Yueju Opera

Yueju Opera y, just like a pure and kind lady from regions south of the Yangtze River, comes up gently in misty rain. In a luscious, mild, and indirect way. she pours out her delicate and tender feelings. She goes onto the stage from the field, and then from the poor and remote villages to cities; she has left her footprints throughout her country and won great honor at home and abroad.

Yueju Opera, honored as "an exotic flower of regions south of the Yangtze River", is the second-largest opera in China today. It has been selected as one of five main operas in China including another four operas such as Beijing Opera, Huangmei Opera, Pingju Opera, and Henan Opera, developing a school of its own in the spring garden of operas, and in 2006 it was enrolled in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. Yueju Opera, however, has got such significant success in only one hundred years. The development and achievements of this young opera, compared with most other genres of centuries operas, can be called "legend".

How can Yueju Opera with only a short history of one hundred years go beyond the old operas which have a history of hundreds of years? 

The Lyrics of Yueju Opera

Traditional opera is a comprehensive art form that perfectly combines dialogues, music, singing, dancing, and acting of which the unique features are respectively represented by the opera.

Among numerous Chinese operas, Yueju Opera is of the most lyricism. Thus, as the key element, the lyric is especially rich in emotions with the intense flavor of the south of the Yangtze River. Either the love of a pretty girl from a humble family and the tenderness of scholars or the high aspirations of warriors and the pathos of heroes are all presented in the lyrics of Yueju Opera. The words in the lyrics are tender, moving, fluent, and refreshing, which, with their varied sentence structures and beautiful melodies, impress people with grace, lyricism, freshness, and smoothness. 

1, Flexible Sentence Patterns with Fluency and Elegance

Most lyrics of Yueju Opera have been passed down for about one hundred years. After repeated deliberations and ongoing refinements, many classic arias have sprung up. To match the melody, the lyrics also present certain regularities in forms and contents.

The most common sentence patterns are seven-character sentences and crested seven-character and ten-character sentences.

1) Seven-Character Sentences

Seven-character sentences are the basic sentence pattern of the lyrics in Yueju Opera. 

There are two tactic patterns for seven characters as "two - two - three" and "three - two - two". The phrases with relatively independent meaning are composed of two or three characters. Connected with each other, the phrases not only form a certain rhythm but also express the meaning and the mood of the lyrics, for example, in Catching up the Fish the lyrics of The Book House say:

碧波潭 - 微波 - 荡漾，

The pool is rippling blue waves with the wind,

桂花 - 金黄 - 影横窗，

While the shadows of the golden osmanthus are reflected on the window.

空对此 - 一轮 - 明月，

However, looking up at the bright moon in the sky,

怎奈我 - 百转 - 愁肠。

Makes me sadder and sadder.

The first, third, and fourth sentences are composed of the format like "three - two - two"，while the second one is the format like "two - two - three". These lyrics describe the melancholy of Zhang Zhen, the character in the play in which the description achieves a perfect harmony of beautiful scenery and emotions for creating a wonderful artistic conception. 

2) Crested Seven-Character Sentences

Crown, in ancient Chinese, means a cap, while the crested seven-character sentences, according to the play plot, are the seven-character sentences for which three additional words are added to their beginnings. Take the lyrics Meeting at the Pavilion in Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai as an example.

可记得，你看出我有耳环痕，使英台，脸红耳赤口难开

After you had seen my pierced ears, I, Ying Tai, flushed up to my ears, feeling too shy to talk, do you still remember?

可记得，十八里相送长亭路，我是一片真心吐出来

After you saw me off for 18 miles, I poured out my true heart, do you still remember?

可记得，比作鸳鸯成双对；可记得，牛郎织女把鹊桥会 

Do you still remember we have compared ourselves to a pair of inseparable lovebirds? Do you still remember we enjoyed a reunion like a cowherd and a weaver girl on the Milky Way?

可记得，井中叹双来照影；可记得，观音堂前把堂拜。

Do you still remember our shadows fell in pairs in the well? Do you still remember we held our wedding in the Guanyin Hall?

These eight sentences describe that when misunderstood by Liang Shanbo. Zhu Yingtai used three Chinese words "ke ji de" (still remember) to make a recall situation by combining such snippets as "pierced ears", "farewell", "compare ourselves to a pair of lovebirds", "compare ourselves to the cowherd and the woman weaver", "shadows in pairs in the well", and "we held our wedding in the Guanyin Hall". By narrating the memories, she spilled out her deep adoration from her heart.

3) Ten-Character Sentences

Based on the fundamental pattern of seven-character sentences, a new form of ten characters, which has two arrangement patterns, has been produced from the lyrics of Yueju Opera. The sentences are usually in an order of "three, four, three" or "three, three, four". Take the lyrics of Meeting at the Pavilion in Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai as an example.

久别 - 重逢 - 梁山伯，

Getting reunion with Liang Shanbo after a long separation, 

倒叫我 - 又是欢喜 - 又伤悲

I felt happy and sad.

喜的是 - 今日与他 - 重相会，

I'm happy, for I can meet him again today,

悲的是 - 美满姻缘 - 已拆开。

I'm sad about the breakup of our happy marriage.

