Xu Shu, a playwright of Sichuan Opera who won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the age of 90： It is a kind of happiness to be bitter after a lifetime of drama.

　　On the evening of November 27th, at the closing ceremony of the 18th China Theatre Festival, 90-year-old famous Sichuan Opera playwright Xu Shu won the Lifetime Achievement Award (Drama) of the 2023 China Federation of Literary and Art Circles. This is the first female playwright in the history of Sichuan Opera, and she has also become another senior artist in Sichuan Opera after the famous playwright Wei Minglun.

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　　Feel the charm of Sichuan opera

　　Xu Shu was born in Chongqing in 1933. Her childhood was full of war, and Chongqing, as the rear area of the Anti-Japanese War at that time, accepted many compatriots from the enemy-occupied areas. Xu Zhuo remembers that most mainlanders near her home came from Hubei. "We call them ‘ Xiajiang people ’ In fact, it is from the enemy-occupied area. After they came, especially after the northerners came, Peking Opera flourished in Chongqing. "

　　The shadow of war and the difficulties of daily life have not obliterated people’s demand for spiritual and cultural life. At that time, there was a "wounded soldier management office" in the courtyard of Xu Zhuo’s house, where people had to appear in BLACKPINK and sing a Peking Opera almost every month. "They let us children go to be girls, Gonge, colorful girls and so on. I just got in touch with Beijing opera and then learned to sing it. So my earliest drama enlightenment was actually Peking Opera. " Xu Wei said.

　　In addition, because Xu Shu’s eldest brother loves drama, it also opens a door to the world of drama for Xu Shu as a child. In junior and senior high school, Xu Shu watched a lot of dramas and became a famous "little actor" in the school.

　　Before he graduated from high school, his family declined because of his father’s death, and his eldest brother’s drama club burned a lot of money. In order to ensure his younger brother graduated from junior high school, Xu Shu ended his studies ahead of schedule, but he never gave up studying. For half a year, she spent all her time in a friend’s study — — This friend’s brother has a rich collection of books, so Xu Shu has read almost all the books in that room: from Lu Xun and Ba Jin to Dumas and Tolstoy, he has been involved in all ages, at home and abroad.

　　She especially likes Lu Xun.

　　After spending half a "Gap Year" reading crazily, Xu Zhuo joined the army and became a member of the Art Troupe, and went to the front line of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea to cheer for the soldiers and perform various "rap" — — "I learned to sing Henan pendant, Beijing Dan Xian, Jingyun Drum, Shandong Express Book, Anhui Fengyang Flower Drum, etc. I couldn’t perform drama on the battlefield, so I performed some opera sketches."

　　It never occurred to her that the first time she came into contact with Sichuan Opera and was captured by its charm, it was actually on the battlefield. In a condolence performance, there is the Jade Crab by Liu Jinlong, a famous Sichuan opera, and Qiu Jiang, a high-pitched opera by a famous young Dan.

　　"Remember it was night, Jing Yan was singing, and the enemy plane came. Suddenly, the red and black curtains and door curtains were tightened at the performance site. " Xu Shu recalled, "I had been chatting with others under the stage and didn’t pay attention to go to the opera, but when the enemy plane came, everyone was holding their breath, and I suddenly heard the singing of Jing Yan. For an instant, it seemed like the sound of nature poured into my ears, which was wonderful and beautiful, and completely conquered me."

　　In 1954, after changing jobs from the army, Xu Zhuo was admitted to the journalism department of Peking University. At that time, the Culture Department of Peking University Student Union established a local opera club. "When they saw in the file that I was a member of the art troupe, they called me to be the president of the local opera society, and I acted with my classmates."

　　At that time, Peking University Student Union had a special Peking Opera Club, so Xu Shu’s local opera club did not perform Peking Opera, but mostly performed Pingju Opera, Yue Opera, Sichuan Opera, Huangmei Opera, Hunan Huagu Opera and Errenzhuan. These comprehensive performance experiences made Xu Shu’s opera skills more solid. Outstanding performance, she was also like a "corner" of Peking University. Many people knew her, and even the guards greeted her warmly when they entered and left the school gate: "Come back!" "Going to town to play?"

