There are not many records about Zheng Guangzu's life story. From Zhong Sicheng's Ghost Record, we know that he studied Confucianism in his early years, and later awarded Hangzhou Dao as an official, so he lived in the south. He is "honest" and is not good at interacting with officialdom figures. Therefore, officialdom officials look down on him. It is conceivable that his political career is very difficult. The beautiful scenery of Hangzhou and the actresses there constantly aroused his feelings. He was originally gifted in literature, which led him to start the creation of zaju.
According to the research of scholars in the fields of literature and drama, Zheng Guangzu wrote 18 kinds of drama scripts in his life, all of which have been preserved to this day, including Lost Young Woman's Soul, Sweet Grass Deceiving Hanlin, Drunk Country King Can Climb the Tower, Assisting the Duke of Zhou as Regent, and Hulao Pass's Three Wars Lu Bu.
From these preserved plays, we can see that his plays have two themes, one is the love story of young men and women, and the other is the historical story. This shows that he doesn't dare to face and expose reality like Guan Hanqing, and the theme of his plays is far from reality. He wrote the play out of artistic needs, not political needs.
Among the plays with the theme of describing the love story of young men and women, "Lost in Soul" is his masterpiece (the attached picture is for this purpose). The script is adapted from the novel Away from the Soul written by Chen in Tang Dynasty. The general plot is that Wang Wenju, a scholar, married Qiannv, and Wang Wenju's parents died young, so Qiannv's mother had a plan to break her word, on the pretext that Wang Wenju could not get married until she passed the Jinshi exam, and wanted to get rid of this marriage. Unexpectedly, Qiannv is very loyal to love, so she went to Wang Wenju to take the exam. After parting with Liu Ting, her soul left her original body for missing Wang Wenju and went to Beijing with Wang Wenju. However, Wang Wenju didn't know that it was the soul of Qiannv who was with him. He thought it was Qiannv who went to Beijing with him. Therefore, when he won the first prize, three years later, he was going to leave Beijing to be an official and visit his mother-in-law. He first wrote a letter to tell Qian Qian's parents. Wang Wenju came to Qian Qian with her soul. Her soul and body were reunited, and a loving couple reunited.
The whole play depicts the image and character of a beautiful girl who pursues marital autonomy and is loyal to love. In marriage, never be easily pushed around. When her mother wanted to break her promise and asked her to be commensurate with Wang Wenju's brother and sister, she saw through her mother's intention at a glance and expressed her firm opposition. When Qiannv's soul left her body and followed Wang Wenju to Beijing, Wang Wenju thought Qiannv had come by herself. At first, she said that she was afraid that thousands of female mothers would know and advised her to go back. The lover boldly said, "What if he catches up with us?" As the saying goes, don't be afraid! "Wang Wenju discouraged her from working and taught her ethics, saying that" if you hire a wife, you run away, you will be a concubine "and that she" came here without permission, which is immoral ". Qiannv said more firmly: "Your anger is getting bigger and bigger, so I won't go home. My true feelings, not for teasing, have been confirmed. "This shows her resistance and contempt for feudal ethics.
Zheng Guangzu successfully created a girl who is faithful to love and sincere and passionate in The West Chamber, which makes this play comparable to The West Chamber. It is precisely because of this that Zheng Guangzu is "famous all over the world, sounding like a boudoir". Zheng Guangzu's historical plays are not as attractive as his love plays, but he is unique in describing the inner activities of characters.
Although Wang's story and structure are not satisfactory, the lyrics and songs are beautiful, but the description of the characters' emotions is quite clever. Amin dynasty, think Zheng Guangzu yuanqu above Guan Hanqing, Ma Zhiyuan, Bai Pu, he said; "Wang Can climbed the stairs for the second time, imitating his lofty aspirations, generous words and refreshing spirit. After that, "Yaoshan Song" and "December" were especially wonderful. If you are a fat man, you can get a glimpse of it. " Sister Liu also said that these lyrics "show homesickness and indignation, sincere feelings, lofty image and handsome language, which can set off the mood of the characters at that time."
Zheng Guangzu was engaged in the creation of zaju all his life, and devoted all his talents to this folk art, which enjoyed a high reputation in the art world at that time. The actors all respect him as Mr. Zheng Lao, and his works have had a wide influence among the people through the spread of many actors. He is closely related to the actors in Suzhou and Hangzhou. After death, the actor was cremated in Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou.
Besides zaju, Zheng Guangzu also wrote some words, including six poems and two songs. The contents of these Sanqu include the praise of Tao Yuanming, the expression of feelings, the yearning for hometown and the description of the lotus pond mountains and rivers in the south of the Yangtze River. No matter the scenery is lyrical, it is fresh, smooth and charming, which is of great value in literary and artistic research.
Like many great artists, although their works have been circulated for centuries, their own life experiences are little known. The same is true of Zheng Guangzu, who worked silently in the art garden, dedicated his artistic achievements to the people and passed away silently.
Content supplement:
Zheng Guangzu
Drama writers in yuan dynasty. The word Dehui was born in Xiangling, Pingyang (now near Linfen, Shanxi). The year of birth and death is unknown. He used to be a road official in Hangzhou. He died in Hangzhou and was cremated in Lingzhi Temple in West Lake before the ghost book (1330) was written. Attach importance to friendship with others and don't make friends with others. At that time, his zaju was "famous in the world, and there was sound in the boudoir."
