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poor doctor escaped to Taiwan on some other score.
Then we learned that the famous playwright Woo Tzu-kwong () married the actress Hsin Fung-hsia () and the couple live happily together until now. It is fair to say that the theatrical people in China, including those actors and actresses, are living a stricter moral life than their counterparts of the European and American origin. I hope that, one of these days, the social differences will be swept away so that men and women can live a non-hobbled life as anybody else.
The Applause and the Booing
Applause by hand clapping is only a recent invention to the theatres in China. In the old days, applause came spontaneously from the audience when the public felt the singing or acting was beautifully done by yelling the word “Hao” (好) in the third tone. Booing was seldom practiced except for the following few reasons:
(a) when the singer missed or could not keep up with the rhythm or beat of the music;
(b) when the hat fell off from the actor's head to the ground;
(c) in a fighting scene, when his spear, or weapon, fell to the ground.
Coincidentally, booing is delivered by yelling the same word “Hao" (好) in a different tone, the fourth tone, pronounced as ().
"The Patron Saint” of the Theatre
You have probably heard that in China, every trade has its quasi-deity who is worshipped with reverence. The position of this quasi-god equals, in status, the “Patron Saint" in the Western world.
In the theatrical profession, they worship Emperor Xuan-zong (玄宗) of the Tang Dynasty - his real name is Li Long-ji (). Xuan-zong is his reigning name.
He was an exceptionally talented man, possessing charm and charisma. In the second year of his reign, he established, within his palace, a school which he called the "Pear Garden”, to teach young and talented men and women how to sing and to put on a show. Up to this day, people like to refer to theatrical men and women as "disciples