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 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)
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 1 June 2011
Translated and annotated by Anne Rebull
Lecturer
Hua Wenyi 華文漪 (1941–2022) was among the best-known contemporary dan 旦 performers. Part of the first generation of kunqu students trained after the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC), she was a member of the Shanghai Troupe [Appendix I], becoming its director in 1985. While she was on tour with the Shanghai Troupe in the United States, the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown led her to settle in California. In the following decades she became instrumental to the growth of kunqu outside the PRC, performing in several experimental productions, including an avant-garde production of The Peony Pavilion (Mudan ting 牡丹亭) [Appendix F] that premiered in 1998 and was directed by Peter Sellars [Appendix H]. In 1997 she was named a National Heritage Fellow for the US National Endowment for the Arts.
Synopsis
The Peony Pavilion is today the most familiar and iconic kunqu 崑曲 play, and both excerpted scenes and more extended versions represent core repertoire for the main troupes. Written by Tang Xianzu 湯顯祖 [Appendix G], its central figure is Du Liniang 杜麗娘, the 16-year-old daughter of the prefect. The scene that is the subject of Hua's lecture here depicts Du Liniang's visit to the abandoned family garden (“The Stroll in the Garden” [“Youyuan” 遊園]) where she dreams of a young scholar (“The Dream Interrupted” [“Jingmeng” 驚夢]). These two linked scenes, based on scene ten of The Peony Pavilion script, can be performed separately (the two halves have their own song suites), but they are most often performed together, and in this lecture Hua does not strongly differentiate them.
These two scenes are the centerpiece of the play as performed today. A preceding comic scene, known as “Chunxiang Disturbs Class” (“Chunxiang naoxue” 春香鬧學) and “The Schoolroom” (“Xuetang” 學堂), showcases the high spirits of Chunxiang 春香, the heroine's maid, and shows Chunxiang encouraging Du Liniang to distract herself from the ennui of her boudoir.
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- Kunqu Masters on Chinese Theatrical Performance , pp. 221 - 240Publisher: Anthem PressPrint publication year: 2022