Inside the Chui Gong Hall! Hundreds of officials gathered!
The civil and military officials looked at Fan Zheng with confusion. The purpose of Fan Zheng going to court was to defend Li Qingzhao's opera.
Those who were able to gain fame were in the literary world and were naturally proficient in poetry and poetry. However, Li Qingzhao's feat of founding a sect astonished them.
As people in the literary world, they naturally know what the third generation literary genre represents. It is a glory that makes literati all over the world go crazy. Now that it was created by a woman, how can they be convinced? Then they all started to slander and impeach. Opera.
"Fan Taicheng, are you serious...?"
On the throne, Zhao Xu had just come to court and couldn't help but curiously asked when he saw Fan Zheng.
Opera is a public performance, and it is not safe with many people and hands. Zhao Xu did not come to the scene in person, but this does not mean that Zhao Xu does not know the influence of opera.
Fan Zheng nodded solemnly and said: "I don't dare to deceive the officials. Once the opera comes out, it is not inferior to Tang poetry and Song lyrics in terms of artistic form and popularity. It is qualified for the third generation of literary genres."
"Seriously?" Zhao Xu couldn't help but exclaimed.
Fan Zheng nodded and said: "Tang poetry and Song lyrics can only be appreciated by those who are literate, but operas are sung directly by specialized artists, which can cover 90% of the world's illiterate people. It can be said to be appreciated by both refined and popular people."
At the moment, Fan Zheng listed the advantages of opera one by one.
Zhao Xu couldn't help but nod. Once such an opera is released, it will definitely attract countless people's attention and become a part of citizens' life. After all, people in the world cannot recite poems and make jokes every day, but they can listen to operas every day.
"Reporting to the officials, the opera is still controversial. Today's court meeting is to discuss this matter." Lu Dafang reminded.
Zhao Xu then put aside his curiosity, sat upright and said, "Fan Taicheng, what can you say to defend the Li family regarding the impeachment of hundreds of officials?"
Although the impeachment was Li Qingzhao's drama, everyone knew that Fan Zheng came to defend Li Qingzhao on his behalf.
Fan Zheng stepped forward, held up his hands and said: "I would like to report to the official family that the impeachment of the officials is just jealousy of villains. They cannot accept that my wife has gained the reputation of establishing a sect as a woman."
As soon as Fan Zheng said this, many officials also showed a trace of shame on their faces. Their collective impeachment of Li Qingzhao was not without such thoughts.
Yang Wei, the imperial censor, sneered and said: "That's nonsense! Shanghe Garden is a park, and it comes from the medical methods of treating the city. I think Mr. Fan should know better than anyone else that the Cuju venue is a public place, how can it be privately used?" "Use, Li's family has been occupying the Cuju court continuously, so it's not a public property for private use."
Fan Zheng sneered and said: "Mr. Yang is indeed selfless, but he doesn't know the inside story. Quju has indeed occupied the Cuju venue. It is not a forced occupation, but a rent! I rent the Cuju venue at the price of one day's money."
Fan Chunchuan, the minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, said: "We have informed the officials that building the park will cost a lot of money. In order to balance the budget, the Kaifeng Mansion plans to rent out the Cuju courts and allow the Cuju team to collect tickets and make a profit. This matter has been reported to the Ministry of Household Affairs. With permission, leasing a Cuju venue for opera is just a pilot project!"
Fan Chunchun came forward in person, although it was for the purpose of leasing the Cuju venue, but the bigger reason was that the Fan family wanted to support Li Qingzhao.
As the daughter-in-law of the Fan family, Li Qingzhao founded the third-generation literary school, which was the honor of the Fan family for generations.
Many officials nodded slightly. One day's money is 30 guan a month, and 360 guan a year. This is not a small amount of money.
Cai Jing, who is also the Minister of Household Affairs, frowned and said: "Although the Li family paid for the rental, the Cuju venue is a public venue after all. If it is always occupied by opera, wouldn't it be extremely inappropriate?"
Fan Zheng took a deep look at Cai Jing and said, "What Mr. Cai said is true. In fact, the Cuju venue is too empty and is not suitable for opera performances. Now my wife is planning to acquire a teahouse. As an opera theater, it is currently being renovated. It will definitely not Taking up the Cuju court for too long.
Cai Jing nodded and did not pursue the matter fiercely. After all, his wife and Li Qingzhao were cousins and it was not appropriate to quarrel.
"I am informing the officials that the use of a group of brothel girls in the opera is a blatant promotion of the love between men and women. It is really offensive to the morals, and I ask the officials to strictly prohibit it!" Yang Wei said unceremoniously.
Some old party ministers also agreed. Their old-fashioned thinking, coupled with Li Shishi's identity as a former brothel, openly promoted the love between Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei, which made them extremely uncomfortable.
