This course will focus on the historical and cultural background, literary aesthetics, music, and performance of Kunqu, China’s classical opera. After viewing the lecture videos presented by scholars and renowned maestros in the field of Kunqu, students’ understanding and appreciation of Chinese performing arts, classical literature and traditional culture will be enhanced.
3.3. Demostration of the young official role-type: "Looking Homeward", a scene from The Shepherd
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From the course by The Chinese University of Hong Kong
The Beauty of Kunqu Opera
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From the lesson
The Art of Kunqu Performance: the Male Role-Types
Just like other genres of Chinese opera, Kunqu has a broad range of role-types, such as male (sheng), female (dan), painted face (jing) and comic (chou). From this week on, legendary performing artists who have devoted their whole lives to Kunqu will talk about the role-types they specialize in and their facial makeup, costume, singing, speaking and movements. In addition, they will demonstrate some of the very important repertoires in Kunqu and share with us the characteristics of each of them.
This week, Maestros Yue Meiti and Cai Zhengren will talk about one of the most important role-types of Kunqu, the male role-type. Classical plays such as The Jade Hairpin, The Shepherd, and The Palace of Eternal Life will be introduced as well.
Meet the Instructors
Prof. Wei Hua 華瑋Professor and Division Head
Department of Chinese Language and Literature
Prof. Kenneth Hsien-yung Pai 白先勇Wei Lun Professor of Humanities
Faculty of Arts
Prof. Lindy Li Mark 李林德Professor Emerita
Anthropology
This play (<i>The Shepard [Mu Yang Ji]</i>) is based on
a historic event that took place during Han dynasty.
Su Wu, a court official,
was sent on a diplomatic mission to Xiongnu territory (in what is today Outer and Inner Mongolia).
He was detained by the Xiongnu supreme chieftain,
who tried to persuade him to defect. Su Wu refused.
As punishment, <i>chanyu</i> confined him to the desert region on the shores of the “North Sea” (Lake Baikal in southern Russia).
Meanwhile Li Ling, a young Chinese general,
volunteered to rescue Su Wu with a crack troop of 5000 men.
Unfortunately he was defeated by <i>chanyu</i>’s great army of 800,000.
Li Ling surrendered; perhaps saving his own life in order to fight another day.
When Emperor Han Wudi learned of Li’s surrender,
he immediately executed all of Li Ling’s kinsmen and ordered his ancestral graves desecrated.
In grief and despair, Li Ling gave his loyalty to the <i>chanyu</i>.
<i>Chanyu </i>treated him well, made him a general, and gave him a beautiful lady in marriage.
Su Wu was detained for nineteen years before being allowed to return to China.
Li Ling later committed suicide.
I already talked about foot work of the <i>official</i> role-type.
Now let me demonstrate the entrance from “Looking homeward”.
Why?
(Because) the entrance in “Looking homeward” is rather unusual.
Li Ling is a famous general in this play.
He came to this place on horseback.
But this is not a<i> warrior </i>role-type.
The <i>warrior </i>role-type requires fighting actions.
He is not a <i>warrior </i>here; he is in<i> young male</i> role-type.
He is designated a <i>young male.
The <i>young male </i>is primarily a singing role-type.
The <i>warrior</i> role-type is primarily a fighter.
His role-type is determined by the play…
Not a <i>warrior</i>, a <i>young male</i>.
But if he acts like a regular <i>young male</i>,
it would not be right (as Li Ling). Why?
Because he enters wearing <i>mang</i> (armor).
Armor indicates a high ranking officer.
He also wears a purple-gold crown
topped by two long pheasant tails (symbols of high rank warrior status).
His costume shows his high rank.
His social status.
He enters like this, on horseback.
Where is he going? To the North Sea.
What is the North Sea like?
A desert, in the horizon, an ocean.
A desolate place.
The actor must bring the dramatic moment onto the stage.
What dramatic moment?
He is anxious to see Su Wu.
He and Su Wu are sworn brothers for life.
After Su Wu was held hostage by the Huns,
they haven’t met for many years.
Li Ling surrendered and married the (Hun) princess.
But when he asked to visit Su Wu,
the Khan would not agree.
Today the Khan agreed to the visit
but under a condition.
That is, to work on Su Wu.
To persuade him not to hold out.
Li Ling reluctantly agreed.
He agreed to it because then…
he can visit his beloved elder brother.
This is his state of mind.
This is why he is very anxious.
In my imagination, a cavalry precedes him.
I imagine, as this young warrior enters…
(The percussion ensemble plays) four rallies of drum and cymbals.
Why? He is already a high ranking officer...
surrounded by attendants…
accompanied by cavalry.
This character should be enacted by the <i>scholar official </i>role-type.
Dressed in a gown will not look the part.
That is why Li Ling is dressed in armor.
One hand holds up (one flap of) his armor,
(expanding) the power of his stature.
He enters the stage this way.
He is not a <i>warrior…
Not a (regular) <i>young male</i>, he is an <i>official</i>.
His bearing is entirely different from that of a <i>young scholar.
His use of eyes is entirely different from that of a <i>young scholar</i>.
The strength of his arms…
His torso, his back, are all different.
His entire body is pulled upward.
If, I pull up my body when I am playing Liu Mengmei,
the audience will feel tired.
I have to hold my chest down, gracefully...
The audience will feel comfortable.
But if I play Li Ling that way…
the audience will feel that I am out of character.
There is a measuring stick in everybody’s mind.
Now I’ve talked about what Li Ling is,
why he makes his entrance this way?
Now I’ll explain (why) he enters this way.
When enters, his eyes…
are looking far away… searching.
This desolate place, not a soul in sight.
