Although he didn't know who was behind the bead curtain, Zhou Jun knew that the status of these two women must be noble, so he bowed his hands and waited quietly aside.
Among the two daughters, the older one is the imperial concubine Yang Yuhuan, and the younger one is Princess Yin Yu of Wanchun.
When Yin Yu saw Zhou Jun coming, she waved to one side. When a maid saw her, she rang the bell in her hand. When the actors in the hall heard the bell, they immediately stopped their performance, bowed and retreated outside the hall.
Yin Yu cleared her throat again and said pretentiously: "Since Mr. Zhou is here, please take a seat first."
This voice sounded familiar. Zhou Jun was stunned for a moment, then he thanked her and sat down in a seat next to him.
Seeing Zhou Jun sitting upright, Yin Yu looked at Yang Yuhuan beside her, with a smile on her face.
The latter frowned and whispered: "Be careful and don't be too reckless."
Yin Yu responded softly and asked Zhou Jun: "The director of Zhou is Kan Lu of The West Chamber. I heard that the story and the play were all narrated by you?"
Zhou Jun nodded in agreement.
Yin Yu asked again: "I wonder how Mr. Zhou knew about this story and drama?"
Zhou Jun: "They were all said by others inadvertently before."
Yin Yu secretly sneered and asked: "Since I heard it from others, besides The West Chamber, Director Zhou must have heard many other stories. How about telling a few of them?"
Seeing Zhou Jun pause for a moment, Yin Yu looked proud and whispered to Yang Yuhuan: "This person is the most cunning. Since he heard about The West Chamber, I want to see how much money he still has in his belly?"
Yang Yuhuan smiled bitterly after hearing this, and whispered to Yin Yu: "Grandma, please don't embarrass others. Stories like Romance of the West Chamber are masterpieces handed down from generation to generation. How can we just say that they exist?"
Yin Yu ignored Yang Yuhuan's persuasion and just continued to ask Zhou Jun: "Master Zhou is well-informed. He must have heard of such a wonderful story as Romance of the West Chamber, right?"
Seeing that Zhou Jun was still hesitating, Yang Yuhuan planned to change his mind and find a way for both parties.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Jun suddenly said: "I have heard of another story, which is similar to Romance of the West Chamber. It also talks about the happiness between two people, but it turns out to be a tragedy in the end."
Yin Yu was stunned for a moment, then said angrily: "Master Zhou, please tell me."
Zhou Jun: "Tomorrow is the Shangyuan Festival, which is a festival for family reunion. I'm afraid it would be a bit taboo to tell you about this."
Yin Yu gritted his teeth and said: "It's okay, there are no taboos, just say it."
Zhou Jun had no choice but to say: "The name of this story only has two characters, which is 'Butterfly Lovers'."
Next, Zhou Jun talked about everything from the sworn vows at Caoqiao, to getting along day and night, to seeing each other off at the age of 18, the rejection of the proposal, death due to illness, and finally turning into butterflies and flying together.
After the story was told, Yin Yu burst into tears. Yang Yuhuan secretly wiped away her tears. Even the maids in the hall covered their faces and cried after hearing the story.
After calming down, Yang Yuhuan said to Zhou Jun: "The Romance of the West Chamber and Butterfly Lovers are both happy and sad, but in the final analysis, the latter is more profound."
Zhou Jun heard Yang Yuhuan speak for the first time and felt that this woman's voice was melodious and melodious, but she really had a naturally good voice.
Zhou Jun replied: "Most happy plays can only be viewed from a distance, not up close; while most tragic plays can empathize with others and understand the way of life."
Yang Yuhuan: "What's the meaning of this statement?"
Zhou Jun: "Comic drama aims to allow the audience to gain joy. If you want the story to bring joy, you must avoid the reality and cruelty of reality, put the audience in the perspective of others, and use chance and hidden clumsiness to resolve it."
The harm that reality brings to the characters. Therefore, comedy can only be viewed from a distance, not up close."
"Tragic drama aims to arouse the resonance and feelings of the audience. Most of the stories are based on reality, which is closer to the essence of life. The audience can see bits and pieces of real life in the tragic drama, and can
See the true shadow. Therefore, most tragedies feel the same and know the way of life."
Yang Yuhuan was stunned on the spot, thinking carefully about every word of Zhou Jun's words just now.
Yin Yu was confused and asked: "Why can't I understand what you said?"
Zhou Jun then changed his approach and explained to Yin Yu: "If you carefully examine the story of The West Chamber, you can find that most of the plots in it, such as reunion or punishment of evil, are preceded by chance or coincidence. Just imagine.
Now, if these accidents or coincidences had not happened, would The West Chamber have a happy ending at the end?"
Yin Yu listened thoughtfully.
Zhou Jun added: "However, those accidents and coincidences are difficult to happen together in reality. Therefore, Romance of the West Chamber is just a comedy after all."
"Let's talk about Liang Zhu. The prototype of this story actually comes from "Ten Paths and Four Fans" written by Liang Zaiyan. In that book, a strange incident in Runan County, Henan Province was recorded: That Zhu Yingtai was originally the Shangyu Zhu
His daughter disguised herself as a man while traveling to study, and she graduated from the same school as Liang Shanbo from Kuaiji. The two fell in love with each other, but they never got married. After both of them died, they were buried together."
"The story of Butterfly Lovers is based on real people, so it is more real and more relevant to reality than Romance of the West Chamber. Therefore, as a tragic play, it is more thought-provoking."
Seeing the two girls behind the bead curtain, they both fell into deep thought. Zhou Jun finally said: "If I could explain it in one sentence, it would be - the so-called joyful play is about watching others; the so-called tragic play is about watching yourself.
"
When Yang Yuhuan heard this, his body trembled.
After being silent for a long time, Yang Yuhuan nodded gently towards Zhou Jun outside the bead curtain and said, "I have learned a lesson."
Zhou Jun said he didn't dare.
Yang Yuhuan paused for a moment and asked: "Such a good story, why didn't Mr. Zhou find someone to write it into a script?"
Zhou Jun: "We have invited Song Duzhi from Beili to be the main writer."
Before Yang Yuhuan could speak, Yin Yu on the side heard this and asked angrily: "But what about Song Ruo'e?!"
Zhou Jun heard that the other party had a bad tone, but he didn't know where the woman's anger came from, so he could only say yes.
Yin Yu asked coldly: "As for Romance of the West Chamber, there are six main writers. Why did Director Zhou only invite Song Ruo'e this time? This move is a bit biased."
Zhou Jun said: "Liang Zhu's letter was also an impromptu idea. It happened to coincide with the official affairs in Luoyang and the official affairs were urgent, so before leaving, I only had time to contact Song Duzhi."
Yin Yu was obviously dissatisfied with Zhou Jun's explanation and wanted to ask more questions, but was stopped by Yang Yuhuan.
The latter smiled at Zhou Jun and said: "Master Zhou's understanding of sorrow and joy is shocking and unheard of. Such arguments are of great benefit to me when thinking about opera."
Zhou Jun: "It's just some random talk, not necessarily conclusive. It makes the lady laugh."
Yang Yuhuan shook his head and said: "If the script of 'Butterfly Lovers' is completed in the future, please ask Mr. Zhou to borrow it."
When Zhou Jun heard this, he cupped his hands and said, "That's for sure."
Yang Yuhuan asked the maid to send Zhou Jun out of the door.