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Chapter 346: Guan Hanqing, the Master of Music

Among Tang poetry, Song lyrics and Yuan opera, Guan Hanqing is undoubtedly the epitome of Yuan opera.

Guan Hanqing is one of the greatest writers in the history of Chinese literature and the founder of Chinese opera.

He created more than 60 kinds of drama in his lifetime, which not only inspired the people at that time to fight against class oppression and national oppression.

It also had a huge impact on later drama creation, and the realistic spirit in the work was inherited by later dramatists.

Among Guan Hanqing's many dramatic works, the most well-known is "The Injustice of Dou E".

Guan Hanqing wrote about Dou E's process from accepting her fate to resistance and then awakening, profoundly exposing the various dark social problems that existed in the Yuan Dynasty and elevating the idea of ​​the play to a new height.

"He is a copper pea that can neither be steamed nor cooked, the founder of Yuan Zaju, and a wandering prodigal son throughout his life."

"Guan Hanqing's original name was not Guan Hanqing."

"As the leader of the four great Yuan opera writers, Guan Hanqing is very famous, but there is not a single word about him in the official history because there is no record of him."

"His original name is unknown, his birth and death dates are unknown, his place of origin is unknown, and he is an entirely unknown person."

"Hanqing is just his pen name. The academic community still has no consensus on his birth date and place."

"In 1234 AD, society was in turmoil and war was raging."

"The Jin people kicked the Northern Song Dynasty away and took control of the Central Plains."

"Guan Hanqing's father, Guan Yi, was a Han Chinese. Facing the deep love in front of him, he saw the northern land falling into the hands of the enemy."

"He wiped away his tears, endured humiliation, and served as a minor official in the Jin Dynasty."

"Although they were in Cao's camp, the Jin people were doing quite well in assimilating themselves to the Han culture, and they were promoting the imperial examination system."

"Guan Hanqing's family is a family of scholars who have been devoted to Confucianism and officialdom for generations. Not only is his heart in the Han Dynasty, but he also educates his children in the Han family's way."

"Because Guan Yi was also an official, Guan Hanqing's family was well-off when he was a child."

"I received a good Confucian education and was able to study in turbulent times,"

"Guan Hanqing's uncle Guangcan was a doctor. When Guan Hanqing was a child, he studied medicine with his uncle while studying."

"Jiangxi is a salt producing area, and there is a custom of setting up a stage to perform operas and worship the salt god."

"Reading, studying medicine, and watching plays, these three things constituted Guan Hanqing's life during his youth."

"He's used to it and may even find it boring at times."

"But that's how life is. Some unintentional things can determine a person's life by accident."

"In 1211 AD, the Mongol-Jin War broke out."

"The Mongols drove the Jin people out of Shanxi, and the situation began to swing again."

"At that time, Guan Hanqing was studying hard to prepare for the imperial examination. Now the country is in ruins, the family is ruined, and the imperial examination is no longer in existence."

"He had to pack his bags and go to Pingyang, the capital of Shanxi, to see if he could find an opportunity."

"Pingyang is known as the first capital of China. Emperor Yao built his capital here."

"Pu Opera, which was later known as the first of the four major bangzi operas in Shanxi, also has a close relationship with it."

"Guan Hanqing often watched operas when he was a child. Now that he has come to Pingyang, he is deeply moved by the opera troupe in Pingyang."

"He was really young and full of vigor at that time. He saw the country being torn apart and his life was like floating duckweed."

Zhu Di: Tang poetry has Li Bai, Song poetry has Su Shi, and Yuan opera has Guan Hanqing.

Looking at the 300 Yuan Dynasty poems, we can see that they are numerous and of high quality.

Guan Hanqing is undoubtedly the leader of the Four Great Yuan Operaists and is a well-deserved saint of Yuan opera.

Guan Hanqing has many classic works, including "The Single-Sword Meeting", "The Rescue of the Wind and Dust", "The Injustice of Dou E", etc.

He looked through Guan Hanqing's works and found that the words were filled with high spirits of resistance and fighting spirit.

This is because Guan Hanqing lived in an era when the Yuan Dynasty was politically dark and corrupt, society was turbulent, and the people lived in dire straits.

Guan Hanqing's plays profoundly reproduce social reality and are full of the flavor of the times.

In summary, the film not only depicts the brutality of the Mongol nobles but also Dou E's miserable situation, reflecting a very broad range of life.

