Chapter 370 Translation Translation
There are many factions and cliques in the literary and art circles.

Beneath the gorgeous sedan chair that everyone carries, there is an omnipresent chain of contempt.

Tradition looks down upon modernity, such as Peking Opera.

There are also differences between regions. The northern folk art does not think highly of the southern Pingtan.

The most lively scene is among colleagues.

The fierce competition among the schools of thought can even be compared to the saying “heretics are more hateful than pagans.”

When they get angry, they really want to kill the other person!

Among the many professions in the modern literary and artistic circles, there are two professions that stand out relatively well.

The first one on the list is the writer!
A scholar’s pen is worth three thousand Mauser rifles.

When it comes to writers, all sectors of the literary and art circles treat them with respect, praise them when possible, and try not to offend them.

After all, since ancient times, scholars have always been noble.

In other words, it is a new era now, otherwise they would not be qualified to be in the same literary and artistic circle as literati.

The second is the director.

“Farewell My Concubine” and “The Thirteenth Son of the South China Sea” are two movies that respectively target Peking Opera and Cantonese Opera. There is no need to say much about their effectiveness in promoting opera.

Faced with such support, how can the literary and art circles not support it?
Compared with writers, one writes stories and the other shoots stories, and the two are essentially the same.

Therefore, in the overall situation of “different industries are as different as mountains” in the literary and art circles, only a small group such as writers and directors have extensive connections and can directly communicate with various industries.

For example, in Zhen Jiecheng’s mobile phone address book, there is not only Jiu Ye from Peking Opera, but also Shao Ma Ye from crosstalk.

“Humph, what rank do you have to dare to pick a fight with me?”

“But who can blame me for being polite and not using vulgar language?”

“Forget it, forget it. I won’t bother with you guys anymore.”

“I’ll give you a ‘Please Parents’ package to help you relive your youthful memories!”

Zhen Jiecheng rubbed his hands excitedly, looking forward to the time to get off work.

“Mr. Jiu, welcome, welcome!” Zhen Jiecheng extended his hand to greet him from a distance.

“Director Zhen.”

“Don’t worry, Master Jiu, just call me Jiecheng.” Zhen Jiecheng enthusiastically held Master Jiu’s arm, “Why should we be so polite to each other?”

“My senior brother filmed “Farewell My Concubine” and then “Mei Lanfang”. We have a deep connection.”

“By the way, Master Jiu, my senior brother made some artistic adaptations to your father’s life in Mei Lanfang. You and your family have never spoken out publicly about many controversies. I would like to thank you on behalf of my senior brother.”

“It’s okay, it’s what I should do.” Jiu Ye laughed cheerfully, “Kai Ge has ambition and ideas, but is there anything perfect in the world?”

“Although there are some controversies in the results, the merits outweigh the flaws.”

“To be honest, we still owe Kai Ge. How much attention did Farewell My Concubine bring to Peking Opera? It was global.”

“No, no, no, Master Jiu, you can’t say that.” Zhen Jiecheng shook his head, “They should complement each other!”

“Li Bihua uses the Peking Opera “Farewell My Concubine” as the theme, and uses Peking Opera form throughout the text to unfold the love-hate entanglement of actors. It creates the textual interaction of “play within a play” and “people within people.”

“My senior brother also relied on the help of many Peking Opera artists during the filming process of bringing it to the big screen.”

“Without any one of them, this great work cannot be created!”

“Greatness is born from greatness!”

With just a few words, Jiu Ye’s wrinkles were smoothed out.

The subsequent conversation gradually eliminated the politeness and became like a chat between old friends.

Looking at the two people’s backs as they entered the room, Hu Die opened her eyes wide without blinking.

“How is it? Have you learned something new?” Ni Pingyu suddenly said from the side, “That’s Jie Cheng!”

“He has status and talent. He has thick eyebrows and big eyes, and his mouth can speak.”

“Let alone Master Jiu who is obsessed with the inheritance of Peking Opera, no one can handle it!”

