Saturday evening I was at the food court at People’s Park Centre for dinner. After dinner my friends remained behind for other activities. I went to develop some photos using the auto-printing machine at one of the shops. Then I intended to visit some vcd shops in the vicinity.
On the way I met a friend. I asked if she was going for a show. No, she said, going to attend singing class. I didn’t know she had class on Saturday. So I asked how many singing classes she had in a week. Three, she said. I don’t know if they include opera class. How come she not tired, I thought – she has to go to work early in the morning and works till 5 or 6pm (off on Saturday) and she got family chore to do.
Went to the vcd shop on the first level at the end of Smith Street. This shop is always crowded. There is a wide range of vcds and dvds. Spent some time looking but bought nothing. Then went to Chinatown Food Centre to eat Chee Cheung Fun. This stall is also always crowded.
I walked down to Chinatown Square, just in time to see the last few minutes of a Pekin Opera performance by the Pei Yen Ling Opera Arts Troupe. It was just past 9pm. The last minutes were all fighting and acrobatics – there were the monkey king, 4 little monkeys, 2 painted faces, a prawn soldier, a turtle soldier and a ‘dan’ (female artiste). The audience liked the turtle with his cute face and comical actions. Here are 2 pictures I took when they were ‘undressing’.
This is the 'dan', behind her is the Prawn.
This is the Turtle.
"Welcome to frannxis' home
I'm his page boy, Zhen Zhen."
Hi Amai, recognize me?
It was the last night for the Zhangzhou City Xiang Opera Troupe. They performed for 17 nights. It must have been quite exhausting for them. It would be nice if the organizers had put a rest day in between.
It was full-house tonight. I came early as I expected more people. The hall was already half-filled. At the row in front of me a woman was showing her neighbours a stack of photos of ZZ opera artistes. Like a busybody, I went forward and asked to see some. She said 1 for 50 cents. Oh, she was selling them. I looked through and bought two.
Later everyone in the audience was given a little red bag with two mandarin oranges. I ate one. The orange was easy to peel and very sweet.
Before every performance, there was a simple ceremony. A lady in opera costume came to the edge of the stage and a man below handed her some oranges and other things. She squatted down to receive them, stood up and made a few bows before walking backstage.
The opera was one I have seen before. It didn’t matter much. There was one stunt I have not seen performed in cantonese opera before. This actor wanted to kneel down to apologize to his wife. But he did not kneel the way you and I would do. He jumped high into the air, bent his knees and then landed with both knees hitting the hard wooden floor with a loud thud. I thought it was quite dangerous - very painful and might dislocate his knees.
Just before the last scene Lin Xiuzhen came on stage and gave a short speech thanking the audience.
After the show the artistes and some other troupe members gathered on stage for a photography session. Then it was photography time for the fans. It was a joyous occasion for everyone. I took a few photos and then sat down to watch others taking pictures. Zhang Yaling, Xiuzhen and ‘The Twins’ all were smiling happily taking photos with their fans. I felt happy for them too.
I sounded like a Xiang opera fan now. Hahaha…
The empty opera stage.... what emotions does it evoke in you?
Miko : "人去楼空"
Amai : "曲終人散"
bye-bye!
To Paya Lebar, To see opera, La la la la
Lebar rhymes with opera, hee hee!
Tonight – a short opera and a few excerpts
The two leading artistes were not performing. It looks like the second-generation artistes are a talented lot whether in acting or singing and the stars are the female artistes.
They are Pang Jin Lian, a female Ghost, a Woman Warrior and the Spiderwoman in the excerpt The Cave of the Silken Web.
Pang Jin Lian manipulated her extra-long water sleeves with much grace and beauty which was a joy to watch. The Ghost executed several difficult operatic moves and stunts. The Woman Warrior and the Spiderwoman displayed some excellent martial and acrobatic skills.
The first time I saw Lin Xiuzhen perform and she was a ghost! But a pretty and graceful one, hahaha.
The short opera was about an unfilial son. Though comical I feel this opera drags a bit and is unconvincing. One moment the son behaved as if his mother was nonexistence and the next moment, out of sudden realization, he became very filial.
This is the actress who played the adulterous Pang Jin Lian. Actually I had no intention of taking her photo. When I walked out after the show, a crowd was mingling outside trying to peep into transparent door of the makeup room. Maybe they were waiting for their idols to come out. Then I saw this actress signing autographs and chatting with her fans. So I just took out the camera and click!