　　She and her husband, Zhang Yujun, also met in a local opera club. Because the two often play together, and most of them are husband and wife roles, one after another, the two young people gradually become attached to each other for life because of the play.

　　Compared with the story of their acquaintance and love, the day they got married was more dramatic — — In 1956, Xu Shu and Zhang Yujun set a wedding date and invited some old comrades to celebrate. Unexpectedly, the day coincided with the Beijing Cultural Performance, and the "Liu Hai Chopping firewood" performed by the two people also happened to be on that day.

　　Several comrades who came to congratulate her waited at home, but Xu Zhuo and Zhang Yujun acted on the stage, still playing husband and wife. "Because there is also a scene of paying homage to the church in the drama" Liu Hai Chops firewood ",we first became married on the stage and then went home to get married. My fate with the drama is so deep." Xu Wei said.

　　Why can’t my Yanyan resist?

　　After entering Peking University, Xu Shu came into contact with systematic literature courses, including the development history of zaju and Yuanqu in Yuan Dynasty. The drama of Guan Hanqing, the founder of Yuan Dynasty zaju, is naturally the content of her in-depth study. For this ancient playwright who lived more than 700 years ago, his social values are certainly different from those of modern times, especially in the status and ideology of women.

　　Xu Zhuo’s "opinion" is particularly great about Guan Hanqing’s famous drama "Tune the Wind and Moon". Yan Yan, the heroine in the original play, is a handmaid of a large family. She is clever and strong-minded, and is favored by her host family. One day, Hanazono Sakura, a relative of the master, came to visit, and Yan Yan, the old lady, went to serve. A handsome young Hanazono Sakura household tricked Yan Yan into being sincere, but then abandoned her and married Yingying, a noble lady.

　　Yan Yan, who was extremely indignant, made a big wedding reception on the day when Hanazono Sakura households got married, and publicly pointed out what Hanazono Sakura households had done to themselves. Finally, she "won" — — You can marry Hanazono Sakura as a concubine.

　　In Guan Hanqing’s original script, Yan Yan was very satisfied with the ending, because her identity was defined as being a little lady. "I have to dance with my husband in one place, and Yan Yan is full of peanuts." Therefore, many drama critics think that this is a comedy, and Yan Yan dares to fight for her rights and interests, and has worked hard enough.

　　However, Xu Zhuo was very angry after reading it: "I studied Balzac, Lu Xun and Ba Jin since I was a child. How can I accept this so-called ‘ Success ’ ？” She rewrote the story and let Yan Yan choose to fight in the most extreme way — — Expose the hero’s fickleness and disloyalty, hang him on the wedding bed of the ungrateful man and Yingying, and curse them with their own lives for "white murder and bad luck".

　　Melinda Gates once said: "If a girl’s life is arranged, then this arrangement will be beneficial to everyone except herself." In Xu Zhuo’s Yan Yan, as long as Yan Yan obeys the arrangement, the Yingying couple and the old lady are kind to her, and once Yan Yan doesn’t get what she wants and fights step by step, the three of them work together to suppress and persecute her.

　　"Cao Xueqin’s mandarin ducks can commit suicide by hanging themselves. Why can’t my swallow resist?" Xu Zhuo let Yan Yan resist to the end in her story.

　　In 1961, Xu Shu was transferred to Chengdu Sichuan Theatre and became a professional screenwriter of Sichuan Opera. On May 13th, 1963, Sichuan Theatre in Chengdu performed Yan Yan in Shanghai, and Ba Jin also watched it and praised it. What impressed Xu Zhuo deeply was that she knew that Ba Jin usually said "not bad" when he praised people, but that time he praised Yan Yan as "very good".

　　Yan Yan was an instant hit and its performances in various places were a great success. "Some people saw the class struggle, some people saw the traditional morality, some people saw the liberation of personality, human dignity and so on. This ambiguity of Yan Yan was rare in the opera repertoire at that time." Xu Shu later concluded that the innovation of this play was mainly based on the drama she was familiar with.