Fan Zheng sneered: "Although Master Li was born in a brothel, she is from a good background. Moreover, she saved countless lives when she was a female nurse in a traditional Chinese medicine hospital. She is extremely kind-hearted. How can she be equated with an ordinary brothel singer."
Li Qingzhao gave up the brothel singer and chose Li Shishi to play the role of Concubine Yang. It was the most correct choice. Among literati, listening to music on the hook was considered vulgar. However, he was born in a good family and had the bodhisattva heart of a female guardian and rescuer. Suddenly the taste of the opera was improved a bit.
Everyone in the old party frowned. Although Li Shishi was once born in a brothel, his background and qualifications as a doctor instantly smoothed over these flaws. Instead, he was praised highly for his miserable life experience and current achievements.
"Besides, "The Biography of Concubine Yang" is implicitly included in Bai Juyi's "Song of Everlasting Sorrow". If the opera is offensive to morals, doesn't it mean that Bai Juyi's "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" is also offensive to morals? All poems describing love are also offensive to morals. If according to this According to the standard, half of Tang poetry and Song poetry must be banned." Fan Zheng retorted.
"Well!"
The old party was immediately speechless. There were countless Tang poems and Song lyrics describing love. If we follow this standard, half of the Tang poems and Song lyrics would have to be cut off.
Cheng Yi sneered and said: "Describing love is nothing. However, when the opera performed the love between Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei, the actors openly played the emperor on the stage, wearing dragon robes and crowns. This is a crime of great disrespect. .”
"Of course, how can the dragon robe be worn by actors and actresses? Once it is used by bad people to do evil, it will inevitably lead to catastrophe. "The Legend of Concubine Yang" must be banned." Lu Dafang said sternly.
All the officials in the court nodded. This is related to the reputation of the emperor. If anyone else wears the dragon robe, it will definitely be considered a crime of treason. Let a humble actor play the emperor, although everyone knows that he is pretending. But if it causes trouble, it will damage the emperor's reputation.
All of a sudden, all the officials in the Manchu Dynasty attacked Quju one after another.
The officials knew that all the previous impeachments seemed to be menacing, but in fact they were not harmful at all. Only the crime of lese majeste was the fatal blow.
After all, as an emperor, the most important thing is the imperial power, which cannot be tolerated by the world, and the emperors will protect each other.
The best example is that the emperors of the current dynasty would tacitly protect the imperial mausoleums of the previous dynasty. After all, they did not want their imperial mausoleums to be destroyed by future generations.
Sure enough, Zhao Xu's face was solemn. Although he valued Fan Zheng, he was cautious about matters involving imperial power.
Cheng Yi couldn't help but sneer when he saw this. Once the imperial court banned "The Biography of Concubine Yang", it would definitely cause disaster to the newly emerging opera. Naturally, there would be no talk of Li Qingzhao establishing a sect or a third-generation literary school.
"Hahaha! Fan didn't expect that you would use such a vicious idea to suppress Quju. You really went to great lengths." Faced with the siege of hundreds of officials, Fan Zheng smiled instead of getting angry.
Cheng Yi said in a deep voice: "Fan Zheng, we are not jealous of the talented and capable, and deliberately suppress the opera. This matter concerns the dignity of the emperor and we must be cautious."
"And today we are having an open discussion in the court to nip problems in the bud, which can be regarded as protecting the Li family. It is better than causing a catastrophe in the future and Quju being liquidated." Lu Dafang said loudly.
Su Shi sighed helplessly. Although the two of them were suspected of suppressing opera, their words were not unreasonable.
If the officials are concerned about folk actors playing the role of emperors, it will be a disaster in the future. It is better to set the rules as soon as possible to avoid settling scores later.
Zhao Xu frowned and thought, his heart wavering.
Seeing this, Fan Zheng said loudly: "Although there are actors playing the emperor in "The Legend of Concubine Yang", there are not many scenes. Even if the scene of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty is deleted, the play is still quite exciting. Even if the emperor is banned in the future, the opera will still not Disappear, at most there will be more love scenes.”
Cheng Yi frowned slightly. He had to admit that the protagonist of Yang Guifei's biography was Yang Guifei. Although Tang Xuanzong was lost, the excellence of the opera could not be concealed.
Fan Zheng said proudly: "But the role of opera is far more than love. It is also of great use to the court. It is not that opera needs to play the emperor, but the court needs opera to play the emperor."
"What nonsense! How can the majesty of the emperor be allowed to be desecrated by actors and actresses?" Cheng Yi angrily rebuked.
Even Zhao Xu frowned and looked at Fan Zheng with a scrutinizing gaze, waiting for Fan Zheng to give him a satisfactory answer.
Fan Zheng solemnly said: "The reason why opera calls itself the third generation literary genre is because it can be said to have further relaxed restrictions compared to Tang poetry and Song poetry. For example, the Song Dynasty is facing the wolves of Liao, Xia and Qingtang. , the imperial court can compile the story of the loyal Yang family generals into a opera and spread it widely among the military and civilians, which will definitely inspire the military's morale and jointly fight against foreign enemies."
