Me and Empress Dowager Cixi

Chapter 35
On the two days of Shuo and Wang every month, according to the rules handed down from the palace, there is an opera to be sung.Since the Empress Dowager came to power, many drama scripts were written by herself.The queen mother has a deep understanding of Chinese classical drama, and also has a good literary foundation, so it is not so difficult for her to complete a script.Although it is said that performances are performed on time every month, except for major festivals such as the Spring Festival, Longevity Festival, and Lantern Festival, the palace rarely invites outside troupes in, largely for safety reasons.On weekdays, many roles are played by eunuchs in opera. In her spare time, the Queen Mother will personally direct these eunuchs to practice, and sometimes we will help.Under the empress dowager's urging, some people with relatively high talent were able to sing better than outside actors.Every time this matter is mentioned, the queen mother is very proud.

Due to the coming of the death day of Emperor Tongzhi, the entire palace was shrouded in melancholy.Fortunately, it will soon be the middle of the month, which is the prescribed day for singing opera.According to past experience, on the day before the middle of the month, the queen mother will distribute the songs to be sung tomorrow, and let the eunuchs in charge of the performance practice it.These eunuchs are not professional actors, and they don't know too many repertoires. Even so, the queen mother will not give them the chance to sing all the repertoires they know, and the queen mother orders only those few songs every time.I wonder why the Queen Mother is still so excited after listening to a play over and over again for many years?Is it just because she arranged those tracks herself?For the princes and ministers outside, it is difficult for them to hear the repertoire personally arranged by the Queen Mother, but for us, everyone has heard it many times, and even remember every line of the libretto by heart.Personally, I prefer to listen to the ancient operas of the past. The troupes outside all have the scripts of these plays, but they are expressed in different forms.Some ancient operas can be passed down for thousands of years, so they naturally have their brilliance.

Whenever the queen mother feels bad, the people in the whole palace feel depressed.Therefore, even if it is for our own sake, we hope that the queen mother will recover soon, so that we can feel better.In order to make the queen mother happy, we thought of many ways, and finally suddenly thought that tomorrow is the middle of the month, why not suggest that the queen mother sing a play in Fengtian Palace?If the entire palace continues to be so dull, it will be of no benefit to anyone.The next morning, I plucked up the courage to propose this suggestion to the Queen Mother. Although the Queen Mother's face was calmer, she was still a little unhappy. After I said these words, I didn't know what kind of answer I was going to face.No matter what you do, the Queen Mother likes to listen to other people's reasoning. I persuaded her like this: "Queen Mother, since we have come to Fengtian, why don't we have a lively celebration and let the ancestors see what we are doing today?" Happy weather?" I dare not say how much effect this sentence played, but finally the queen mother agreed to my request, she said: "You are right, besides, we have already seen all the nearby tourist attractions. Sitting down is not an option. Just as you said, we have a good time singing, and I have been sitting for the past few days, and I also have the intention of being active." Speaking of this, the queen mother actually showed a smile, and said He nodded his head slightly.Then, she went on to say: "Your idea is really good. In this case, you can decide to help me choose a play! When ordering a play, don't worry about my feelings. I have never had any prejudices. You can order whatever play you like. alright."

The meaning of what the queen mother said is that I was ordered to order a play. This is a very great honor in the palace. On weekdays, even Guangxu, Longyu or other princes and ministers seldom get it.Because the queen mother likes to listen to operas, she refuses to let people easily every time she orders an opera.If the Queen Mother asks someone to play for her, it means that she appreciates that person very much, and it can even be said that she is very fond of him.That person's face is like gold, everyone will be very envious, even a little jealous.I am truly grateful for such an honor being suddenly added to me.But then again, this matter is not a small burden for me.Ordering plays for the queen mother is not an easy task. Two conditions need to be met when ordering plays: first, there must be no taboos; second, the queen mother must be happy to watch.In contrast, the first point is easier to do. As long as you think carefully, you won’t make any big mistakes. The key is the second point. The Queen Mother has been in a bad mood these days. Her mood will be even worse, and I may have to spend ten lifetimes of humiliation to repay the glory that I have brought to me.We will be returning to Beijing soon, and before we leave Fengtian, no one wants to leave a bad impression on the Empress Dowager.It is precisely because of these reasons that I feel that this task is not easy to handle, and it can even be said to be very difficult.