Friday. After dinner at Circuit Road I walked to Seng Ong temple. It took about 20 minutes. The temple was a hive of activity. Some people were praying and some were viewing the exhibits. Tens of tables had been laid in the courtyard as there would be a feast for temple devotees. The caterers were preparing the dishes and roasting some piglets in the compound.
The opera was a comedy and much of the music was very chirpy. The story goes like this. A princess swooned over a young handsome man who was actually a lady in disguise and wanted to make her the prince-consort. Then a real handsome man appeared and the princess also swooned over him and decided to make this man the prince-consort instead. When she asked for his identity, the lady’s maid, also disguised as a man, tricked the princess and gave her the identity of a very ugly man. And so weaved a story of coincidence, mistaken identity and comical errors.
The opera is entertaining. Scenes 2 and 3 were hilarious as the court officials and then the emperor, the empress and the princess herself got to see the face of the ugly man. Also another scene in which the half-drunk princess mistakenly took the ugly man to bed.
Anyway, a happy ending. Despite her reluctance and resistance, the willful princess married the ugly man. The beautiful lady got the handsome man.
I only know the beautiful lady and the handsome man, but not the princess or the ugly man. I also can’t recognize Lin Xiu Zhen even if she was in the cast.
I just watched a Hong Kong drama serial. In this episode, a lawyer (a character in the story) said that it was an offence in HK to utter vulgarities in a public place; and the more public and international a place was, the more serious the offence.
This brought me back to last December. We were waiting in a holding area in Hong Kong International Airport waiting for a Jetstar flight back to Singapore. A group of male airport employees were not far away near the wall talking among themselves. Suddenly one of them uttered quite loudly a four-word Cantonese phrase ‘dew ……’ It means screw your mother. Later we heard another 4-word phrase also starting with ‘dew’. I did not know what it meant. Neither did my friend who is a Cantonese.
I don’t know if these words are vulgar under HK laws but certainly this incident didn’t give a good image of HK.
Last Saturday, I attended a Cantonese opera excerpt performance at the Esplanade Recital Studio. There were a number of foreigners, several of whom indicated that it was their first time watching a Chinese opera.
There was a pre-performance talk on Chinese opera by Mr Leslie Wong, chairman of Chinese Theatre Circle.
One point mentioned by Mr Wong was that was that you can still appreciate Chinese opera even if you do not know the language or dialect. Quite true.
But, I feel that in this case your appreciation is not complete and your enjoyment is limited. You would miss out on the beauty of the language or dialect, the poems and songs, the metaphors, the humour,…. You can only appreciate visual parts - the gestures and movements, dances - and maybe the music.
Subtitles only help you to follow the story line. The subtleties of the language are lost in the translation.
I am sure a Chinese opera lover would feel the joy and exhilaration when a good song is well sung by a competent artiste. Would someone not knowing the language have such emotions?
I think the decades-old no-dialects policy is bad for Chinese opera. It makes it difficult for Chinese opera groups to recruit youths to train as opera artistes. It is also hard to increase the pools of Chinese opera fans
KIDS' PERFORMANCE
One of the excepts was performed by a group of 12 children from the Chinese Theatre Circle’s Children’s Opera Class. They performed an excerpt from Madam White Snake – Stealing the Magic Herb.
They looked cute in their costumes and slight makeup. It was quite funny watching the younger ones tottering around the floor and the older one trying nervously to recite their lines. And there was one kid dressed as an elderly saint complete with a long white beard.
Considering their young age, short training period and lack of performing experience, they performed creditably.
Unfortunately, taking photos is not allowed.
Hope the kids’ interest in Chinese opera can be sustained when they enter secondary school and later.
These two shops in Hong Kong specialize in fish porridge though they also sell beef and pork porridges as well as ‘see yau lor mee’, ‘fun cheong’, ‘yau char kuai’ etc. They have porridge with fish mouth, fish bone, fish slices and other parts of the fish…. I prefer the yu larm chook. I like the thick chunks of fish that come with the porridge.
If you want plain porridge (but chook in cantonese), you must tell them not to add anything. Otherwise they will give you porridge with salt, monosodium glutamate and whatever spices they normally use.
