An Operatic Ode to War Heroes

(Peking Opera may be an old art form, but new works continue to be written. One of the modern classics is a tribute to the heroes of the war. )

Listeners who are Peking Opera fans like our host, Denise, may know that in the mid-1960s, China’s leaders sought to eliminate elements of feudalism and superstition from the theatre. They urged revolutionization of the theatre to serve socialism. And out of this movement grew the yangbanxi, or model dramas. Five of the works were new operas, and one of the first and still most popular today is Shajiabang.

Shajiabang actually first saw the light of day in 1958 as a Huju Opera, developed in Shanghai and sung in the local dialect. In October 1963, the First Peking Opera Company adapted as a Peking Opera, and the new version debuted at the National Festival of Peking Operas on Contemporary Themes the following year.

The opera has been revised many times over the years, and today it still draws a full house of appreciative listeners every time it is performed. Nearly every Chinese over the age of 35 can sing an aria or two from it, and more than a few young folks are very familiar with it as well.

The story is set in Shajiabang, a small market town in Jiangsu Province, near Taihu Lake. The time is the early 1940s. The United Front of the Communists and the Kuomintang has disintegrated in this Japanese-occupied area following the KMT’s attack on a largely unarmed rear guard of the Communist New Fourth Army.

A group of wounded soldiers of this army is hiding from the Japanese and Kuomintang troops in the marshes that rim Shajiabang. Sister A Qing, an underground worker for the Communist Party who runs a teashop as a cover, protects the wounded soldiers. With the help of the townspeople, she skillfully plays Commander Hu and Adviser Diao of the KMT against each other, stalling to give the Communist leader, Instructor Guo, time to get the injured troops safely away. Finally, the local people and the New Fourth Army troops overcome all adversities and Guo returns to Shajiabang to annihilate the enemy.

Let’s listen now to an exchange between Sister A Qing, Adviser Diao and Commander Hu. Sister A Qing once saved Hu’s life, so he trusts her completely. But Diao is suspicious, and thinks she might have information on the whereabouts of the Communist troops. Some of the lyrics go like this:

The New Fourth Army stayed here a long time.

That’s a big tree with fine shade.

You had plenty of dealings with them,

I’m sure you served them with special care.

My stove is built for business,

My kettle doesn’t ask where the water comes from,

My tables are used by travelers from everywhere.

Whoever comes here is a customer

And I have to be pleasant to him;

I greet all comers with a smile,

And once out of sight, out of mind.

When the customer leaves, the tea grows cold.

There’s no question of giving anyone special care.

Now that I think of it, Denise, we should have had you sing this. I heard you’re learning the part of Commander Hu. But we’re out of time for today’s “China Melody,” so I guess I’ll let you off the hook.