[
    {
        "id": 204273,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1961",
        "page_number": 41,
        "title": "RAS-1961",
        "content_text": "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch\n\nRASHKB and author\n\nVol. 1 (1961)\n\nISSN 1991-7295\n\n37\n\nand well versed in history and literature. So Hsieh made her his private secretary. At that time, the military governors were practically independent war-lords paying only nominal homage to the crown. A rival governor, T'ien Ch'eng-ssu, was increasing his armed forces and planning to annex Lu-chou. Seeing that Hsüeh was worried about this, Hung Hsien offered to go to the rival governor's city one night to investigate. Brushing aside Hsüeh's misgivings, she pushed her hair back to form a bun, put on a short embroidered jacket and black silk shoes, carried a dagger, and wrote a magic spell on her forehead. In a moment she was gone. Hsüeh waited for her alone, and after a dozen cups of wine, it was already daybreak. Suddenly he heard something falling lightly like a leaf on the ground outside. It was Hung Hsien coming back. She had travelled several hundred miles and gone to the rival governor's headquarters, and, without disturbing the armed guards or waking up the governor, had taken from his bed-side a gold case containing his horoscope. Next morning, Hsieh sent the gold case back to his rival, with a letter saying, “Last night a visitor came and brought this from your bed-side. I dare not keep it and am returning it herewith.\" On receiving this, the rival governor, T'ien, was petrified. He sent Hsüeh rich gifts and a humble letter of apology, saying that he had no aggressive intentions and that he was going to cut down his forces. All was peace and quiet. Two months later, Hung Hsien asked permission to leave. Hsüeh was naturally reluctant to let her go, whereupon she said, \"In my previous incarnation I was a man and a physician, who, by mistake, caused the death of a pregnant woman conceiving twins. As a punishment, I was re-born as a girl and became a serving maid. Now that I have repaid your kindness, I must go.\" Hsieh realized it was no use trying to keep her, so he held a great farewell banquet in her honour. After a tearful goodbye, she disappeared and was never seen again.11\n\nThe above story is written in elegant classical prose. At the same time, chivalric tales also existed in the popular colloquial literature of T'ang times. Among the manuscripts discovered at Tun-huang at the end of the last century are many tales known as pien-wen (#), which may be translated as \"popularized texts\".15 These are for the most part Buddhist legends re-told in a semi-colloquial style, often in a mixture of prose and verse. However, some of them are not of a religious character. Among these is\n\n14 T'ai-p'ing kuang-chi ***, chüan 195. For a full translation of the story, see E. D. Edwards, Chinese prose literature of the T'ang period, vol. II (London, 1938), pp. 123-7.\n\n15 For further information, see Arthur Waley, Ballads and stories from Tun-huang (London, 1960).\n\n1",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 206809,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1973",
        "page_number": 86,
        "title": "RAS-1973",
        "content_text": "80\n\nHELGA WERLE\n\nChing p'eng \"cleaning the matshed\" has to take place before the performance. The puppeteers take a live cock and make an incision in his throat and then carry him over the stage, dropping his blood into every corner, over the backstage and even over the musical instruments. This is done in order to protect themselves against the evil spirits or hungry ghosts, which performing puppets attract. That human actors perform at the Hungry Ghosts Festival is a development of the past 20 years for Ch'aochowese. Originally only puppets were used. The human likeness of the moving puppet fools the ghost, who takes possession of the puppet. Thus humans are protected from their assault and the whole area gets cleared of their evil influence. Puppet-shows are mainly performed as an exorcising ceremony and it therefore does not matter whether there is a public to watch the performance or not.\n\nThe actual performance starts mostly with the 'Birthday of the Eight Immortals', which is a series of good wishes. This introductory piece starts with the Peach Banquet, implying the wish for longevity. The next part is called 'To bestow Rank and Riches'; then comes the fairy who sends sons. The next short play is a ceremony to \"cleanse the matshed\" and the last is called \"the banquet at the capital\", which is to congratulate the troupe for its performance. The main play starts after this introduction.\n\nThe repertory of the two Hong Kong Ch'aochow puppet-groups comprises the following operas, which are part of the Ch'aochow Opera tradition:\n\nHu-li Luan Chou Wang 狐狸亂周王\n\nTuan-Chiao Hui\n\nLi Te-wu 李德武\n\nKuan Wang Miao 闊王廟\n\nYang Tsung-pao\n\nI Chih Mei 一枝梅\n\nThe script/stories of these operas are spoken and sung by the puppeteers. If the opera is a wen-chü or literary play, the text which is in rhymes is fixed and a script is used; but when a wu-chü or military play is performed the puppeteers use their own imagination to enrich the familiar plot.\n\nOne further point should be mentioned. Shadow-puppet theatre was very early a most important part of entertainment and when finally drama became organised, the public eye was so trained on the shadow-puppet movements that they were taken over into the",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1973.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8910rj06r",
        "rank": 0
    }
]