Study on Sichuan Opera Elements in “Ji Chun Tai”

“Ji Chun Tai” is a collection of Huaben novels written by dissatisfied literati in Zhongjiang of Sichuan Province during the Guangxu Period of the Qing dynasty. It contains a large number of Sichuan Opera elements, which are mainly reflected in its structure and language. The structure of the 40 Huaben novels in “Ji Chun Tai” is divided into five parts, namely, the title, the beginning poem, the forewords, the main body and the ending, which is similar to the structure of the Sichuan Opera—opening words, the spoken parts, the libretto and the exit poetry. The language of “Ji Chun Tai” has many features of Sichuan Opera such as the use of Sichuan dialects, the singing of rhyme and libretto and the popularization of language.

ry-telling. The Huaben novels, produced in recreational venues such as "Goulan" and "Wasi" in the Song Dynasty, is the original used by the story tellers to give performances. Story-telling originated in the Tang Dynasty and prospered in the Song Dynasty [5], and Huaben, as the original of story-telling, has possessed theatrical elements. In "Ji Chun Tai", Huaben novels are written in prose and rhyme, with prose told and rhyme sung, and the combination of the two is also a drama element. Some famous Huaben novels are adapted into Sichuan Operas, which are then moved onto the stage. For example, Sichuan Opera "Lady Du Angrily Sinks her Treasure-Chest" is adapted by Huang Ji'an according to the Huaben novel "Lady Du Angrily Sinks her Treasure-Chest", the 32nd story of "Stories to Caution the World" [6] [7]. Sichuan Opera "The Oil Vendor and the Courtesan" has similar theme and plot with Huaben novel "The Oil Vendor and the Courtesan" [8] [9]. "Correcting Evils Building", a Gao-qiang, is from Li Yu's Huaben novel "Twelve Towers" [10]. In addition, some of the Sichuan Operas are similar to the stories of some Huaben novels in "Ji Chun Tai". For instance, the plots of the famous Sichuan Opera "He Zhu Pei" are similar or almost the same as those in Huaben novel "Two Gold Bracelets in Ji Chun Tai".
The specific discussion can be found in the published article "A Preliminary Research on Sichuan Opera Elements in the Plots of 'Ji Chun Tai'". Therefore, it can be seen from the above that the Huaben novel is inextricably linked to the Sichuan Opera. By studying "Ji Chun Tai", we can found that it has obvious Sichuan Opera elements in its novel structure and language expression. In summary, the relationship between Sichuan Opera and "Ji Chun Tai" is not only reflected in the content, but also the nature of the stage performance. That is, story-telling and singing is the main form of performance for both of them. The relationship between Sichuan Opera and "Ji Chun Tai" just reflects the relationship between Sichuan Opera and Huaben novels. Besides, they also have similarities in script structure and language.

Sichuan Opera Elements in the Structure of "Ji Chun Tai"
The structure of the Sichuan Opera includes "the opening words, the exit poetry, the spoken parts and libretto as well as the ten-word and seven-word rhymes" [11]. The Huaben novel can be divided into six parts, namely "the title, the beginning part, the forewords, the initial story, the main body and the ending" ([1], p. 134). As a representative work of the late period of the Huaben novels, "Ji Chun Tai" basically follows the traditional structure of Huaben novels, including the title, the beginning poem, the forewords, the main body and the ending. In each novel of "Ji Chun Tai", the forewords and the beginning poem are combined, functioning as the opening words in Sichuan Opera. Poems are also used to be the ending, just like the exit poetry in Sichuan Opera. The main part is composed of the spoken part and the rhymes, which is rhyming and poetic just like the Sichuan Opera. Taking the tenth novel "Suffering Losses" of volume two "Heng Ji" in "Ji Chun Tai" as an example, the beginning poem is used as the fo- This is a rhyming verse for individuals. There are also verses in dialogues in "Ji Chun Tai", such as the dialogue between the mother and the daughter in "Xinzhongren (Person in Heart)", the 2nd novel in Volume 3 "Li Ji". For example,

Sichuan Opera Elements in the Language of "Ji Chun Tai"
The language of "Ji Chun Tai" not only features a large number of Sichuan dialects but also highlights verses with some even accounting for one third of the entire story. This is very similar to the language of Sichuan Opera, and thus it has obvious Sichuan Opera elements.

