Forcing the Nephew to Enter the Imperial Examination;《逼侄赴科》

This is from the traditional repertoire of the Gaoqiang musical system in chuanju.

One of the musical features of gaoqiang is to use a chorus to sing characters’ inner feelings. The play was originally a scene in a Ming dynasty’s chuanqi (“marvel tale”, Ming dynasty: 1368-1644AD) titled The Story of a Jade Hairpin (Yuzan ji). It is a romance between a young nun and a scholar. The young man is the nephew of the temple’s “Abbess”. In Forcing the Nephew to Enter the Imperial Examination the old nun forces her nephew to leave the temple to take part in the imperial examination in the capital. The clip starts from the young nun singing her feelings, then moves to the river bank where the old nun sees her nephew get onto the boat and sail off. This is her way of making sure that the young couple cannot be together before the young man’s departure.

选段来自川剧的高腔传统剧目。高腔的音乐特色之一就是使用“帮腔”来表达人物的内心感情。这出戏原为明传奇《玉簪记》中的一折。传奇剧本是关于一个年轻的尼姑堕入情网,男方这位书生是庙庵住持的侄子。《逼侄赴科》就是尼姑住持逼迫侄子入京赶考。选段开始于年轻尼姑的唱段,场面然后转换到了河边,住持亲眼看着侄子上船以便确保侄子和青年女尼无法相会。

Productions

Title Genre Production Company
Forcing the Nephew to Enter the Imperial Examination;逼侄赴科 Chuanju;川剧 Chongqing Chuanju Theatre and Chengdu Chuanju Company;重庆川剧院和成都川剧团