He turns his horsewhip like this…
He searches again from this angle.
Searching, making a big half <i>circle the stage.
We call this<i> circle the stage</i>. This is called <i>cloud hands</i>.
When he gets here, he seems to hear sheep bleating.
Su Wu was made to herd rams.
He heard bleating when he arrives here…
He tosses (his body), <i>cloud hand</i>, horsewhip, swings his pheasant tail (his headdress).
I imagine he is half lying on horseback,
straining to listen to the sound.
As he turns around…
He saw something…
He looks, once, twice, and dismounts.
This is the way to dismount (on stage).
This is how Li Ling makes his entrance in “Looking homeward”.
I explained how he makes his entrance.
Now I will explain their meeting.
That is, the meeting of Li Ling and Su Wu.
A ranking<i> official</i> acts out a different personality type.
His status, place, situation are all different (from the <i>young scholar</i>).
How do they greet each other?
In classical Kunqu plays…
The meeting of two or more characters is very important.
If you have seen Kunqu performances before,
try to think back, how is meeting enacted in “Repartee of zithers”.
How about “Stealing the poem” (<i>Jade Hairpin</i>).
“Visiting the sick”… the meetings are all different.
The meetings match the dramatic moment.
This shows that Kunqu, on the whole, has a high level of dramatic artistry.
In this play, how do these two meet?
Crying out in the ordinary way will not touch the audience.
Let me divide this (sequence) into three parts.
After Li Ling leaps from his horse,
because just now he heard sheep bleating,
he knows Su Wu is over there.
And as he halts his horse, he seems to see someone over there.
As soon as he dismounted,
he orders his entourage away.
He starts to talk to himself.
“Where is my elder brother?”
He seems to have heard his own voice.
“Where is my elder brother?”
“Where is my elder brother?” This is the third time.
He can barely wait…
He says this phrase three times with different states of mind.
The third time he shouts full throated.
Just like when we call out on the athletic field…
shouting loudly, “Come back here.”
In this desolate, wide, empty space
he is looking for his brother.
The expression of his voice, his hands,
his eyes all express a different sort of strength.
Not like us in a classroom, “everybody…”
He is in such a faraway place.
Your action must reach over there.
He is circling like this…
This is the half <i>running circle</i>.
Li Ling is going from here to there.
Su Wu’s back is toward the audience.
“Where is my brother?” He heard it, too.
He had heard that a big troop was coming.
Previously he sang about hearing of Li Ling’s coming.
Why didn’t he see anyone?
Now he heard men and horses.
Further back on the stage: “Where is my (younger) brother?”
He is also searching.
They are both searching before the meeting.
They search after hearing each other.
When searching, the foot movement appears.
Not like they saw each other immediately.
To search, one has to move.
Where is he? Searching…
There is this way of searching too, but it’s not very intense.
If you are anxious to find someone, you will be moving around.
That is why they are moving.
They move around from slow to fast.
“Where is my younger brother?” “Where is my elder brother?”
They see each other now, face to face.
Su Wu walks over here.
The <i>young male </i>raises both water sleeves above his shoulders…
and snaps them down, trembling.
Why?
He saw how Su Wu appeared before him.
Emaciated body, skin and bones.
A torn, dirty robe covers his body.
Nothing else.
But his two eyes are still bright and powerful.
He (Li Ling) recognizes these eyes.
Not the rest of him.
After meeting this way, Li Ling trembles.
Not the ordinary trembling.
His whole body is shaking, feet too.
Even my abdomen is trembling.
Shaking until my purple-gold crown…
The beads on my crown are making noise.
After trembling for a few seconds,
he cannot keep back a loud wail.
I think if Li Ling saw anyone else in the play…
He would not cry out loud.
If Su Wu saw anyone else, he would not cry out loud either.
Both of them are very hardy people.
Only when they meet each other
under this kind of circumstances…
We say first take a deep breath…
Su Wu also.
They forget everything, just affection for each other.
“Oh elder brother….”
I think Su Wu also saw Li Ling only…
He did not see anything else.
Namely, his (Li Ling’s) mode of dress.
He only saw Li Ling.
This is the first step of the meeting.
The second step is what I just sang…
“How…” Li Ling finishes weeping.
Then he makes a formal greeting.
On the stage, characters meeting after a long absence, always embrace and wail first.
Then they pay respects to each other.
How does Li Ling greet him?
After he stops wailing, he raises one water sleeve on the word “know”.
This is called the great “barbarian” greeting.
One foot is outside his armor.
One water sleeve is here.
This is the “barbarian” style of paying respects (to an elder).
Su Wu immediately senses something.
He takes a look and “mm….”
Li Ling also immediately senses something.
“How …”? He (Su Wu) does not accept…
A wall immediately stands between them.
Li Ling immediately changes on “I longed for this meeting today.”
He changes to the Chinese greeting.
“To whom can I unburden this bitter injustice?”
It is very painful to explain what I came for.
That was the second action when they meet.
The third action takes place after he sings.
Su Wu is now standing in front staring at him.
How does Su Wu look at him?
He starts with his head gear.
He stares and advances step by step.
From his clothes,
to his jade belt (symbol of high rank).
Staring with a sneer. What about Li Ling?
Li Ling turns around after his Chinese greeting.
At this point his whole body…
We actors say that the shoulders must show a powerful tightening.
Only then will the audience understand.
This way the audience will not understand.
The audience will not feel anything.
Su Wu is looking at Li Ling. Li Ling is shaking.
I feel completely defeated.
Before my elder brother today, I have no escape.
His loyalty is unswerving.
Li Ling hides in shame.
This is the three set actions (of greeting).
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