主 角 134（上部52）‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍The Protagonist ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍ 陈 彦 ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍Chen Yan

躍龍

　　终于，由宁州剧团青年演员汇报演出的《白蛇传》，要在北山登台亮相了。

Finally, the performance of "The Legend of the White Snake" by the young actors of the Ningzhou Opera Troupe was about to take the stage at Beishan.

这次登台前，古存孝、周存仁、裘存义三个老师，偷偷叫上易青娥，还专门到舞台上祭拜了一回呢。他们买了香表，还弄了四样糕点，跪在一个老爷像前，磕头烧香地禀告了再三。易青娥问，祭拜的是啥老爷？他们说是梨园老祖唐明皇。古老师还特别给她解释了一下，说这是唐朝的一个皇帝，爱唱戏。

Before the performance, three teachers, Gu Cunxiao, Zhou Cunren, and Qiu Cunyi, secretly invited Yi Qing'e to the stage for a special prayer. They bought incense and four kinds of pastries, knelt before an image of a deity, and repeatedly kowtowed and burned incense. Yi Qing'e asked which deity they were worshipping. They said it was Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the patriarch of Peking Opera. Teacher Gu even explained to her that this was an emperor of the Tang Dynasty who loved opera.

　　他娶了个妃子叫杨玉环，也爱唱戏，还爱跳舞。易青娥说，平常咋不见人拜这个老爷呢。周老师说，只有唱戏人才拜的。连这个老爷像，都是他们这几天，才在另一个老艺人那里请来的。拜完，周存仁老师说，恐怕得让朱继儒也来拜一下。过去祭梨园老祖，都是领班长带头呢。古存孝就让裘存义去喊朱团长。朱团长来了。古存孝让祭拜，朱团长还拧呲着，说你们咋还信这个。古存孝就说：你不拜，看存忠死得多可惜，兴许拜了有用呢。朱团长看古老师把话说到这儿了，就倒头拜了三拜。

He married a concubine named Yang Yuhuan, and he also loved singing and dancing. Yi Qing'e said, "Why don't we usually see people worshipping this deity?" Teacher Zhou said, "Only opera singers worship him. Even this statue of the deity was only recently obtained from another veteran artist." After the worship, Teacher Zhou Cunren said, "I'm afraid we should also have Zhu Jiru worship." In the past, when worshipping the patriarch of the opera troupe, the troupe leader would lead the way. Gu Cunxiao then asked Qiu Cunyi to call Troupe Leader Zhu. Troupe Leader Zhu arrived. Gu Cunxiao asked him to worship, but Troupe Leader Zhu still grumbled, saying, "Why do you still believe in this?" Gu Cunxiao said, "If you don't worship, look how regrettable Cunzhong's death was; perhaps worshipping him will be helpful." Seeing that Teacher Gu had said this much, Troupe Leader Zhu bowed three times.

　　正式演出那天，易青娥一天都是心慌意乱的。尤其是头一晚上，他们还看了另一个团的《白蛇传》，演白娘子的，技巧不过关，在《盗草》那折戏中，先是宝剑连连失手，后做“倒挂金钟”，用嘴衔取灵芝草时，立脚不稳，又一个趔趄，掉到了“岩下”。让观众拍了多次倒掌。尽管坐在易青娥身旁的惠芳龄一再说，看了他们的《白蛇传》，咱们就更有把握了。可易青娥心里还是七上八下的。尤其是苟老师不在了，她感到哪里都不踏实。

On the day of the official performance, Yi Qing'e was anxious and flustered all day. Especially the night before, they had watched another troupe's performance of "The Legend of the White Snake." The actress playing Bai Suzhen (the White Snake) lacked skill; in the scene "Stealing the Herb," she repeatedly missed her sword, and later, while performing the "upside-down bell" move to pick up the lingzhi (spirit mushroom) with her mouth, she lost her footing and fell "down the cliff," drawing repeated jeers from the audience. Although Hui Fangling, sitting next to Yi Qing'e, repeatedly said that watching their version of "The Legend of the White Snake" would give them more confidence, Yi Qing'e was still very uneasy. Especially with Teacher Gou absent, she felt uneasy about everything.