At this time, I think it is impossible to turn down this errand, firstly because there is no one else around me, and secondly because I made this suggestion.From this point of view, my suggestion has become a cocoon.Now that he knows that there is no way out, there is no need to regret it anymore, it is better to save some energy to figure out what the Queen Mother is thinking.At that time, I stood beside the queen mother and thought about it for seven or eight minutes before I got a little clue. Fortunately, the queen mother understood my situation and couldn't bear to urge me.In the end, I chose a very lively play-"Shiro Visits His Mother".After the play is determined, the next step is to find someone to prepare. All the equipment for singing is readily available in the palace, so there is no need to spend a lot of time looking for it.These props are usually kept by a special person, and they can be taken out when they are used. All the costumes and sets are all high-quality products, especially the sets, which are different in spring, summer, autumn and winter, and strive to imitate nature as much as possible.This kind of equipment can only be done in the palace, and an ordinary theater troupe will not be so spared in financial resources.I boast so much about the equipment in the palace that readers may not be able to fully believe it, so I will give some more examples to illustrate.In the city of Beijing, the Empress Dowager specially provided for twelve senior tailors, whose sole task from morning till night was to sew costumes.When sewing costumes, there is no need to calculate the cost. For things that are not available in Beijing, people can be sent to Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangsu and Zhejiang to buy them. In a word, as long as they can achieve the highest level of craftsmanship and appearance, they can spend as much as they want.When we came east this time, we also brought the props for the opera, and an old eunuch was in charge of these things. The old eunuch also had ten or twenty young eunuchs who were proficient in various roles. And he knows a variety of scripts, no matter what kind of play he sings, he can improvise it.

Since it is an opera, the stage is naturally indispensable.Since Fengtian Palace has been uninhabited for many years, the palace houses are dilapidated, but unexpectedly, there is a stage in the open space in front of a certain palace.This stage has been around for some years, and many places have been damaged, but after being repaired by the eunuchs in the palace, it will soon look brand new.It is no different from the old-fashioned stage we have seen, it is as high as a floor, but its venue is wider than the usual stage.Speaking of the stage, the stage in the Imperial City of Beijing is very ordinary, and it is very different from the stage in the Summer Palace.I personally think that the stage in the Summer Palace is the most special. It has three floors. It is said that when it was built, all the floors were movable, which can provide very convenient passages for actors.While performing on the top floor, the actors for the next act can be prepared on the second floor by sling.During the intermission, the outer curtain will come down, and the actors on the first floor and the second floor will switch at this time, which not only saves a lot of time, but also makes the audience feel dizzy.Under the conditions at that time, this stage can be said to be a unique and fresh trick. When the show opened for the first time, many people were shocked. Everyone came from all directions just to see this stage, and even everyone just focused on watching the stage. The performance of the above actors was completely ignored.The stage of the Summer Palace was built with the help of the Empress Dowager herself. It is said that a part of it was designed by the Empress Dowager herself. The scale is grand and the structure is exquisite, far surpassing other stages at that time.However, due to safety reasons, the stage was abandoned.

Fengtian is incomparable with Beijing. In this ancient palace, we cannot make too many demands on the stage.In order to make this dilapidated stage not too ugly, it is necessary to decorate the corners and corners.Fortunately, there were a lot of eunuchs in the palace at that time, and they were left to take care of such trivial matters. As long as those idlers were mobilized, no matter what happened, there would be no problem.The preparations went very well, and after a short while, someone came and told me that everything was ready, and the gongs would start only at the order of the Queen Mother.I went to several relevant places one after another, asked them about their preparations, and only after getting a satisfactory answer, I went to tell the queen mother what I ordered.As soon as the Queen Mother heard that the title of the play was "Silang Visits His Mother", she immediately agreed with it, which made my hanging heart finally drop.On the way to the stage, the Queen Mother committed the habit of relying on the old and showing off again. She solemnly told me the story of Shiro's visit to his mother.Since I ordered this play, how could I not be familiar with the storyline?However, the Empress Dowager doesn't care about these things, as long as she has the opportunity, she will show off her knowledge, whether you like it or not.Although I didn't like to listen to it in my heart, I still had to pretend to be open-minded and listened for advice on the surface. It really made me feel uncomfortable to go all the way.Fortunately, I have long been used to being forced to listen to certain things, and the good mood has not been spoiled.The Empress Dowager's interest in telling stories is really high, and she often forces others to listen, but in all fairness, the Empress Dowager's eloquence is still very good, and she can tell any story vividly.As long as the queen mother is willing, she can tell a lot of interesting things about an ordinary story. Even if the queen mother tells the same story, we can hear the wonderful points every time we listen to it.I am very envious of her talent, and I have thought about imitating it deliberately, but I still can't get the essence of it.

