Chinese Title: 姐不跩說唱臉譜
Readership: All
Theme: Special Post
Author’s Note: Written by Jack’s father-in-law, grand officiator of the Chinese opera in Taipei, Taiwan. Translated by Jack.
Reader’s Note: Chinese New Year is on Saturday, 2024 February 10.
Length: 800 words
Reading Time: 4 minutes
那一天爺爺領我去把京戲看，看見那舞台上面好多大花臉，紅、白、黃、綠、藍，咧嘴又瞪眼，一邊唱、一邊喊，『哇呀呀呀』，好像炸雷，嘰嘰喳喳響在耳邊。
藍臉的〔竇爾敦〕《盜御馬》；紅臉的〔關公〕《戰長沙》；黃臉的〔典韋〕；白臉的〔曹操〕；黑臉的〔張飛〕，叫『喳喳-啊-啊啊啊 啊啊啊啊』。
I clearly remember the day my paternal grandfather first brought me to see the Chinese opera. I saw so many painted faces on the stage; red, white, yellow, green, blue… each playing a role. Grinning and staring, singing and shouting… Wow! Voices like thunder, others like birds twittering in my ears.
Erdon Dou was a blue face Stealing the Royal Horse. Yu Guan was a red face fighting in the Battle of Changsha. Wei Dian was a yellow face, Cao Cao was a white face, Fei Chang was a black face. They were all yelling loudly amidst the background chatter of their fellows. Such bravery!
A scene from Farewell My Concubine. The female actor’s hand gesture displays love and loyalty to her male head. The male actor’s hand gesture conveys authority, loyalty, and unity. 【說實話，京劇臉譜本來挺好看，可唱的、說的全是方言，怎麼聽也不懂，慢慢吞吞咿咿呀呀，哼上老半天，樂隊伴奏，一聽，光是鑼鼓家伙，隆個一個三大件，這怎麼能夠跟上時代、趕上潮流，吸引勾當小青年?】
To tell you the truth, the facial cosmetics of the Chinese opera have always been pretty good looking. But the true art of the drama is contained in the poetry delivered in ancient dialects, thereby preserved for posterity and used in perpetuity. All the singing and speaking is contained in these dialects which slowly sound more like incomprehensible babble as the decades pass by. Younger audiences cannot understand it no matter how hard they listen. The band is simple, only three pieces, cymbals, gongs, and drums. No electric guitars, no synthesizers, or special sound effects. How can the Chinese opera keep up with the times, catch up with current trends, and follow the modern era? How can this drama attract young people?
A scene from The Heavenly Maiden Scatters Flowers (天女散花). 紫色的〔天王〕托寶塔；綠色的〔魔鬼〕鬥〔夜叉〕；金色的〔猴王〕；銀色的〔妖怪〕；灰色的〔精靈〕，笑『哈-哈哈哈-哈哈哈哈』。
The Heavenly King, adorned in purple, reigns from his pagoda. A green devil spars with a medieval knight of the cross. The golden monkey king, a silver haired monster, and a gray old sage are laughing.
【我爺爺生氣說我純粹就是瞎搗亂，美的精彩藝術、中華貴寶，就連外國人也拍手叫好，一個勁的來稱讚，生、旦、淨、末，唱、念、做打，手、演、身法，功夫真是不簡單。妳不懂戲劇，胡說八道，氣的爺爺鬍子直往臉上翻。】
My grandfather became angry at me. He said that I was just messing around which is absolutely the same as making trouble.
“These beautiful performing arts are the most precious treasures of China! Even foreigners applaud these performances and hold them in high praise. The performing arts require great skill and talent. The acrobatics require agility and years of practice. The Kung Fu is real, not just affectation. Every word and every gesture is rich with multiple connotations. All these simply cannot be achieved without great effort. But no! All you see are male and female characters, painted faces, and fuddy old codgers on the stage. All your reactions are nonsense! You don’t understand Chinese drama.”
He was so angry, his beard bustled on his face.
老爺爺你別生氣，允許我身邊就算是山珍海味，老師也會煩，藝術與時代不能離太遠，要重新、要發展，『哇呀呀呀』，讓那老的、少的、男的、女的，大家都愛看。民族遺產，一代一代往下傳。
一幅鮮明的鴛鴦瓦，一群群生動的活菩薩，一匹匹狗貓，一點點誇大，一張張臉譜，美佳佳!『啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊』。
“Dear grandpa, don’t be angry. If I were allowed to eat all the delicacies from the mountains and the seas around me every day, those would soon become boring also. The arts and the times should not be too far apart. The modern era cannot relate to the old mythos. If the Chinese opera could somehow be renewed with continuous development, then both the old and the young, male and female, could appreciate it as you do. I do not speak mockingly. If the beauty of the Chinese opera can be passed from one generation to the next, this national heritage can be preserved forever.”
“A crowd of living bodhisattvas donned in grandiloquent facial masks, surrounded by distinct images of love-birds, mandarin ducks, dogs, and cats is a little exaggerated. But how beautiful they are!”
Notes 註解
- 『 』花臉叫喊聲。(Shouted by the painted face role.)
- 〔 〕人名或戲中角色。(Name or role.)
- 《 》戲劇名。(Name of the drama.)
- 【 】演唱者的韻白。(Spoken by the singer.)
- 【 】之外的就是京歌。(Alternate language is Jing Ge.)
A Western conception of drama prefers to categorize protagonists and antagonists as “good guys” and “bad guys” respectively. Conflicts and challenges arise from the difficulty of achieving certain goals. However, in the Chinese conception, all characters have strengths and weaknesses. Conflicts arise from their opposing purposes.
Facial colors denote the personality of the character.
- Black: A character who is brash, courageous, decisive, impartial, rough, serious, stern, strong, taciturn, and displays integrity and intrepidity.
- Blue: An astute, brave, righteous, stubborn, unwavering, and upright character.
- Purple: A character who is absolute, firm, just, powerful, resourceful, serene, solemn, steadfast, unwavering, and wise.
- Red: A character marked by bravery, courage, heroism, integrity, and loyalty.
- Yellow: A character who is ambitious, calculating, cruel, hypocritical, intelligent, and sly, and who is brave, passionate, and ferocious in conflict.
- White: A crafty, malevolent, sinister, suspicious, treacherous, and tricky character.
- Green: An envious, greedy, grumpy, impulsive, irascible, violent character who lacks self-control.
- Gold: Immortals or demigods
- Silver: Monsters
Related
- Taiwan Today: Special section on Chinese opera: Conventions of Chinese Opera (1958/4/1)
- Follow My Brush Marks: Language of the opera: orchid-speak (2017/2/24)
- Written Chinese: The Fascinating Conventions of Peking Opera (2017/12/8)
- Σ Frame: One Night in Beijing (2021/2/12)
