Qing feng ting 清風 亭

 

SELECTED WORKS OF MA LIANLIANG' S FAMOUS DRAMAS (1 - 2)

BEIJING OPERA / QING FENG TING

马连良名剧选集(一、二)

京剧 / 清风亭 

China Records, 1988, ED - 131

 Recorded in 1962, these two tapes feature the great opera singer/actor Ma Lianliang who lived from 1901 to 1966. He was known for his old man roles and was considered one of Beijing opera ''four great beards''.
During the cultural revolution Mao criticized him which led to the assault on Ma by Red Guards in the street where he got his legs broken; Ma died soon after of his injuries.

The opera Qing Feng Ting (the clear breeze pavilion) is the story of Jibao who is separated from his mother immediately after his birth because of his father's jealousy. Zhang Yuanxiu (played by Ma) and his wife, a childless old couple who make a living by making tofu and straw sandals, find the baby boy. They name him Jibao and love him dearly as their own son. Thirteen years later, Jibao accidentally runs into his natural mother at the Clear Breeze Pavilion, who insists on having her son back.
Compelled by natural motherhood and hoping for a better future for the boy, old Zhang reluctantly lets Jibao go. The loss, however, deprives the old couple of their joy, hope and health. Everyday they pine for their boy, haunting the Clear Breeze Pavilion. Years go by, and finally good news comes: the young man wins the top place of the imperial examination, and will go by the Pavilion on his way to his new post. Overjoyed, the old couple hasten to meet him there. Jibao, however, vain and ungrateful, has always resented his humble background. Puffed up by his new government title, he openly renounces his foster parents, disdaining them as hoaxing beggars. When beseeched by his servant, he casts two hundred copper coins to be rid of them. Heartbroken, the old couple smash their heads into the column of the Pavilion. Showing no sign of remorse, the ungrateful son sneers at their “imposture” and resumes his journey. 

Information found in Vision and Revision of Filial Piety: Analogues and Adaptations of King Lear in
Chinese Opera by  Bi-qi Beatrice Lei, assistant Professor, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, National Taiwan University.

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