According to the custom, the Empress Dowager sat in the middle, and those of us who came with the attendants were lined up on both sides.After standing still, I took a closer look at the newly decorated stage, and couldn't help applauding the ability of these eunuchs.Thanks to their efforts, a dilapidated stage was given a new look in a short period of time.Judging from the decoration of the stage, these eunuchs deliberately imitated the style of the stage in the Summer Palace. Although they could not completely imitate, they were somewhat similar.Even more coincidentally, long before we came to Fengtian, the person in charge of repairing the palace noticed that the pillars of the stage had been repainted, so it seems that the stage is not old at all.The flying dragons and beasts carved on the beams and pillars have also been re-applied with gold powder. Under the sunlight, they shine so brightly that people's eyes hurt.In addition, the corners of the stage are surrounded by several brand-new brocade curtains, which look extraordinarily gorgeous.Dressing up this old stage like this is like putting on a brand new dress for an old impostor. Although it makes people feel a little out of place, the appearance looks much more glamorous after all.Seeing the newly decorated stage, the queen mother nodded, indicating that the stage is still usable.Having said that, this play cannot start yet. To start the show, we must wait for the Empress Dowager to give orders in person. Without the order of the Empress Dowager, how dare we make decisions indiscriminately?At this moment, the Empress Dowager is still enthusiastically explaining the story of Yang Silang to us. She told us everything about the heroic story that happened in the Song Dynasty.

After a long time, the Empress Dowager finally shut down the chatter box, and everyone's spirits suddenly cheered up, knowing that the play was about to begin.At this time, the queen mother didn't say anything anymore, she waved her hand lightly, and the eunuch next to her ran towards the stage like flying, shouting while running: "Lafayette has a decree, order to start the gong!" As soon as the words fell, Gongs and drums sounded on the stage, and the story was staged scene by scene.

When watching the play, the Queen Mother refused to keep her mouth idle. She explained to us all the customs and taboos on the stage in detail.Having watched this play many times, the Empress Dowager somewhat lost some freshness, so she was even more reluctant to watch the play peacefully.Her Majesty told us what she had said many times before, and we had to play dumb again to listen to her, asking one or two very childish questions as we listened. "Everyone on the stage believes in gods and Buddhas very much." Lafayette suddenly said such a sentence, it seems that she has something relatively new to tell us today.After a pause, the Empress Dowager continued: "People who sing operas worship gods and Buddhas, and believe in Guan Gong, who is known as the Great Emperor Fumo. As long as it comes to meeting Master Guan, no matter how much you like to tell jokes on weekdays, you will immediately become dignified. When they go to a new place, these troupes will buy a new statue of Guan Gong and solemnly enshrine it, hoping for good luck. It is the same every time they sing an opera. Joss candles, sacrifices are made, and they are not put away until the end of the performance."

Having said this, the queen mother stopped, and the person next to her brought a glass of water.After drinking, the Queen Mother continued: "The opera singers are also very old-fashioned. During the performance, no matter what actions, lyrics, or chanting, they must follow the rules left by their ancestors and follow them meticulously. Their hearts to abide by the rules They are very pious, not only in their whole life, but also in the hands of their descendants and apprentices." The two passages that the Queen Mother told us are very pertinent, and I have heard them from other places two or three times later .I personally think that Chinese drama is undoubtedly a very beautiful art, but the martial field is a bit noisy. Whenever the two armies are fighting, the sound of gongs and drums can make people dizzy.

In the evening, the play "Siro Visits His Mother" was over.When I returned to the bedroom, the queen mother told me that among the many actors, the eunuch who played Taijun She performed the best and should be rewarded.At that time, because I was very tired, I just responded casually, and didn't pay much attention to it. As for whether the eunuch was rewarded later, I was not very clear.

(End of this chapter)