Fang Zhenzhu

Lao She北京晨光出版公司Feb 2017

3.7

Word count: 40K words
Chapters: 6

Summary

The five-act play Fang Pearl portrays the contrasting lives and fates of Beijing quyi performers in the old and new societies; through this contrast it celebrates the care and respect the new China showed artists, and calls on performers to respect themselves, unite, and serve the new society. The first three acts, depicting how the performer Broken Kite and his adopted daughter Fang Pearl were bullied in pre-liberation Beiping, evoke deep grief and indignation; compared with the dramatic conflicts earlier, the plot of the last two acts seems somewhat gentler. The characters are drawn with vivid verisimilitude, the theme is clear, and the language is highly successful.

Editor's review

Fang Zhenzhu (Fang Pearl) is a five-act play written by Lao She in the early years of the People's Republic of China. Centered on the father and daughter Quyi performers Po Fengzheng and Fang Zhenzhu, it portrays the turn of fate from old-society artists being bullied to new-society artists gaining respect. The play's most moving aspect is its characterization: Lao She knew the lives of Tianqiao performers well, and the dialogue carries vivid Beijing colloquialisms and Quyi trade jargon, so that reading it feels like hearing the voices. The first three acts are concentrated in conflict, full of grief and force; the last two acts grow gentler, and precisely for that reason reveal the real changes that the shifting times brought to ordinary people. It is not merely a work promoting the new society, but a literary record of artistic dignity and self-identity. It is suitable for expanding one's map of Lao She's dramatic writing after reading his novels, and for readers interested in Beijing Quyi and the history of lower-class urban life. While reading, note how Lao She uses dialect and trade language to shape characters, and the writing context behind the shift in tone between the first and last acts.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Lao She's dramatic writing who want to expand their reading map
Readers concerned with Beijing Quyi and the life history of lower-class performers
Students studying the relationship between modern and contemporary Chinese drama and social change
General readers who enjoy Beijing-flavored language and vivid character dialogue

Not a good fit for

Genre-fiction readers who prefer strong plot and fast-paced narrative
Readers impatient with the five-act play form and long stretches of dialogue
Readers seeking purely aesthetic appreciation and uninterested in social context

Reading tips

First read the whole play, noting the changes in conflict intensity and emotional tone between the first three acts and the last two.
While reading, pay attention to the speech characteristics of Po Fengzheng, Fang Zhenzhu, and others, and appreciate how Lao She uses colloquial language to shape identity.
Read alongside Lao She's novels from the same period to compare how he handles the fate of lower-class characters in different genres.
After reading, consult background material on the Quyi reform in the early years of the People's Republic of China to help understand the play's historical orientation.

About the publisher

北京晨光出版公司

Beijing Chenguang Publishing Company is a publisher about which limited public information is available. It has only one title in the database, Fang Zhenzhu by Lao She. Fang Zhenzhu is a play written by Lao She that revolves around the fate of the performer Fang Zhenzhu in the old society; it falls under film and drama-related categories, which gives the company's current publishing direction a connection to film, television, and theatrical texts. As the representative author in the database, Lao She is an important author resource for the publisher. Because public information is limited, its broader publishing fields, series plans, and publishing features cannot yet be confirmed. On the basis of the available title alone, its publishing content leans toward dramatic texts grounded in classic literature and suitable for reference in film, television, and stage adaptation.

版权信息
第一幕
第二幕
第三幕
第四幕
第五幕

FAQ

What is the relationship between Fang Zhenzhu and Longxu Gou (Dragon Beard Ditch)?

Both are plays Lao She wrote in the early years of the People's Republic of China, both depict the fate of Beijing's lower classes amid the transition from the old society to the new, and their themes and methods are similar. But Fang Zhenzhu focuses on the community of Quyi performers, involving trade life and the question of artistic dignity, which distinguishes its subject matter from the neighborhood life of Longxu Gou; the two can be read comparatively.

Why is the dramatic conflict in the last two acts weaker than in the first three?

The material itself notes that the plot of the last two acts is gentler compared with the earlier conflicts. This is related to the play being written during a period of transition: the first two acts depict oppression in the old society, with concentrated contradictions; the last two turn to unity and service in the new society, bearing more of a positive expressive function, so the dramatic tension naturally weakens.

Can I understand this play if I am not familiar with Quyi?

Yes. Although the play contains Quyi trade jargon and descriptions of trade life, Lao She's handling stays close to everyday colloquial speech, the character relationships are clear, and the main line is the contrast between the father and daughter performers' experiences in the two eras; it does not depend on specialized Quyi knowledge to be understood. For a deeper appreciation, a brief acquaintance with the basic categories of Beijing Quyi would help.

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About the author

Lao She Author · China · 1899–1966

Lao She, born Shu Qingchun with the courtesy name Sheyu, lived from 1899 to 1966. A Manchu from Beijing, he is a major modern Chinese writer. His writing long centered on urban life in Beijing and on ordinary people at the lower levels of society. His works are mostly social novels and folk literature, and he also wrote essays and miscellaneous prose. His style is plain yet marked by irony and compassion, and he was skilled at using colloquial Beijing-flavored language to portray characters and their fates. His representative works include Camel Xiangzi, Four Generations Under One Roof, and Teahouse, which have had wide influence. In 1951 he received the title "People's Artist." The library holds 488 of his works, commonly classified under social fiction, classics, folk literature, essays and miscellaneous writings, and exam books, showing that his writing continues to circulate among readers and in teaching.