80
HELGA WERLE
The girl comes out of hiding, and the fortune-teller takes her to safety.
SU LIU-NIANG (SIXTH DAUGHTER SU) *** Drama in 10 acts, lasting about 3.4 hours.
Dramatis personae: Su family: Uncle, the eldest of the Su clan Mr. Su and Mrs. Su, their daughter, Liu-niang (6th young lady),* her maid, T'ao-hua, 1 girl-servant and 2 man-servants
Act I
young master Yang young master Kuo
and his wet-nurse cousin of Liu-niang
Tao-hua the maid comes to the river returning from Hsi-lu
with a parasol, gay silk trousers and jacket, her hair in two knots one over each ear garlanded with flowers, the temple hair hanging down in two long strands which are adorned with coloured silk-strings. She calls the ferryman [old man-servant type with white beard], who arrives rowing with an oar. There are no other stage props. The movement of the boat is all indicated by mime.
T'ao-hua hides behind the parasol fooling the ferryman and suddenly surprises him by showing her face. Then she pretends to be afraid to jump on the ferry, so the old man tries hard to bring the boat closer. With a wicked smile she jumps on the boat with all her strength, causing it almost to turn over. They perform a beautiful dance to balance the boat and she pretends to be terribly frightened.
They then start chatting and T'ao-hua proposes to sing a couplet each, composing it as they go along. But which of them first says things that are wrong or cannot rhyme has lost. The old man starts, "In the first month all flowers bloom...". T'ao-hua carries on, "In the 2nd month the cotton tree blooms" and so on.
*The names of sons and daughters of important families (those with high doors) in these operas are called, for example, Su Liu-niang, meaning the sixth daughter of the Su family. The parents Su have only one daughter, but she is still called the sixth daughter because she is the sixth girl born in this generation to all the brothers of Mr. Su. The same is the case for Wu-niang meaning 5th daughter, called such although she is the only child of her parents. Ch'en San is the third (son) of the Ch'en clan. The term 'niang' is an address for a young lady, whereas the word 'chieh' 'sister' is used for a girl of humble birth.
80
HELGA WERLE
The girl comes out of hiding, and the fortune-teller takes her to safety.
SU LIU-NIANG (SIXTH DAUGHTER SU) ✯✯✯ Drama in 10 acts, lasting about 34 hours.
Dramatis personae: Su family: Uncle, the eldest of the Su clan Mr. Su and Mrs. Su, their daugh- ter, Liu-niang (6th young lady),* her maid, T'ao-hua, 1 girl- servant and 2 man-servants
Act I
young master Yang young master Kuo
and his wet-nurse cousin of Liu-niang
Tao-hua the maid comes to the river returning from Hsi-lu
with a parasol, gay silk trousers and jacket, her hair in two knots one over each ear garlanded with flowers, the temple hair hanging down in two long strands which are adorned with coloured silk-strings. She calls the ferryman [old man-servant type with white beard], who arrives rowing with an oar. There are no other stage props. The movement of the boat is all indicated by mime.
T'ao-hua hides behind the parasol fooling the ferryman and suddenly surprises him by showing her face. Then she pretends to be afraid to jump on the ferry, so the old man tries hard to bring the boat closer. With a wicked smile she jumps on the boat with all her strength, causing it almost to turn over. They perform a beautiful dance to balance the boat and she pretends to be terribly frightened.
They then start chatting and T'ao-hua proposes to sing a couplet each, composing it as they go along. But which of them first says things that are wrong or cannot rhyme has lost. The old man starts, "In the first month all flowers bloom
.". T'ao-hua carries on, "In the 2nd month the cotton tree blooms" and so on
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*The names of sons and daughters of important families (those with high doors) in these operas are called, for example, Su Liu-niang, meaning the sixth daughter of the Su family. The parents Su have only one daughter, but she is still called the sixth daughter because she is the sixth girl born in this generation to all the brothers of Mr. Su. The same is the case for Wu-niang meaning 5th daughter, called such although she is the only child of her parents. Ch'en San is the third (son) of the Ch'en clan. The term 'niang' is an address for a young lady, whereas the word chich ‘sister' is used for a girl of humble birth.
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