"The Romance of the West Chamber" is a well-known classical drama masterpiece in my country. It tells the story of scholar Zhang Junrui and Miss Xiangguo Cui Yingying who met by chance and fell in love at first sight. With the help of a matchmaker, they fought for the freedom of marriage and dared to break through the constraints of feudal ethics. The love story of union expresses dissatisfaction and resistance to the feudal marriage system, as well as the longing and pursuit of the ideal of beautiful love. For hundreds of years, it has deeply inspired the hearts of countless young men and women. Even today, the themes and artistic images in the works can still help us deepen our understanding of the evil nature of feudal ethics.
Speaking of "The Romance of the West Chamber", people usually think of "The Romance of the West Chamber" by Wang Shifu of the Yuan Dynasty. However, before Wang Shifu, Dong Jieyuan of the Jin Dynasty also wrote a "The Romance of the West Chamber". It is known as "Wang Xixiang" and "Dong Xixiang". When talking about Wang Xixiang's achievements, we must mention Dong Xixiang.
The story of Cui Zhang has a long history. It was first seen in the legendary novel "The Story of Yingying" (also known as "The Story of Huizhen") written by the famous poet Yuan Zhen in the Tang Dynasty. "The Story of Yingying" writes about Yuan Zhen's own love life before marriage. The result was that Zhang Sheng abandoned Yingying, which was a tragic ending. This novel only has a few thousand words, but it has a twists and turns, tactful narrative, and gorgeous diction. It is one of the representative works of legendary novels in the Tang Dynasty. It describes the yearning and pursuit of love among girls in the feudal era. It also reflects the tragedy of life in which the ideal of love is ruthlessly destroyed by society, and promotes the feudal dross that men are superior to women. Since then, the story has been widely circulated, and many poems praising it have been produced. In the Song Dynasty, some literati directly re-created the theme of "The Story of Yingying". What can be seen now include Qin Guan and Mao Pang's "Tiao Xiao Zhuan Tao" and Zhao Lingqi's "Shang Diao Die Lian Hua" Gu Zi Ci . These poems expressed sympathy for Yingying's fate and criticized Zhang Sheng's ruthless behavior from beginning to chaos to giving up, but there was no new development in the plot of the story.
When the story of "The Legend of Yingying" had been circulated for about 400 years, "The Romance of the West Chamber" by Dong Jieyuan of the Jin Dynasty came out. This is the so-called "Dong Xixiang". Dong Jieyuan was a writer of various palace tunes in the Jin Dynasty. His name is unknown. "Jieyuan" was the honorific title given to scholars in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties. He had a wild and unruly personality, despised etiquette, had a relatively profound cultural accomplishment, was very familiar with the folk literature forms of the time, such as Zhugong tunes, and liked to write poems and compose music. His long and huge work "The Romance of the Western Chamber: Zhuguandiao" is the only complete work of "Zhuguandiao" in existence today.
"Dong Xixiang" is a third-person narrative rap literature created on the basis of "The Story of Yingying". Both ideologically and artistically, it far exceeds that of its predecessors. It fundamentally transformed the storyline and characters in "The Legend of Yingying". The nature of the conflict evolved into a struggle between young men and women striving for free love and marriage and feudal parents; Zhang Sheng became a passionate and talented man. Yingying is full of rebelliousness; the story ends with Yingying eloping with Zhang Sheng, giving the old story a new dimension. As the plot of Dong Xixiang increases, the characters' emotions become more complex and delicate, and their personalities become more fleshed out. In terms of the use of words, the author is good at describing scenes and emotions, and is also good at using spoken language into music, making the work more vivid and full of life, and the artistry has been greatly improved compared to the previous ones, laying the foundation for the emergence of Wang Xixiang. a solid foundation.
However, "Dong Xixiang" is still artistically rough, and its description of love is not yet pure enough to meet people's aesthetic requirements. In the Yuan Dynasty, with the prosperity of urban economy, drama became more developed. At this time, the great dramatist Wang Shifu changed the story of Cui Zhang into a drama based on "Dong Xixiang". This is the "West Chamber" we commonly see today. 》.
"Wang Xixiang" directly inherited "Dong Xixiang" and made great contributions on this basis. In shaping the image of the male protagonist, Wang Shifu not only wrote about Zhang Sheng's infatuation and demons, but also wrote about Zhang Sheng's talent and Zhang Sheng's weakness, making him a representative of the sentimental and weak talents in feudal society. The smart, clever, enthusiastic and upright maid Matchmaker in the play left a deep impression on people, and appeared again and again in subsequent plays, achieving a far more important position than Yingying. At the same time, "The Romance of the West Chamber" successfully depicts the psychology of love for the first time in the history of Chinese drama, and is the only work in the history of drama that directly depicts the psychology of love. Its design of contradictions and conflicts is also enough to set an example for future generations. The whole play uses the contradiction between Yingying, Zhang Sheng, the matchmaker and the old lady as the basic contradiction to express the conflict between Cui Zhang and his parents; it uses the contradiction between Yingying, Zhang Sheng and the matchmaker as the secondary contradiction, and the character conflict advances the plot and depicts the story. figure. Such an organization of conflict is very commendable in ancient opera.
