Kunqu opera originated in Kunshan, Suzhou, so it has left more Kunshan imprints. During the Ming Dynasty, when Kunqu opera went to the stage to become Kun opera, legends came out one after another, and the crowd competed for glory. As the basis of a play, the drama text relies on the playwright's resources and ingenious conception, and leaves behind a classic Kun opera that cannot be tired of watching, so that people remember the ups and downs of the plot and the flesh and blood characters. Most of the characters in Kun opera are fictional
But there are three real Kunshan people, because of their touching deeds, and become the protagonists of the three Kunshan operas, so that the deeds of these three Kunshan historical celebrities are more widely praised by the people.
"Wan Min An" and Ge Cheng
In Kunshan's "Celebrity List", there is the great name of Ge Cheng (1568-1630), marked as "Ming Dynasty Tax Resistance Leader", known as "Ge Xian" and "General Ge". Because he was buried next to the "Tomb of five people" in Suzhou, people were more respectful of him.
During the Ming Dynasty, Suzhou's silk weaving industry has shown an employment relationship of "machine households contributing, mechanics contributing", which is an important symbol of the emergence of the bud of capitalism. Because the silk weaving industry in Suzhou was very developed and attracted the covetousness of the imperial court, it successively sent supervisors to collect harsh taxes and plunder the people's fat and people's paste. The owners of silk weaving complained bitterly about the harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes, and the atrocities against the tax collectors had reached the point of indignation, and the anti-tax struggle was on the verge of breaking out.
In the twenty-ninth year of the Ming Dynasty (1601), the emperor sent the eunuch Sun Long to Suzhou to collect taxes. When the flood occurred, the silkworm did not collect, but the tax was not wrong, and the silk weaving practitioners were "forced to go to Liangshan", and they could only resist the tax in groups, otherwise they could only wait for death. Thus, a raging anti-tax struggle broke out in Sioux City. For a time, the taxpayers spontaneously rose up, but the dragons were leaderless and chaotic. Seeing that the officers and men were about to use force to suppress the anti-tax contingent, the people would inevitably suffer losses, and at this critical juncture, there was a man who stepped forward and rose up to break the siege, and he was the righteous soldier Ge Cheng.
Ge Cheng is a native of Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, and went to Suzhou to work because of his sassy craftsmanship. He witnessed the evil deeds of the tax inspector Sun Long in setting up cards to collect taxes in Sioux City, and he also hired local thugs to intimidate the taxpayers. The people had no choice but to struggle on the line of death. Ge Cheng saw it in his eyes and was anxious in his heart, and had no choice but to rebel with the taxpayers. Because of his integrity and prestige, he was promoted by everyone as the leader of the anti-tax team.
Ge Cheng divided the tax resistance team of more than a thousand people into six small detachments and issued an order to "see the tax officials kill them all." Ge Cheng's chest is full of bamboo, and legend has it that he held a banana leaf fan in the downtown of Suzhou Xuanmiaoguan, commanding Ruoding, like a great general with great planning. The anti-tax struggle echoed in response, and the crowds of people were empty, and the momentum was like a broken bamboo, and they were invincible, frightening the tax supervisor Sun Long to flee overnight, and the other tax officials died and fled. Along the way, the people expressed solidarity with the anti-tax team, showing a good situation that everyone wanted.
When the imperial court heard of the rebellion in Sioux City, it immediately sent troops to suppress it. When the imperial court searched around for the anti-tax leader, in order to protect the tax-fighting companions from being implicated, Ge Cheng once again stepped forward and was unfortunately arrested. However, the imperial court was forced by the anger of the people to dare not kill Ge Cheng, so they imprisoned him in a cage and held him for 13 years before being released.
After Ge Cheng was released from prison, the Wu people respected him as a god. In 1626, Ge Cheng voluntarily guarded the "Tomb of the Five" in admiration of the five righteous soldiers who were martyred in the struggle against the traitor Wei Zhongxian. In the third year of Chongzhen (1630), Ge Cheng died of illness, and the Su people did not forget his righteous deeds of standing up to protect the people, so they buried him on the side of the "Tomb of the Five People" and let his name be as popular as the five righteous men.
