the stage, but also displayed Zhong Kui's charming demeanor, literati temperament, and resolute character in front of the audience. .
? Overall, this Qinqiang opera of "Zhong Kui Marries His Sister" is amazing. It accurately grasps the character's personality, portrays the character incisively, and plays Zhong Kui into a good person full of human feelings. , good ghosts, good gods. Zhong Kui is both a human and a ghost, a ghost and a god, and a human and a god. Zhong Kui is righteous, hates evil, and is upright and kind. He is an artistic image with a distinct personality that can stand up on the stage. The whole play achieves an artistic effect of being humorous, extraordinary, and both refined and popular.
For any art form, we should evaluate it from an appreciation and objective perspective. Similarly, this play is not perfect. It still requires the actors to have a deeper understanding of the script, and the handling of some details needs to be carefully polished.
? First of all, Zhong Kui's inner drama should be the biggest highlight of this drama. To truly create a flesh-and-blood character, the audience must be moved from the heart of the character. As mentioned before, this play is hilarious on the surface (mainly caused by the five ghosts), but Zhong Kui's heart is miserable, and the performance must be strong and clear. If the audience understands it, the heart is also heavy, and they will not express it easily. Laughter, laughter is also filled with tears and laughter. In addition, Qin Opera has always been known for its touching arias and music to express the innermost feelings of characters. This play lacks such arias and music design.
Secondly, as a drama, the narrative of this play is too straightforward. It feels that there is no dramatic conflict and climax. It is not expressive enough in punishing evil and promoting good, and the purest human feelings, and it does not portray the emotions of the characters deeply. The performances of the main actors are not subtle enough.
? Thirdly, this play is of great practical significance and can be used to satirize the appearance-obsessed people in today's society who judge people by their appearance. Regardless of whether you are a human or a ghost, kindness is fundamental.
On the contrary, those beautiful appearances and good looks may also hide a dirty inner world, which may be harmful ghosts and monsters. This theme is not highlighted enough.
Although Zhong Kui's play has not become a mainstream play on the drama stage, it has taken root among the audience because of its storyline and value orientation of punishing evil and promoting good, and praising the humanistic qualities of being ugly but kind-hearted and upright. With deep roots, Zhong Kui hates evil and is ordered to eradicate evil in the world. He has become the great exorcist in people's minds and the "Holy King of Blessings and Towns". He has been the protector of the people from ancient times to the present. I believe he will never leave the stage. . (First draft on November 19, 2018)