It not only ruthlessly exposes the darkness of the Yuan Dynasty officialdom, but also enthusiastically praises the people's resistance struggle.

Generous and tragic songs, optimistic resistance, constitute the most distinctive tone of Guan Hanqing's plays.

In Guan Hanqing's writing, the most outstanding image is that of Dou E, an ordinary woman.

Dou E was born in a humble family and suffered all kinds of humiliation and persecution at the hands of the Mongol aristocratic rulers.

Guan Hanqing described Dou E's tragic experience, while at the same time praising her strong will to resist and singing the praises of her heroic behavior of refusing to yield until her death.

In that particular historical period, Guan Hanqing inspired the people's consciousness of struggle through opera.

"Looking back at the long river of history 3,000 miles behind him, Guan Hanqing grabbed Guan Yu Guan Yunchang."

"The power of "Single Sword Meeting" can be felt through the paper. I can't express my brother's heart in my busy schedule, and I can't change my Han family's integrity in my haste."

"Every word in "Dream of Western Shu" is tearful, four heads are pierced on the tip of the pestle, and the blood in the cavity flows into the downtown of Chengdu. It is better than giving me a thousand small yellow-sealed wine cups for offering."

"No need to say anything, the youthful vigor and vitality of this young man is overwhelming."

"Guan Shan Shi Lu's clamor and depression caused him to burst out with such thunder."

"In 1234 AD, Emperor Aizong of Jin staged a hasty march to Caizhou, and the Jin Dynasty was destroyed from then on."

"Guan Hanqing was among the fleeing group, heading north."

"I left the Kingdom of Jin and came to Wuren Village in Qizhou, Hebei."

"Qizhou is a famous medicinal material base, and the medical skills Guan Hanqing learned since childhood came in handy here."

"The country is in chaos. The theater troupes everywhere are replaced by the wounded everywhere."

"While Guan Hanqing was treating patients and saving lives to survive, he was also thinking about his own script."

"Unlike the Jin people who assimilated themselves to Chinese culture, the Mongols, who rode horses and ate meat all their lives, looked down on Chinese culture."

"After the fall of the Jin Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty suddenly abolished the imperial examination system that had been passed down since the Sui and Tang Dynasties."

"Not only that, by the second year of Kublai Khan's Zhiyuan reign, that is, 1265."

"The Yuan people also introduced the caste system, dividing people into four levels: Mongols, Semites, Han Chinese, and southerners."

"The profession is divided into ten levels. It's easy to be an official or a clerk. Everyone wants to be an official."

"But seven are doctors, eight are prostitutes, nine are scholars, and ten are beggars. Scholars are actually ranked behind prostitutes and ahead of beggars."

"From this, we can also see why Guan Hanqing is so famous but not recorded in the official history."

"Ma Zhiyuan in "Autumn Thoughts in the Clear Sky" is like a person who is heartbroken and lives in seclusion in the distant land, as the sun sets in the west."

"Some people have let it go and laughed it off. They thought that not being able to study or become an official was not a big deal."

"I am the leader of all the handsome men in the world, and the head of all the playboys in the world."

"I enjoy the moon in Liangyuan, drink the wine in Dongjing, admire the flowers in Luoyang, and climb the willows in Zhangtai."

"Even if you knock out my teeth, twist my mouth, cripple my legs, break my hands, and give me all these terrible symptoms, I will not give up."

"I am a copper pea that can't be steamed, boiled, pounded, or fried. It just makes a loud noise."

"I have no chance to take the imperial examination, no way to serve my country, but I still have my play."

"So he turned and headed for the market, for the variety show."

Zhang Juzheng: In that particular era, the Yuan opera written by Guan Hanqing had hilarious humor.

The Tang and Song dynasties were paradise for literati, but the Yuan Dynasty was their hell.

The Yuan Mongolian nobles, who only knew how to shoot eagles with bows, once promoted Chinese studies.

But in their eyes, these are just inferior forces and cannot be compared with the iron cavalry.

Therefore, the literati and celebrities lived in depression and misery in that era.

The dream of becoming an official after excelling in studies was just a dream in the Yuan Dynasty and would never come true.

Most scholars in the early Yuan Dynasty felt that their talents were not appreciated, and therefore became depressed.

Either you work hard to become a government official your whole life, or you retire to the mountains and rivers.

