From the original 160 minutes to 120 minutes, 20 performances of "The Second Preface of Spring and Autumn" produced by Shanghai Peking Opera Theatre and funded by the 20 17 National Art Foundation recently closed.
The newly edited historical drama has always been the "housekeeping skill" of Shanghai Peking Opera Theatre. Cao Cao and Yang Xiu, released on 1988, has long been a household name and has become a classic of the new historical drama. This work breaks through the similarity of Cao Cao in traditional drama and puts the conflict of personality and the complexity of human nature on the stage. Yu Chenglong, an upright official, published in 2003, is adapted from Yu Chenglong, an upright official by Wang Yongtai, which broadens the literariness of Peking Opera in subject matter and emphasizes the humanistic spirit in characterization.
For the audience, the most intuitive thing is to know Yang Xiu through Cao Cao and Yang Xiu and Yu Chenglong through Yu Chenglong, an upright official. This time, a strange historical figure, Shen, appeared in The Second Narration of the Spring and Autumn Annals.
Shen and who are collectively called "The Second Preface of the Spring and Autumn Period"? That is the famous Wu Zixu. One of the most famous stories about Wu Zixu is that when Wu Zixu committed suicide, he asked the public to gouge out his eyes and put them on the East Gate so as to watch the demise of Wu. Finally, his prediction came true. Nine years after Wu Zixu's death, Wu was destroyed by Yue.
Wu Zixu and Shen were both doctors in the Spring and Autumn Period. They used to be good friends. On fame, there is a world of difference. Wu Zixu's life is full of legends and allusions, while Shen's life is a mystery.
The newly edited historical Peking Opera "The Second Preface of the Spring and Autumn Period" tells the feud between Wu Zixu (ornaments) and his good friend Shen (ornaments). Wu Zixu was a man of loyalty, filial piety and righteousness. Later, he was reused by the court, and his family background was innocent. He was beheaded by King Chu Ping, so he embarked on the road of revenge. Shen chose to put aside personal grievances and defend the country and the people.
In the play, Shen was sentenced to nine years' death by King Chu Ping for defending his good friend Wu Zixu. It was not until King Chu Ping's son ascended the throne that he thought of Shen, and asked him to come out to persuade Wu Zixu to withdraw. Let bygones be bygones. After learning that King Zhao Chu was a wise king, he agreed to go to the enemy camp overnight as a lobbyist to persuade his old friends to retreat.
According to Zuo Zhuan's Four Years, "At the beginning, Wu Yuan and Shen Wei were friends. When Shen died, he said, "I'm going back to Chu." Shen said,' Encourage me! If the child can reply (reply), I can save life. "Wu Zixu said to Shen," I must destroy Chu. After listening to this, Shen did not deny or dissuade Wu Zixu, but the answer meant: "You want revenge, I will cheer for you." . But if you can destroy Chu, I will make it prosperous. "
Shen's short sentence shows "loyalty" and "sincerity" During the Spring and Autumn Period, talented people could travel around the world to display their talents, but there were not many concepts of loyalty to the country. Therefore, it is reasonable that Wu Zixu left Chu for Wu because his father was framed by King Chu Ping. Shen's encouragement to Wu Zixu is not empty, but quite sincere.
This is based on the understanding of friends' revenge and respect for friends' choices, and even he affirmed friends' abilities. When Shen said "I am sure to succeed", he made his position and attitude clear to his friends. He will neither betray his friends nor his country. Similarly, he has the same ability as his friends, which is used to shoulder the responsibility of serving the country.
When Wu Zixu captured the capital of Chu, he dug the tomb of King Chu Ping and whipped the corpse. Shen, who fled to the mountains, didn't forget to send someone to blame Wu Zixu. He is fearless, neither supercilious nor supercilious, and he also cares about old feelings. In order to restore the country, Shen went to Qin for help. After being rejected, he cried outside the wall of Qin Cheng for seven days and seven nights, but he couldn't get a drop of water, which touched the state of Qin. This is the most famous allusion left by Shen to future generations, which is called "crying".
With the help of Qin, the king restored the country and wanted to reward Shen, but he insisted on not accepting it and fled to the mountains to live in seclusion. Thirty years later, Shen sent an envoy to Yue State, which strengthened the determination of Yue State to attack Wu State and taught Gou Jian three strategies. Finally, nine years after Wu Zixu committed suicide, Wu was destroyed by Yue. When Wu Zixu and Shen talked about "revival" and "revival", they didn't expect the ending to be like this.
However, the second-order dialogue recorded in Zuo Zhuan did not appear in the second order of Spring and Autumn Annals, nor did it involve anything after Shen fled into the mountains. "The Spring and Autumn Second Xu" mainly puts the story before Wu Zixu captured the capital of Chu, and takes "Wu Zixu dug the tomb of King Chu Ping and whipped his body for 300 to avenge his father and brother" as the core of the whole story.
Compared with Shen's repeated persuasion of Wu Zixu to let go of his hatred for Chu, Wu Zixu and King Chu Zhao have more distinct personalities and conflicts. Wu Zixu was bent on revenge for his father and waited in Wu for nine years.
When he led his army to the capital of Chu, he learned that King Zhao of Chu had paid tribute to his father and family. When two soldiers were fighting, he went to the capital of Chu alone. While his courage is commendable, he also emphasized his filial piety, which paved the way for the madness of revenge later. Knowing that King Chu Ping, the enemy, was dead, the pain and hatred that there was no way to get revenge made Wu Zixu even more obsessed with revenge. Just like Hu Qiu in Yuan Ye, he learned that his enemy was dead, but he still laid hands on his son and his hair.
Wu Zixu will also take care of the people at dawn. When he decided to flood the capital of Chu State that night, he was still good with his best friend Shen Yue. To tell the truth, he stubbornly suggested that as long as he met the requirements of whipping corpses, he could withdraw his troops. Three hundred murders are pressing on a Wu Zixu's heart. Such deep hatred and revenge have become the only way for him to alleviate his pain. The requirement of flogging the corpse is an insult to Chu, and it is even more unfilial.
King Zhao and Chu in history can be called the wise king. In the play, the King of Chu knew that the two armies were at war, and it would attract criticism to set up a mourning hall for Wu Zixu's father. But out of emotion and reason, he insisted on doing so and knelt down to meet Wu Zixu with a coffin. How big does an emperor need to kneel to meet the enemy? But no matter how big your mind is, you can't accept the proposal of flogging your father's body.
After polishing and revising, it also added the scene of He Lv, the king of Wu. Especially in the scene where Shen came to persuade Wu Zixu, He Lv and Shen started a tug-of-war for Wu Zixu. Whenever Shen persuaded Wu Zixu, he immediately strengthened Wu Zixu's determination to destroy Chu and strengthened Wu Zixu's inner struggle and pain.
As Feng Gang, the screenwriter of The Spring and Autumn Second Xu, said, "This is not a question of judging who is right or wrong. Things are not only black and white, but how to choose between advance and retreat is a kind of torture. " If the time axis of the two protagonists in Erxu is longer, we may find that they are like two arcs starting from the same point and in different directions, and finally meet at a certain point in history.