Lao She is known as a master of literary language. These include novels with more than 3 million words, 42 plays, about 300 old-style poems, etc. Most of his works are tragedies. The language of his works is mainly Beijing dialect and the style is humorous. His representative works are the novel "Camel Xiangzi" and the drama "Teahouse". These two works are now included in the Chinese required reading list for junior and senior high schools in China, and the required reading list for Chinese majors in universities. "Teahouse" is also a compulsory work of Chinese literature in high schools in Singapore and Malaysia. Shu Yi and others believed that Lao She's works reflected his implicit, deep, and unspeakable sincere feelings for the Manchus. Lao She is famous for his novels and plays. Most of his works are based on citizens' lives, opening up important subject areas for modern Chinese literature. The natural scenery, human conditions, customs and fashions he describes, as well as the spoken language he uses, all present a strong "Beijing flavor". The excellent novels "Camel Xiangzi" and "Four Generations Under One Roof" are representative works describing the lives of Beijing citizens. His works have been translated into more than 20 languages ??and published. They have won praise from readers for their unique humorous style and strong national color, as well as their appreciation of both elegance and vulgarity from content to form. Talking about the treatment of the three endings of the three-act play "Teahouse": Lu Xun once said: "Although there are two types of scripts: one can be placed on the desk or performed on the stage, but the latter is better after all."①. Famous plays from all over the world, both at home and abroad, have had a wide-reaching and far-reaching influence only through the joint efforts of directors, actors and others. It is through the creative work of the directors, actors and others of the Beijing People's Art Theater that Lao She's famous play "Teahouse" became popular domestically and aroused great repercussions internationally, bringing Lao She the reputation of "a world literary giant"② .
The comrades of Beijing People’s Art Institute know Lao She well. Ever since they performed "Longxugou", they have formed an indissoluble bond with Lao She in their theatrical activities. In the performance of "Tea House", generally speaking, they were loyal to Lao She's works. With their exquisite art, they conveyed the spirit of the original work, enriched the life content of the original work, and gave the audience wonderful artistic enjoyment. However, they adopted different treatments from the original script for the three endings of the three-act play "Teahouse". This kind of treatment also achieved a certain artistic effect and was recognized by the audience. But is this the only possible option? Is there any other treatment, even a treatment that is more consistent with Lao She's original work? This article would like to put forward some views on this. The ending of the first act of "Teahouse", when "Harvest" was first published, was when Kang Shunzi fainted, and Eunuch Pang said, "I want to live, not die!" and then let out a weird laugh, such an outrageous, A terrifying scene. Later, the director Comrade Jiao Juyin deliberately arranged such an ending: Kang Shunzi was woken up by Liu Mazi spraying cold water, and Eunuch Pang said in a strange voice: "Yo! She is alive again!" and then laughed strangely. At this time, tea guest B, who had been playing chess since the opening, suddenly stood up and shouted to the tea guest A opposite: "Check! You are finished!" Eunuch Pang waited for a moment, and then closed the game.
Many comrades appreciate such an ending. Comrades from the Beijing People's Art Theater believed: "'Jiang! You are finished!' is not only the character's line, but also a warning to the imminent collapse of the feudal dynasty represented by Eunuch Pang."③" The shout of a chess fan is both in line with the character at this time The thoughts and actions here also foreshadow the imminent collapse of the Qing Dynasty. This is not only the end of a scene, but also the end of a historical era. ④ Some comrades also think that "you are finished!" Lines with three meanings: "The first is that it directly represents the final outcome of the chess situation; the second is that it implies the fate of the victim; and the third is that it symbolizes the decadent Qing Dynasty."⑤
However, this ending gave me a different impression. When I watch the performance (video), I always feel that it is "superfluous". When I watch it again after reading the above analysis, I feel that it is even more superfluous. Because whether it is a pun or a triple entendre, the intentionally arranged ending is an unnecessary reminder of the idea of ??the script.