“What about you, Sister Ni, can you bear it?” Hu Die asked with a smile, squinting her eyes and bending her eyebrows.

“Go away, go away. I’m fifty-three years old, and you’re teasing me, a little girl?” Ni Ping rolled her eyes and muttered silently in her heart: I couldn’t even stand up to his senior brother back then.

“Okay, stop standing there, let’s hurry up and catch up.”

“Remember, don’t just watch the fun later. Don’t forget the mission I asked you to come here for!”

“I know, Sister Ni!” Hu Die held Ni Ping’s arm and squeezed out a dimple that was no less beautiful than Jing Tian’s. “If the situation is not right, calm Brother Jie down in time. Avoid a quarrel, or Brother Jie will lose his temper and shut them up.”

“Well, I’ll be accompanying Master Jiu in the next room. I’ll leave Jiecheng to you.” Ni Ping nodded, then sighed, “Alas! Jiecheng is good in everything except his mouth.”

“When it’s sweet, it can make people faint. When it’s mean, it’s just poking at the lungs!”

Yangshi doesn’t have much of anything, except for a lot of rooms.

It has various functions, including a room divided into two rooms with an observation room with a one-way mirror in the middle.

Of course, this is how it is called in Yangshi. If it were a detention center, it would be an interrogation room.

Zhen Jiecheng first watched Ni Ping and Jiu Ye go into the next room, then patted Hu Die on the shoulder.

“Sister, serve tea and water later. Be sure to serve the old man well!”

“Don’t worry, Brother Jie. All anchors at Yangshi have to undergo professional etiquette training. Although they don’t learn how to serve tea, you’ve seen pigs run before you’ve eaten pork, right?” Hu Die smiled, “We guarantee proper etiquette and a dignified posture. Your smile will be like a spring breeze, and your words will be as fragrant as osmanthus orchids.”

“No, hold back! Don’t let them get away with it!” Zhen Jiecheng spat, “Let’s go meet the guests!”

“Okay, Brother Jie!”

“Dong Dong Dong~”

He knocked on the door three times, then walked in without waiting for a response.

As the chief director of the Spring Festival Gala, Zhen Jiecheng is the master of this territory, and knocking on the door is the greatest courtesy.

Looking up, I saw a huge crowd of them.

Soon someone spoke first.
“Hello Director Zhen, I am”

“No need to introduce yourself!” Zhen Jiecheng interrupted without thinking. With a warm smile on his face, his tone was particularly gentle, “Sorry, I have a bad memory. There are so many people here, I can’t remember even after I introduce myself.”

“If you pronounce the name wrong and recognize the wrong person, that would be rude!”

“You look like a generous and considerate person. You won’t let me be rude, will you?”

“Everyone, what do you think?”

The room suddenly became quiet.

After a long silence, the leader spoke again.
“Director Zhen.”

“Very good! You refer to people by their titles at work. I like people like you who have principles!” Zhen Jiecheng gave a thumbs up and interrupted for the second time. “Since you refer to people by their titles, it means that you, like me, don’t like red tape. OK, then let’s talk about business directly. Wait, why are you here? What kind of work do you want to discuss with me?”

“Director Zhen, we want to talk to you about the necessity of Peking Opera on the Spring Festival Gala stage!” After being interrupted twice in a row, the voice suppressed dissatisfaction, “Talk about Peking Opera as a recognized representative of China’s intangible cultural heritage.”

“Wait!” Zhen Jiecheng interrupted for the third time. He looked up in surprise and asked in confusion, “Recognized? Recognized by whom?”

“Of course it is recognized by the people! Isn’t this a fact known to everyone? Isn’t it?”

“Is it recognized by the people?” He interrupted for the fourth time.

Zhen Jiecheng scratched his head.
“That’s strange! The people have recognized it, so why does Peking Opera still need state subsidies?”

Yang Bin of Bincheng Peking Opera Theater once said: No theater in the country can support itself.

