The literary giants of the late Ming Dynasty began by copying books

Chapter 15 Wang Wenlong changes the play

Early the next morning, Wang Wenlong got up early to wash up, and then had dinner with the servants of Gao Yin's house.

By the middle of the Ming Dynasty at the latest, farmers in the south could eat three meals a day. Although the food was shabby, it was also a sign of good living conditions.

There were hundreds of people coming and going in Gao Yin's house. Wang Wenlong observed that the maids and slaves of the rough envoys probably had their own place to eat. He, Lin Shiqing, Li Bajin and a few of his followers sat at the same table to eat. It's also quite exquisite. For breakfast, there are fried dough sticks, sweet steamed buns with foreign sugar, and a bowl of hotpot paste with some dried shrimps.

At the dining table, Lin Shiqing was holding the rice bowl and eating slowly. Li Bajin and the others had fried dough sticks in one hand and steamed buns in the other. They placed the bowl of pan batter in front of them, taking a bite of fried dough sticks on the left and a steamed bun on the right. Dropping a steamed bun, he then lowered his head to take a big gulp of the batter from the side of the pot, and even stuck his tongue into the bowl to lick the bottom.

After they had eaten for a while, Lin Shiqing threw down the soup bowl and said quite complacently: "I have to go to work for my father-in-law, so I don't have time to continue eating."

Seeing him walking out with his head held high, Li Bajin and others behind him could not help but scold him for pretending in Fuzhou dialect.

Wang Wenlong had just finished eating and was about to go back to his room. After taking a rest, he saw a long shift hurriedly running over.

"Mr. Wang, my father-in-law is calling you."

Wang Wenlong quickly followed him to the flower hall, only to see two actors standing in the middle of the flower hall, singing babblingly.

Gao Yin was sitting on the Taishi chair with his eyes closed and listening to the play, while Lin Shiqing was sitting beside him.

Gao Yin raised his eyes and looked at Wang Wenlong, then pointed to the stool next to him. Wang Wenlong quickly sat on it and listened to the play with Gao Yin.

After listening to it for a long time, Wang Wenlong realized that the lyrics of this opera were quite familiar. After careful consideration, he found out that Gao Yin was listening to Kun Opera, and the content he sang should be "The Peony Pavilion".

But after listening for a while, Wang Wenlong frowned slightly. The "Peony Pavilion" sung by these people seemed to be different from the version he had learned in later art appreciation classes.

How should I put it...it sounds a lot worse.

Wang Wenlong recalled the content introduced by their old professor who was a serious Kun Opera student in the art appreciation class in his previous life.

"The Peony Pavilion" is a representative of literati drama. Although it uses the format of a script, Tang Xianzu wrote it according to the novel, so it is as beautiful as it is.

But this makes the lyrics and music script of "The Peony Pavilion" extremely beautiful, but the singing is very difficult.

More than 400 years of subsequent performance attempts have basically proven that "The Peony Pavilion" must be extensively modified if it is to be put on the stage.

Revising "The Peony Pavilion" is a very complicated matter. It must not only maintain the charm of the original script, but also meet the requirements of the opera stage.

Literati from the Ming and Qing dynasties, as well as well-known directors and screenwriters in modern times, all challenged this play and adapted it into many versions.

The version of Bai Xianyong's Kunqu Opera "The Peony Pavilion" they listened to in class at that time was a more acceptable version made after summarizing various adaptations.

Wang Wenlong remembered: It seems that Tang Xianzu wrote "The Peony Pavilion" in the 26th year of Wanli. Now it is only the 27th year of Wanli. The script has only been written for a year, and there is no time to change it.

No wonder the Peony Pavilion currently being performed is so shabby.

Not only Wang Wenlong heard the stumbling singing of the actor standing in the center of the flower hall, but Gao Yin also frowned when he heard it.

Only Lin Shiqing endured the embarrassment and continued to shake the fan.

"Stop, stop," after a while, Gao Yin finally couldn't help but stop the two actors from continuing to sing.

He looked at Lin Shiqing: "You have been practicing this scene for so long, and now it looks like this?"

Lin Shiqing said: "Eunuch, this Peony Pavilion is really difficult to change. The students have worked hard and asked many qu masters, but it is quite rare to change it like this." Gao Yin frowned, looked at Wang Wenlong beside him and said: " Wang Wenlong, have you heard of Kunqu opera? How do you like this opera?"

Wang Wenlong said: "Back to my father-in-law, I have heard of the Peony Pavilion script in Jianyang. It is said that it is indeed difficult to change. It is good that Brother Lin can change it like this."

Lin Shiqing nodded and said: "Eunuch, several opera artists in Fuzhou have seen my version of this play and they all say it is good. Why bother asking him again? He came back from the West, how can he know how to listen to Kunqu opera?"

When I go, Wang Wenlong is speechless. Lin Shiqing is a dog, and even if he helps him talk, he still has to step on him.

Wang Wenlong was so angry that he didn't bother to be polite to Lin Shiqing.

Gao Yin was quite depressed: "It's useless, what's the singing...you've ruined all my good interest..."

He waved his hand and was about to send everyone away, when Wang Wenlong suddenly said: "Eunuch, I just thought of a way to change the song."

Hearing this, Lin Shiqing thought that Wang Wenlong was here to add insult to injury, and immediately said angrily: "Oh, father-in-law, please don't listen to his nonsense. What does he, a foreigner, know about singing?"

Gao Yin also shook his head. He was originally full of joy and wanted to listen to the adapted script today, but he was disappointed. He didn't believe how well Wang Wenlong could change it, so he was about to send everyone away.

At this time, I heard Wang Wenlong say: "The fine silk blows to the courtyard, swaying like spring threads."

Wang Wenlong had never learned Kunqu Opera before. He just sang it like a cat and a tiger from a video he watched in his previous life. However, he didn't expect that he couldn't keep up with his voice as soon as he opened his mouth. He just barely sang the tune correctly.

But the first line still made everyone happy when it was sung.

Wang Wenlong also blushed a little, but when he was forced to do this, he could only continue to learn to sing the second line: "Stop for a while to adjust the flowers. If you don't pick up the water chestnuts, you will steal half of the person's face."

When adapting a drama into a Kunqu opera, the most difficult thing is that the lyrics must be changed to match the pronunciation of Hequpai, so some additions or subtractions are inevitable.

As soon as Wang Wenlong sang this line, anyone who was familiar with Kun Opera could recognize the meaning of these two lines. Then the smile on Gao Yin's face gradually turned serious. The two actors in the flower hall were stunned, and Lin Shiqing even frowned. He frowned.

"The colorful clouds are so cute, how can I, Bu Xianggui, show my whole body..."

After singing a few words.Wang Wenlong only felt that his singing was too unpleasant. He looked at everyone with a red face and met a pair of surprised eyes.

Everyone was taken aback.

This guy sings so hard, and it actually rhymes...

Lin Shiqing was completely dumbfounded.

Gao Yin asked Lin Shiqing to change "The Peony Pavilion" into Kunqu opera. It took him two or three months and consulted many composers before he managed to change it a little, which already caused him to lose hair in handfuls.

Lin Shiqing originally thought that the changes he had made were very good, but when he heard Wang Wenlong's singing, he felt that he had to throw away the goods.

The lyrics just now were sung using Wang Wenlong's tune. Only two or three words were added, but it still managed to rhyme and even the emotional ups and downs complemented the content of the original work.

Gao Yin smiled and said: "Sing this piece with "Bu Bu Jiao"? That's great! Do you have any ideas for other lyrics?"

"Somewhat."

Gao Yin smiled and said, "Let's talk about it."

(End of this chapter)