To Youth, A Tribute to the Red Chamber II
This is a play that starts off slow and then picks up. Especially for someone like me, who is middle-aged, with elderly parents to care for and young children to raise, under immense work pressure, and in poor health—a common ant of a person really—it's exactly the same. It's not that I don't love it, but I simply don't have the time or energy. That duel between red and blue is actually two attitudes, two lives, two understandings, with no right or wrong. The final solo dance is the unity of impermanence—beautiful! Then came a grand play, 'Being and Nothingness' (You Huan Wu), a dialogue between the author Cao Xueqin and the characters in the book. If I had to describe it in one word, it would be 'shocking.' I haven't seen many stage plays; I'm not well-traveled in that regard. But this 'Being and Nothingness' gave me a feeling of 'shock.' If you're interested, you can experience it in person—I won't spoil it here. Time then jumped to the 1970s, and space shifted to the Second Store (Er Shang Dian). This is a period drama, one that would bring tears to the eyes of my parents' generation and help me find some remnants of childhood memories. I can't help but think that if Baoyu had lived in that era, he would have fared as well as he did in the play. After leaving No. 36, I kept wondering: what did those eleven beautiful illustrations look like? Which lovely characters did they depict? Why did those eleven that are lost overseas still survive, while the vast majority that were supposedly retrieved and kept in the homeland have disappeared without a trace? The round stage and circular theater are like a galaxy, like the universe. In such a space between heaven and earth, performing this 'Only Dream of the Red Chamber' is the most fitting thing. Highly recommended, highly recommended. Another long queue gave me a real taste of what is true and false. I saw the prop room, the dressing room, the costume room, the backstage, and the crew. I saw the characters in the book conversing with each other, mirroring each other, inside and out. This transformation like the moon in water and flowers in a mirror will leave you unsure whether you are on stage or off, actor or audience. This grand play was worth it! At eight in the evening, I paid to go to the Tube Building (Tongzi Lou). The weather cooperated—at several key moments in the play, there was thunder and lightning to match the atmosphere. But then, after about twenty minutes, it started to rain. Without rain gear and with the theater being open-air, I had no choice but to leave early. What a shame about the later plot—I don't know what happened to the male favorite or the Tube Building. Which chapter of the old gentleman's modern Red Chamber lecture did he reach? Regrets, regrets. Thanks to the heavy rain, I didn't get to see the night view or stroll through the commercial street. I was soaked like a drowned rat. I took a taxi back to the hotel, bought two packs of instant noodles, and ordered delivery—that was my first meal of the day.
