The bones of a good story

Lu Xun (1881-1936), whose real name was Zhou Shuren, was known for his versatility as a short story writer, essayist, literary critic and editor.

Resurrection of the Skeleton, the final story in the writer's collection of rewritings of ancient myths Gushi Xinbian, or Old Tales Retold, which was published in 1936, is rare among his works, as it is written as a play.

On Dec 20, a Chinese chamber opera, titled Rising From the Dead, which was inspired by Resurrection of the Skeleton and composed by Wen Deqing, premiered in Beijing.

Directed by Yi Liming, the chamber opera depicts the cycle of life and death.

It tells the story of the philosopher Zhuangzi of the Warring States period (475-221 BC), who is invited to visit the ruler of Chu State and has been on the road for many days. As he passes through an area of wilderness, he discovers a skull, and decides to bring it back to life. When he calls upon the Master of Fate, ghosts warn him of the consequences, but Zhuangzi insists. The resurrected skeleton comes back to life as a naked peasant, who is lost and confused by the questions asked by Zhuangzi, such as where he came from and which year he lived in. All the peasant wants is clothes to cover his nakedness and money to return home. Zhuangzi tries to scare him off by invoking his reputation, but the peasant has never heard of him. When the peasant attacks him, Zhuangzi pulls out a whistle, and an officer of the law comes to his aid.

According to Wen, the chamber opera is an expanded adaption of Lu Xun's Resurrection of the Skeleton and Zhuangzi's parable Zhile, or Perfect Enjoyment. The time and space of the original work has been extended into the modern era in the opera, with the second act, which is titled Return as a Skeleton, added to the original plot. While Zhuangzi's dream of resurrecting the skeleton is "fulfilled" in Lu Xun's version, in this opera the resurrected peasant becomes a skeleton again.

"I am very interested in the Taoist philosopher Zhuangzi and his philosophy has profound, and far-reaching influence on Chinese literature and art," says Wen. "The story of Resurrection of the Skeleton and how Lu Xun reimagined it intrigued me. The embarrassment of the gap between the enlightened and the ignorant, as well as the contradiction and conflict between ideals and reality, remains, and will always be, unresolved."

With satire and elements from the modern world, such as mobile phones, the opera brings a sense of humor, appealing to a contemporary audience, especially young people.

It took Wen about a month to write the script and over a year to compose the opera. As the closing production of the First Beijing Chamber Opera Festival, which was initiated by Yi, a veteran director, lighting and set designer, the opera features a 14-member orchestra playing under the baton of conductor Dong Chao.

"I am 65 years old and it's an age to consider life and death," says Wen when asked why he decided to adapt the story into an opera.

He also notes that Rising From the Dead is his second attempt to explore a philosophical subject. His debut opera, titled The Wager, which premiered 20 years ago, was based on the novel, A Gamble on a Snowy Night, by Gao Xiaosheng, which recounts a bet between a squire and a beggar on New Year's Eve.

Born in a small village of Fujian province, Wen studied erhu (a two-stringed bowed musical instrument) as a child. He began composing in the late 1970s. In 1987, he went to Beijing to study composition at the China Conservatory of Music, and his teachers included Luo Zhongrong (1924-2021) — an influential composer of modern music. In 1993, Wen began to study at the Conservatory of Geneva, Switzerland, as well as gaining more experience studying in France and the United States.

In 2017, he returned to China and joined the faculty of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where he founded an annual modern music festival.

"Though it's a small-budget opera production, the audience get a glimpse of chamber opera, which is still new in the market," Wen says.

The costumes for the opera, which is contemporary, pioneering and breaks boundaries of cultures, was created by Yi.

Back in 2020, Yi established the Dahua City Art Theatre, which is located near the Chang'an Avenue in Beijing.

From October to December, it held the First Beijing Chamber Opera Festival, which featured eight chamber opera productions, including the opening presentation The Death of Oedipus, composed by Qu Xiaosong and directed by Yi, on Oct 6.

"Dahua City Art Theatre, unlike other venues for opera productions, is much smaller. However, it offers a sense of intimacy for the audience," says Yi, adding that the venue is located in the hutong area of nearby Dongdan, which has a large flow of people, making it easier to entice them to come inside and experience theater.

Yi also notes that the architectural design of the auditorium was inspired by the ancient Greek open-air amphitheaters, where the public could watch performances by sitting close to the stage.