01
The "Seeing Pingyao Again" theater has been staged for several years, but I have never had the chance to watch it.
Recently, a friend invited me to travel to Pingyao, and I really knew what I wanted to do, realizing my long-cherished wish to enter the theater of Pingyao Again.
As expected, "Seeing Pingyao Again" directed by Wang Chaoge is super shocking, atmospheric, and more moving!
02
Seeing Pingyao Again tells a story about the inheritance of bloodline and endless life: at the end of the Qing Dynasty, the proprietor of Pingyao Ancient City Ticket Office, Zhao Yishuo, has paid off all of his family's assets to secure back a bloodline of the branch's Wang Baobao from the Tsarist Russia. He went with 232 dart masters from the Xinggong Dart Bureau. Seven years later, Zhao Dongjia himself and 232 dart masters all died on the way, and the Wang family lineage can be continued.
"It's not often that we get a chance to go to a show like this, which is more like a museum, or more like a journey. We're sometimes like a spectator, sometimes like an experiencer. In one unrelated scene after another, we pick up fragments of our ancestors' lives: Pingyao City in the late Qing Dynasty, the dart board, the Zhao family compound, the marketplace, the South Gate Square, and peek into the story from the many fragments." That's how director Wang Chaoge promoted her work.
03
Though it's past its peak season, Seeing Pingyao Again still has three performances a day, and we chose 7pm.
When we entered the lobby after checking the tickets, a crowd of spectators filed in, filling the wide aisle to overflowing. I was anxious to try to squeeze forward, and my friend told me that there were no seats, so I could see clearly from the front and back.
The arena is like a huge bazaar, and the audience is swarming in, freely choosing their seats. Although I could see the show from all directions and angles, I moved towards the center of the room as a matter of habit.
Suddenly, the whole place went dark. A beam of light focused on a man on the wall diagonally above, and a muffled presiding voice echoed through the air. In an instant, everyone traveled back in time, to ancient times, and into the plot.
As introductions are made, the beam of light shoots up over the other side of the room to the man who is supposed to be the role of the dart board's conductor, who calls for dart masters with the guts to step forward and travel as far as Tsarist Russia.
Unbeknownst to me, a dozen bare-chested dart masters descended from the sky on the raised platform beside me, shaking their fists and shouting.
A beautiful music sounded, the dartmasters scattered in the arena a dozen high platform, each high platform has a transparent water tank. The entire arena is unlit, with beams of light focused only on the actors on each high stage.
The dart masters are topless, soaking in the vat, they are about to leave home to escort the dart. Taking a big bath is a grand ceremony for the dart masters before they leave. Each spectator, like a family member, friend or neighbor of the dart master, gathers to participate in this grand send-off.
Knowing that the odds are stacked against them, they still go to their deaths generously, and one clinker is admired!
The women wiped off the water on the body for the dart master and bit him hard. It hurts, but it is said that leaving such a mark, even if you die, you can find your way home.
The poignant melody, dim lighting, the dart master and the village girl's inseparable gaze, beautiful dance, the parting scene reproduced in the best way, the audience held their breath, everyone into the kind of parting sorrow.
My friend accompanied the guests to watch a few times, he told me that every time he saw this episode, he could not stop shedding tears.
04
After seeing the dartmen sadly on their way, the lights suddenly came on. Under the guidance of the voice-over, the audience swarmed through the gate and entered the Ming and Qing streets.
In contrast to the serenity and solidity of the first scene, the street is lined with merchants and noisy people. Ticket houses, dye houses, paper cuttings, oil paper umbrellas, private schools, everything. People walking in the busy street, clearly is stepping into the Ming and Qing Dynasties market scene.
From time to time, a horse-drawn carriage comes over, and the sound of yelling echoes in the streets and alleys.
The long table in front of the brewery is decorated with bowls of wine, and the aroma of the wine has attracted three layers of spectators to taste it.
There were shouts of making candy men and sugar gourds, and children followed, playing and jostling.