The eateries are in the Jordan area; one is in Ning Po Street and one is in Woosung Street. There is another one in Woosung Street. All three are within one minute’s walk from each other.
I would say ‘wanton mee’ is the most common hawker food in Hong Kong. I read about one wanton mee shop in Leonard’s blog (http://leonardpng.blogspot.com) and decided to try it. It is in Hau Fook Street in Tsim Sha Tsui. The mee came with big shrimp-filled wantons. There were no char siew. I think they only have the soup version, not the dried version. The wantons were good but not outstanding. I also tried their octopus balls (mak yu yuen in Cantonese). I think they were better than the wantons.
I think we in Singapore have a wider variety of food. It is difficult to find char kuay teow, laksa, prawn mee, fish-head meehoon or mee rubus in Hong Kong. Our chicken rice tastes better too. I also prefer our wanton mee to Hong Kong’s. 
Will be going to an Asian country for holiday in December.
At first I was a little worried about bird flu. But then I thought:
The present situation (bird flu) may continue as it is for weeks or months. After that if the situation improves and the threat diminishes, then well and good. On the other hand, if the situation gets worse and the epidemic starts with human to human transmission, then you cannot go anywhere for years. So this is not a bad time to travel if you have been planning to do so.
Furthermore, the risk is very low if you are not living in a farm with a lot of fowl.
Nonetheless, precautions should be taken like eating well-cooked poultry and eggs. Personal hygiene should also be taken seriously.
I have been reading the blogs of some friends. They wrote nostalgically about their old schools and school days. I learnt that the motto of Braddell Rise School was B.R.S – Be Ready to Serve. The motto seems more apt for a service or sales personnel training school. The school is no more in existence.
I was prompted to look up the mottos of my old schools. The primary schools I studied in are not around anymore. Anyway I don’t think they have any mottos and I don’t remember wearing any school badges.
I looked up the crests and mottos of some well-established secondary schools. My two favourite mottos are in Latin. I think these two fit nicely into our Nation’s philosophies.
1. Nil Sine Labore meaning Nothing without Labour
Whether you want to increase your income, see your investments grow, do well in your studies or get rid of mosquitoes in your compound you have to work for it or put in the effort.
The government will help you if you help yourself; don’t just sit down and expect handouts.
MM Lee Kuan Yew said the world does not owe us a living. We have to work hard for our survival.
2. Facta Non Verba meaning Deeds (or Actions) not Words
Employers look for results and track records not at what you say.
You cannot achieve your dreams by just talking, do something.
Our country is also remembered internationally by our deeds and actions:- We caned Michael Fay, we banned chewing gum, we hang drug traffickers, we sent aids to countries hit by natural disasters, PM Lee Hsien Loong visited Taiwan.
My favourite crest is the green round one in the above picture. It has a picture of Leonardo da Vinci – scientist, inventor and artist. The motto is again in Latin - Diligentia, Ingenium, Dexteritas (Diligence, Ingenuity, Dexterity).
Bought a box of persimmons at Fairprice for $5.80 and the next day Fairprice had it on offer at $4.80. This type of thing happened before and each time I used to scold myself for buying the thing too early. But then who knows. So, I find this proverb ‘What is done cannot be undone’ very appropriate and consoling.
Earlier in the year someone I know bought a return air-ticket to Hong Kong from a budget Airline at the normal price. Then soon after, the airline had a promotional offer to Hong Kong – the price was several tens of dollars less and it covered the travel period of this person. He was sore at the Airline.
‘What is done cannot be undone’. There is no point brooding over it; otherwise you make yourself unhappy.
Similarly, if you had said or done something that offended your friend, see what you can do to repair the damage rather than brood over it.
This proverb also reminds us to think before we act.
This is Long Koon Tin, the artiste from Hong Kong who takes on the lead male roles in the 14 night shows and in the Saturday and Sunday matinees.
At Kreta Ayer Peoples’ Theatre (4 nights full-length operas and 2 nights opera excerpts)
I watched Ngai Wai Yeng’s troupe during her previous two performing trips in Singapore. At that time she was partnering Leong Yew On. She rarely forgot or omitted a single word let alone forgot her lyric.
So it was most unlike her forgetting her lyrics several times in her performances this time round. I think it was more obvious in the second and third nights. She only performed three full-length operas.