　　演出第一天晚上，只有半池子观众。朱团长还一再到后台解释说，会演时间长了，观众都看疲了。再加上这次来了三台《白蛇传》。折子戏里，也是见天晚上都有《游湖》《盗草》《水斗》《断桥》《合钵》，都快成“白娘子大会战”了。朱团长说：“咱们不怕，稳扎稳打朝下演就是了，出水才看两腿泥哩。”朱团长平常是爱倒背着双手的。除非遇见麻缠事，一旦遇上麻缠事，他一只手就会抽出来捂胸口，一只抽出来拍额头，并且是要拍得啪啪作响的。今晚开演前，尽管观众不多，但他的双手还是倒背着，并且背得很高。看来他心里是有底的。

On the first night of the performance, there were only half a pool of audience members. Troupe Leader Zhu repeatedly went backstage to explain that the audience was getting tired of the long performances. Plus, three versions of "The Legend of the White Snake" were being performed this time. The excerpts were numerous, including "Strolling on the Lake," "Stealing the Herb," "Water Battle," "Broken Bridge," and "Reunion," almost turning it into a "Battle of the White Snake." Troupe Leader Zhu said, "We're not afraid. We'll just perform steadily and surely. We'll see the mud on our legs when we come out of the water." Troupe Leader Zhu usually keeps his hands behind his back. Unless he encounters a difficult situation, he'll pull one hand out to cover his chest and the other to slap his forehead, making a loud slapping sound. Before tonight's performance, although the audience was small, his hands were still behind his back, and quite high. It seemed he was confident.

　　古存孝老师也说：“你都相信我的，咱宁州不拔会演的头筹，我古存孝就不再回去混饭吃了。”有人还故意问：“那你到哪里混饭吃去？”古老师说：“我讨米去。还保证不再路过你宁州县。”惹得大家哄堂大笑起来。“不过，咱说是说，也不敢轻敌，我送大家八个字：‘既要胆大心细，又要淡然提气。’”有那好事的说：“古导，这好像是十二个字。”

Teacher Gu Cunxiao also said, "You all believe me. If Ningzhou doesn't win first place in the performance competition, I, Gu Cunxiao, will never go back to make a living again." Someone even deliberately asked, "Then where will you make a living?" Teacher Gu said, "I'll beg for rice. And I promise I won't pass through Ningzhou County again." This made everyone burst into laughter. "However, while we're just saying this, we dare not underestimate our opponents. I'll give you all eight words: 'Be bold and meticulous, and remain calm and composed.'" Someone who was being nosy said, "Director Gu, that seems to be twelve words."

　　古存孝骂道：“你娘的脚哟，光会给老师挑刺。”关键是古存孝这天晚上，又披上了那件象征着某种“势”的黄大衣。并且还是让助手刘四团站在身后，不停地披，他不停地抖落着。有一次，刘四团只顾看了易青娥化妆，没接上，大衣噗地跌到地上，还被他美美训了一顿：“打好你的旗旗，跑好你的龙套。别喝的灯台油，操的大象心。”从古导胸有成竹的“势”来看，有人说，今晚演出大概是有九成以上把握了。

Gu Cunxiao cursed, "Your mother's feet, all you do is nitpick at the teacher!" The key point was that that evening, Gu Cunxiao again donned that yellow overcoat that symbolized a certain "power." And he had his assistant, Liu Situan, standing behind him, constantly draping it over his shoulders, while he kept shaking it off. Once, Liu Situan was so focused on watching Yi Qing'e put on her makeup that he missed the opportunity, and the overcoat fell to the ground with a thud. He even gave Liu a good scolding: "Hold your flag properly, do your part well. Don't worry about things like an elephant's heart." Judging from Director Gu's confident "power," some said that tonight's performance was probably over 90% certain.

　　这天晚上的演出，还真给成了。不是小成，而是大成；不是小火，而是大火。用朱团长的话说：

That evening's performance was a resounding success. Not just a minor success, but a major one; not a small frenzy, but a massive hit. In the words of Troupe Leader Zhu:

“今晚的演出，就跟最好的缎子被面一样，没掉一根纱，没脱一丝线，是真真正正的无瑕疵演出。我在宁州团干了这么多年，反正还没见过演得这样浑全的戏。也没见过这样火爆的场面。”

"Tonight's performance was like the finest satin quilt cover—not a single thread was missing, not a single loose stitch. It was a truly flawless performance. In all my years with the Ningzhou Troupe, I've never seen a play performed so flawlessly. Nor have I ever witnessed such a phenomenal success."

　　从第一场起，掌声几乎就没断。有人统计说，整场演出，观众一共给了一百三十二次掌声。

From the very first performance, the applause was almost constant. Someone counted that the audience applauded 132 times throughout the entire show.

朱团长的手，就背得更高了。

Commander Zhu's hands were clasped even higher behind his back.

古导的黄大衣，几乎是每说一句话，就要抖落一次，让人眼花缭乱。

Director Gu's yellow overcoat seemed to shake off almost every time he spoke, a dizzying sight.