The plots of "Wang Xixiang" and "Dong Xixiang" are roughly the same, but the subject matter is more concentrated and the anti-feudal ideological tendency is more distinct. The text has been rewritten, the guest lines have been added, and the lyrics have been eliminated. Some unreasonable plots and the artistic level have also been greatly improved. As a model work among Chinese classical dramas, its grand scale, tight structure, twists and turns of the plot, interesting embellishments, and vivid and delicate depiction of the characters are not only unprecedented, but also surpassed other playwrights of the Yuan Dynasty. Because of this, Jia Zhongming of the Yuan Dynasty said in "Lingbo Immortal": "New dramas, old legends, "The Romance of the West Chamber" wins the first place in the world."
The evolution of the story of "The Romance of the West Chamber"
It has a long history and deep roots Ye Mao. The great achievement of "The West Chamber" is not accidental. It has a long historical tradition.
The earliest source of its origin is the legendary short story "The Story of Yingying" written by Yuan Zhen in the Tang Dynasty. Also known as "Huizhen Ji". The general content of it is about the young Zhang Sheng, who was staying at Pujiu Temple in Puzhou, Shanxi Province. The Cui family's widow returned to Chang'an with her daughter Yingying. She passed through Puzhou and also lived in the temple. When the war broke out, Cui family was rich and frightened. Fortunately, Zhang Sheng had a friendship with Pujiang Du Que and was protected by him, so the Cui family was spared. In order to reward Zhang Sheng, his daughter Yingying was invited to appear at the banquet, and Zhang Sheng was moved by her. With the help of the maid and matchmaker, the two have a tryst. Later, Zhang Sheng went to Chang'an, returned to Pu for a few months, and stayed for a few more months. Then he went to Chang'an to take the exam, but failed, so he abandoned Yingying, and later married a boy and a girl. One time, Zhang Sheng passed by Cui's residence again and asked to meet him as a cousin, but Yingying refused.
She wrote two chapters of poems to express her feelings.
Why did Zhang Sheng abandon Yingying? According to him, Yingying is a rare beauty - a "beautiful thing". This kind of "beautiful thing" "will not be a monster to itself, but will be a monster to others." "The remaining virtues are not enough to defeat the evildoers", so "bearing the heart" gives up. It can be seen that Zhang Sheng is a dishonest person who always gives up. The author is looking for excuses for his ugly behavior. He also said that many people praised Zhang Sheng as a "good at making up for mistakes." This is confusing right and wrong.
Although the ending of this legendary novel is very bad, some of the descriptions of Cui Zhang’s love and Yingying’s character are exquisite, delicate and touching, which attracted the attention of many people at the time and left a lasting impression on future generations. The author has a profound influence. As Lu Xun said: "Although the article is not of the highest quality, it is sometimes sentimental and admirable, but at the end of the article it is too pretentious and it leads to a bad taste." "A Brief History of Chinese Novels" both affirmed and criticized "The Story of Yingying". Very accurate.
The story of the legendary "West Chamber" is widely circulated. As Lu Xun said: "The story shocked the literary world and had great power." "Collection of Legends of the Tang and Song Dynasties" As for the reason, I think the most important thing is that the author created a woman with a unique character for the first time. warbler. She left a lasting impression, and her tragic experience aroused great sympathy. The creation of this image not only outlines a basic character outline for later authors, but also leaves broad room for the re-creation of the image. Please look at the author's description:
The artist must be extremely poor, but the appearance seems to be ignorant; the words must be sharp and eloquent, but there is little reward. The meaning of Zhang Zhang is very profound, but he has not yet followed it up with words. The sorrow and resentment are deep and profound at times, as if they are not recognized, and the look of joy and sadness is rarely visible.
This is the unique character of an aristocratic girl. She is passionate and profound. She loves Zhang Sheng, but her feelings are not unrestrained; she has deep pain in her heart, but it is very secret. People's normal emotions, anger, sorrow, and joy are all shown in Yingying's image as the contradiction between the outside and the inside, as well as a dignified and reserved posture. The natural expression of emotions and the arrogant character of the nobles constitute the unique contradictory color of Yingying's image. She has neither Du Liniang's romantic temperament nor Lin Daiyu's cold demeanor. Her character shape is unique, which is a major creation of the author, and her image is real and believable. However, her experience left people with spiritual regrets, and Zhang Sheng's "making up for it" tarnished her image. Both of them even thought that their love was wrong, Zhang Sheng was "making amends", and Yingying was "self-consciously ashamed". Beauty here turned into ugliness, which no upright person could accept. They have to distinguish right from wrong in this love case. I think this is probably an important reason why later authors spent a lot of effort rewriting the story of "The West Wing". "The Legend of Yingying" is a pearl covered in mud. Because it is a pearl, people want to wipe away the mud; if it were a clod of soil, no one would care about it.