The leading female role in another full-length opera was Tsui Yook Mui. Three of these operas were new comedies. I think they have not been performed here before.
The operas excerpts, which were replacements for a full-length opera, on the last night were only so-so with the exception of the excerpt from Xi Shi. Ngai Wai Ying was the beauty Xi Shi. Here we saw Wai Yeng at her usual self with masterful singing and fine acting.
Xi Shi was the originally scheduled opera.
The opera excerpts on the 4th night were generally more enjoyable and better performed than those on the last night. I felt that the fighting part in the excerpt ‘The eight Immortals’ stretched a bit too long.
Lai Chun Seng has certainly improved. He performed consistently well. The previous occasions I saw him were at two fund-raising shows and the opera Hua Yue Ying two years back.
Suen Yip Hong is great asset to any opera troupe. Rotund and with a smiling-Buddha face, he is a first-rate comedian. Nevertheless, he performs other roles adeptly too. Surprisingly, he could do somersaults and jump and sit on a table with ease – not something you expect from someone at his age (I think he is in his late forties.) and with his body shape.
Another comedian worthy of mention is Chan Wing Hong. He has excellent rapport with Suen Yip Hong.
I think Tsui Yook Mui and Ng Wun Fei are two ‘hua dans’ with good potentials.
Ng Fei Fan (the leading hua dan in the excerpts Mook Kwai Ying and The Eight Immortals crossing the Sea) and Lo Yue Ling ( the hua dan in the excerpts But Long Kuan and Wang Zhao Jun) ) did their martial parts well but their singings need a lot more effort.
At the Esplanade Theatre
‘Rui Wang and Zhuang Fei’ and ‘Hua Yue Ying’ (Shadow of Flowers in the Moonlight) were the two operas at the Esplanade Theatre. One is a historical piece with the Qing Court as the story background; another is a new-style opera about the tragic love story between a female opera artiste in ancient China and a high-ranking state official.
Fortunately Wai Ying did not forget her lyric.
‘Rui Wang’ is an interesting opera but is not the type that would hold your attention from beginning to end.
‘Shadow’ is more entertaining. There are poetic sceneries, sentimental music, melodious songs and creative dances. My original comments still apply:
“It is a beautiful and entertaining opera. Though innovative, it has enough traditional CO elements and flavour to make regular CO fans happy. In fact they will find it a refreshing change and those new to CO will like it as well. Perhaps it illustrates that despite innovation and modernization, CO is still enjoyable.”
My first car was a second-hand. My father subsidized my down payment and I paid the monthly installments. Years later I thought of buying a new car. I kept a record of my daily expenditure for three months, recording every cent spent. Then I did the estimations – installments, parking, insurance, road taxes, servicing and repairs, petrol. I found I could afford it. Another three months later I booked the new car.
The car serves me faithfully. No breakdowns, no problems, all within my budget.
Now every friend tells me this is a good time to get a new car.
Nowadays, whenever I want to buy an expensive item I will think, rethink, wait and rethink again. Do I really need it or want it?
Of course ‘expensive’ is relative to one’s income and assets.
Not long ago, there were offers at a superstore. I wanted to buy an electric rice cooker which can also cook porridge. I already have one at home. It cooks rice but could not keep the rice warm. The new cooker was not expensive. I bought it.
Last week I went to the Polyclinic for a minor ailment. Mid-afternoon, weekday. Took a queue number and waited for about 10 minutes at the registration. When my turn came I requested for my regular doctor – a young petite lady with her short hair tied in a ponytail. I feel she has the doctor look. She has been seeing me for at least 2 years.
Waited more than one hour outside her consultation room. During this time more than ten patients went in and out of her room.
During my session, a new doctor next door came over and asked her for advice. She went over for a brief minute or two.
My ailment was nothing serious. She prescribed me some medication.
Then I asked her whether she attended to about 80 patients a day. My guess was not far off – she said she saw 78 patients the day before. I mentioned that she must be tired and frustrated seeing so many patients. She said it was tiring but her greatest frustration was with difficult patients. I sympathize with her as myself has often dealt with difficult people. I just told her to cheer up and not to be too bothered with them.
While writing this I thought I could have told her that there are also many people with great respect for doctors. I am one of them.
At last month's Asia-Africa conference held in Indonesia, Japanese prime minister made a public apology to the nations which had suffered under Japan’s aggression.