刘四团不长相，又为死盯着看易青娥脱彩裤，没及时把大衣披上，竟然让古导抖了一次空肩，气得老汉差点没反身踹他一脚。

Liu Situan wasn't good-looking and was so focused on watching Yi Qing'e take off her colored pants that he didn't put his overcoat back on in time, causing Director Gu to shake off an empty shoulder once, infuriating the old man so much he almost turned around and kicked him.

　　易青娥没有想到，她一出场，就迎来了碰头彩。这是最提振演员信心的鼓掌。惠芳龄赞美她说：你今晚妆是化得最漂亮的。就连周玉枝也来给她帮忙提眉、包头了。楚嘉禾虽然没有给她帮忙，但也给惠芳龄搭了手，给其他丫鬟梳了头。这就是剧团，看着平常为角色你争我斗的，可一旦到了重大演出，就到处都能看到“一股绳”的相向紧搓场面。让易青娥激动的是，所有武打戏都配合得十分默契。就连《盗草》中那些难度最大的高台技巧，她与十几个守护“神鸟”的搏斗、拼杀，都没有出现任何闪失与纰漏。她始终记着苟存忠师父的那些话：

Yi Qing'e hadn't expected to be greeted with such enthusiastic applause the moment she appeared on stage. This was the kind of applause that most boosts an actor's confidence. Hui Fangling praised her, saying, "Your makeup is the most beautiful tonight." Even Zhou Yuzhi came to help her with her eyebrows and hair. Although Chu Jiahe didn't help her, she lent a hand to Hui Fangling and combed the hair of the other maids. This was the troupe; seemingly competitive for roles in ordinary times, but during major performances, everywhere you looked, you could see everyone working together as one. What excited Yi Qing'e was the perfect coordination in all the action scenes. Even the most difficult high-platform techniques in "Stealing the Grass," her fights and battles with the dozen or so guardian "divine birds," proceeded flawlessly. She always remembered her master Gou Cunzhong's words:

　　“主角，演一大本戏，其实就是看你的控制力。哪儿轻缓、哪儿爆发，都要张弛有度，不可平均受力。稳扎稳打，是一个主角最重要的基本功。自打你出场开始，你就要有大将风范。这个大将，不是表面的‘势’，而是内心的自信与淡定。虽然你易青娥只有十八岁，但必须有十分成熟的心力、心性，你才可能是最好的主角。”

"The lead actor, performing a long play, is really all about your control. Where to be gentle and where to be explosive, you must have a good balance, you can't distribute the force evenly. Steady and solid performance is the most important basic skill for a lead actor. From the moment you appear on screen, you must have the demeanor of a general. This generalship is not about superficial 'power,' but about inner confidence and composure. Although you, Yi Qing'e, are only eighteen years old, you must have a very mature mind and temperament to be the best lead actor."

　　陈彦，1963年生于陕西镇安。一级编剧。中国作家协会会员。曾创作《迟开的玫瑰》《大树西迁》《西京故事》等戏剧作品数十部，三次获“曹禺戏剧文学奖”“文华编剧奖”，作品三度入选国家舞台艺术精品工程“十大精品剧目”。曾创作32集电视剧《大树小树》，获“飞天奖”。著有长篇小说《西京故事》《装台》，其中《装台》被中国小说学会评为“2015小说排行榜”长篇小说榜首，“2015中国好书”，2017年获首届“吴承恩长篇小说奖”。出版有《陈彦剧作选》《陈彦词作选》《陈彦西京三部曲》，散文集《必须抵达》《边走边看》《坚挺的表达》《说秦腔》等著作。

Chen Yan was born in Zhen'an, Shaanxi Province in 1963. He is a first-class screenwriter and a member of the China Writers Association. He has created dozens of theatrical works, including *The Late-Blooming Rose*, *The Great Tree Moves West*, and *The Story of Xi'an*, winning the Cao Yu Drama Literature Award and the Wenhua Screenwriting Award three times. His works have been selected three times as one of the "Top Ten Excellent Plays" in the National Stage Art Masterpiece Project. He also wrote the 32-episode TV series *The Great Tree and the Little Tree*, which won the Feitian Award. He is the author of the novels *The Story of Xi'an* and *Zhuangtai*, with *Zhuangtai* being ranked first on the "2015 Novel Ranking" by the China Novel Society and named one of the "2015 China's Best Books." In 2017, he won the inaugural Wu Cheng'en Novel Award. He has published *Selected Plays by Chen Yan*, *Selected Lyrics by Chen Yan*, *Chen Yan's Xi'an Trilogy*, and essay collections such as *Must Arrive*, *Walking and Observing*, *A Resilient Expression*, and *Talking about Qinqiang Opera*.