The story of "West Chamber" has been widely circulated in the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties. Literati such as Qin Guan and Mao Pang all wrote lyrics to the song and dance "Trying to Laugh and Turn." Folk artists once said in "The West Chamber", "As for advocating outstanding women, they can all explain it roughly"? "Shangdiao Dielianhua·Guzi Ci". Luo Ye's "Talks of a Drunkard" in the Southern Song Dynasty records that there was a lost version of "The Story of Yingying" at that time. Song Zaju includes "Yingying Liuyao"? Yi, see "Old Wulin Stories" by Zhou Mi of the Southern Song Dynasty. There is a title of "The Romance of the West Chamber" in Nan Opera. See "Three Types of Operas in Yongle Dadian". It is worth noting that Zhao Delin Ling in the Northern Song Dynasty wrote "Shang Diao Die Lian Hua·Gu Zi Ci" in the form of rap. He mainly used the text of "The Story of Yingying" as the narrative, and inserted twelve lyrics of "Die Lian Hua" he wrote in the middle, with alternate white songs and white, rapping the story of "The West Chamber". The most commendable thing is that he implicitly criticized Zhang Sheng's ruthlessness and expressed sympathy for Yingying's abandonment. This was slightly revealed in Mao Pang's "Teasing Order": "The ruthlessness of young people is like flying catkins." The beginning of Guzi's poem is more revealing: "The most talented person is too shallow, and he doesn't care about leaving others' resentment." Zhang Sheng took Yingying's separation resentment lightly, which meant to blame Zhang Sheng. At the end, it goes on to say: "I couldn't bear the joy before I abandoned you. Unexpectedly, the oath of alliance was so abrupt that it was not accurate. The end of time and eternity will come to an end. The endless hatred is not like endless hatred." It is clearly pointed out that Zhang Sheng is the "abandoned" Yingying. It made her regretful endlessly. The love that was originally regarded as wrong by Yuan Zhen began to be corrected and gained the value of beauty in Guzi Ci. There is no such thing as "beautiful thing" or "made up for". Zhang Sheng's ugly behavior began to be tested by morality. Unfortunately, the author has not yet gained insight into the more profound social reasons for this tragedy. He still copied the ending of Zhang Sheng's betrayal of the alliance. In this way, their anti-feudal love behavior cannot be fully praised. At least, Yingying recognized the wrong person. Wrong love is "corrected" into regrettable love, which is a fly in the ointment.
In the Jin Dynasty, an author with insightful insights and high talent appeared. He was Dong Jieyuan, who wrote "The Romance of the West Chamber". "Zhugong Diao" is a large-scale rap art form formed in the Northern Song Dynasty. A palace tune governs several tunes, forming a "set" that connects many "sets", inserts narration, and tells and sings a long story. This folk art was popular from the Song Dynasty to the Jin and Yuan Dynasties. Dong Jieyuan used this form for the first time to write a masterpiece of art based on the story of "The West Chamber". Dong Jieyuan's name is unknown. "Jieyuan" was an honorific title for literati at that time. This unknown author is versatile. The most valuable thing is that he breaks through the traditional feudal class concept of love and boldly praises the love of voluntary union between men and women. His vision was very sharp, and he realized that in order to fully praise Yingying, Zhang Sheng's character must be fundamentally changed. Only in this way can the love he praised be sublimated to a state of truth, goodness and beauty. This requires enough courage, because the more beautiful it is, the more sharply it conflicts with feudal morality. This is a criticism of the main ideas of "The Story of Yingying". But also because this criticism is carried out through real images produced by artistic practice, it is hugely persuasive. In the author's writing, Zhang Sheng is a positive young man who is suave, simple and affectionate, optimistic and somewhat humorous. His brilliance brings out the despicable soul of Zhang Sheng in "The Legend of Yingying". The original frivolous scholar became a "love kind", and a new image of Zhang Sheng was born.
