Most urban Chinese 45 years or over can hum at least a few or more bars of arias or melodies of yang ban xi, the so-called model plays of modern Peking Opera and ballets staged during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76).
Next week, they will have the opportunity to relive the era of the yang ban xi when three of the modern Peking opera plays are staged by the National Peking Opera Theatre of China.
Those were almost the only theatrical works staged, aired and showed during the early years of that chaotic period, in addition to some revolutionary songs, as any works not of a revolutionary genre were banned from the stage at the time. They were also made into color films and screened in cinemas.
The most popular of these Peking opera works included On the Docks (Haigang), Raid on the White Tiger Regiment (Qixi Baihu Tuan), The Red Lantern (Hongdeng Ji), Shajiabang, Song of the Dragon River (Longjiang Song), Taking the Tiger Mountains by Strategy (Zhiqu Weihushan), The Dujuan Mountain and Fighting on the Plains (Pingyuan Zuozhan).
In a way, these plays were experimental theatrical works which added a contemporary flavor to the old art of Peking Opera.
The subject matter turns away from the feudal imperial courts to the Chinese revolution and New China's construction. Instead of ancient emperors, aristocrats, scholars, gods and fairies, common workers, peasants, soldiers and other revolutionaries became the protagonists.
The concise traditional string and percussion band composed of jinghu, gong and drum, was expanded to blend with the symphonic orchestra to provide the accompaniment. And stage sets became more realistic and bold, and the elaborate ancient costumes were replaced to fit the modern era.
Since the late 1970s when the "cultural revolution" ended and the country started to reform and open up, the yang ban xi have seldom been staged for a variety of reasons. For one thing, the works were revised so many times to suit the political agenda of Jiang Qing that there were serious doubts about their artistic value and validity for the contemporary stage.
And then the old Peking opera made a comeback and dominated the stage.
Today, artists have reached a more general consensus that those yang ban xi, especially their earlier versions, have their artistic merits. These modern plays were results of years of efforts as veteran artists pooled their wisdom and talent together. The actual productions gave rise to a group of Peking Opera stars with high artistic attainment.
That has been the reason that many arias remain as people's favorites.
With consensus, selected scenes of those stage works have been performed in theatres and shown on TV.
To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II and the 84th anniversary of the establishment of the Chinese Communist Party, the National Peking Opera Theatre of China has taken the bold step of reviving three of the works at the Beijing Exhibition Hall Theatre from June 21 to 26.
In order to maintain the original flavor, almost all the old artists who performed the lead roles in the three plays some 35 years ago helped to rehearse the new versions.
And the original sets and costume designers have tried to reproduce the old work, helped by some advanced technology which will improve the entire effect.
"Although over 30 years have passed, the model characters in these plays remain impressive in people's minds. The enchanting melodies, vivid roles and familiar stories will remind them of some old memories," says Wu Jiang, president of the opera company.
"It's hard for today's young performers to portray these characters with strong historic and political marks, it's also not easy for them to feel the hard conditions of wartime, but nevertheless we try to capture that spirit in the revived show. It is dedicated to the artists of the older generation who worked hard for these repertoires as well as a change of discipline for the young performers," says Wu.
The programs are Fighting on the Plain on June 21, Dujuan Mountain on June 23 and 24 and The Red Lantern on June 25 and 26.
Fighting on the Plain tells of the guerrilla campaign led by the Communist Party on the North China Plain during the War of Resistance Against Japan (1937-45).
The renowned actor Li Guang who played the hero and actress Li Weikang the heroine in the original version some 30 years ago, were the main consultants.
Yang Chunxia, the original Ke Xiang, the heroine in Dujuan Mountain and Gao Mukun who played the hero Tian Dajiang, are directors of the new version of Dujuan Mountain.
"Everyday when I enter the rehearsal room, I feel I am returning back to 34 years ago when I myself was Tian. What I need to do is to share my feelings with today's young actors and help them understand the play, the characters and the emotions," says Gao.
The modern play, he points out, is also a way to pass on and develop the old Peking Opera.
"In terms of artistic level, today's young performers could learn much from those model plays," he says.
Yang highly praises the performance by Wang Runjing, the new Ke Xiang.
"Wang works hard, although she lacks the personal experience and sense of that time like all the other performers," Yang said.
However, besides practising the movements as in every other play she performs, Wang has repeatedly watched footage, copied to DVD, of the old version and discussed the character with Yang.
Yang rose rapidly to fame more than 30 years ago when she took up the role Ke Xiang in the mid 1970s. In turn Ke Xiang became something of an idol through her vivid portrayal, and the hairstyle of Ke Xiang became a fad for a while throughout the country.
Wang, 37, the granddaughter of Zhang Junqiu, is modest about her performance.
"Thanks to Yang's help, I am getting close to the character Ke Xiang which is very different from all the other roles I have performed," she says.
She usually sings the fair young maidens of traditional repertoires, who are soft, highly disciplined and old fashioned.
But Ke Xiang is a tough-minded and brave Communist leader and Wang is not sure whether they can capture the spirit of that former generation.
"Times are different and the conditions and atmosphere are not the same. I know when masters Yang and Gao rehearsed the play, they invited some renowned drama actors and actress such as Zhu Lin to give them specially training," she says.
But Wang also reveals that she has a certain bond with these plays because she was born to a Peking Opera family and her mother and uncle all performed yang ban xi.
"I watched their rehearsals when I was 4 or 5 years old. The apartment building I lived in was full of the melodies. I especially loved Ke Xiang and dreamed of playing her one day, although I was too young to understand the play," she recalls.
Her dream was realized in 2003 when she was with the Harbin Peking Opera Theater in Heilongjiang Province. The company planned to revive Dujuan Mountain and invited to Yang and Gao to direct it.
Ever since, Wang has been coached and guided by Yang for the repertoire.
The last production The Red Lantern tells of a family which devotes itself to fighting the Japanese invasion. The grandmother, father and granddaughter try to send an important message to the guerrillas in the mountains.
The grandmother and father are both killed by the Japanese, and it is the granddaughter who succeeds in delivering the message.
With an increasing interest in the cathartic period the modern Peking Operas hail from, it will be interesting to see how today's audiences receive them.
(China Daily June 18, 2005)
