I summarize the plot of The Kite's Mistake as follows, for the reference of people who read Li Yu's works for the first time:
Han Shixun, the hero, lost his father in his early years. He was raised by his father's friend Qi Buchen and studied in the library with his son's friend. Shixun is handsome and talented, but Youxian is a vulgar and stubborn dude. Although he is handsome and ugly, he is also very happy.
There is Zhan Liehou's residence near Qi's home. Zhan and Liu Er are concubines, each with a daughter. The second wife, Mei's growing daughter, loves the ugly and stubborn Juan; Sanfu's second daughter Shu Juan is smart, beautiful and dignified. Because the second concubine was noisy all the year round, Zhan Liehou separated her home with a high wall when she left home to be the Sichuan ambassador. There are two houses in the east and west. Mei and Liu live in the same house and don't talk to each other. Before Zhan Liehou left, he entrusted the marriage of two women to Qi Buchen.
Near Qingming Festival, the spring is bright. Qi Youxian teased about flying kites, but there were poems written by Han Shixun on the kites. Suddenly, the kite broke its line and fell into the west courtyard of Zhanfu. Seeing that the poem on a kite was fresh and lovely, Liu ordered Shu Juan to write one and continue to write the original poem on a kite. The kite was found by the servants of Qi family, and Han Sheng was very surprised to see Shu Juan's peace poems. After inquiring, he estimated that this poem was written by a talented and beautiful young lady, Zhan Er. Thinking that there was infinite affection in the poem, he wrote another poem on a kite, indicating the intention of proposing marriage. Unexpectedly, after the kite was released, it just landed in the east yard of Aijuan. Ai Juan, the oldest young lady, is waiting to get married. He mistakenly thought that the poem on the kite was written by Qi Sheng, and under the planning of the wet nurse, he had a private meeting with Qi Sheng in the name of Miss Er.
That night, there was no light on the moon, and Han Sheng pretended to be Jisheng for an appointment in the dark. Sneak into Aijuan's boudoir under the guidance of a nurse. The room is dark, too. Miss False Two has been waiting anxiously, pulling Han Sheng to make out. Han Sheng asked her to write the last poem for the second time, but she recited 1000 poems to muddle through. Han Sheng became suspicious when she saw that she was frivolous and uneducated. When the light on the wet nurse showed her ugly appearance, Han Sheng was surprised and wanted to make an excuse. YiJuan cling to, but Han Sheng found a chance to escape. From this, he learned a lesson and thought that "the words heard from the wind are not credible" and "the witnesses are the main ones".
Han Sheng took the exam in Beijing and won the first prize. There are many blind dates in Beijing, and no suitable couple can be found to match them. At this time, Qi Youxian, who stayed at home, became Zhan Fu's uncle. Because Zhan Liehou once asked Qi Buchen to choose a husband for his wife, and Qi also wanted to marry a daughter-in-law to take care of the prodigal son, this marriage was facilitated by one hand.
On the wedding night, Qi You was disappointed and annoyed when he first saw the bride so ugly. Ai Juan thought that the groom was the one who went to the appointment last year, so she told him the pain of lovesickness after meeting him last night. This is tantamount to a self-confession of her ugly behavior, which you can't tolerate in the first place. Then he was angry and scolded, clamoring for the sedan chair to go back, and the quarrel was as loud as a bee. Mei pressed her daughter, but Ai Juan concealed the fake date and only vaguely admitted: "He came in to beg at night, and I told him a few words of gossip." Mei was afraid of being laughed at by Liu's mother and daughter, so she had to make amends to her son-in-law, beg him to be husband and wife for a while, and then let him marry a concubine, so she could only make do with it.
Han Shixun went to Xichuan to make contributions with Zhan Liehou. On the day he came back, he was shocked to learn that Uncle Qi had hired Miss Zhanfu for him. In those days, the scene of "shocking ugliness" was still vivid, and he naturally refused to listen. But he was afraid to tell Qi about his private date with Aijuan, and he couldn't find any other justifiable reason to refuse. Under Qi's repeated insistence, he had no choice but to give in. But he came up with a way to kill two birds with one stone, that is, although he is married, he sleeps in separate beds, so that his ugly daughter-in-law can be a "weaver girl lying looking at the morning glory."