The Frequent Use of Sichuan Dialects
Dialect, the carrier of the culture, is the manifestation of regional culture in language. Sichuan dialects are frequently used in both singing parts and the spoken parts. In fact, the use of local dialects is the feature of all local operas. "Sichuan Opera is so termed, not only because authentic Sichuan dialects are used in the spoken part, but also the pronunciation and rhyming of the tune is also based on Sichuan dialects ( [12], pp. 98-99). "Ji Chun Tai p. 277). In "Dongguanv (Melon Girl)", the third novel of "Yuan Ji", there is "meiren pa datuo xieqian, jiang he jue ma (The matchmaker was afraid of not getting her reward, so she scolded He)" ( [3], p. 39). In the above two cases, "jue" means "scold" and "curse". In "Qiaobaoying (Coincidence Retribution)", the 10 th novel in "Li Ji", there is "weiyou ni beishi ren shuoxie beishi hua, shijian beishi shi" (Only you such unlucky person say some ominous words and come across some unlucky things) ( [3], p. 422), and "weiyou ni zhe beishi laohan (Only you such an unlucky man)" ( [3], p. 423). Here, "beishi" means "bad luck". In "Dongguanv", there is "ni cai moxiang, ni na choufu, beiren yichuanqian ye bu chu lei, zenme deibu jinbu, wo buyao le" (You are really boring. Others don't give it a penny. How dare you ask for more money? I don't want it) ( [3], p. 39).
"moxiang", also called "modexiang" in Sichuan dialect, means boring and uninteresting. In "Yihuci (Moral Tiger Temple)", the 5 th novel in "Yuan Ji", there is vocabulary, there are also many Sichuan dialect lexicons in "Ji Chun Tai", such as "laobiao" mentioned above in "Yihuci". Here is another example in "Fengshenyuan (Extensive Bees)", the 8 th novel in "Li Ji", "zhuan mian lai ma lao shan shi sha yuangu, que ranhe sha wo qi yimingwuhu" (I turned around and asked Shan why he killed my wife) ( [3], p. 536). In Sichuan dialects, "lao" is used not necessarily to refer to those people at old age, but to indicate closeness and intimacy when added before the surname. Such words serving as adverbs also include "bang", "jiao", "xi" and "jing", etc., which are not further illustrated here Zheng gave you to buy a place. Don't be silly. Aren't you afraid that the money might go wrong.)'". Here, "pa" serves as an adverb of tone, not indicating "afraid" but suggesting the rhetorical mood and the sentence pattern of "pa + V". Such Sichuan dialect syntax also includes "mo + V + de hao", "mandian + V", "shi sha + V + dou", "xiang shi + V + yang", "V + de kuai" and so on. Please refer to Wang Yiyu's master's thesis "Ji Chun Tai" for detailed information, which will not be extended here ( [13], pp. 35-37). The contribution of "Ji Chun Tai" and Sichuan Opera to the Sichuan dialect is more reflected in its contents, such as the folk customs, ethical culture and aesthetic cultural of Sichuan. Sichuan Operas are performed in Sichuan dialects. If "Ji Chun Tai" is also read in Sichuan dialects, the same effects can be achieved. This is also one of the manifestations of the Sichuan Opera elements in "Ji Chun Tai".

