Dressed only in a thin opera robe, Xiao Yanqiu walked out into the snow and arrived at the theater entrance, where she stood beneath a streetlight. She glanced at the snow-covered street, counted a beat, and waved the bamboo flute. She began to sing, the same Erhuang aria, slow and meandering to a lyrical rhythm, and then to a strong beat, leading to a crescendo. Snowflakes swirled around her, and suddenly there was a crowd at the entrance, causing traffic to stop. More and more people arrived, crowding the street, but nothing, no one, made a sound. The people and cars seemed to have been blown to her on the wind, falling soundlessly like snowflakes, but Xiao Yanqiu was oblivious to it all. Another round of applause erupted inside the theater. She danced and sang. Finally, people noticed something dripping from her pant legs to the ground. The drops, black under the street light, fell on the snowy ground and created a series of black holes.
Glossary
Chou — the clown role in Chinese opera
Dan — the major female role in Chinese opera
east wind — a key element in Chinese lore
Egg (Dan) Nest — ‘Dan’, with one character, means ‘egg’; another character, with the same pronunciation, is the opera role
Erlang — nephew of the mythical Jade Emperor, a deity with a third, true-seeing eye
bodhisattva — in the West, a patron, an “angel”
consciousness — class consciousness; a Cultural Revolution slogan
great man — alludes ironically to historical figures, in particular Mao Zedong, who were referred to as “great”
Hualian — another name for a Jing, the male role with a painted face
Jing — the male role with a painted face in Chinese opera
Mo — the secondary male role in Chinese opera
Sheng — the major male role in Chinese opera
water sleeves — long, loose sleeves on opera singers that highlight stylized gestures
Xipi, Erhuang — tunes in the operatic repertoire are all named; the lyrics are added
Copyright
First English edition published 2007 by Telegram
This eBook edition published 2012
eISBN: 978-1-84659-128-0
© Bi Feiyu, 2007 and 2012
Translation © Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-chun Lin, 2007 and 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
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