“老戏骨”屈娟如：18岁开始学唱花鼓戏，一唱就是60余年 | Chinese opera fan

The flower-drum opera is an embodiment of the local cultures of southern China. It has been performed for centuries on stages in the ancient water town of Wuzhen, east China's Zhejiang Province.

花鼓戏是一种分布在中国南方的剧种，很有地区特色。在乌镇的古戏台上，依旧长年上演着花鼓戏。

Audiences gathering to watch one specific troupe in town might not know that a "xiao sheng" (young male role) is actually played by an octogenarian woman.

然而，挤挤挨挨的游客们很难看出，眼前这位嗓音嘹亮的“小生”竟然已经八十三岁了。

"You know what? I've performed here for 16 years. I'm always happy, as long as I am singing opera," Qu Juanru said.

“我同你讲，我到这里来已经16年了。只要是在唱戏，我心里就一向很高兴的。”

Qu Juanru on stage

She is the official inheritor of Jiaxing City's Tongxiang Flower-Drum Opera. Her legendary stage career goes back to her teenage years.

这位老人，就是嘉兴市桐乡花鼓戏传承人屈娟如。而她曲折的艺术生涯，可以追溯到她的少年时代。

"My mother passed away when I was 14. I've lived with my father since. In the old days, women were not allowed to perform opera. Nonetheless, my father never held me back when I tried to sing," Qu said.

“14岁时我母亲就过世了，我同我爸爸两个人生活。在旧社会，只有男人可以唱戏。但那时爸爸也不干涉我，同意我去唱戏。” 

Qu Juanru sits at home.

Qu started performing at the age of 18, when she joined the local Aimin Flower-Drum Opera troupe. Although times had changed and the old practice banning women on stage had been phased out,  female actors were still rarely seen with the troupe at the time. It wasn't long before Qu became the shining star of the troupe.

18岁，屈娟如进入爱民花鼓戏小组，开始从事桐乡花鼓戏表演。那时，虽然女性不能登台的禁令已经解除，但唱戏的女性依旧很少。不久，她就成为了戏班里一道亮丽的风景线。

A young Qu Jianru poses for a photo. /Photo courtesy of Qu Juanru

And then came the Cultural Revolution, a political movement, and the art form was denounced as part of the "four olds" – old ideas, old habits, old customs, old culture –  which needed to be destroyed. The troupe was disbanded, and Qu went back to farming. "I felt so repressed during those days. I could only hum the opera when no one was around to hear me," Qu recalled.

好景不长，文革时期，桐乡花鼓戏被打为“四旧”，她所在的戏班解散了。屈娟如回到农村老家，继续之前的务农生活。“这段时间，我憋得难受，就私下里哼，生怕被别人听见。” 

After the tumultuous times were over, the then young girl joined hands with others to bring the opera troupe back to life. They performed in parks and auditoriums in Zhejiang Province's Haining and Deqing counties. It was sensational. However, as more people gradually tuned in to TVs, opera audiences shrank in size.

文革结束后，她和另一位老人重组花鼓戏剧团，在海宁、德清等地的公园和大礼堂演出，前来看戏的人依然很多。但到了八十年代，随着电视机逐渐普及，看戏的人越来越少。

"We had 20 people in our troupe. The income was only some 200 yuan per round to split between us and the venue owner, not to mention the food expenses. We had to disband once again. It was everyone for themselves. I used to do odd jobs in the factory, as I knew nothing other than singing opera," Qu said.

“剧团里20多个人，我们唱一晚上只得200多块，还要和当地（场地所有者）拆账，还要付伙食费，撑不下去就也解散了，各自找门路。我除了唱戏没攒下其他手艺，只能去工厂打零工。”

Qu Juanru in full character /Photo courtesy of Qu Juanru

Qu spent years working in factories making clothes and electric fan covers. She also served time in restaurants, and was a cook and a dish washer at a canteen. Gradually, she forced opera out of her life. Her fellow workers never thought of her as a famous opera actress. She was disheartened and thought she would never perform again.