Changing Zhang Sheng’s character is a substantive change that involves changing the theme of the original work. It causes chain changes in the plot: Since Zhang Sheng
is loyal to love, then breaking up Who are they marrying? This once again shows the author's sharp vision. He saw a hidden factor that caused the tragedy, that is, a behind-the-scenes figure that had not been revealed in "The Legend of Yingying", that is, the old lady. It was she who broke up Cui Zhang's happy marriage. She is the culprit. The author decisively pushed her to the front desk and pointed out to the audience: Look, she is a "feudal die-hard" who is treacherous and destroys good relationships. She should be attacked with drums. Such a change makes the entire story of "The West Chamber" have a distinct anti-feudal character, and its ideological and social significance is greatly improved.
This caused an important chain change: it caused a qualitative change in the contradictory relationship in the original "The Story of Yingying". The conflict between Cui Zhang in the original work changed into the conflict between Cui Zhang and the old lady for fighting for the independence of marriage. It turns out that Cui Zhang’s conflict has more of an ethical and moral nature—Zhang’s moral character is too bad. The current contradictions are of distinct social and political nature. It actually reflects the anti-feudal struggle of ancient youth on the issue of marriage and the psychological aspirations of the people. The depth and breadth of the issues it touches far exceed that of "The Story of Yingying". Give the work a high degree of artistic vitality.
The character of Yingying in Zhugong Diao is still reserved, deep but full of rebelliousness, and her pursuit of love becomes more sincere and ardent. The author also brilliantly creates the image of a matchmaker who is smart, naive, bold and bold. The author uses deft and playful pen and ink to write about her go-between and her adult beauty, which is gratifying. At the same time, he also created the monk Facong who was brave enough to do justice. The successful creation of this series of positive images greatly strengthened the anti-feudal force in the story.
The author's courage is also reflected in the arrangement of the plot. He regarded Cui Zhang as the righteous party and wrote sympathetically about their sharp conflict with the huge feudal forces. For this, the author designed and arranged a series of new plots, such as Lai Wen, Nao Jian, Lai Jian, and Kao Hong. , Changting, etc., these plots are all written in such a tortuous and attractive way, making a "cold and pure" love story lively and attractive. The plot scale and structural layout of the later drama "The West Chamber" were laid on the basis of Dong's "The West Chamber". This is Dong Jieyuan's great achievement. Without Dong's "West Chamber", there would be no later Wang "West Chamber".
The author's artistic attainments are quite profound. When he rewrote the story of "The West Chamber", he did not simplify the relationship between the characters in order to strengthen the anti-feudal theme. He did not leave the specific reality of life. Determining characters based on subjective assumptions. His purpose is not to write a plot but to create real and credible living people. Therefore, his plot arrangement is based on real character conflicts. Not only do we see the good guys and the bad guys, we see almost three-dimensional images that can be touched with our hands. This makes Dong's "West Chamber" enough to be circulated for thousands of years.
The language skills of Zhugong Diao are exquisite. Characterized language makes all the characters vivid and colorful. Originally, this kind of subject matter about talented people and beautiful women can easily be written in clichés. It does not have those exciting and intense scenes, and there is no clever plot of fighting for wonders. It mainly writes about the delicate emotions of the characters. If the author does not have superb language skills, That will put the audience to sleep. However, if you read it carefully, it will be as profound and flavorful as fine wine. For example, Zhang Sheng misses Yingying: "If you don't think about it, you will be soft-hearted and tell Heaven, but Heaven will not respond, but Heaven will do nothing." There is only one "Heaven" The word has three turns, vividly describing the nine twists and turns of lovesickness. Another example: "There is not a day when my heart is not at ease, there is not a day when I am not thinking about it, and there is not a night when I am not dreaming." Let's talk about the whole day first, then the hour in the sky, and then the night in the hour. The author's hard work and ingenuity are reflected in the natural language. There are also some languages ??that are novel, clever and poetic. For example, "There are a few wisps of lingering clouds in the blue sky, and gradually I can hear the ringing of the evening bell. The bell gradually stops, and the "Plum Blossom" is played in the cold corner of the garrison tower." The scenery is picturesque. Another example: "After the rain, the cherry branches are covered with blood, the strange flowers are red and purple, and the weeping willows have become silk.
Many good scenes are heart-breaking poems. "Beautiful and refined. Dong's "The West Chamber" is another long lyrical poem full of aphorisms and beautiful words. It describes the scenery and depicts the emotions.
From "The Story of Yingying" to Dong's "The West Chamber" , constitutes the profound artistic tradition of the drama "The Romance of the West Chamber". The outstanding achievements of "The Romance of the West Chamber" were not created out of thin air by Wang Shifu alone. It is not water without a source or a tree without roots. It is rooted in the profound artistic tradition. After a long period of nurturing and transformation, especially Dong's "The West Chamber", it directly exerted a profound influence on the drama "The Romance of the West Chamber". This once again proves that the emergence of any great art is not accidental if it is separated from its own tradition. , will be like a vase of flowers, which are beautiful for a while, but will soon die holding the fragrance.