7 replies to this topic

[fcharton]

Hi,

As part of a "chinese corner" we are setting up in Paris (to any parisian reading this, meeting on thursdays, lunchtime, around Cour St Emilion, pm me for details), a group of friends of mine (chinese and french) are planning to set up a famous Yuan play, named The injustice to Dou E (窦娥冤). Whether they will ever play it is unsure, but it is a much more interesting way to learn chinese than the usual where are you from? and where have you been in China? things... and it can accomodate both french and chinese people, and all language levels)

I'm trying to help on the translation. So far the text is not difficult, and it is very nice, but I'm realising I know nothing about chinese theater. So I begin this thread to post my questions, sorry if they seem silly...answer.

NOTE : I'm talking about theater, not opera, and not recent or modern, Yuan dynasty stuff...

1- Scene, and vocabulary
Apparently, the entrance of a character is indicated by the word 上. eg卜儿蔡婆上
I would naturally translate this by "enter", as in western plays, but do characters enter the scene (I'm not sure the fact people get out of the scene is indicated), or does shang just mean : come forward. How did it happen?

In the prologue, people sometimes speak 云,sometimes "recite" 詩云. Now 詩云.is not just used for poems or songs, what does it refer to?

2- Characters and costumes
There clearly are a number of "setpiece" characters in chinese play. For instance, you will have some old woman role, called Bu'er (卜儿). Is there a place where I can find a list of those major character types.

Also, in some places, people are described by costume (扮): for instance we are told a person is "dressed like Chongmo" (沖末扮) or Zhengdan. Does anyone have a list of those? Are they different from the characters (eg Bu'er) described above.

Thanks in advance,
Francois

Edited by General_Zhaoyun, 26 May 2008 - 04:32 AM.

[kaiselin]

Sorry Francois, I can't help you.

But now I want to got to Paris all the more, very cool project your group is doing.


I am just wondering why the old woman would be called Bu'er 卜儿 does this relate the the old mystic women, and if so why would she be called divining son? or is this referring to a derogatory term for women I read where women were called turnips .

And if so why are women called turnips?

[fcharton]

I am just wondering why the old woman would be called Bu'er 卜儿 does this relate the the old mystic women, and if so why would she be called divining son? or is this referring to a derogatory term for women I read where women were called turnips .

Apparently 卜 is a colloquial term, used in the Song and Yuan, for 婆 which means an old woman, which probably had the same pronounciation. It is a "wild" character simplification if you like, which rewrites a very common word by a very simple character with the same pronounciation.

As for 儿, it is just a nominal suffix, like 子 or the repetition of the same word. So 卜儿 = 婆婆

Francois

[Tang Scholar]

François,
Maybe you know a Penguin Classics paperback published in 1972, "Six Yüan plays", translated with an introduction by Liu Jung-en. As usual in Penguins from that time, names are transliterated in Wade-Giles. The play you refer to is named there "The injustice done to Tou Ngo", by Kuan Han-ch'ing (1241?-1322?). The plays are presented there with usual English conventions (list of characters, acts, etc. There is an "exeunt" at the end of each of the four acts of that particular play). The introduction has 28 p. It might be useful to your project.
If you don't know the book and don't have easy access to it let me know - I would scan the relevant pages and send them. Anyway, I will attach its bibliography to this message.
Yours,
Tang Scholar

Attached Files

•  BIBLIOGRAPHY_from_Six_Y_an_plays.doc   28.5K   5 downloads

[fcharton]

Maybe you know a Penguin Classics paperback published in 1972, "Six Yüan plays", translated with an introduction by Liu Jung-en. As usual in Penguins from that time, names are transliterated in Wade-Giles. The play you refer to is named there "The injustice done to Tou Ngo", by Kuan Han-ch'ing (1241?-1322?). The plays are presented there with usual English conventions (list of characters, acts, etc. There is an "exeunt" at the end of each of the four acts of that particular play). The introduction has 28 p. It might be useful to your project.

