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Solving a classic dilemma
2020-09-30 
Li Zhe, one of the four young Peking Opera performers playing the role of Sun Wukong in the Peking Opera film, Havoc in Heaven.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Older generations around the world share at least one common concern: How to get younger people, hooked on their electronic gadgets, interested in classic literature. Take the Monkey King, or Sun Wukong, as an example. The protagonist in the 16th-century classic novel, Journey to the West, is a romantic figure of bravery and adventure that had enthralled millions of readers prior to the appearance of online attractions.

Havoc in Heaven, a Peking Opera film released on Sept 18, may attract the wider public to the glamour of the traditional Chinese performance art, featuring one of the best-known chapters from Journey to the West.

This remake, which is presented by Fujian Film Studio and Fujian Peking Opera Theater, is an eagerly anticipated highlight of a national project initiated in 2011 targeting Peking Opera films, and is, so far, the only production focusing on martial arts in the repertoire, according to Cheng Lu, director of the film.

"It's a big challenge to combine Peking Opera and film, each of which has its own rhythm," Cheng says in an interview with China Daily. "Havoc in Heaven includes nearly all the key ingredients of Peking Opera: It covers all the basic techniques, more than 10 classic tunes, and makeup for dozens of facial representations of different figures' characteristics.

"If we can use a fresh approach to present the traditional art form, it may create a new channel to promote Peking Opera."

Cheng grew up in a Peking Opera family and used to be a performer at the Fujian Peking Opera Theater which staged classic pieces, such as Havoc in Heaven. He later switched to work as a director for other genres of films and TV, but his deep affection for the traditional art form never diminished.

"My parents used to tell me: 'Love for Peking Opera is like an incurable disease. Once you've got it, you'll never get rid of it,'" he recalls. "I only began to understand what they meant since I came back to direct this film in 2017."

Performers from the Fujian Peking Opera Theater form the heavenly army which battles against the Monkey King in the film.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Balancing act

Every child in China grows up hearing the story recounted in Havoc in Heaven. It is a coming-of-age tale that sees Sun Wukong turn from a carefree character into the great Monkey King. Sun Wukong obtains "golden cudgel", a magical weapon, from the Dragon Palace under the sea, leading the Dragon King to appeal to the heavenly court. Sun Wukong is then enticed to heaven, where a scheme to ambush him is set and he is put into a furnace. However, after burning for 49 days he changes and evolves, until finally breaking free with a glaring pair of "gold-gaze fiery eyes". The climax of the tale begins with the birth of the Monkey King and ends with his heroic victory over the troops of the heavenly army.

Havoc in Heaven has become a key production in the classic Peking Opera repertoire since the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The new film follows the script and performance formats of the 1950s, when Havoc in Heaven became hugely popular on stage, turning Sun Wukong from a previously laid-back youngster into an untamed hero.

Decades later, one challenge that Cheng and his production team face is how to balance the new approach with maintaining the fundamentals of the art.

"The basic principles and performance skills in Peking Opera cannot be changed," he says.

For example, performance in Peking Opera often emphasizes symbolism over the accurate portrayal of motion. There are never real horses on the stage, and the film reflects that. And when Sun Wukong "eats "peaches, he merely mimics the action of eating without taking a bite.

Some background images on stage, like the painted waterfall, remain, and a live band was on set to provide a soundtrack for the film, rather than overdubbing prerecorded music.

"If we change the traditions to cater to people's taste and preference for a regular film, it will no longer be a Peking Opera piece of art," Cheng explains.

On the other hand, some creativity is needed because Cheng and his team don't just want to document a stage performance.

For instance, four young actors play the role of Sun Wukong in different parts in the film. According to Cheng, this is to fully display each performer's expertise, in martial arts, dialogue, dancing or singing.

To facilitate a more film-like rhythmic flow, Cheng cut some interludes that are typical to the stage performances and uses montages to move the story along. Computer-generated imagery is also applied in a restrained way to achieve some visual effects and to realize impossible scenes, such as explosions or the heavenly court floating in the clouds-things which, as a stage performance, rely solely on the viewers' imagination.

Also, close-ups and slow motion scenes in the film leave no room for actors to make the slightest mistake in front of cameras, such as those that would probably go unnoticed in an opera house.

Director Cheng Lu instructs a performer on-site producing the film in Fujian province.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Fighting for attention

For Zhan Lei, 37, one of the four actors playing Sun Wukong, taking part in Havoc in Heaven is the realization of a childhood dream.

"You name any line from (the 1986 TV series) Journey to the West, I can tell which episode it comes from," Zhan says. "Because I admire Sun Wukong, I want to be impeccable in the performance."

He used to display the most difficult martial arts skills onstage, but he says production of the film has made him realize that the skills need to fit the "role" to best reflect "the exceptional personality of the cultural icon".

In order to help Zhan and the other young performers achieve this goal, the production team enlisted the help of several veteran Peking Opera actors to guide them and ensure that every detail of their performance was well honed.

The combined effort has paid dividends. Wang Xiaoshuai, a famed film director, said following the film's premiere on Sept 18: "Thanks to the remarkable martial arts scenes, this film will be a new attraction for future generations, possibly drawing more young enthusiasts to Peking Opera."

The traditional art, as Cheng admits, although generally considered as a Chinese cultural treasure, needs to capture the attention of a younger audience, many of whom are distracted by, and diverted to, the myriad other entertainment options available.

[Photo provided to China Daily]

Peking Opera is no stranger to the silver screen. Dingjun Mountain (1905), the first Chinese movie, is a recorded clip of a Peking Opera excerpt. Peking Opera films once played a dominant role in the 1960s and '70s, but its growth was dramatically stunted with the arrival of more diversified entertainment.

Luckily, in recent years, the vintage art of Peking Opera films has, once again, risen in popularity, as noted by screenplay writer Gong Yingtian. In 2015, a national alliance of Peking Opera films was established, giving impetus to the further development of the genre, and many such films have been nominated for domestic film awards.

However, the overuse of special effects in real-life scenarios that can be seen in many film adaptations of Peking Opera plays has destroyed the original charm of the stage performances.

"A way out is to find suitable directors who really appreciate Peking Opera, not to chase after famous directors who made their name in other genres," Gong says. "We cannot sacrifice the imagination (enabled by the stage) for a movie's expression."

In this aspect, Havoc in Heaven may be seen as a good example, according to Liang Hansen, head of the national alliance. "Visual effects meet an expectation of the audience, but the fighting scenes are realistic. That has proved to be the right way to mix the forms of Peking Opera and films effectively, based on a solid concept."

The movie is potentially a turning point, says Rao Shuguang, president of the China Film Critics Association. "To nurture the audience's taste is a long-term project," Rao says. "It will be great if we can breed an interest in younger viewers while better displaying the cultural significance of Peking Opera to the filmgoing public."

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