"General Yang!"
All the officials in the court couldn't help but take a breath of cold air. They naturally knew the tragic deeds of the Yang family. The Yang family fought against the Liao Kingdom in the north. It can be said that all the family members were killed and injured, leaving only a group of old, weak, women and children. These were the most loyal generals of the Song Dynasty.
"The people need justice. The court can compile the story of Bao Zheng and Bao Qingtian into a opera and spread it widely among the people. It can not only spread justice among the people, but also deter corrupt officials." Fan Zheng said again.
"Bao Zheng and Bao Qingtian!"
Zhao Xu's heart moved. Bao Zheng was a famous minister of the Renzong Dynasty. During his tenure as the prefect of Kaifeng, he was known throughout the country for his integrity, uprightness in handling cases, and lack of fear of the powerful.
"If operas are used well, they can make great contributions to the court, promote loyalty to the emperor and patriotism to the people of the world, set an example for civil and military officials, and promote the wisdom and prowess of officials. Both operas require actors to play the emperor. Is it because How can opera be shelved at the slightest taboo?" Fan Zheng asked, looking around.
Zhao Xu was shocked. According to Fan Zheng's vision, Quju will have great potential.
Nowadays, the Song Dynasty's reform is in the ascendant. There are powerful enemies outside and worries inside. It can be said that it is walking on thin ice. If opera can be used to inspire military morale and stabilize the government, it will be a great help. In contrast, the so-called disrespectful and illusory It seems insignificant.
All the officials in the court were also frowning. With the horrifying power of the opera, its audience ranged from officials and nobles to common people. If it could promote the court, it might achieve unexpected results.
Cheng Yi saw the drastic change in the direction of the wind and quickly objected: "The influence of opera is too great. If something goes wrong, the harm will be unbearable."
Many cautious officials nodded slightly. If someone pretended to be an emperor and deceived them, they would probably become a big laughing stock.
Fan Zhengdao: "It doesn't matter! We only need to agree on three chapters."
Zhao Xu became interested and asked, "Tell me how to make a three-chapter agreement!"
Fan Zheng explained: "First of all, although the actor plays the role of the emperor, it is only on the stage, and the role of the previous emperor cannot involve the current dynasty; the role of the current emperor cannot make arbitrary comments on political affairs; the actor cannot play the person who died but has not been given a posthumous title. The emperor of this dynasty."
Zhao Xu nodded slightly. Just the fact that he did not discuss political affairs made him let down a lot of caution. In addition, Tang Xuanzong was the former emperor and appeared in various literary works. There was nothing wrong with performing in operas. .
"Secondly, the clothing must be distinguished. The actors can only wear python robes. The dragon hat, jade belt, and court beads must also be different. Among them, the court beads cannot have east beads." Fan Zheng added.
The officials nodded slightly. There is a huge difference between a python robe and a dragon robe. It is not disrespectful for an actor to wear a python robe. Moreover, it is easy to distinguish between the two and people will not be easily deceived.
"Finally, operas are actively sung, because the lyrics also need to be differentiated. You cannot call the emperor's name and title directly. If necessary, use homophones instead. Officials need to avoid taboos when calling themselves "I" and use "Gu" or "Gu" instead. "Ignorant".
Fan Zheng used three chapters to make a great difference between the emperor played by the actors in the opera and the emperor in reality, so that people can tell them apart at a glance, so as to dispel the wariness of the court.
"Do you think this strategy is feasible?" Zhao Xu asked.
Su Shi supported it without hesitation: "I agree!"
Although the actor plays the role of the emperor, not only is the dragon robe downgraded to a python robe, which is not considered illegal, but also the "lonely" and "widow" emperors' claims to be emperors have been abolished as early as the Qin Dynasty, so they can be used in acting.
Moreover, Li Qingzhao was a member of the Su family after all. He founded a sect and created a third-generation literary school, and the Su family would also prosper because of this.
"I also agree."
The officials of the Manchu Dynasty also nodded slightly. The opera was of great benefit to the court in promoting enlightenment. In addition, Fan Zheng's three chapters of the treaty had already avoided the hidden danger of disrespect, so they had nothing to say.
Soon the new party and the old party ceased their activities. After all, the opera was created by Li Qingzhao. They pushed too hard, and they might be suspected of bullying women, and they would really hate Fan Zheng.
Cheng Yi opened his mouth, but found that he was alone and helpless, so he could only sigh bitterly.
"Accurate performance"
Zhao Xu followed the good path.
"Thank you, officials!"
Fan Zheng solemnly thanked him and said, if he had known that when Yuan opera was popular in later generations, emperor opera accounted for almost half of the country. If Zhao Xu had not been enlightened and restricted the role of emperors in opera, the development of opera would have been greatly frustrated. But now there will be no obstacles to the development of opera. .
(End of chapter)