Actors were interspersed with the audience, introducing the goods and exchanging quotes.
The audience is also the actor, the actor is also the audience, except for the difference in clothing, it is really difficult to distinguish.
It seems to be no different from the past days, but people suddenly all flocked to the South Gate Square, I heard, seven years ago, the dart masters, there is news.
The village head, I was looking forward to the two hundred dart masters triumphant return, but only saw a person, and the dart masters of the soul. It turned out that the dart masters were sacrificed on the road, in exchange for the Wang family descendants of this life, the dart into the trip, back to the village of the lack of only soul. The dart master's soul appeared in the village entrance wall, one by one, some sad, some sobbing, some pretend to be relaxed. Soul can go back to the home trip, they also rest in peace.
This is the most shocking scene in the play.
With the ancient city wall of Pingyao as the background, modern light and shadow technology is used to show the soul walking, long-distance trekking, the soul is tied to the hometown, the city wall is collapsing, and the miserable cries of "I want to go home", "go home, go home" make people's hearts break and make people feel horrified. The city walls are collapsing.
05
Time reversal, the next scene is back to the time before the dartman traveled.
Here is the Zhao family compound, bustling with activity, it turns out to be the Zhao family proprietor today to choose a wife.
Several wonderful women stand behind the curtain, showing each part in turn: feet, waist, hips, hands, face, and eliminated in layers. The last to stay, that is, one in a million, became the Zhao family woman. The same day the cave, the same day to keep the seed.
Jumping music, festive costumes, beautiful beauties, charming gestures, neat movements, beautiful, let people linger.
After the selection of the bride, the Zhao family proprietor went to the dart, leaving his wife at home, after 10 months, Zhao's difficult labor and died, dying sadly: "I was born all the birth, death on death." The family has been in decline since then.
A few years later, Zhao Yishuo soul back to the Zhao family, met the contemporary Zhao family descendants, descendants blame why at first to bet on this dart." I compound word sub-number Wang boss family thirteen mouth, has been in the tsarist Russia no, only left a only seedling son, I must keep him back, let the Wang family constantly bloodline, this is the benevolence of Pingyao City, but also my Zhao Yishuo's righteousness."
Going for benevolence and righteousness, but also owed his family offspring. Zhao Dongjia ran, repenting, in the direction of his hometown, his soul returned to his hometown, his leaves returned to his roots, but he could never run home.
06
Followed the crowd in several venues through, I do not realize that more than an hour has passed. The last show was about 20 minutes long, so you could sit in the audience and watch.
The descendants of the Zhao and Wang families returned to recognize their ancestors, and one by one, Pingyao people scattered and wandering around the world returned to the place where their ancestors grew up!
Then came the "Face Show".
Then came the "face show", which was a huge and shocking show.
Dozens of noodle cases were put together to form a grand, flat stage, and dozens of actors and actresses used exaggerated dance movements to show the process of Shanxi people making noodles, and interpreted the inexplicable love between Shanxi people and noodles. You see! They sometimes throw the flour in the air, and sometimes do the kneading gesture, free, fierce and powerful, but also real and fake, like a dream!
A section of the noodle dance tells the origin of the noodle and the land of Shanxi.
"When you're away from home and you've eaten noodles, you've come home." It expresses the longing of countless travelers for their hometowns and relatives.
Finally, the show ended with the musical melody of "Peach Blossom Red, Apricot Blossom White", which has a strong Shanxi color, and is heart-warming and evocative, leaving people with a longing for more.
07
The play is over, but I am still immersed in the story.
The benevolence, righteousness and honesty of the Shanxi people are exchanged with their lives, which is the soul of the prosperity of the Jin merchants.
Pingyao Again is a powerful, powerful, heartwarming, heartfelt, and touching show that tells the story of Shanxi and promotes the spirit of Shanxi in the form of scenarios that allow the audience to travel through space and time and be immersed in the scene, making it a great calling card for the development of Shanxi's culture and tourism.
I'm not vain!