屈娟如在服装厂、电风扇网罩厂、饭店都呆过几年，在食堂炒过菜、刷过碗，就是一直没有唱戏，工友们不知道身边的这位大婶曾经也是一位名角儿。屈娟如曾灰心地以为，这辈子都不会再登台了。

But all of that changed overnight, when a staff from Wuzhen tourism center knocked on her door in 2001. Wuzhen was undergoing renovation, and developers thought that a space without culture is of little significance, and hence set out to restore the past glory of local customs, including the Tongxiang Flower-Drum Opera.

直到有一天，乌镇景区的工作人员找上门来。那时，乌镇的开发者认为景区仅有古色古香的旧式民居是不够的。要增强吸引力，还需地方传统文化的加持。乌镇地处桐乡，已濒临失传的桐乡花鼓戏终于再次被外界记起。2001年，他们在一家染厂里找到了屈娟如。

Qu, who at the time was working in a dye factory, was their only hope.Knowing that she could sing again, Qu was overwhelmed with joy. "I'd been working in factories for nearly 40 years, yet I still remembered the lyrics vividly. My make-up techniques had gotten a little rusty, but I managed to refresh my memory fast," she said. Back when she was working at the canteen, she learned how to sing the men's parts from her colleagues who played instruments.

屈娟如知道自己又能唱戏了，心里十分开心。“我在厂里呆了也有三十六七年了，但是从来没有忘记过戏文。就是化妆的技巧很久不练，有些生疏了，但久了就捡回来了。”在食堂帮忙期间，几个吹打班子的师傅还教会了她唱男调。

"Huadan (vivacious and unmarried female role) have finer eyebrows, xiao sheng (young male role) have thicker eyebrows, and lao sheng (old male role) have much broader ones," she said.

“花旦的眉毛细一点，小生粗一点，老生还要阔一点。”

In bitter cold or scorching heat, Qu always wears the same outfit and gives her everything on stage in Xiuzhen Taoist Temple in Wuzhen. Electric fans help keep sunstroke at bay in summer, but in winter there's no hiding from the biting wind. She rented a room within a walking distance from the performance venue right after she arrived in Wuzhen, much like rising starlets chasing after their dreams far away from home.

不论严寒酷暑，屈娟如都穿着一样的戏服，在修真观的古戏台摆着身段，娓娓道来。夏天，舞台上摆着好几台风扇帮她降暑，冬天她就只能在寒风中硬扛着了。到乌镇唱戏后，她在景区附近租了房，每天步行几分钟就能到戏台，开始了和时下的年轻人一样“漂泊”但充实的职业生活。

A diagnosis with intestinal cancer meant she was off the stage for six months, but she returned stronger than ever.

到景区后不久，屈娟如被诊断出肠癌。但做完手术六个月后，她就又回到了舞台上。

"I just like singing opera. There is nothing upsetting about it. I enjoy going up and getting off the stage," she said.

“喜欢唱戏就是喜欢唱戏，没有不高兴的事情，每天奔奔跳跳的挺开心。”

In 2017, she was diagnosed with lupus, an autoimmune disease, yet it didn't stop her from putting on shows.

2017年她又得了红斑狼疮，但这也没让她停止唱戏。

She appears in six rounds of a 30-minute play every day. Even on Chinese New Year's Eve, Qu would be on duty until 2:30 p.m. before heading home for the reunion dinner. On New Year's Day, she is always the first to be ready for the play.

古戏台每天6场戏，半小时一场，日复一日。就算是大年三十，她也要唱到下午两点半，然后才回家吃年夜饭，但初一一早就又出现在舞台上了。

"I can still sing and perform. I'd love to be there, as long as the company needs me. My sons have all tried to persuade me to retire. I could surely let them take care of me. But I prefer to earn my own living. I can totally see the doctors by myself, which is great. Taking money from my sons is the last thing I want," Qu said.

“我唱得响，唱得动，只要公司不叫我回家，我都愿意在这里唱。其实几个儿子生活挺好的，他们让我回家休息，但我唱唱戏自己挣钱，身体有小毛病能自己去看，挺好的，我不想跟儿子讨钞票。”

In the background hangs a couplet that reads: "Gongs and drums may interrupt the sweetest dreams; tunes and scales do spread the heavenly voices." Perhaps Qu sees her opera life indeed as a wonderful dream not to be missed.

屈娟如表演的戏台背后写着：“锣鼓一场，唤醒人间春梦；宫商两音，传来天上神仙。”也许，对她而言，在戏中度过的生命，就像梦一样美好。

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