No one in the Peking Opera circle refutes this fact.

It was also for this reason that, in response to Zhen Jiecheng’s question, everyone’s lips trembled for a long time, and no matter how angry they were, they couldn’t utter a single word.

“It’s started, it’s started! Brother Jie has started to poke the lung tube. We can now watch the fun!” Hu Die pricked up her ears and muttered to herself, her face flushed with excitement from watching the show.

“I heard that other operas are self-sufficient, and Henan opera can perform up to 10 times a year.”

“Compare it to the thousands of performances of Peking Opera.”

Zhen Jiecheng counted on his fingers and raised his head.

“Hey, so-and-so, are my statistics correct?”

Facing Zhen Jiecheng’s gaze, the leader blushed.

“Is it possible that I remembered it wrong? Emmm, I must have remembered it wrong!” “After all, you said that Peking Opera is well-known, so how could there be only a few thousand performances per year? It should be 10 to be reasonable.”

“Snapped!”

Patted his head.

“Oh, my memory is so bad!”

“Please bear with me!”

“Director Zhen, you don’t have to deliberately use words to put pressure on me! Yes, the statistics that Peking Opera is performed thousands of times a year are correct! It’s also true that it needs state subsidies! But there is a reason for this!”

“The threshold for Peking Opera art is there. The cost of lighting and stage design for a performance alone is more than ten times higher than that of a Henan Opera performance of the same scale!”

“It requires a lot from both actors and facilities. What about Henan opera? You can just set up a stage and perform. How can it be compared?”

“Besides, Peking Opera pays attention to every detail, including the singing style! A slight mistake can lead to a huge loss! What we pursue is quality, not quantity! Only knowledgeable audiences can appreciate the art of Peking Opera.”

“Wait!” interrupted for the fifth time.

“Only knowledgeable audiences can appreciate it? Tsk tsk tsk, so Peking opera is very selective about its audience!”

Zhen Jiecheng smacked his lips.

“It seems that Peking opera is not very suitable for the Spring Festival Gala. After all, the Spring Festival Gala is for ordinary people across the country and overseas Chinese around the world. How many people know about it?”

“Director Zhen, you.”

“What do you mean by ‘you’? Do you have any manners at all?” He interrupted for the sixth time, “Since I entered this room, I have always addressed you respectfully, right?”

“Respect is mutual, don’t you think?”

“What? Are you bullying me because I’m young?”

Zhen Jiecheng stood up.

“In terms of etiquette, I am the host and you are the guests. As guests, you should follow the host’s wishes!”

“In terms of position, I am the chief director of the Spring Festival Gala, and you are here to discuss the program.”

“Translate, translate, what the hell is a director?”

“Why are you swearing?”

“Dirty words? Did I curse you?” Zhen Jiecheng narrowed his eyes. “How about you go and file a report to the higher-ups? Report me?”

“But before you go and report it, please translate it for me first.”

“Translate it for me. What the fuck? It’s called fuck, the chief director!”

The room was silent except for the sound of heavy breathing.

Seeing this, Hu Die quickly stood up, with a standard polite smile on her face, and served tea and water to Zhen Jiecheng.

“Director, please have some tea to moisten your throat.”

After breaking the stiff atmosphere, he spoke again.

“Director, let me translate. What the chief director meant is that you have the final say!”

What the hell is moistening the throat?

Ni Ping, who was behind the one-way mirror next door, twitched the corner of her mouth.

What? Do you want Jiecheng to spray harder after moistening his throat?

Forget it, at least the situation was stabilized and the atmosphere was adjusted. These minor details are not important.

Thinking of this, Ni Ping secretly glanced at Master Jiu beside her.

The old man had a stern face and looked very unhappy.

Zhen Jiecheng didn’t care at all that his words might hurt Mr. Jiu next door.

We had communicated in advance, otherwise how could it be called a show? However, considering the old man’s age, Zhen Jiecheng decided to be a little more restrained.

