#头条讲真的#
This time, we read Lao She together.
Why did it start with "Teahouse"? Because this script is not only a literary masterpiece, but also a symbol of contemporary Chinese culture. In the Chinese drama world, "Teahouse" is the undisputed peak. Since its premiere in 1958, every rehearsal of "Teahouse" has been a phenomenal cultural event.
Cao Yu said: The achievements of "Teahouse" are "unprecedented and unparalleled", especially in the first act, the degree of perfection has reached "rare in ancient and modern China and abroad". When he was in his twenties, he wrote "Thunderstorm" and "Sunrise", and he was a champion in the Chinese theater industry.
Why is Cao Yu so convinced of "Teahouse"? Or in other words, what is so powerful about "Teahouse"?
Superb dialogue
You may think: I have seen this play, it is not profound, every sentence is clear. Actually, that's exactly what makes it so powerful:
A good drama, like a good poem, can produce a large number of famous sentences that people will quote all the time. "Raise your head to look at the bright moon, bow your head and think of your hometown" and "Raise a glass to invite the bright moon, and the shadow becomes a trio", is it simple? But if Li Bai didn't write it, people wouldn't know how to express this kind of scene in ten words. The same is true of "Teahouse", the famous sentences in it, we will remember it as soon as we hear it, just like this sentence was originally in our hearts.
In the consumer society, the effect of outstanding product design is not necessarily surprising, it is likely to be what you think in your heart, as if you have been waiting for it for a long time. That's how everyone felt when they saw the iPhone 4.
The classic lines in "Tea House", such as "I love our country, but who loves me?" and "(You) can still make that little bit of meaning embarrassing?" are not simple quips, but have pondered the psychology of the Chinese to the point of nuance.
Another example is the sentence "Improve, improve, and change, the cooler it becomes, the colder." When "Teahouse" was performed in France, the audience responded very enthusiastically to this line. However, no matter how well the translation is, the homonym and rhythm in this sentence can only be experienced by understanding Chinese.
That's why every language has its own master, and even until this master appears, the language is considered mature. The words written by Lao She look ordinary, but they are the same as poems. From then on, this meaning could not be expressed better by others. The only option is to keep referencing it.
Excellent characterization
This drama is deep-seated, let's talk about it while watching the drama.
In the three-act scene of "Teahouse", there is only one scene, which is a big teahouse called Yutai in old Beijing.
The first act is set on an early autumn morning in 1898 just after the failure of the Pentecostal Reform.
Why did Cao Yu say that this scene was clever? Writing about Beijing in this era, no one can surpass Lao She.
1) From the atmosphere: it has the richest market life and customs, and every detail in it is a cultural symbol with charm, which can withstand pressing the pause button one by one.
2) Technically: all the plot, every line of dialogue, is highly condensed, but there is no sense of urgency at all.
I don't know if I don't know, there are more than 70 characters in the whole play. As soon as it opened, more than two dozen characters took the stage in a row. Each has a different experience, identity, and personality. As for Lao She, one or two sentences can stand him up. Playing chess like a master, every line and every position is properly scheduled. It makes us feel that this character has a rich past before he walks into the teahouse, and after he walks out of the teahouse, he will continue to live.
Let's take a look at the main characters:
Wang Lifa, the shopkeeper of the teahouse, don't look young, but shrewd and capable, old and sophisticated. It's a bit selfish, but it's kind-hearted. He has only one theme in life, which is to try his best to run this teahouse and maintain the family's livelihood.
The characters we are most familiar with and run through the light and dark lines of the three acts are: the landlord of the teahouse, Qin Zhongyi, who was born in a wide range of young people, is a national capitalist with great ambitions. The children of Eight Banners are often the fourth masters, who are upright, love to fight unevenly, and dare to do things. Among the villains or harlequins, like the ruthless trafficker Liu Mazi, and the dark and obedient eunuch Pang Chief.
Renyi's 1979 version of "Teahouse" Act 1 Photo: Wu Gang
Let's take a look at how Lao She portrays a person in one or two sentences:
As soon as Qin Zhongyi appeared on the stage, the first thing he said was, "Let's see if you, a young man, can do business." This was the condescending tone of the old man, but at this time, he was actually in his twenties. Why do you talk like that? Because he thinks that he is saving the country through industry, and others are not as knowledgeable as him. This sentence is the least like what a young man says, but it is most in line with his self-confident and pretended mature mentality.
There is a face-to-face Tang Tiezui, who smokes opium, and always goes to the teahouse to cheat on food and drink. In the second act, he has a classic line that says, "I don't eat big cigarettes anymore" — Wang Lifa says then you're really going to get rich — but he goes on to say, "I'm going to smoke white noodles instead." "Every time I get here, the audience laughs. Lao She later said that this sentence was not fiction, but that he had heard it from drug addicts.
