Survival through Laughter: A Fun Gongfu: The Story of the Deer and the Cauldron

Abstract

It was an early evening in late April in 2012 outside the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre (SDAC hereafter) on the Anfu Road. The quiet street (in the pre-1949 French Concession) had become bustling in the evenings since the SDAC had opened its three theatres in this residential area immediately after its establishment in1995. The Story of the Deer and the Cauldron (Lu ding ji premiered in 2008, Deer and Cauldron, hereafter), a theatrical adaptation by Ning Caishen of a famous Chinese gongfu (or Kung Fu) story set in the seventeenth century and the subject of this chapter, was revived again for two weeks after its successful tour in many places. The reopening attracted large audiences including scalpers. Many people saw the production more than once for “a magic gongfu world” (Mu and Liang 2009, p. 42) and “ continuous laughter” from the beginning to the end of the show (Qi 2010). This chapter is to use scene 3 as an exemplar to provide readers with an impression of the play: every aspect is based on a simple concept: haowanr (fun). The scene presents a fight between Wei Xiaobao (the protagonist), the young Kangxi Emperor, and Oboi (one of the four regents and the most powerful military commander).