Research on Jing Meijiu's Drama

Mr. Jing Meijiu is one of the veterans of the Revolution of 1911. He is highly respected and versatile. He has unique and outstanding views on the art of drama, and has made many contributions to Jin Opera, Pu Opera, Qin Opera and other operas. He has a very incisive exposition on the functions and functions of China's traditional operas in the cultural category. Now briefly described as follows:

First, correctly interpret drama and correct its name.

In the early years of the Republic of China, in My Views on Old and New Operas, I discussed the role of China Opera and the role of traditional opera in admonishing the people, and put forward the correct proposition that "it can be changed but not abolished". He once talked to Wang Zhongsheng, a new bachelor friend, and said, "My friend Wang Zhongsheng advocates new dramas and is quite literary. I once went to the newspaper to discuss the length of the old and new plays with me. He spoke ill of the old play and accused the people in it of not talking but singing. It was so enjoyable. I thought the performer was empty! This is not the same as reality. This is not a disease of old bones. " This is Jing Mei-jiu's remark that friends studying abroad want to watch Chinese operas in the form of foreign operas, and it is also Wang Jun's dislike of Chinese operas. He made a profound exposition on the content and function of traditional Chinese opera. He said: "Tell my friends about the savage in our country. He is a scholar-bureaucrat who has read too much knowledge, but is always filial and virtuous. He can often shake the world and cry." The most common reason is revealed by the truth or influenced by society, and the most common reason is taught by opera. The so-called "high-stage dramatists" are reasonable and realistic, so dancing is tantamount to vindicating the people, and actors are good teachers and friends of society. Oh! The clothes, cultural relics, historical customs and people's hearts in the Central Plains are all protected by traditional operas, which are extremely ambitious and not only given by the savage in the village. Then, he further explained the original function of drama: the so-called "old dramatist" is also a national history textbook. No old drama, no history, no history, no country. "What a brilliant and profound insight!

Second, practice and engage in traditional Chinese opera.

Mr. Jing Meijiu not only preached the function of Chinese opera for friends and nobles, but also stepped forward at a critical moment to help, advise and offer wisdom for Chinese opera. He loves Pu Opera in his hometown. In his last work Sin, Yuncheng celebrated the founding of the Republic of China and invited famous actresses Guo Baochen and Shan Baishun to perform Killing the Courtyard and Three Doubts, which left valuable historical materials for studying the history of Zhou Pu Bangzi. During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression period, southern Shanxi fell, and many Pu Opera artists lived in An. Seeing the difficult situation of artists in his hometown, he took the initiative to discuss with everyone and raised funds to establish and expand two performance groups, Tang Fengshe and Jin Fengshe. The former mainly plays Puju South Road, while the latter mainly plays Puju West Road. Therefore, he was widely praised as the president of the drama club. In order to make the drama club have a good performance script, he invited Li Lianggong (Li Wei, a phonologist), the former president of Old Shanxi University, to revise his lines for the performance script. Such as "Kill the Post", "Defeat the Horse" and "Release the Rice" were all revised by Li.

Since then, Mr. Jing has made an appointment with fellow countryman Wang, who graduated from Shaanxi Law and Politics College, worked as a county magistrate in Henan and loved screenwriters, and arranged costume dramas such as Joe's Reunion, Golden Fan, and Jade Hairpin for the drama club. In order to arouse people's enthusiasm for anti-Japanese war, modern dramas such as Lugou Bridge and Bailing Temple were written and performed by Pu Opera artists in An and Lan, in order to realize his oath that "new dramatists should take transforming society as their own responsibility".

Third, introduce the value of drama and create the taste of drama.