Ge Cheng's righteous deeds touched the late Ming dynasty playwright Li Yu of Suzhou, and wrote Ge Cheng's deeds of resisting taxes and protecting the people into the Kunqu opera "Wanmin An". Because of the outdated routine of the common children's love in the theme, the script is close to the times and pays attention to the people's livelihood, so it has a refreshing attraction. Later generations called Li Yu the leader of the "Suzhou School", and he wrote more than twenty legends in his lifetime, most of which were deeply loved by the people. When "Wan min an" was performed in Suzhou that year, there was a sensational effect of thousands of empty alleys, which showed the people's worship of the righteous Ge Cheng.
Cornucopia and Shen Wansan
In Suzhou at the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, legends prevailed. In the "Suzhou School" creative group, there is also a master of writing drama, named Zhu Suchen. He devoted his life to theatrical creation and left nineteen legends. Among them, "Fifteen Consecutive" is the most famous, the original name of the play is "Double Bear Dream", which is written about the Xiong brothers who were unjustly convicted of each case, and both were sentenced to death. On the eve of the beheading, the prefect of Suzhou, Quan Chung, dreamed that two big bears came to him to plead for injustice, so the emperor requested a review, and finally passed the investigation and rehabilitated the unjust case. Due to the fascinating plot of the script, it was adapted by the Zhejiang Kunqu Opera Troupe in 1956 into "Fifteen Guan" and became a blockbuster after the performance.
In Zhu Suchen's plays, there is also a legendary "Cornucopia" is also very famous, writing that Shen Wansan became rich by benefiting from the cornucopia apparition in the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasties, and then suffered unjustly, because of the plot twists and turns, it was loved by the people.
Shen Wansan (1306-1376), whose real name was Shen Fu, embarked on the road of going to sea to do business when he was young, and because of his good management, he quickly gathered wealth, and later did become as rich as his real name. People say "ten thousand three", that is, only three people in ten thousand households get rich, which shows that he is a rare rich family.
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the handicraft manufacturing industry in Suzhou was quite developed, at the same time, Zhouzhuang was close to the great rivers and lakes, water transportation was particularly convenient, Shen Wansan would produce high-quality rice, silk, tea and many handicrafts produced in Suzhou to overseas, because of the adherence to credit, the pursuit of quality of goods, so the business is prosperous, the profit is considerable. However, Shen Wansan is only a grass dweller, and the reason for his prosperity is rarely disclosed in the main history, while there is a legend of the "cornucopia apparition" in the wild history, saying that as long as the gold and silver are put into the basin, it will double. This is because the people are puzzled by his sudden wealth, and can only use absurd legends to explain his wealth.
After becoming rich, Shen Wansan not only built a mansion in Zhouzhuang and decorated the style of the ancient town, but also rewarded the officers and soldiers. According to legend, when Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, everything was in ruins, and it was not known whether Shen Wansan took the initiative to donate or Emperor Zhu named and donated, shen Wansan generously donated money, and used the wealth he had accumulated over the years to support most of the city walls of Nanjing. It should be said that Shen Wansan's temperament was extraordinary, and he was so loyal to the imperial court that he should have received the gratitude of Zhu Yuanzhang, but it backfired, but it attracted the suspicion of Emperor Zhu and laid the foundation for this. Sometimes people are fearful, and it is said that Shen Wansan's wealth can be an enemy of the country, how can Zhu Yuanzhang tolerate the wealth of the next person to dare to compete with the Ming Dynasty? Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang sent Shen Wansan to the remote Yunnan, on the one hand, to eliminate this dangerous figure with great wealth around him, and on the other hand, to use his wealth and wisdom to change the face of backward areas. Zhu Yuanzhang's intentions are sinister, and Shen Wansan can also hold his breath, he is in a foreign land, seeking perfection, bringing the excellent culture of Jiangnan and successful business experience to Yunnan, and is also loved by the local people.
Playwright Zhu Suchen used the vivid materials of the folklore "cornucopia" to complete the creation of the Kunqu opera legend "Cornucopia", outlining Shen Wansan's tortuous life from business, wealth, donation, pressure, and rise, and describing the tragic and joyful story of Shen Wansan's occasional cornucopia and getting rich, and then being hated by Zhu Yuanzhang, and finally turning danger into ruin. The plot twists and turns, and the intention is thought-provoking.