Thank you very much, Tang Scholar, this is exactly the kind of reference I was looking for... I'll try my usual book shops in Paris (Smith and Brentanos). Amazon tells me the book in still in stock, si I'm pretty sure I can get it.

As far as I could see the language of those plays is relatively simple, and anyway, the translating team includes several very litterate chinese persons, but I think it will be worthwhile to see how others have tackled the specificities of scenic indications, and how they can/should be adapted, should one want to represent some of these old plays in a meaningful way nowadays...

Thanks again
Francois

[General_Zhaoyun]

Hi,

As part of a "chinese corner" we are setting up in Paris (to any parisian reading this, meeting on thursdays, lunchtime, around Cour St Emilion, pm me for details), a group of friends of mine (chinese and french) are planning to set up a famous Yuan play, named The injustice to Dou E (窦娥冤). Whether they will ever play it is unsure, but it is a much more interesting way to learn chinese than the usual where are you from? and where have you been in China? things... and it can accomodate both french and chinese people, and all language levels)

I'm trying to help on the translation. So far the text is not difficult, and it is very nice, but I'm realising I know nothing about chinese theater. So I begin this thread to post my questions, sorry if they seem silly...answer.

The injustice to Dou E (窦娥冤) , who was written by Yuan playwright Guan Hanqing 关汉卿, was a famous play written during Yuan dynasty. Plays (which are sometimes inter-mixed with Opera) were known "Qu 曲" or more specifically "Yuan Qu 元曲" in chinese. It was the dominant literary form during Yuan dynasty, after the status of han poets were made lower due to the division of Yuan society into 4 classes and when han poets no longer found any incentives to compose poetry and started to turn towards play and opera writing.

The plot of the play tells of how Dou E was wrongly accused and executed by offiicals despite her innocence.

For the original writing of the Play for Injustice to Dou E, you can refer to
http://guoxue.baidu....d4a9/index.html

NOTE : I'm talking about theater, not opera, and not recent or modern, Yuan dynasty stuff...

It can be counted as play or opera, since the actual theatrical performance includes singing.

You might want to watch these play to have a few idea. These plays are available online for viewing.

For the play version of Injustice (including singing) to Dou E, refer o
http://www.56.com/w2...Tc4NzY1MzM.html (chapter 1-13)

For Beijing opera version of Injustice to Dou E, refer to
http://www.56.com/u9...jcyMTgxMjg.html

For TV drama series of Injustice to Dou E, refer to
http://www.56.com/u2...zU2OTAyNjE.html (chapter 1)
http://www.56.com/u3...zU2OTM5NzA.html (chapter 2)
http://www.56.com/u1...zU2OTc4MTk.html (chapter 3)

[fcharton]

Hi GZ,

The Dou E Yuan, like many famous plays were adapted in many different versions, as operas, tv series, films, whatever... Yet, the original version is a play, and just that (that there is singing in it doesn't change its character, you have music and singing and dance, in many plays).

If possible, I'd like this thread to stay focused on theater, and avoid the related genres of opera and the like, which are, imo, much better documented (at least in the english language internet).

Francois

[Gloucille Marie Villacastin]

François,
Maybe you know a Penguin Classics paperback published in 1972, "Six Yüan plays", translated with an introduction by Liu Jung-en. As usual in Penguins from that time, names are transliterated in Wade-Giles. The play you refer to is named there "The injustice done to Tou Ngo", by Kuan Han-ch'ing (1241?-1322?). The plays are presented there with usual English conventions (list of characters, acts, etc. There is an "exeunt" at the end of each of the four acts of that particular play). The introduction has 28 p. It might be useful to your project.
If you don't know the book and don't have easy access to it let me know - I would scan the relevant pages and send them. Anyway, I will attach its bibliography to this message.
Yours,
Tang Scholar

Hi. I would like to ask if the file is still available? I need to write about Kuan Han-ching's writing style for a school paper. Thank you!