Mr. Jing Meijiu said in "A Brief Introduction to National Drama": "The spread of national drama is far above the historical records department. No wonder European and American writers are famous playwrights! In our country, drama is the rest of the article, which is second only to the novel legend, so many so-called gentlemen despise it. People who do things occasionally remain anonymous, fearing to blame the world. Few people have devoted themselves to Tao recently. Therefore, people who have not made great progress in China's traditional operas are always better than their old operas. If there is no progress in drama, there will be no progress in society. " He added: "Opera novels are the cardinal handed down by the Ming king to the world. The sage will rise again, and you can't rule it without it! ..... People who watch the world today are not bad at singing and watching plays, and so are poems and music of this nature; There are no people who don't like reading novels and listening to books, such as books and Spring and Autumn Annals. There are no people who don't believe in divination, so are Yi and Li. It was human nature that the sage dispersed the Six Classics, but later Confucian scholars could not benefit and guide them because of their potential. What makes it impossible to stop, do everything possible to stop, do things with adult ceremony, and block people's hearts? No wonder it's broken and collapsed! " It can be seen that Mr. Jing Meijiu listed the social and educational functions of opera above the historical records during the Revolution of 1911. Some people say that this is because of his profound culture and profound knowledge. Yes, Jingmeijiu has a profound cultural background and profound knowledge, and he is also a bachelor of studying abroad. But isn't Wang Jun, a friend who respects the United States for a long time, a new bachelor, also a highly educated international student? Didn't he accuse the traditional Chinese opera of substituting singing for speaking, which didn't conform to the "only talking but not singing" (drama), or "only singing and not talking" (opera) or "only dancing and not singing" (ballet) of foreign dramas? They don't know that China's plays include singing and dancing, as well as oral English and martial arts. This is the greatest feature and advantage of China's plays. After liberation, under the leadership of the Party, China's operas became colorful. In 1950s, Chinese Peking Opera "Make a scene in Heaven", "Sanchakou" and "The Legend of the White Snake" were staged in Paris, France, which shocked the French drama circle. At that time, a French expert said in surprise: "I had an idea to add dance to the aria of western operas." I didn't expect China's plays to be handed down hundreds of years ago. It's a miracle! " Aren't these praises a strong support for Jingmei's long-term Chinese opera "Don't waste it?"

The value of Jing Meijiu also lies in that in his articles, he regards opera actors despised by ordinary literati as very precious. In an article, he spoke highly of several Pu Opera actors who became popular in Beijing. Said, "Guo Baochen, like historical records, goes back to the Yellow River and goes straight to Longmen; Er Baohong, as gentle and elegant as the later Han Dynasty, deserves to be called a writer. Thirteen reds such as "The History of the Three Kingdoms" are handsome and cautious, which is very consistent with history. " Whether the evaluation of these famous Bangzi artists who became popular in Beijing in 2000 is appropriate or not depends only on their enthusiasm. Compared with Sima Qian's Historical Records and Ban Gu's Hanshu, the "player" who dares to break through secular prejudice and disdains ordinary literati is very touching.

Moreover, at the invitation of Anyi County Order in the spring of 1934, when Jingmeijiu was in charge of rebuilding Anyi County Records, he also included the names and performance characteristics of six famous Pu Opera actors in Anyi at that time in Hometown Records. These six actors are: two customs; Zhang Dajing Huang Liu; Xiao Shenglou is surnamed Chen and has a son. Xu (who has performed with the same stage); Ugly and stupid (nicknamed Bao Si Ugly). This is also an unprecedented revolutionary move. Artists who used to sing operas were not even allowed to enter the ancestral temple. How can they qualify to be included in the official county annals?

In short, Jingmeijiu is not only one of the elders of the democratic revolution, but also made many contributions in the Revolution of 1911, and made indelible contributions to the old and new aspects of traditional Chinese opera art. Finally, I present a little poem to show my deep memory of Jingmeijiu's old man:

Hedong has always attached importance to drama, and non-commissioned officers are willing to follow the customs.

Jing Lao Mei Jiu is particularly valuable, with high knowledge and wide knowledge, which is consistent from ancient times to modern times.

Jing stayed on earth to praise and distinguish things from things.

The actor's name is recorded in the county annals, and he has his own foresight.

Note: (1) A Brief History of Traditional Chinese Opera originally contained Jing Ke Crime (written around 10) in nine parts.

(2) Guo Baochen, Er and Shi Sanhong are all actors in Pu Opera. When they arrived in Beijing, they all sang Beijing Bangzi (that is, Shanshan Bangzi).