The lyrics delineate Zhu Yingtai's mixed feelings of both joy and sadness after the reunion with Liang Shanbo. The ten-character sentences make the contents of the lyrics further enlarged; they are suitable to develop the story, enrich the rhythm of the lyrics, and strengthen the expressive force of the lyrics.

However, some lyric sentences are not seven or ten characters pattern. They do not seem to be very neat with little regularity, in fact, this is not the case. To sing effortlessly and smoothly, some performers are used to adding some functional words or pronouns in the lyrics. Thus, although the number of characters in a sentence is more or less than seven or ten, the seven-character or ten-character structure is still the sentence patterns like the lyrics in Aunt Xianglin:

听他 - 一番 - 心酸话，

Hearing his bitter words,

(倒）叫我 - 有口 - 也难幵。

I feel hard to open my mouth.

有钱人 - 娶亲是 - 平常事，

Marriage for the rich is so simple a thing,

穷人 - 无钱 - 亲难配。

But extremely hard for the poor.

When the original sentence structure cannot fully present the plots and emotions of the opera, Yueju Opera also adopts six-character, nine-character, or even more flexible patterns. Let's take the lyrics of Amazing in Romance of the Western Chamber as an example:

听红娘，说短长，

Hearing the details of you from Hongniang,

一天的愁恨均锁在眉尖上.

I see you are all day drowned in hatred and worry from your eyebrows.

小姐呀，

O, miss, 

你若是畏老母治家严，

If you are afraid of your strict mother,

你不应该临去秋波回头望。

You shouldn't look back at me with your bewitching eyes when departing. 

我欲待拋下又难抛下，

I'd like to put her behind, but I can't,

那小姐的形影深沾在肝肠。

The lady's figure has deeply existed in my mind.

看来要一万声长吁和短叹，

It seems that I have to sigh and groan for thousands of times,

长夜只想娇模样

And think of her charming image for the whole night.

红娘呀红娘！

〇, Hongniang!

你年纪小，性情刚，

You are still young and tough,

太顾虑，你是空担慌。

You always think and worry too much.

小生与你家贤小姐，

Your lady and I

郎才女貌正相仿。

Are a perfect match.

若能够作对又成双，

If we can couple with each other, 

管什么威严的堂上娘。

Why should we worry about her strict mother?

These lyrics, like free verse, with their varied numbers of characters such as three, five, seven, nine, or eleven，are entirely free from the restriction of any fixed pattern. But they are well-composed and catchy enough to sing. Their colloquial expressions make them not only fluent and popular but also lyrical and expressive. They have both the lingering charm of an ancient verse and the style and features of new folk songs. They fully represent Zhang's heartthrob, yearning，and adoration to Cui Yingying; thus Zhang Sheng, a lovable and sincere man, is fully displayed through the moving lyrics.

2, Harmonic Rhythm and Emotional Lyrics

If the sentence structure endows the lyrics a distinct sense of rhythm, just as if it builds the body of lyrics, then, the rhythm of the lyrics is the thing that activates the body to move. In this way, the lyrics will connect with each other more naturally and totally.

Rhythm is one of the basic elements in opera lyrics. It can combine scattered sounds into a complete tune, which will make the opera sound more charming. The rhythm will become the key element to construct the artistic beauty of the opera. In brief, the last words of every sentence should be rhymed in some certain rules. The word rhyme means to end the sentences using the words with the same or similarly simple or compound vowels. In this way, the tone will be harmonious and pleasant when reading or singing. The rhyming words that end the lines are called rhymes. For better illustration, let's take a look at A Drinking Song, a poem by William Butler Yeats, a famous Irish poet, and playwright:

Wine comes in at the mouth

And love comes in at the eye; 

That's all we shall know for truth

Before we grow old and die.

I lift the glass to my mouth, 

Look at you, and I sign.

In this poem, the odd lines like the first, third, and fifth have the same end rhyme (the pronunciation of the last word), so do the even lines like the second, fourth, and sixth. We call these the rhyming lines. However, as a general rule, only the even lines need rhyme.

Like English poems, each line of the lyrics of Yueju Opera also has end rhyme, for example, in The Dream of Red Mansions, the lyrics of Qingwen's monologue recounting her sad and painful life experience:

对明月，暗心伤,

Looking at the bright moon, I'm furtively sad,

九州何处是家乡。

And wonder where my hometown is.

落地十栽身为奴，

I've been a maid since I was ten years old.

六年前，黄土埋爹娘

My parents passed away six years ago.

上无兄长下无妹，

I have neither brothers nor sisters,

孤燕单飞叹凄凉，

Living alone with dreariness like a single swallow.

平日嬉笑忘忧事，

Joking and funning every day, I try to forget all my worries temporarily. 

未知前程却渺

But I don't know that my future remains uncertain and bleak.

命如那，美人风筝断线飞，

That's my fate like a beautiful lady's kite flying with its broken string.

风扯雨浇落何方

Where would it be in the rain and wind?

