"The Story of Nie Hai" is a play created in the late Ming Dynasty. It uses the story of a little nun who has sex and a little monk who has no intention of escaping Buddhism to pursue love. It casts a sharp light on the ethics and religion that restrain human nature in the Ming Dynasty. criticize. The lyrics are easy to understand, the music is bright and lively, and it has a distinctive local color. The original script of "Nie Hai Ji" has been lost.

"Nie Hai Ji" was originally written in Yiyang tune. In the early Qing Dynasty, Kun Opera absorbed the two plays "Sifan" and "Down the Mountain", preserved the original lyrics, added rich dance figures and performance skills, and became The famous Kunqu opera has been passed down to this day.

"Sifan" Lyrics:

(Sekong Part 1.)

Sekong (chanting) In the past, there was a monk named Mu Lian who saved his mother from the gate of hell. . I would like to ask how many roads there are in Lingshan Mountain. There are more than one hundred and eight thousand.

(White) Namo Amitabha!

(Thinking) It is pitiful to have my hair cut off to become a nun, and a Zen lamp accompanies me to sleep. The passage of time makes people grow old, and they fail to live up to their youthful beauty.

(White) Xiaoni, Zhao family, Dharma name and color are empty. I became a monk in Xiantao Temple since I was a child, burning incense and chanting Buddha's name all day long. When night comes, I sleep alone on my pillow, which is very desolate.

(Shanshan Sheep Card) The little nun was twenty-eight years old and in her youth, but her hair was shaved off by her master.

Every day, I burned incense and exchanged water in the Buddhist temple, and saw several disciples playing games under the mountain gate.

He looked at us, and we looked at him.

He and we, we care about him, we worry a lot about each other.

How can enemies achieve a marriage? It is up to him to die in front of the Hall of the King of Hell.

Crush it, pound it, saw it, grind it,

put it in a frying pan and fry it, ah, it’s up to him!

How can you see a living person suffering, how can you ever see a dead ghost wearing a yoke?

Ah, let him, he can’t wait to look at the present.

(Bai) If you want me to become a monk here, I won’t be afraid of doing other people’s things!

(Tea Picking Song Tablet) Because my father is fond of reading sutras and my mother loves to recite the Buddha's name, she prays in the evening and pays homage to the Buddha, and burns incense in the Buddhist temple every day to offer sacrifices to the Buddha.

I had many illnesses when I was born, so I gave up my life as a slave and lived as a nun in a Buddhist home.

Watching for the dead with others, I kept chanting Amitabha,

I could only hear the sound of bells and chants, and I kept beating chimes, ringing bells, beating drums and blowing conch shells,

Working with the underworld in vain.

I have recited all the "Duo Heart Sutra"; "The Peacock Sutra" is indisputable.

Only the seven volumes of the "Lotus Sutra" are the most difficult to learn. Our master is dreaming in his sleep It’s been called here.

Recite Namo Buddha a few times, Duozuiduo, Prajnaparamita of Samaha,

Recite Namo Buddha a few times, Hate a matchmaker, Sahaha, ai! Call, call, there is nothing you can do!

I am trembling after reciting it a few times, but I still sigh a lot.

(白) The more you think about it, the more you think about it, which only makes you more depressed. It's not unavoidable to take a walk under the corridor, which is more or less good.

(Tea Picking Song) If you go around the corridor to relieve yourself, you will be alone, if you go around the corridor to relieve yourself, you will be alone!

(White) Look at the Arhats on both sides, they are so solemn in shape.

(Crying Emperor Tian Pai) I only saw the arhats on both sides, which looked a little silly.

One child hugs his knees and comforts his arms, thinking about me.

A child holds his cheek in his hand, thinking of me in his heart.

One of them opened his eyes tiredly and looked at me hazy.

Only the Man-bag Arhat laughs. He laughed at me when I was a child, and time passed by.

Who, who is willing to marry an old woman like me?

Those who subdue the dragon annoy me, those who subdue the tiger hate me.

The great immortal with long eyebrows is worried about me, wondering what will happen when I grow old!

(Xiangxue Lantern Brand) The lamp in front of the Buddha cannot be used as a wedding candle.

Xiangji Kitchen cannot make Daiyan East Pavilion.

The Bell and Drum Tower cannot be used as a watchtower.

Grass futons cannot be made into hibiscus, hibiscus soft mattresses.

The slave is a female, not a man.

Why do you wear a yellow sash around your waist and straight clothes?

Seeing a couple facing each other in brocade, they were like,

Oh my god! It’s not because people’s hearts are as hot as fire. It’s not because people’s hearts are as hot as fire!

(Bai) Most of my master and brothers are not in the nunnery today. I can't help but run away down the mountain. If there is a marriage, it is unknown.

It makes sense, it makes sense!

(The wind blows the lotus leaves to destroy the sign) The slave tore his cassock,

buried the Buddhist scriptures, abandoned the wooden fish, and lost the cymbals.

You can’t learn from the Rakshasa girl to conquer demons, you can’t learn from the Moon Guanyin Seat in the South Sea.

In the deep night, I lie down alone, and when I get up, I sit alone.

Who is as lonely and miserable as me? Like this, why do you want to cut off your hair?

Hate only hate, lying monks and laypeople, where can there be a Buddha with gardens and trees in the world?

Where is the Buddha with bright branches and leaves? Where are the floating sand Buddhas on both sides of the rivers and lakes?

Where are the 840,000 Amitabha Buddhas?

From now on, I will stay away from the Bell and Drum Tower Buddhist Hall and go down the mountain to find a young brother.

He will beat me, scold me, talk about me, laugh at me, and do not want to succeed. Buddha, do not recite Amitabha Prajnaparamita!

(Bai) Okay, I escaped down the mountain!

(End) I wish I could give birth to a child, but my happiness kills me!

(Under the color sky.)

Extended information:

"Sifan" is a section of the Kunqu opera "Nie Hai Ji". The protagonist of "Sifan" is a little nun Se Kong. She was sick when she was young and was sent to live in Xiantao Nunnery by her parents. Se Kong couldn't bear the lonely life of worshiping Buddha and chanting sutras, so he escaped from the nunnery privately.

The whole play is played by one person, with heavy figures and changeable postures. The first half of the play focuses on the process of delicate singing and the transformation of thoughts, while the second half of the play focuses on body skills, covering the fields of boudoir dan and tie dan. Generally, tie dan is used to work, and one must have the subtlety of boudoir dan, which is very difficult. .

The prose of "Sifan" is beautiful and very popular among the audience. Mr. Lin Yutang once praised that "its prose is worthy of being called the first-class work in China without any shame."

Baidu Encyclopedia - Nie Hai Ji

Baidu Encyclopedia - Sifan