After taking a sip of tea, he gave Hu Die an approving look and continued,

“The threshold for Peking Opera is high.” Thumbs up, “If it’s not high, it’s not art!”

“Not only do they choose the stage and the actors, they also choose the audience!” Another thumbs up, “If they don’t choose, it’s not art!”

“The singing style requires accurate pronunciation and a complex performance routine, which requires a very high level of artistic accomplishment to appreciate. Even if a cultural barrier is built to exclude most grassroots audiences, there is nothing that can be done about it.”

“It’s high art! It should be in the palace. How can it be considered a grassroots carnival in the fields? Is it still respectable?”

“You can only watch it if you wear a suit! Henan opera is only for people who wear cloth shoes. No matter how many performances there are, quantity cannot beat quality!”

“Keep the rural essence. Emmm, forget it! Just be direct! It’s ok to be rustic, but it’s also inventing things randomly. It combines the main narrative with Bangzi tunes, and combines them with contemporary rural hot topics. It’s a haphazard way of doing things, and it can produce more than a hundred new plays a year. It’s simply going against tradition and playing the piano randomly!”

“This is something that Peking Opera does very well!”

“We have always kept our original aspirations in the trend of the times, and have been extremely cautious, not letting the miscellaneous modern aesthetics taint traditional culture!”

Three thumbs up,
“The old saying is absolutely true, the original flavor is the most authentic!”

Put your hands down and bow 9 degrees to the hem of your pants.

“I’m sorry, I was wrong.”

“I shouldn’t use Henan opera as a metaphor for Peking opera, especially not using the number of performances as an analogy.”

“The two have nothing in common, and the performance style of Peking Opera cannot imitate Henan Opera.”

Zhen Jiecheng suddenly changed his sarcastic tone, and his sincere and simple attitude caught everyone off guard.

What’s more, what he said was very true and there was nothing wrong with it.

However, the next second, the topic suddenly changed.

“But that’s no excuse for only being able to play a few thousand shows a year!”

He took out a stack of documents from his office bag and slapped them on the table.

“It is not an excuse to cater to the judging mechanism, spend huge amounts of money to stage an ‘award-winning play’ and then close the show after it’s over!”

“It’s not a reason to keep saying that your music is too high-brow and unpopular, or to write self-admiration on your face!”

“Squeak~”

The door suddenly opened.

Jiu Ye walked into the room with a dark face and picked up the document on the table.

The more I looked at his face, the darker it became, and the heavier his breathing became.

“I’ll add something!”

The sound was almost squeezed out from between teeth.
“Only a few decades have passed. How come everyone has become noble?”

“Have you forgotten that decades ago, we were still the lowest class?”

“You have grown stronger, your back is straighter, and you are starting to separate yourself from the masses?”

The old man slapped the table heavily.
“There is no nobleness in art!”

“The vitality of art comes from the land, not slogans!”

As he said this, he took out a piece of paper from his pocket.

“This is a sentence Director Zhen wrote to me!”

“Look at this!”

“If I hear Director Zhen say something similar to me again, you’ll be slapping me in the face!”

“Pa pa~” Jiu Ye slapped his cheeks with trembling hands.

The sound was not loud, but it was deafening.

“Jiecheng, how was my cooperation? Was my on-the-spot performance okay?”

“Hey, you always do this!” Zhen Jiecheng gave a thumbs up.

“Jiecheng, you have the final say on how Peking Opera is adapted for the Spring Festival Gala! If you need me, I will cooperate unconditionally!” Jiu Ye grabbed Zhen Jiecheng’s hand, “Jiecheng, please!”

“Don’t worry, Master Jiu. I’ll do my job, don’t worry!” Zhen Jiecheng patted his chest, “Like I said before, my mission is to make the people happy to watch and listen to.”

“That’s enough! That’s enough! As long as we can get everyone interested in Peking Opera, there will be soil!” The old man raised his head, “When I go down, I will have the face to see my father and the elders.”

(End of this chapter)