But Guan Hanqing was different from them. He had an independent lifestyle and was not trapped between seeking a career and retiring to the mountains and rivers.

Instead, he chose to keep pace with the times, neither humble nor overbearing, and always maintained his integrity.

In this way, the Yuan opera written by Guan Hanqing has such hilarious humor, such as "A Flower".

The last song of "A Flower" shows Guan Hanqing's image of a bohemian prodigal to the extreme.

It can’t be steamed to pieces, it can’t be boiled, it can’t be pounded to pieces, it can’t be fried to pieces, and it makes a loud noise.

This is easy to do for ordinary peas, but it is impossible for copper peas.

Guan Hanqing is this bronze pea, which conveys his indomitable spirit and determination to fight against the Yuan Dynasty.

Guan Hanqing uses a lot of everyday language, and the explosive feeling pours out like a raging firefly, giving people a great shocking effect.

It shows Guan Hanqing's strong dissatisfaction with the dark reality and also reflects his determination not to be tainted by the world.

Guan Hanqing then used specific examples to prove his determination to never regret even if he died. He enjoyed the moon in Liangyuan, drank the wine in Tokyo, admired the flowers in Luoyang, and climbed the willows in Zhangtai.

These are the worlds described by literati of the Tang and Song dynasties, and they give us a glimpse of how strong Guan Hanqing's desire was for such a prosperous age.

Dreaming of returning to the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty, this fantasy contains so much sadness for Guan Hanqing.

Immediately afterwards, Guan Hanqing changed the subject and shouted out the most powerful emotional note with an explosive effect.

You've knocked out my teeth, twisted my mouth, crippled my legs, and broken my hands.

Now that you have made up your mind, you have your own ideas in mind.

Then you will not be afraid of any threats or oppression, and you will not be afraid of any pain or death.

"A Branch of Flower" is Guan Hanqing's representative work, which has a humorous style and strong emotions, giving people a great shock.

At the same time, for that era, Guan Hanqing's humor was life-threatening.

If someone with ulterior motives takes advantage of this issue, the consequences will be disastrous.

A maverick person and a maverick work, which interprets Guan Hanqing's maverick humor.

"Fortunately, there are a group of like-minded people in the Yuan capital Dadu. Guan Hanqing and some others founded an organization called Yujing Book Club."

"In the cold and indifferent environment of the Yuan Dynasty, everyone gathered together for warmth."

"Guan Hanqing and others drank, wrote, and read scripts with each other in this organization."

"Guan Hanqing gradually became the head of the Yujing Book Club with his own abilities."

"During the day, there were book clubs in Yujing, and at night, there were brothels and tea houses. This was Guan Hanqing's life at that time."

"It was also during this time that Guan Hanqing reached the peak of his creative career."

"'Rescue the Wind and Dust', 'Wangjiang Pavilion', 'Worship the Moon Pavilion' and 'Xie Tianxiang', these well-known plays are from that period."

"In these books, whether it's a talented scholar or a beautiful lady, or a villain in the market, they all have a happy ending."

"There are like-minded friends, a successful career, and a story of flowers and full moons." "Everything in Dadu seemed to be beautiful, but Guan Hanqing still left Dadu."

"He passed through Nanjing and came to Suzhou."

"In Suzhou, Zheng Guangzu, who was also famous in history, came to pay him a visit."

"Since ancient times, scholars and literati have always been involved in romantic dramas involving talented men and beautiful women."

"The romantic and suave Guan Hanqing also met his unforgettable confidante Zhu Lianxiu in the rich and gentle Jiangnan."

"A large number of northern playwrights went south to make a living, and Guan Hanqing also followed the trend and went to Hangzhou."

"The misty and rainy Jiangnan gave him great inspiration and exposed him to more and better literature and art."

"In the season of blooming flowers and lush grass, he saw for the first time the famous opera performer Zhulian Show."

"Although Zhu Lianxiu's family is poor, she has a beautiful appearance."

"Although she was in a brothel, she was very clean and virtuous. She was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting."

"Her poems impressed many scholars, including Guan Hanqing, a talented scholar of his time."

"At that time, he wrote the play and she performed it. She interpreted the role in his play vividly and he was also moved by her superb acting skills."

"In front of Lingbo Palace, the beautiful jade is shading Xiang Fei's face. How can you see her if you are not blessed?"