Because the theme of the inevitable demise of the old era has long been running through this scene, and it has been shown through a series of bizarre and era-specific events, that is to say, through the "process of the plot itself", from the scene and the It was revealed in the plot "⑥. Didn't even banner men like Chang Si realize from specific examples that "the Qing Dynasty is about to end"? Why bother with another reminder at the end? To give such a reminder is tantamount to not trusting the audience or the power of the image of the script itself, but to "specifically state" the ideological tendency directly or indirectly at the end⑦. This becomes a burden to the audience who already understand the meaning of the stage image. Moreover, in this way, the audience's concern about Kang Shunzi's fate is eliminated-and this is one of the important links connecting the first and second acts. As for the completely opposite pun meaning that both hints at the fate of those persecuted by the Qing Dynasty and symbolizes the Qing Dynasty, I can't imagine it at all.
When Lao She later published a separate version of "Teahouse", he partially absorbed it and changed it to:
"Eunuch Pang: I want to live, not die.
[Quiet scene,
"Tea guest A (playing chess with B): Check! You're done! "
Here, it is not so much to highlight the pun meaning of "you are finished", but rather to use such a cruel and cold scene to further deepen the thoughts that gradually became clear after the curtain opened: like this The era must come to an end. After Eunuch Pang finished his unpopular words, Lao She deliberately arranged a silence to emphasize the panic of other parties after hearing such unexpected and unpopular words. And let the audience think together. Just when people took a breath and let their feelings of hatred and anger control themselves, they heard a chess language that had nothing to do with the scenes, characters and events they cared about: "Check!" You're done! "This cannot help but arouse people's deep thoughts. These two chess fans remind us of the middle- and upper-class bannermen described by Lao She in "The Red Flag" who only care about eating, drinking and having fun." Their lives are like a delicate story. , a clear but somewhat confused dream." Can such a regime be maintained indefinitely? On the one hand, they are engaging in outrageous human trafficking, but on the other hand, they turn a blind eye and only focus on their own entertainment and fun. Can this phenomenon continue? ?
Comrade Director Jiao Juyin reminded during the rehearsal:
"This pair of chess fans have been concentrating on playing chess since the beginning, and the surrounding movements cannot affect them at all." When Er Dezi provoked a fight, they remained silent and immersed in the fierce battle. The surrounding 'movement' accentuates their stillness, drawing the audience's attention to the two chess fans and setting the scene for the end of the first act. It can be imagined that the chess fan who spoke at the end had been losing every time he started playing chess. He was anxious and always wanted to defeat the opponent. Only after repeated hard battles did he turn defeat into victory. He was very excited and stood up proudly. Shout: 'Jiang! You're done! 'You can even laugh out loud. "⑧
I don't think there is any emphasis on the "symbol" or "pun" meaning of this arrangement here. It's
It's not about deleting some "symbol" or " The contrast is more vivid, more in line with the author's intention, and more able to arouse the reader's attention.
What about serious thinking? Otherwise, returning to the ending when "Harvest" was first published would be more inspiring (not replacing or even blocking) readers' thinking than emphasizing "pun". :
"Eunuch Pang: I want to live, not die! (strange laughter) Hahaha...! "
The bloody language of these inhumane cold-blooded animals simply made the audience breathless with anger. They could not tolerate
that era for a moment. First. The scene ends here. So whether Kang Shunzi is alive or dead? There have been hints before, and her fate is left in the imagination of the audience (readers).
In this way, it is easy to correspond with the second act (more than ten years apart), and the structure is smooth.
The treatment of the second and third acts of "Teahouse" by the Beijing People's Art Performance seems to be another situation - although some people may interpret Liu's performance based on some comrades' interpretation of the end of the first act. Mazi's death is regarded as a symbol of the demise of the Beiyang Warlords era. It is said that the three old men sacrificed themselves to pay homage to the old era. Wang Lifa's suicide symbolized the end of the Kuomintang rule. It's finished, but I think this is untenable after all - it goes against the characteristics of having no central character or central plot since the first act. It is highlighted, as if he is regarded as the central character, and the changes in the teahouse over the past few decades are treated as the central event.