命如那，芙蓉花开在槛旁，

That's my fate like the hibiscus flowers blossoming beside the threshold.

谁能保，年年花红绿叶旺。

Who can guarantee the red flowers and green leaves are flourishing every year? 

The lyrics portray an image of a lonely and hopeless girl incisively and vividly. The words, "shang", "xiang", "niang", "liang", mang", "fang", "pang", and "wang", show the end rhyme - "ang". 

This kind of rhyme pattern - the end rhyme in even lines - is called alternate rhyme. The first line of the odd ones can be or not be rhymed. Alternate rhyme is very common and numerous in Yueju Opera.

It can not only keep the coherences of the lyrics but also endows a sense of cadence to the lyrics. The lyrics, with their slow rhythms, will give people artistic pleasure.

Rhyming in every line is also very common in Yuejue Opera. We generally call this kind of rhyme as row rhyme, which has the same rhyme in each line of the whole lyrics. It always gives people remarkably smooth and coherent feelings. Let's see the lyrics of "Chou Yun" in Romance of the Western Chamber.

玉宇无尘，银河泻影，

The sky is clear like jade; the Milky Way pours down its shadow onto the earth.

月色横空，花荫满庭。

The moonlight glosses throughout the sky; flowers shade the whole courtyard.

我侧着耳朵听，蹯着脚步行。

I'm listening intently and tiptoeing lightly.

登假山我在墙角边儿等，

I'm climbing up the rockery，and waiting in the corner for Yingying~

等我那，整整齐齐，袅袅婷婷小姐莺莺。

my orderly, curvaceous, and soft sweetheart.

The words, "ying", "ting", "ting", "xing", "deng", and "ying", are rhymed by the sound "ng". These lyrics blend emotions with scene. Especially the words, "ce" (give ear) and "nie" (creep), vividly display the expressions and anxiety of Zhang Sheng who was waiting for Cui Yingying.

In lyrics, the rhymes sometimes may be transformed with the changes of tune patterns. This is called natural rhymes. When transforming the rhymes, we usually need to rhyme the first line and distinguish it with the rhyme of the former lyrics. Let's take the lyrics in The Dream of Red Mansions as an example.

花落花飞飞满，

Flowers fade and fall, flying here and there in the air.

红消香断有谁怜？

Who pities their sweet and beautiful that disappear?

一年三百六十天，

There are three hundred and sixty days a year.

风刀霜剑严相逼。

The inclement weather compels me with great fear.

明媚鲜妍能几时，

How long can the charming flowers remain intact?

一朝漂泊难寻觅。

Once they drift aimlessly, no one can find them back.

花魂鸟魂总难留，

It is hard for the charm of flowers and birds to stay.

鸟自无言花自辱。

The flowers look shy and the birds have nothing to say.

愿侬此日生双翼，

Today I wish to have a pair of wings to fly, 

随花飞到天尽头！

With the blossoms to the farthest end in the sky!

天尽头，何处有香丘？

Where's the place to set my flowers at the end of the world?

未若锦囊收艳骨，

I'd better collect the petals with a silk sack

一枉净土掩风流。

And bury them with clean soil to prevent an attack.

质本洁来还洁去，

You come and go with the pure nature like fine jade,

不教污淖陷渠沟，

And never drop into the dirty ditch and fade.

侬今葬花人笑痴，

Others laugh at me who buries the flowers today,

他年葬侬知是谁？

But who'll bury me in the future, can you say?

一朝春尽红颜老，

One day, when spring has gone and the beauty gets weak,

花落人亡两不知。

The flowers fall and are dead, none will know them and seek.

The lyrics depict that after meeting with a rebuff from a visit to Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu saw the petals falling on her way home; and a train of sentiments of her own life arose in her mind. She buried the flowers and composed the poem, and gave vent to her depressed and miserable feelings by dancing and singing with the wind.

The first three lines of the lyrics have the same rhyme - "an". Then, rhymes begin to change. The word "bi" at the end of line four，the word "shi" at the end of line five and the word "mi" at the end of line six have the same rhyme - "i". The rhymes of the ten lines in the middle of the lyrics are the same. The words such as "liu" at the end of line seven, "xiu" at the end of line eight，"tou" at the end of line ten and eleven, "qiu" at the end of line twelve, "liu" at the end of line fourteen and "gou" at the end of line sixteen have the same rhyme - "on". Natural rhyme switches again. The last four lines are ended by one rhyme. "Chi" at the end of line seventeen, "shui" at the end of line eighteen, and "Zhi" at the end of line twenty; these three lines have the same end rhyme of "i". The phonetic form, the melody of the tone, and the expression of the lyrics have achieved a high degree of uniformity which, by harmonizing the music and words, integrates the sentiment and scene, and embodies an artistic beauty.

In a word, during the development of Yueju Opera, the rhyme patterns, such as row rhyme, alternate rhyme, and natural rhyme, etc.. are getting more and more abundant and various. They make rhymes more harmonious and distinct and give people an artistic beauty of the rhythm looping back and forth. What's more, the natural transformation of rhymes makes the coherence of the lyrics more natural and harmonious, too.