Newsletter No. 425

No. 425, 19.10.2013 3 顧鐵華博士 中國京劇藝術基金會理事 顧鐵華振興崑曲基金創設人 戮力籌畫「京崑粵劇傳承之旅」 阮兆輝先生 香港藝術發展局委員及戲曲組主席 香港八和會館副主席 從藝六十載，在《孔子周遊列國》中飾演孔子。 如何詮釋孔子這個少有人敢碰的角色？ 一直被神化的萬世師表、儒學宗師，也是要睡覺要吃 飯的一個人，先必得把他「人化」過來。孔子不是小 說演義裏的人物，有關他個人的描述不多，只能從其 遭遇、學生、公羊高、穀梁赤、左丘明等人的著論裏略 見端倪。一般人想當然他定是高高在上、道貌岸然， 然他不少論調是平易近人的。可還原得太過也不行， 也要訴諸一些深入民心的形象。總的來說，要保存孔 子受人景仰的聖人形象，而又賦予血肉。 如何欣賞《孔子》這套劇？ 劇的歷史情節是「淡」的，除了〈在陳絕糧〉一段危機 感較重，見南子、見衞靈公等場口有少許言詞之辯， 但我們不能誇張失實來增加戲劇衝突。曲詞不少出自 《論語》，如果沒有讀過，未必一聽就可以明白。戲 味雖淡，但言志內涵非常豐富。欣賞這個劇可以從了 解孔子的情懷入手，他的不為重用不是因為無可用之 才，而是因為既得利益者不肯接納他的大同理想。 大學可怎樣支持戲曲的承傳？ 一是教欣賞，讓學生認識戲曲。二是做研究，為粵劇 尋根，例如各種聲腔的來源。學與術的理想結合是學 者的系統化研究訓練和理論基礎，以及藝人的實踐， 相輔相成，既保障驗證的嚴謹，也補理論的不足。老 一輩藝人在師徒制下學習，幾乎是不容提問的，所以 分析考據不是其強項。但是他們可憑其經驗指示方 向，避免研究走冤枉路。 Mr. Yuen Siu-fai Member of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council and chairman of its Xiqu Group Vice﹣President of the Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong A film actor and Cantonese opera artist who has performed for 60 years. He plays Confucius in The Peregrinations of Confucius . Confucius is a role that may intimidate many performers because Confucius is a universally revered and well- known figure about whose private life little is known. How do you interpret the role? This semi-deified ‘Paragon for All Generations’ and grand master of Confucianism was a flesh-and-blood human being who had to eat and sleep like everybody else, so we had to ‘humanize’ him first. Confucius was not a fictional character. But we don’t have much information about his personal life. So, we can only piece together his personality from descriptions in the works of his students. People usually think that he was aloof and rigid. But many of his words are quite plain and unassuming. However, it is inadvisable to completely overturn traditional perceptions of this figure. We still have to base our interpretation on long-held and popular beliefs about him. By and large, we have to maintain the image of Confucius as a sage, while preserving his humanity. Could you give us some tips for appreciating this play? Except for a crisis in Scene 4 ‘Besieged in Chen’ and intense debates with Nan Zi and the Duke Ling of Wei in Scene 3, there is not much dramatic conflict in the plot. But neither are we going to resort to exaggeration for the sake of creating conflict. Many lines in the libretto were taken from the Analects . If you haven’t read the Analects , you may not fully understand the libretto. The play is full of messages. The audience can appreciate it from the mentality of Confucius. He fell from grace not because that he was lacking in ability, but because his idea of great unity was not accepted by rulers due to vested interest. How can a university help to promote traditional operas? First, it can teach students to understand and appreciate this art form. Second, it can do research to trace the evolution of Cantonese opera, such as the development of its different vocal styles. Ideally, scholars’ research skills and foundation in theory can complement performers’ hands-on experience. The older generation of Chinese opera performers were trained through apprenticeship. They were not allowed to ask questions. So, they’re not good at analysis or research. But by showing the right direction with their experience, they can help to prevent research from going awry. Why did you devote yourself to the promotion of Kun opera in the past 20 years? Considered to be the mother of all Chinese operas, Kunqu is the oldest form of opera in China. It has a history of at least 450 years. If you trace its roots to Yuanqu , it is already 600 years old. In the early stages of its development, Kunqu had a vast repertoire of close to 1,000 libretti. But today only about 100, including newly revived ones, are still being put on stage. It is imperative for us to rediscover and revive old libretti and to pass them on to future generations. How do you attract a younger audience? Recently there has been a trend to stage operas on university campuses. I’ve arranged several performances at City University and Polytechnic University in Hong Kong. Last year Mr. Lee Woo-sing and I organized an ‘Introduction to Peking Opera and Kunqu’ at CUHK, which was well received. The students realized that Chinese opera is interesting and can be a lot of fun. We have more and more young viewers now. They can tell that Chinese opera is the gem of our heritage. Peking opera, Kun opera and Cantonese opera all have well-established ways of performing. Singing, acting, recitation and acrobatics are all done in accordance with rules. On this occasion we brought three styles of Chinese opera to CUHK campus to show students how refined they are. What is special about the Kun and Peking opera excerpts selected for this event? The promotion of opera is indispensable to the dissemination of Chinese culture. We arranged four excerpts for this event, which are all about the famed ‘Four Beauties’ in Chinese history. They aim at enabling students to have a better understanding of history from an artistic perspective. The Peking opera excerpts ‘The General and the Prime Minister Make Peace’ and ‘Wu Song Fighting at the Inn’ are also rich in historical detail. Both Kun and Peking operas are about the basic virtues in traditional Chinese morality. Dr. Koo Ti-hua Director of the China Peking Opera Arts Foundation Founder of the KOO Ti Hua Foundation for the Promotion of KunQu Opera Organizer of ‘An Operatic Journey of Cultural Heritage through Peking, Kunqu and Cantonese Traditions’ 何以近二十多年來積極致力崑曲的傳承？ 崑曲公認為百戲之母，是中國現存最古老的戲曲，起 碼有四百五十年，若從元曲起計則有六百年了。崑劇 最早時期有接近一千齣戲，但是當今常在舞台上演出 的，加上新近恢復的，大概只一百齣。要把古老劇目 發掘、恢復過來，傳承下去，是當務之急。 如何吸引年輕觀眾？ 近年興起到大學演出，我在城市大學、理工大學安排 了好幾次這樣的演出，去年跟李和聲先生在中大辦了 一次京崑導賞，學生反應很好，原來戲曲這麼好看， 感覺很新奇。年輕觀眾正在增長，他們看出這到底是 個好東西。京崑粵劇都有嚴謹的表現程式，唱做唸打 皆有規範，都是精粹。這次我把三個戲種介紹進來， 就是希望讓廣大學生知道戲曲的精細是甚麼回事。 這次京崑折子戲的劇目安排有何深意？ 推廣戲曲跟傳播中國文化是分不開的。這次安排的 〈青塚記．出塞〉、〈連環計．梳妝〉、〈浣紗記．合 紗〉和〈貴妃醉酒〉，就以歷史上的四大美人王昭君、 貂蟬、西施和楊玉環為主題，讓學生對歷史有點感性 認識。京劇折子戲的〈將相和〉、〈武松打店〉等也是 歷史背景豐富的故事。京崑也好，講的都是中國道德 推崇的忠孝節義。 請掃描QR碼閱讀全文版 Scan the QR code for the full version