The Singing Character of the Verses and Rhymes
The roles of high-pitched tune in Sichuan Opera are divided into male role, female roles, painted-face roles, clownish roles and comic roles. Although there is no such detailed role division in "Ji Chun Tai", its verses and antiphonal singing are influenced by the Sichuan Opera. "Sichuan dialect, a distinctive form of cultural expression, features more speaking and less singing, rich regional and life atmosphere and humors, etc., which are also the language highlights of Sichuan Opera." ( [13], pp. 99-100). "More speaking and less singing" is also a major language feature of "Ji Chun Tai". One of its novel "Guorenfeng (Intermittent psychosis)" has the most singing lyrics, accounting for no more than one-third of the content ( [3], pp. 49-64). "Compared with other local dramas, Sichuan Opera has more speaking and less singing." ( [12], p. 100). There is a saying, "Speaking is much weightier than singing", which shows the significance of the , p. 566) This comment just summarizes the linguistic features of "Ji Chun Tai" accurately. "Rhymes and lyrics included" indicates that these rhymes can be read or even sung. "Since the mid of the Qing dynasty, the Huaben novels gradually declined while the folk chants developed rapidly and were popular among people. The author Liu Xingsan may be very familiar with this form of speaking and singing art and apply it into his novel writing of 'Ji Chun Tai'. In the novel, there are a lot of verses and rhymes. Except for the author's narration, the narration of characters is almost all in rhyme, so are the dialogues." [14]. The rhyme sentences in "Ji Chun Tai" are all rhyming, which is very similar to Sichuan Opera lyrics. "A lot of novels in 'Ji Chun Tai' have rhymes and lyrics, some even accounting for one-third of the entire novel. Besides, many dialect characters and typos that have the same or similar sounds are also used." ( [13], p. 3). Rhyme takes up a large proportion in "Ji Chun Tai", which is rarely seen in the existing Huaben novels. Every short novel in this collection contains rhymes, including one-man, two-men and three-men antiphonal singing. The spoken parts are echoing with the libretto in some novels while they conflict with each other in some other novels. As for one-man antiphonal singing, there are many such cases in "Yanvpei (Dumb Woman's Marriage)", the 10th novel in "Yuan Ji". For example, "zhe zhen hai de hun piaomiao, shang xia zuo you wu lu tao. zhi de guidi lai aigao, hai wang shehu ba ming rao…nashi roufei biaoying le, ren ni naqu kao da lao. (I was so scared that the soul just came out of my body. I had no way to flee but to kneel down and beg them to spare my life. How about eating me when I am fat enough?)" ( [3], p. 143). "shi cai yinsi zou yi zhuan, bujue laidao guimenguan…tangruo zai ba gutai xian, si duo diyu shen nan fan.
(Just now, I walked around the Hell. If I still behave as always, I will be stuck in the Hell forever.)" ([3], p. 144) "wei niang jianer chu yuanmen, bujue liangyan lei chang qing…danyuan shen tian jia biyin, zaozao guijia huan menting" (As a mother, I cannot help bursting into tears when seeing my child off. Hopefully, God bless him to come home early and change another job.) ( [3], p. 149). Two-men antiphonal singing can be seen in "Shixinlang (The Dead Groom)", the 7 th novel in "Yuan Ji". For instance, "fu: zheyizhen qide renzhu lei changtang, congwei jian zhe qishi shi le xinlang. qi: wen xinren ye buzhi fu xiang he wang, mobushi hui er nai pa jian poniang…fu: shi zheyang wu xingying dingyou yuanwang, padeshi you jianren zuo le guochang. qi: hai xu yao dao cheng zhong shenci gaozhuang, jiang cishi wen daye ziyouzhuzhang. (Husband: I have never come across such weird thing that the groom disappeared, the thought of which will make one feel angry and sorrowful. Wife: The bride when asked also said that she had no idea where he was. Was he afraid of seeing the wife? …. Husband: the groom may be wrongly accused for his missing. It might be due to the deeds of another evil man. Wife: We need to go to the urban area to claim a complaint and let the judger to settle the suit)" ( [3], pp. 98-99). Another exam- 'Even if I marry, it's not easy for me to give birth to a baby because of old age. So I will never agree.')" ( [3], pp. 122-123). As for the conflict between the spoken parts and the libretto, examples can be seen in "Mainiwan (Sell Mud Pill)", the 9 th novel in "Yuan Ji", such as "dianseng yue: 'wo xiao ni, youxie dian, shifeng muqin tai feiqian. Rensheng tanruo bi fanpian, xu jiang xiao zi diu yibian.' wangcheng yue: 'chanshi shuodao nali qu le, you dao shi: qin en shen si hai, ren zi zui ru shan. Toufa shu de jin, qin en bao bu wan'". (The monk said: "I laughed because of your perseverance. It's so money-costing to take care of your mother. If you would like an easy life, it is destined to abandon 'xiao (be good to the elders)', one of the Chinese moral values." Wang Cheng said: "I cannot agree with you. Parents' benevolence is as deep as the ocean, and children's sin is as high as the mountain. We can count clear the hair but can never repay parents' love.)" ( [3], pp. 132-134). In "Ji Chun Tai", there are five-character rhymes, seven-character rhymes, eight-character rhymes, ten-character rhymes and even miscellaneous rhymes ( [3], p. 55) of which seven-character and ten-character rhymes are the most. Each verse is rhyming, and large numbers of Sichuan dialects are used. "Ji Chun Tai" has more proses than rhymes, which is similar to the Sichuan Opera's "more speaking and less singing". It also shows the influence of Sichuan Opera on "Ji Chun Tai".

Language Popularization
The language of Sichuan Opera features popularization. "What worth mentioning is that the language of Sichuan Opera is also a highlight of its culture. More Tai" and viewers of Sichuan Opera are mostly general public, so it is indispensable to create a relaxed and humorous atmosphere, which can be easily achieved by adopting popular language. Popular language is also more humane in both fiction and drama. Such humane popular words are frequently used in "Ji Chun Tai" with many in above-mentioned examples. There are also popular and humane language in Sichuan Opera. For instance, in "Dajinzhi (Beating the Princess)", when Emperor of the Tang dynasty ordered to untie Guo Ai who had beaten his princess wife, he allowed Guo Ai to "punch and kick". And then he sang gently, "but you need to be gentle" [16]. On the stage, Guo Ai and his father both laughed and the audience smiled relaxingly. Such dignified and humane image of the emperor can touch the heart of the audience and thus satisfy their expectations. The humanized popular language in "Ji Chun Tai" can also achieve the same effect. The language of ancient Chinese novels has always distinguished itself from that of the other genres such as prose and poetry, and its characteristics are popularization, colloquialization, generalization and vulgarization. The language used in "Ji Chun Tai" tends to be popular and even vulgar, which is re-  are frequently used in "Ji Chun Tai", which will not be further illustrated here.

Conclusion
"Sichuan Opera has hundreds of complex tunes, and it is undeniable that it has closer ties with 'yiqiang'. Sichuan Opera is a much more mature local opera, which has a certain scale in terms of singing, speaking and so on. Besides, it is still dynamic and vigorous today, and remains very close to the general public." ( [15], p. 341). Similarly, "Ji Chun Tai", as a Huaben novel collection, has many limitations in terms of literary value, and its values on linguistics, culturology and folklore are to be further excavated. That is, the research on "Ji Chun Tai" should be as dynamic and fresh as Sichuan Operas.