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 4 - Liu Yilong, “Descending the Mountain” (“Xiashan” 下山) from Ocean of Sin (Niehai ji 孽海記)
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 Josh Stenberg
Lecturer
Liu Yilong 劉異龍 (b. 1940) has for many years been a leading chou 丑 of the Shanghai Troupe. Born in Jiangxi, outside kunqu's core area, he had to acquire the Suzhou dialect as a young man. In theatre school he cycled through numerous role types before settling into the chou repertoire. He studied with “chuan” generation (chuan zi bei 傳字輩) performers, including Hua Chuanhao 華傳浩 and Wang Chuansong 王傳淞 [Appendix H]. His stage collaborations with the versatile dan 旦 Liang Guyin 梁谷音 [see Lecture 11], including for this scene, are particularly well known.
Synopsis
“Descending the Mountain” (“Xiashan” 下山) is one of the most popular comic scenes in kunqu. Since Chinese monasteries and nunneries are usually (and in narratives, reliably) located on hills and mountains, reference to “descending the mountain” already implies escape from religious life.
“Descending the Mountain” can refer to the whole scene or just to a solo section for the monk Benwu 本無, which can also be called “The Little Monk Descends the Mountain” (“Xiaoheshang xiashan” 小和尚下山). When specified as “Double Descending the Mountain” (“Shuang xiashan” 雙下山), also known as “Monk Meets Nun” (“Sengni hui” 僧尼會), a second part is performed during which Benwu is joined by the nun Sekong 色空. “Descending the Mountain” is closely linked to Sekong's scene, “Longing for the Ordinary World” (“Si fan” 思凡), which takes place previously, and in which Sekong prepares to leave the abbey and rejoin the ordinary world.
Both scenes had become popular in kunqu by the eighteenth century (Goldman 2001). Older versions ended with karmic retributions for the characters for their sins, perhaps extracted from or related to the Mulian narrative. In the scenes as extant in repertoire (which do not treat their later lives at all), that harsh judgment is absent in favor of the celebration of the characters’ amorous rebellion against the strictures of religion, since they were given to the temples as children (to save their lives) and have no religious vocation.
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- Information
- Kunqu Masters on Chinese Theatrical Performance , pp. 113 - 136Publisher: Anthem PressPrint publication year: 2022