At the end of the second act of "Tea House", the original script was that Liu Mazi was regarded as a "deserter" by the officers and soldiers who praised him as a "big order"
After being kidnapped, the two spies had to Go to the back and catch two students: they have just participated in the killing of a human life-Liu
Mazi is certainly not worthy of sympathy, and their behavior of calling a deer a horse is not worthy of praise-they are going to take the students' lives
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It’s your destiny to make money. It ends with the audience feeling horror and hatred for the old days. The performance version made up for an omission at the end of the original script (arranging the exit of Lin and Chen), but the ending fell on Wang Lifa, delaying his pitiful words about the blackmail of the two agents until the end ("I forgot No matter what my last name is, I will never forget you two.") It made him feel that his improvements to the teahouse (echoing the beginning of this scene) were getting worse and worse, and he stood still in the complacent behavior of the secret agents. Closing.
At the end of the third act, the original script was that Director Shen of the Kuomintang Military Police Headquarters came on stage under the guidance of Xiao Liu Mazi to concretize the action of occupying the teahouse. Xiao Dingbao interceded for Wang Lifa and let him After the teahouse is occupied, you will have a place to stand, so that you will not be kicked out. Director Shen ordered "pass", and Xiao Liu Mazi ran out and reported that he had hanged himself. At this time, Director Shen said: "Good (Artemisia)! Good (Artemisia)!" - It is absolutely necessary to occupy the teahouse and leave this "old man's trademark", but it is more worry-free to die. In these two words "good", the audience saw the coldness, cruelty and shamelessness of the Kuomintang bureaucrats, and also understood the darkness, corruption and absurdity of that era. The curtain fell at this moment. The performance version deleted all these, and ended with the three old men looking back on the past, paying homage to themselves, and Wang Lifa's suicide. After Wang Lifa scattered the paper money, he picked up his belt and walked slowly to the backyard. This becomes the third act and the end of the big picture.
The way the show handles the endings of Acts 2 and 3 is to highlight the fate of Wang Lifa and his teahouse, thus highlighting a line that did not originally occupy a central position in the whole play. Now: the teahouse went from being prosperous (Act 1) to getting colder and cooler (Act 2), and was finally occupied (Act 3); Wang Lifa went from being eloquent and good at management (Act 1) to struggling to cope (Act 2). ), forced to hang (Act III). If the audience (readers) focus too much on this line, their thinking on the theme of the entire play ("Burying Three Old Era") will be relatively weakened. Through the ending of the current play, the audience may be more caught by this thought, which is: "This Wang Lifa is kind-hearted, smart and capable, but in those three old times, his teahouse has become worse day by day. The situation became worse and worse, and eventually he had to fall into the hands of Kuomintang bureaucrats and spies, and he himself was forced to commit suicide. It was so tragic! It shows that in that era, there was no way out for good people. "And this is just its theme. part.
I think the ending of the original script can make the audience (readers) think more broadly and deeply. Each ending of its three acts highlights the horror and absurdity of the old times. It makes the audience (readers) watch the whole play with anger, hatred and contempt for the three old eras, and then think: "How dark, cold and corrupt this society is! Good people cannot survive, and those who wear human skin Things are "like a fish in water" and life is "enjoyable". Such an era should have ended long ago. "Thinking of this, everyone will naturally connect the curse of the old era with the inevitable birth of New China. Develop a sincere love for the new society. This is exactly what "Tea House" aims to achieve.
