Epitomizing the Poignancy in Poetry and Cantonese Opera: “The Heartbreaking Poetry” of Zhu Shuzhen

Abstract

The notions of grief and poignancy are pervasive across the spectrum of classical Chinese literary tradition and in Chinese opera, which draws heavily on its literary counterpart. This phenomenon is due to the fact that tragic folk tales cause eternal grief in the minds of the public. Indeed, audiences tend to identify with the melancholy inherent in operatic genres, compounded by theatrical effects and other performance elements. “The Heartbreaking Poetry” 斷腸詞 [Duanchang ci] by Zhu Shuzhen 朱淑真 (1135?–1180?), a Chinese poetess of the Song dynasty, clearly illustrates its author’s painful and poignant emotional transformation following an unsuitable choice of husband, a widespread idea hinted in her poems. Two Cantonese opera songs of the same title, “The Heartbreaking Poetry,” (a solo and a duet) and another titled “Tears upon Remnant Lamp Wax” 燈花淚 [Denghua lei], help to convey the tragic short life of the persona illustrated in these sources. Referring to the title of Zhu’s poetry collection, “The Heartbreaking Poetry,” an intimate relationship between the collection and the corresponding Cantonese opera songs is evident. In this context, the persona’s extremely poignant lament is reinforced by the delicate poetic features and specific arrangements of the operatic structure carried out by the multi-layered juxtaposition of the two genres. The respective translated versions from Chinese to English are included for comparison and discussion in this chapter, as to epitomize the relationship of the melancholic representations between the two genres.