　　It’s not an old Sichuan opera, but it must be a Sichuan opera

　　This comprehensive creative technique has become a distinctive feature of Xu Zhuo’s Sichuan opera creation. In addition to Yan Yan, Biography of Scholar and Wang Xifeng are also representative plays of her early works. "At that time, my requirements for myself were: independent thinking, unique conception, unique approach and uniqueness. But at that time, I just started from my own aesthetic needs, and I was not satisfied with the relatively simple and outdated state of the opera. I was eager to transform and enrich it, and wanted to make the opera more in line with the aesthetic taste of modern and contemporary people. "

　　In the period of "exploratory drama" in 1980s, Xu Shu began to change from spontaneity to self-consciousness. She published many articles on drama, reflecting and summarizing not only the past of drama, but also the future of drama.

　　When this kind of exploration was put into practice in his own works, Tian Jie and Zhuang Zhou, Dream in the Red Chamber and Craving for the Sea appeared. Xu Zhuo pursues the perfect combination of inheriting tradition and developing tradition, the perfect combination of classical beauty and modern beauty, and the perfect combination of ideological content and artistic form.

　　In addition to learning from drama, she also actively absorbs nutrition from film art — — Montage, the fading in and out of the picture, the use of close-ups and lighting technology. "I can use lighting to make the transition of time and space on the stage as smooth as flowing water, which can save a lot of unnecessary scenes and actions and increase the capacity of the opera." At the same time, Xu Zhuo also unceremoniously "took" and used the techniques that are connected with traditional Chinese opera, such as virtuality, symbolism, symbolism, expressiveness, absurdity and stream of consciousness.

　　At the same time, she always demands that her Sichuan Opera cannot be divorced from its original essence. "It’s not an old Sichuan opera, but it must be a Sichuan opera!" Chen Yan, a former party secretary of the Chinese Drama Association, once praised Xu Shu, saying that her plays are "almost everywhere, creative and novel, but everywhere, the freehand brushwork of the drama is brought into full play and the aesthetic characteristics of the essence of the drama are adhered to. At the same time, Xu Zhuo’s works have great humanistic care and life compassion. Respecting life, respecting the weak and even the losers is a truly modern consciousness. "

　　Perhaps many people don’t know that in addition to rich and wonderful Sichuan opera creation, Xu Zhuo has also written two long historical novels. According to her introduction, the Xinhai Tide of Chengdu was written after she wrote the drama Xinhai Tide. "After this novel came out, I wanted to write it again when I saw that everyone liked it." Su Dongpo and His Great Song Dynasty is actually a continuation of "drama". "I have created 20 episodes of TV series" Su Dongpo ",which is also wanting more, and then I wrote a novel. I didn’t expect the novel to come out, and everyone liked it. You see, I can’t write a novel without a play. "

　　Although the remuneration for writing TV plays is much higher than that for writing Sichuan plays, Xu Zhuo still gave up the former. "TV dramas are too commercialized, the weight of art is squeezed out a lot, and the author has no right to speak." She said that if it is only for money, it will lose the value of self. I have been engaged in drama since I was seven or eight years old, and I have been engaged in it all my life. "Drama has become my second life, and it is a pleasure for me to engage in drama no matter how hard it is!"

　　For her career, Xu Shu feels full enough, and the only and biggest regret is that although her plays have won many famous roles in Sichuan Opera, she has never found an apprentice who can take over the mantle of screenwriter. To this end, she specially wrote "Records of Sorrow and Joy on the Stage — — Xu Shu talks about the book "Screenplay", "I hope that my 70 years of experience and lessons will not be wasted, and I can give some help to later drama workers, especially drama workers."

　　In October this year, the Sichuan Opera "Flowers Drift and Water Drift", which was written and directed by her, appeared at the Chang ‘an Grand Theatre in Beijing. This is a new story of Qingyun Palace, a traditional Sichuan opera. Xu Shu recalled that more than 60 years ago, after watching traditional dramas such as Celebrating the Palace, Going to a Different Palace, and Three Bottles of Vinegar in Qingyun Palace, she was very disgusted. She never saw women bow their heads voluntarily under the weight of male power. Even if their feelings were trampled and their dignity was trampled, they still only cared about and dared to attack other women.

　　More than 60 years ago, it was the time when the young Xu Zhuo began to adapt Yan Yan. From the early stage to the late stage of her creative career, the women in Xu Shu’s works are always brave, beautiful, full of vitality and never give in.