The important thing is that it naturally gives the audience a sense of distance. This allows the audience to not be completely "involved" in the play, but to maintain their independence, enjoying and thinking at the same time. (I think this point is consistent with the "alienation effect" emphasized by the German modern drama master Brecht, and Lao She's creative intention coincides with it.) This is because; since there is no plot throughout the play The complete plot and drama conflict, conflicts continue to appear and are constantly resolved, the audience's emotions will rise and fall, and the attention does not have to be focused on the unified event, and will not be immersed in it like watching a drama with a complete plot. He is nervously looking forward to the development of the entire plot, so he can make his own thoughts and evaluations on the ups and downs of those small plot events that have their own beginning and end. Numerous characters and events constantly appeared on the stage, which also prevented him from focusing his thoughts and feelings on one or two characters. He will not be led away by them, he knows that he is watching a show. This creates the kind of "alienation effect" that Brecht hoped for - the role of Dasha Yang was added based on the suggestion of comrades from the Beijing People's Art Festival, which added narrative elements and strengthened this effect - The audience is not only infected by the stage image, but also can actively analyze and criticize everything, think while appreciating, and appreciate while thinking. If there is too much emphasis on a certain character and his fate, and the plot is simplified and moved closer to this character, it will damage this effect and deviate from the author's intention.
Therefore, I feel that when dealing with the ending of the three-act play of "Teahouse", we should try our best to avoid directing the audience's attention too much to the fate of a certain character, and should instead Channel it into anger and reflection on old times. In this way, it may be more in line with the characteristics of the script and thus better demonstrate the unique style of the play. The specific approach, I think, should be to concentrate on handling each specific event at the end of the three-act play written by Lao She, so that the audience's emotions of hatred, hatred and contempt for the old society reach their peak, and they have a sense of completion for each act. The feeling of incompleteness forced me to think deeply, and with my love for the new society and the happiness and pride of the masters of the new era, I deeply realized: That era is gone forever! Four comrades from Beijing People's Art Institute, especially the directors Comrade Jiao Juyin and Comrade Xia Chun, have worked hard based on their own understanding of "Teahouse" to make this script "alive" on the stage and go out of China and to the world. . Their profound grasp of "Teahouse" and their superb artistic performance should be fully affirmed. Their outstanding contributions to the art of drama in our country should not be forgotten. This is already public opinion. In this way, it seems inappropriate to comment on their handling of the original script. But I think: there is no end to exploration and creation in art. The artistic peak established by the Beijing People's Art Festival should be surpassed or even surpassed by others. Therefore, I boldly put forward some reference opinions on the handling of the ending of these three acts based on perhaps my preference for the script. At the same time, I also very much hope that there will be performances with different treatments for comparison, so that the artistic pearl of "Tea House" will continue to shine with new brilliance and promote the advancement of our country's drama art.
In the face of the glorious achievements of the Beijing People's Art Theater's "Teahouse" performance, it may be difficult to rethink and process the ending of the three-act play "Teahouse". However, the charm of "Tea House" comes from life. What it provides are realistic scenes of life, vivid characters, and the use of language that emerges from the depths of life. What Comrade Jiao Juyin originally grasped in the director's thoughts was to reproduce the life of that period depicted in "Teahouse". When he and Comrade Xia Chun discussed the difficulties encountered together, he solved these difficulties not theoretically, but by recalling the relevant life he had personally experienced as the key. A real artist will not be bound by ready-made things. He will inevitably create new art forms corresponding to the needs of the life content he wants to express. Lao She's writing "Teahouse" itself is a shining example.
1983.7. Notes at Shanghai Normal University:
1. 1934.11.1 to Dou Yinfu, "Collected Letters of Lu Xun", page 655
2. "Western European Press Review "Teahouse"" , "Literary Research" Issue 1, 1981
3, 4, 8, 13, "The Stage Art of "Tea House"", pages 215, 225, 214, 222
5. 9. "Lao She's Dramatic Art", pages 442, 394
6. 7. Marx and Engels' "On Art" (1), pages 38, 6
10. "Reply to Several Questions About "Teahouse"", "Selected Works of Lao She", page 367
11. Aristotle: Chapters 7 and 18 of "Poetics", "Poetics" ·Poetry", pages 25, 60, 28
12. Ji Yu: "Occasionally Sent from Leisure", "Selected Chinese Literary Essays of Ancient Dynasties" (Part 2), page 11
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