Ma Jin was a member of a drama troupe in Nanjing, and because his ancestors were Hui people in Xinjiang, people called him Ma Huihui.
Known as the "Capital of Liu" during the Ming Dynasty, Nanjing was originally a political, economic, and cultural center. During the apocalypse, the Taiping Dynasty was in full swing, so the citizens lived a leisurely life and loved fun. On weekdays, there is an endless stream of red men and green women who visit the peach leaf ferry and the rain flower terrace. There are dozens of well-known drama troupes in the city, the most famous of which are two: one called The Xinghua Department and the other called the Hualin Department.
One day, a businessman in Anhui invited these two famous opera classes to hold a large-scale church meeting. Many high-ranking noblewomen and scribes and singers were invited to drink and enjoy the play. The Xinghua Department performed in the east field, and the Hualin Department performed in the west field, and the play was the same as "Ming Feng"—telling the story of the struggle between Yang Jisheng, the Ming Dynasty's Jiaoshan gentleman, and the adulterous minister Yan Song. The person who plays Yan Song in the west is surnamed Li, and the person who plays Yan Song in the east field is Ma Jin.
In the first few folds, the singing and music on both sides of the field are very beautiful; the tune is high and low, fast and slow, and the ups and downs can be gripping. The audience applauded in unison on both sides. However, slowly, the audience's attention changed, and at the sixth fold, the seats all issued a sound of admiration towards the west field, some shouted to add wine, and some moved closer to the west field, no longer looking at the east field. After a while, the east side did not finish the performance, and suddenly ended. It turned out that Ma Jin felt that he did not sing well as Li Mou, and he was embarrassed. He unloaded his clothes and quietly left.
Ma Jinben was a singer in Nanjing. After he left, the Xinghua Department refused to replace him with someone else, so he had to stop performing. As a result, the Warin Ministry exclusively made a name.
After three years, Ma Jin returned to Nanjing, joined his old companions of the Xinghua Department, and made a request to the Anhui businessman: "Today, please hold another church meeting and invite all the guests of the last church meeting." We are willing to sing "Chicken phoenix" against the stage with the Hualin Department to make everyone happy. The merchant promised to do so.
The singing of the congregation began, and everything was just like the last time. However, at the sixth fold of the performance, Ma Jin played Yan Song, and Li Mou, who played Yan Song on the other side, suddenly cried out in surprise, crawled forward, and called himself a disciple to Ma Jin. Hualin Department can not continue to act, Xinghua Department this day's singing level far exceeds Hualin Department, achieved great success.
That night, people from the Hualin Department specially visited Ma Jin and said to him: "You are a person who is good at acting in the world, but it is difficult to surpass Li." Li Mou played Yan Song and acted at home. But where did you learn the skill now, so that you overshadowed Li?" Ma Jin replied, "Indeed, there is no one in the world who can act better than Li Mou, but he is also unwilling to teach me the trick." I heard that there was a university scholar named Gu Bingjun in the dynasty, and Yan Song was a cargo all the way, so he specially ran to the capital to do his family's errands. For three years, he served gu every day, carefully observed his behavior, listened to his words, and over time, became familiar with the image of a traitor. This performance was successful, and Gu Bingjun was my teacher!"
When the people of the Hualin Department heard this, they all sighed and thanked each other. Collected Writings of the Hall of Great Repentance