At the wedding reception the next day, the groom sat there with an angry face and said nothing. People don't know what to do, but they think this is the noble bearing of the champion. In the bridal chamber, husband and wife sit opposite each other, and the bride covers her face with a fan. The groom thought she was the ugly girl he saw last year, so he covered his face when he met her. In order to avoid her pestering, she slept alone with the light on. Shujuan was puzzled and had to tell her mother Liu.
Liu had long noticed that the groom looked wrong, and now he heard about this strange thing. He guessed that he must be dissatisfied, so he went to the bridal chamber to "consult" Han Shengxian and refused to say it directly. Under Liu's repeated questioning, Han Cai revealed that it was because the young lady had a bad reputation. Of course, Liu wanted to ask what happened, so Han Sheng briefly described the past events from kite poem to appointment. Finally, miss and I can only be husband and wife in name. Liu remembered a peace poem and believed it at that time.
Liu's singling out came, but he came back with a confession. She angrily questioned her daughter why she went to see someone without telling her, and made many ugly gestures. Shu Juan was puzzled by the monk Zhang Er for a period of time, both innocent and wronged. Naturally, she tried her best to defend herself. Liu thought: according to the son-in-law, it is true; According to my daughter, there is no shadow at all. Even if it is true, how can she admit it herself? So he tortured the maid. Who knows, the servant girl also cried out, "Amitabha! If I invite him in and teach me to marry a man tomorrow, I won't marry like this. "
The mother-in-law asked her son-in-law, "Remember my little girl's face last year?" The son-in-law replied: "Why don't you remember! There is a second look like love in the world. " My mother-in-law asked again, "Did you look at my daughter's face when I first entered the house?" The son-in-law said, "You don't have to read it, but it will make you sad." So the mother-in-law began to understand that there must be something wrong, so she persuaded the son-in-law to recognize the true face of the bride, no matter the one she met last year. The servants lit candles and held high the lights to invite the bride to appear. When the groom saw it from a distance, he was surprised, wiped his eyes at once and looked at it carefully again. He couldn't help exclaiming: "Realism is a peerless beauty!" He knew that he was wrong and had to make amends to his mother-in-law and bride again and again. A storm, temporarily over. But there is still a mystery, who is the ugly woman I met last year?
Soon, Zhan Liehou returned to his hometown, and the whole family gathered in the public hall to meet him. Two daughters and two sons-in-law also gathered in one place. When they met and saluted, the little uncle and the big sister both thought each other was familiar, and then they recognized each other. It turned out to be the man I dated last year! The wet nurse came up to offer tea and was recognized by her brother-in-law: it was she who led him into the house last year! So the mystery was solved and the truth came out. When Liu learned that Ai Juan had made a fool of herself, Shu Juan refused to give up easily and threatened to complain to her father. Shi Mei and Yijuan did not show weakness, retorted, argued with decorations, and the two sides fought. Finally, the destitute person was so afraid of involving herself that she was anxious to commit suicide by jumping into a well. Mei also knows that she is wrong and asks for forgiveness. At this point, Liu and his mother agreed to settle. Then came the drums, Zhan Liehou came to the hall, and the whole family got together.
The play is over.
Note: (1) There are 15 kinds of legendary works of Li Yu's operas recorded in Li Dou's Painting a Boat in Yangzhou in Qing Dynasty, that is, there are five other kinds besides Ten Poems by Li Weng. (2) A kite mistake. Du Shuying's Chronology of Li Yu was published in the ninth year of Shunzhi in Qing Dynasty (1652), and there is an existing version of Kangxi Shidetang; (3) The Mistake of Kite was published for * * * 30 times, and finally ended with the Sanqu Didi Liu Zi. Its lyrics say: reunion, reunion, singing like boiling. Where we met, where we met, we were ecstatic. It's really innocent to judge a book by its cover. Always lose the honor in the class, be impartial and selfless, and synthesize a double match.
If you want to know more, you can read Li Yu's original work carefully. The author's article is just an introduction!
2019.11.24 Shifushan stays in Huanglong Cave.