"Ten miles of Yangzhou has beautiful scenery, and it looks like a fairyland."

"This poem, 'Gift to Zhu Lianxiu', is written in a lingering and sad way. Later, many people derived their thoughts based on this poem and felt that there was a story between Guan Hanqing and Zhu Lianxiu."

"In fact, when Guan Hanqing met Zhu Lianxiu, she was already married to someone else."

"No matter how good the poem is, the beauty is still longing for you but not being able to meet you."

"On one side is the soft Wu dialect of Hangzhou, and on the other side is the exquisite beauty of the beautiful woman."

Wu Cheng'en: Guan Hanqing and Zhu Lianxiu were such a pair of close friends and beautiful women, but they were unable to get married.

In the context of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Lianxiu, like Guan Hanqing, was also a miserable person.

Perhaps it is because of poor family conditions that they can hardly make ends meet and have to sell their smiles to survive.

Or maybe her family fell into poverty, and she became a wanderer and a prostitute.

The specific reason is unknown, but what is certain is that Zhu Lianxiu is a talented and beautiful woman.

As a prostitute, it is not surprising that her beauty is so stunning that it shames the moon and flowers.

But she can fascinate scholars and literati, which shows that she must have some extraordinary qualities.

Zhu Lianxiu's secret weapon is her excellent acting skills. No matter what role she plays, she can make it come alive immediately and make the audience cry and laugh with her.

As an imperial prostitute, Zhu Lianxiu was surrounded by dignitaries.

But she had no desire to curry favor with others. Rather than marrying into a prominent family, she wanted to make something of herself.

She did not care about her status or family background, and liked to make friends with literati and poets, while at the same time she was developing her acting career in full swing.

It’s no wonder that Guan Hanqing fell in love with such an extraordinary woman at first sight.

The friendship between the two is not as simple as that between a beautiful woman and a talented man.

What exists between them is not only love between a man and a woman, but also mutual respect and admiration between close friends.

Guan Hanqing was a famous Yuan Dynasty opera composer, and Zhu Lianxiu was the unrivaled queen of Yuan Dynasty opera.

One writes, one acts, one is behind the scenes, one is on stage.

"Wangjiangting" and "Jiufengchen" written by Guan Hanqing were specially created for Zhulianxiu.

Guan Hanqing was afraid that writing "The Injustice of Dou E" would get him into trouble, so he never started writing.

Zhu Lianxiu encouraged Guan Hanqing, saying that if he dared to write, she would dare to perform, and she also said that she was willing to be a woman with the same fighting spirit as Dou E.

Only then did Guan Hanqing make up his mind and write "The Injustice of Dou E", which was about the snow in June and the three-year drought.

The two worked together to write a brilliant chapter in the history of Yuan opera.

Unfortunately, the two did not end up together.

No matter how high Zhu Lianxiu's reputation was, she could not escape the identity of an official prostitute.

Guan Hanqing already had a family.

It is a pity that they were unable to break free from the shackles of the secular world.

"Life in Hangzhou may be the most gentle life for a wanderer like Guan Hanqing."

"But in this gentle place, Guan Hanqing burst out with the strongest voice of his life."

"The Injustice of Dou E: The sun and the moon hang in the sky day and night, and ghosts and gods control the power of life and death."

"Heaven and earth should only distinguish between the clear and the turbid, but how could they confuse Dao Zhi and Yan Yuan?"

"Those who do good suffer poverty and a short life, while those who do evil enjoy wealth and a long life."

"Heaven and earth, they are afraid of the strong and bully the weak, but it turns out that they also go with the flow."

"Dou E, a weak widow who died unjustly, a traditional woman who depended on her mother-in-law for survival."

"Yet he dared to curse the heavens and the earth and swear in a shocking way on the execution ground."

"After my death, my blood splattered on the white silk, snow fell in June, and Chuzhou suffered a severe drought for three years."

"Compared with Guan Hanqing's previous works, The Injustice of Dou E is very different."

"When writing about love, his ending is happy."

"He loved those prostitutes, and gave them the charm of personality and the spirit of women being superior to men."

"When writing about public cases, his characters are always wronged and redressed."

"He will always set up a court of justice to judge all the darkness in the world."

"But Dou E was different. Dou E was not cleared of all charges."

"Her innocence is in her own cry."

"The reason why Guan Hanqing left Dadu and came to Hangzhou."