"Kunshan Chronicle" and Gu Dingchen
In the 1930s, Shanghai once performed the Kunshan opera "Kunshan Chronicle", the original author of the play is no longer available, only known to be taught by Lu Shouqing, a famous kunqu opera resident and teacher of the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Transmission Institute, when the Kunqu opera "Chuanzi generation" actors starred, because the title of the play was attractive, the plot was touching, and the acting skills were outstanding, and a sparkling light bloomed in the decadent era of Kunqu opera.
The plot of "Kunshan" is well known. It is said that there was a concubine Qionghua in kunshan's Gu family, who gave birth to Gu Dingchen in the mill, and her husband gave up his post to go out, and mother and son depended on each other. Qionghua was often insulted by the Grand Madame, but the son of the Grand Madame was kind and kind, and did everything he could to take care of Qionghua's mother and son. Gu Dingchen was intelligent and diligent in studying, and finally passed the township examination, and then his mother went to Beijing to take the examination, and finally his dream came true, and he won the high school. Gu Dingchen returned to his hometown, did not remember the old grievances, only remembered the old graces, and finally reunited the family. The story is sad and moving, and it gives Gu Dingchen a high-wind and bright festival with a strong praise.
Gu Dingchen (1473-1540), a high-ranking official from a poor family, spanned three dynasties and had immeasurable merit. He came from a humble origin, grew up in cold eyes and ridicule, in order to get ahead, Guangzong Yaozu, had to fight in adversity. His original name was Gu Tong, and he changed his name to Gu Dingchen because he dreamed of becoming a famous minister, which shows the great ambition and high pursuit of his ambitions. But when he was young, he unfortunately contracted smallpox, and due to lack of money for treatment, he left many pockmarks on his face after recovering from the disease, known as "Gu Cannabis", and it was difficult to be talented and perfect, and he could only learn Superman. Sure enough, in the final examination of the Scientific Expedition Hall in that year, because Gu Dingchen was extremely skilled, the examiners led by the Hongzhi Emperor did not judge people by their appearance, and finally approved him as the head of the Yi Ugly Branch. It is conceivable that Gu Dingchen's knowledge must be outstanding, and he had to let him dominate.
After Gu Dingchen won the list, he was always used by the imperial court, and the official was shangshu of the Ministry of Rites. Later, the Hongzhi Emperor died, the Zhengde Emperor took the throne, and Gu Dingchen continued to be used heavily. After the Jiajing Emperor took the throne, he was thirsty for talents, and even promoted Gu Dingchen to a high position, which impressed the people of the country. Even when the Jiajing Emperor toured the south, letting Gu Dingchen dynasty for Three months became a beautiful talk in the history of imperial rule. In his eunuch career, Gu Dingchen left three major achievements in loving the people, namely tax reduction and reduction, building a city to resist the Kou, and fighting righteousness and justice, so he has a good reputation among the people.
Gu Dingchen's life was bumpy, but his deeds were brilliant, so there are countless legends of folk praise for him. The pop-up words and propaganda scrolls popular in Suzhou have a long work "Gu Dingchen", which tells his extraordinary experience and is fascinating. Kunshan Opera was originally called "Gu Dingchen's Birth", and was only changed to "Kunshan Chronicle" when it entered Shanghai for performance, so it attracted more interest from opera fans in Kunshan, the birthplace of Kunqu opera. The plot uniquely intercepts Gu Dingchen's tortuous experience from the difficult birth to the family reunion, attracting the attention of the audience and producing the aesthetic effect of elegant and popular appreciation.
After the founding of New China, "The Record of Kunshan" was basically no longer performed, and only the "Jizi Generation" actors in Suzhou, because of their special gratitude to the hometown of Kunqu Opera, rehearsed and performed after their retirement, leaving a vivid shape of "Kunshan Chronicle". Although they were over the age of flower armor when they rehearsed the performance, their figure and expression were still so expressive. Yang Ruiqing Gusu Evening News October 12, 2020 b05 Edition Editor: Li Junfeng