There are *** 18 kinds of zaju. Today, there are 8 kinds of zaju: Yi Yin Geng Xin, Lu Bu in World War III, Broken Ring without Salt, Wang Canpan Tower, Duke Regent of Zhou, Laojuntang, and romantic ghost stories of Hanlin. Among them, it is doubtful whether Yi Yin Geng Xin, Wuyan Broken Ring and Laojuntang are really Zuo Zheng. There is also a remnant song in "Smelling Zheng on a Moonlit Night". There are nine extant poems in the preface, such as Crying for a Boy, Qin Louyue Pointing at a Deer as a Horse, Ziyun Niang, Lotus Picking Boat, Shadow in the West, Crying for Yingying, Flowers in the backyard, Liyuan Yuefu and so on.
The full name of Away from the Soul is Away from the Soul, which is based on Chen Xuan's novel Away from the Soul in the Tang Dynasty. Wang Wenju and Zhang Qiannv got married under the guidance of their parents, while Qian Qiannv's mother was not allowed to get married because of fame and fortune. Later, Wen Ju went to Beijing to take the exam, and the soul of the beautiful girl accompanied her to Beijing. Wen Ju became an official, and they went back to their hometown together. The soul of a thousand women and the sick body of a thousand women who have been lying in bed for a long time are one, so they married Wen Ju. The script creates a female image who dares to violate feudal ethics and pursue a happy life. The whole drama has a strong lyrical atmosphere and meticulous psychological portrayal. The first fold is Farewell, the second fold is the pursuit of literary works in A Moonlit Beauty's Soul, and the third fold is Beauty Nostalgia, all of which are beautifully written, fluent and tactfully moving. Liang Ting, a native of A Qing Dynasty, praised the lyrics of this drama as "smart, wise and nonsense". Wang Guowei believes that "if the projectile is released, future generations can do nothing." (History of Song and Yuan Opera) Although the plot of "Leaving the Soul" in this work is based on the description of the novel "Leaving the Soul" in the Tang Dynasty, the specific description of the combination of a beautiful girl's soul and lover's pursuit is more touching than that in the novel, and it also has a certain influence on Tang Xianzu's creation of the legendary Peony Pavilion in the Ming Dynasty. A Page of "Liu Zhiji's Money Soul" Engraved by Chongzhen in Ming Dynasty
The full name of "Romantic Hanlin" is "deceiving Romantic Hanlin to Mei", in which Su Fan, the maid, wrote a letter to Miss Xiaoman and scholar Bai Min, and got married. The story deliberately imitates the West Chamber. Liang Ting, a A Qing dynasty man, said, "Xiang Mei is like a book called Little West Chamber. All eyes are closed and all the gags are simulated according to the book." No matter from the ideological content or artistic techniques, its achievements are much worse than The West Chamber. However, there are also many lyrics full of interest and affection. In the Ming Dynasty, he was very appreciated in the Four Friends Theory, calling it a "truly ignorant person". In the Qing Dynasty, Li said that although the drama "can't be published in the West Chamber, its beauty can't be neglected" (Yucun Quhua). However, as a maid, the heroine Su Fan often quotes classics. The author may intend to write her "Bandu" status as a young lady, but some songs and Ke Bai are too elegant, but they are out of character status.
The full name of "RoyceWong going upstairs" is "drunken hometown RoyceWong going upstairs". At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, according to Liu Biao and his dissatisfaction, RoyceWong wrote "Climbing the Building" in Jingzhou and made a fictional performance. The third chapter: When RoyceWong was down and out in Jingzhou, he went upstairs to compose poems, expressing the wandering feelings of a wanderer. The lyrical image was tragic, lofty and sincere, which aroused the praise of many frustrated scholars in feudal society and was highly respected. The structure of the play is rather loose. The "misunderstanding method" used in the play, that is, Cai Yong, RoyceWong's father-in-law, deliberately humiliated her husband and forced him to make progress, and finally ended in a happy ending after being explained by others. This influenced later operas, such as Qi Mei, Frozen Su Qin and The Story of the Jade Bridge.
Today, Zheng Guangzu's Sanqu consists of six poems and two suites, which pay attention to rhetoric, melody and elegant style.
Zheng Guangzu, one of the four great composers of Yuan Qu, enjoys a high reputation. Zhou Deqing's "Rhyme of the Central Plains" cited examples of "six characters and three rhymes" and "freeze frame" and praised him as "beautiful, virtuous and talented, and well deserved". Zhong Sicheng said that he "moistened his skin with the cream of Gankun, filled his heart with splendid articles, and wrote amazing sentences with his pen." This is ancient times, and the veteran of the word world lost. " ("Ghost Record") He of Amin Dynasty even regarded him as the first of the four masters of Yuan Dynasty. Wang Guowei said that he was "beautiful and elegant, and was" first-class "with Guan, Ma and Bai (History of Song and Yuan Opera). They all comment from the perspective of the language of Zheng Guangzu's works, which is inevitably biased. In fact, Zheng Guangzu's works are not as good as those of Guan Hanqing and Wang Shifu in terms of ideological content and life interest. There are also shortcomings in art that are too carved.