"Beyond the mountains are green mountains, beyond the buildings are buildings. When will the singing and dancing at West Lake stop?"

"Hangzhou's pleasures did not attract him."

"The warm wind intoxicated the tourists, who mistook Hangzhou for Bianzhou."

"What attracted him was the Southern Song Dynasty, where many people died without a burial place."

"When I was young, I longed for the hero Guan Yu. When I was middle-aged, I longed for the land of fireworks."

"He seems to have let it go and doesn't care anymore."

"But when he reached old age, the Han blood in his bones was itching all the time."

"This itch mixed with the pain he'd never experienced in his life forced him to roar like this."

"Earth, what is earth if you can't tell good from evil?"

"Heaven, you are unworthy of being the Heaven because you misjudge the wise and foolish!"

"Alas, I can only shed tears!"

"It turned out that the haze over his head had never left him. He knew that his life was hopeless."

"Dou E could not clear her grievances during her lifetime, and his ambitions would not be realized."

"He wanted to use Dou E's mouth to express his own feelings."

"In 1300 AD, Guan Hanqing returned to Wuren Village, where he once practiced medicine and saved lives, and was buried there forever."

"Looking back on Guan Hanqing's life, he was a prodigal son in the north, a wandering son in the south, and an abandoned son of the times."

"I have been wandering all my life, but I have never bowed my head."

"He left us more than 60 wonderful plays. He is the founder of Yuan Zaju and is honored as the Sage of Opera."

"Although Guan Hanqing was born in poverty and had a rough life, he was able to find a balance between perseverance and forgiveness, and achieved great fame."

Wang Yangming: "The Injustice of Dou E" can be regarded as the most classic tragedy, and Guan Hanqing deserves the title of the "God of Opera".

In Guan Hanqing's plays, most people just passively endure their tragic fate.

Before the tragedy occurred, they lived their daily lives according to the routine and they would not take the initiative to provoke conflicts.

But when they encounter trouble, if the trouble is within their tolerable range, they will bear it willingly.

Because in that cannibalistic society, life was difficult for ordinary people, and they were used to accepting everything.

The protagonist Dou E in "The Injustice of Dou E" is a woman who dares to resist.

Dou E's story is gripping, from initially submitting to her fate to her three rebellions.

Dou E, a poor woman from Chuzhou, lost her mother when she was young.

Because her father couldn't pay off his debts, he sold her to his creditor, Granny Cai, as a child bride, and went to the capital to take the imperial examination.

Less than two years after Dou E came to the Cai family, her husband fell ill and died, leaving her and Grandma Cai to depend on each other.

The scoundrel Zhang Lu'er and his son fell in love with Dou E and Granny Cai. Zhang Lu'er asked Granny Cai to persuade Dou E.

Dou E launched her first resistance, and she refused without any emotion.

Not only because she wanted to abide by the traditional concept of being faithful to one person, but also because she felt that this street scoundrel Zhang Lu'er was not the one she loved.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Lu'er still did not give up. In order to occupy Dou E, he wanted to poison and kill Granny Cai, but he didn't expect to kill his own father.

Zhang Lu'er used this incident to threaten Dou E and her mother-in-law, but Dou E still refused to compromise with the evil forces.

When asked whether she would take an official or private leave, she placed her hopes on the government.

But when she arrived at the court, Dou E never expected to meet such a corrupt official.

After being severely tortured, she finally realized that the government would never uphold justice for the poor.

Dou E has been unable to control her own destiny since she was born, but her fantasies are shattered.

From the first time Dou E refused to compromise with the rogues, her rebellious spirit grew rapidly like bamboo shoots after rain.

She turned from initial weakness to strong resistance and made three vows before being sentenced to death. These were her cry of resistance against this dark society.

After his death, his blood splattered on white silk, snow fell in June, and there was a severe drought in Chuzhou for three years.

In the end, Dou E's three vows came true, but those corrupt officials and scoundrels had not yet been punished. She still refused to give up and continued her resistance to the end.

She appeared in her dream and told her father what had happened to her.

In the end, her father punished the evildoer and Dou E's rebellion ended.

This image of fighting to the death and never yielding also made Dou E a household name.

Guan Hanqing's works reflect the corruption and darkness of Yuan Dynasty politics. He created typical tragic characters to expose the hardships of life of the lower classes, which is thought-provoking.

(End of this chapter)