Zhuang Zi (BC396-289), one of the two defining figures of Chinese Taoism, based his philosophy on the premise that all things change and that the perception of truth depends on the context under which it exists. He condemned rigid logic, which tends to obscure the natural way -- or Tao -- of the universe.
Throughout history, his teachings have been particularly favored by Chinese scholars and artists, many of whom have created thought-provoking works inspired by Zhuang Zi's philosophy.
"Zhuang Zi Tests His Wife" is one such work and has become known to people in China through Peking Opera, and other local operas.
The one-act drama, which was recreated by the Shanghai Theater Academy in 1994, is being performed this weekend at the Drama Salon in the Shanghai Drama Arts Center.
As the story goes, Zhuang Zi one day comes across a grieving widow, who is vigorously fanning her recently deceased husband's grave. At his deathbed, the husband has made his wife promise not to remarry until the earth around his tomb is dry -- a common request in ancient China.
Aroused by his curiosity, Zhuang Zi decides to test his own wife's moral convictions, by faking his death and changing himself into a handsome young man named Chu Wangsun. His wife, Tian Shi, falls in love with the striking young buck, and a courtship develops.
Most of the operatic versions of the story end with Zhuang Zi burying his wife after she commits suicide for being disloyal to her husband. But this version tackles the story from a different angle. While Tian Shi still commits suicide in the end, Zhuang Zi turns her and himself into butterflies and then, eventually, into dust.
The significance of the ending, from the perspective of Taoist philosophy, is that her yearning for a second love does not go against nature, but is in fact a very human instinct. This is in stark contrast to original opera versions of the story, which purport that her actions were a violation of common moral beliefs, and therefore against the way of nature.
This drama version originated in a film script. When playwright Cao Lusheng discussed the script with an official from the Japanese Tony Alice Festival of Theater, the organizer was intoxicated with the story and asked whether it was possible to adapt it into a drama.
The task was easy for Cao, a teacher at the Shanghai Theater Academy, who was able to draw from a wealth of talent on the campus.
Soon after, the script was completed and the stage design was decided. "Since Zhuang Zi lived in an era when people lived a simple existence, we set the stage as simply as possible," said Yu Zhong, president of the performing company affiliated to the academy, who plays the role of a village chief in the drama.
Along with An Zhenji, who plays Zhuang Zi, Yu is the only actor to remain in the role since 1994, when the drama made its debut in the Tony Alice Festival in Tokyo, Japan.
The other four roles, all performed by the academy students, have changed six times. When the drama toured Great Britain in 1997 and Germany last year, Yu said he was surprised by the positive reception it received.
"Arrogant as the British and Germans are, they admired us for the drama's subtle structure and philosophical imagination. They understood the story though there were no English subtitles," Yu said.
Next week, the salon drama will fly to the United States for a series of four performances in Los Angeles.
(Eastday.com.cn 03/09/2001)