As for the next, when Tang Tiezui demonstrated how to use British cigarettes to pretend to be Japanese white noodles, he said, "The two great powers are waiting for me alone, is this blessing still small", this sentence is original, and it can best write Tang Tiezui's shamelessness. A few simple words, half out of observation and accumulation, half out of fiction, are seamlessly connected. For every character in the play, Lao She first thoroughly pondered it before writing.
This effect is called "opening the mouth", which not only expresses the characters, but also creates a strong stage effect.
High-density plot design
The dialogue in "Teahouse" is not a word of nonsense. You may not think the pace is fast when you watch it, but this kind of plot density can't be found in reality.
In each scene of "Teahouse", there are a large number of absurd events that can only be found in a specific historical period. In the first scene, it was the chief eunuch Pang who bought a fifteen-year-old girl Kang Shunzi as his wife from Liu Mazi. Chang Siye was arrested and imprisoned because he complained.
The second act is about twenty years after the first act. It was between the death of Yuan Shikai in 1916 and the May Fourth Movement in 1919. Wang Lifa had a brain, and he would improve it, and changed the back half of the teahouse into a rental apartment. Although he is often blackmailed by GIs and spies, he can barely make ends meet.
After Chang Siye was released from prison, he supported himself and made a living by selling vegetables. Kang Shunzi, who was sold here back then, took his son Kang Dali, who was also bought, to find here after the death of Eunuch Pang, and was taken in by Wang Lifa's wife.
The absurdity of this scene is: Liu Mazi continued to sell people, this time two deserters wanted to buy a wife.
The third act is on the eve of the liberation of Beiping. At this time, fifty years have passed since the first act, Wang Lifa is an old man in his seventies and eighties, and the teahouse is also dilapidated. The world is turbulent, and the demons are dancing. The descendants of the spies, traffickers and charlatans in the first two scenes all inherited their father's business and became prosperous.
The absurdity of this scene is that Eunuch Pang's nephew has become the leader of the Three Emperors of the cult and wants to be the emperor in Xishan. Because Kang Dali participated in the Eighth Road, he wanted to kidnap Kang Shunzi as a hostage. Xiao Liu Mazi colluded with officials to occupy the teahouse. Wang Li sent away Kang Shunzi and his family, and Qin Erye and Chang Siye, who were also desperate, sprinkled paper money to commemorate themselves, and hanged themselves.
Renyi's 1979 version of "Teahouse" Act III Photo: Wu Gang
We all have an impression of these plots, and when I say it briefly, you will be reminded of those classic scenes, right? "Teahouse" is different from ordinary dramas: the fate of the characters is very complete, but the whole play has no central thread, no strong conflict like we Xi are used to, and even no obvious plot climax.
That's where the creativity of "Teahouse" comes in:
As soon as "The Teahouse" was written, some people thought it strange and suggested that Kang Dali's participation in the revolution should be taken as the main clue. Lao She replied very interestingly: "I wrote about weeping willows, and you insist on looking for yellow croaker in it." That is: this is painstakingly managed, you don't understand.
What Lao She wants to express is a vast time and space: a panorama of life of all walks of life in Beijing in the past 50 years. This kind of span, a story can't be shown at all. The narrative of "Teahouse" is not focused on a fixed point like traditional Western dramas, but like Chinese landscapes, it is scattered perspective, and the perspective is doing translational movement.
Wang Lifa is the male number one, but strictly speaking, he is not the male lead. So who's the main character of this show? Actually, it's this teahouse. And this big teahouse is a small society, so the real protagonist of this drama is Chinese society. In two hours, it calmly tells about China's social changes in the past 50 years, presenting the lives of many people. You say, is "Teahouse" unparalleled in the world?
Because Lao She's perspective is on a complex society, rather than a specific individual, "Teahouse" cannot be said to be a tragedy or comedy in the strict sense. From beginning to end, it can make the audience laugh and feel heavy in their hearts. Its characters are quite realistic, but it deliberately expresses not only emotions, but also everyone's attitude towards life.
When "The Teahouse" was staged in Germany, it was considered by the international literary community to be a contemporary, world-class epic drama, and a great innovation. We Chinese don't feel it, probably because we use old cultural elements. The best innovation is the same as the best poetry: when it comes out, it is as mature as if it had existed a long time ago, but it can no longer be replaced.
This lecture is summarized
In this lecture, we talked about why "The Teahouse" is great: its language is natural and accurate, but it is as irreplaceable as genius poetry. It takes traditional culture to the extreme, but it is a world-class successful innovation.
Discussion question: What is the line of "Teahouse" that impresses you the most? Why? I hope to see your wonderful sharing in the comment area.