Japan has apologized several times over the years. Is Japan sincere?
Consider the following.
In fact the Japanese Government had never admitted that Asian women were forced to be ‘comfort women’ (sex slaves) until a UN Commission released a report which confirmed the truth. Still some Japanese officials claimed that the women became prostitutes in order to earn quick money!
Similarly, the JG never admitted to capturing thousands of civilians for slave labour, subjecting them to degrading treatment, torture and senseless killing.
The JG has also remained silent on the most notorious war crime committed by Unit 731 which carried out hideous biological and chemical experiments with live prisoners.
The Japanese PM’s annual visit to the Yasukuni Shrine which honours the war dead including 14 Class A war criminals. The Shrine is regarded by Asian nations as a monument to Japanese militarism.
The most recent issue: The approval of a textbook that distorts and waters down Japan’s war atrocities. Some recent books do not even mention the issues of comfort women and forced labour and in many new history textbooks the horrendous Nanking Massacre in which hundreds of thousands of civilians were butchered is merely referred to as the Nanjing Incident.
It seems that Japan still believes that it has done no wrong or that it does not want to confess its guilt and redress the situation. What is the point of apologizing if it is not followed by deeds.
Against such a backdrop, the recent anti-Japan demonstrations in China and South Korea should not be seen as narrow-minded nationalism.
Latest: It was reported today (27/05/05) that a Japanese lawmaker said that those convicted in the Tokyo War Crime Trial were not considered criminals in Japan and that there was nothing wrong in honouring them.
The Guangdong Academy of Cantonese Opera Youth Troupe exudes vigour and vitality. Many artistes are in their early twenties with some in the late teens. The most outstanding artiste is Zeng Xiao Min. She excels whether as a warrior or a maiden.
The operas:
The Invincible Wu Song
Zeng Xiao Min as Pang Jin Lian and Peng Qing Hua as Wu Song. In this version Pang Jin Lian was not portrayed as the adulteress who poisoned her husband but as a woman who was taken advantage of when she was drunk. She did not ask her husband to drink the poisoned wine but she did not stop him when he wanted to drink it not knowing it has been poisoned.
I felt that the storyline was rather disappointing. The most exciting scene was the last scene in which Peng Qing Hua showed his excellent martial and acrobatic skills.
The Magic Pearl
A love story between a heavenly being and an earthly man. In the battle scene Zeng Xiao Min displayed superb martial skills and techniques. One of her signature move was six continuous 360 degrees complete body twists. It was a delight to watch her. Another skill she has mastered was the warding off of spears thrown to her with different parts of the body and in various positions. Xiao Min has a good voice and sings well too.
The Sword of Betrothal
In this opera Peng Qing Hua was the bad guy. I think he was quite successful in this role though his portrayal of the cunning character was not as convincing as the Cantonese film actor Sek Kin or Keong Chung Peng in the old Cantonese films.
The Monkey King and Princess Iron Fan
I think this is the most entertaining opera. This would be a good opera to attract the young or to promote opera in schools – a good fairy tale with humour and great acrobatics. Unfortunately we do not have artistes like Peng Qing Wah or Zeng Xiao Min.
It was a fantastic show by Peng Qing Hua. One highlight was Peng jumping through a row of eight hoops held shoulder-high. Another was his rotating of the monkey king’s golden rod with his hand at amazing speed. His toying of his rod, a knife, a hoop and a hammer and sometimes all items at the same time delighted the audience, particularly the children.
Opera Excerpts
The following two opera excerpts were refreshing and enjoyable. One reason I believe was that they have not been performed here before. Another reason was that the artistes performed well.
1. ‘Compelling a Nephew to go and take The Imperial Exam’ was a hilarious excerpt. Wen Ru Qing played the main scholar who was reluctant to go for the exam because he was in love with a nun. He sang well.
2. ‘Strange encounter’ was about a female ghost asking a man to help her seek justice. Liang Xiao Ying played the ghost. Her singing was melodious and pleasing.
Another excerpt, 'The Assassin', was an experimental piece of modern opera by the Youth Troupe. The fighting part was like what you see in kung-fu movies complete with computer-generated sound effects. I wonder what Cantonese opera traditionalists think of it.
CTC artiste Joanna Wong did not perform the excerpt with Ting Fan as scheduled in the programme. I think she felt out of place in a night dominated by young performers.
