CHAPTER XVI. AMUSEMENTS AND SPORTS. THE Chinese appear to appreciate the drama quite as much as the more civilized nations of Europe. Their dramatic entertainments appear to be connected in many instances with their idolatrous worship, and in front of the principal temples there are permanent stages upon which the plays are performed at festivals. It is not unusual for sick persons to vow in the presence of certain idols that, should their lives be spared, they will give dramatic entertainments in honour of these deities. To such entertainments the people are of course admitted gratuitously; but no seats are provided for them. There are societies or companies, however, who hire actors and give theatrical representations both to amuse the masses and to make money. Each society must include one or two persons who have taken literary degrees, and each is held responsible for the peace and good order of the spectators. Stage plays are generally acted in large tents, as among the ancient Romans. These tents, made of large bamboo frames covered with matting, are in the form of squares. Three sides of the square are occupied by rows of benches for the spectators. Behind these, immediately in front of the stage, there is a gallery for ladies. There are different classes of seats, and the prices of admission vary accordingly, some of the benches having a rest for the back, and others having none. As theatres are made of bamboo or matting, there is great danger from the displays of firecrackers, which sometimes take place during a performance, as representations of thunder and lightning. In 1844, a large theatre in the vicinity of the literary chancellor's yamun at Canton, caught fire, and, as it was densely crowded with spectators, upwards of two thousand persons perished. Their charred bones were afterwards gathered together and buried in a common grave beyond the north-east gate of the city. A similar accident occurred in a small theatre at Whampoa, in 1853, when thirty persons, chiefly women with small feet, perished. In every large town there are several companies of actors, each consisting of ten, twenty, or a hundred persons. Though they afford much gratification to the people, actors are ranked so low in the social scale, that their children are not allowed to present themselves for literary distinctions, which, of course, prevents them ever attaining to any high position in the state. When boys, they are bought by the conductors of companies and sent to dramatic schools, where they are carefully instructed in all the mysteries of their art. They are very harshly treated at these seminaries, and disobedience is visited with very severe punishment. Should a refractory youth die under the hands of a master, no notice whatever is taken by those whose duty it is to administer justice. A Chinese parent named Lee once called upon me, to ask me to give advice to his son, who, much against his father's wish, was bent on selling himself to the manager of a company. The youth, with whom I had two or three interviews, was deaf to all entreaties, and eventually entered a dramatic school, where I afterwards learned he was very cruelly treated by the man to whom he had deliberately sold himself for a small sum. On visiting the school, I found him engaged in learning the use of the sword and spear, his instructor having settled that the role of a soldier suited him best. The usual period of instruction is one year, at the close of which the youths are expected to take part in any plays which may be performed. They are regarded by their purchasers as little better than beasts of burden, and receive for their services only food and clothing. Their period of servitude, however, lasts only for six years, after which they may claim their discharge. If sufficiently influential, they form companies of their XVI.] ACTORS AND PLAYS. 379 own; otherwise, they engage themselves to managers at a tolerably remunerative salary. As a rule, women are not allowed to appear on the stage. Female parts are well sustained by men, and their presence does not seem required. There are, however, schools in which females, generally of dissolute habits, are instructed for the stage. The usual hire for a company of players is from twenty to one hundred dollars a-day. They are frequently rewarded during the performance of a play by presents of food, such as roast pigs, or offerings of money. I have seen a present of roast pigs carried across the stage by the servants of the donor at the very time the most pathetic part of a play was being performed. The gifts are no sooner received than one of the performers not engaged in the play attires himself as a deity, and, coming before the audience with a graceful salutation, unfolds a scroll with an inscription in large characters expressive of the thanks of the company for the presents received. These substantial expressions of approbation may remind the reader of the corollarium, or reward given to actors amongst the ancient Romans. The plays which appear to be the most popular, are those which relate to the history of ancient times, for, like most of the plays of the immortal Shakespere, the productions of the dramatic writers of China are in a great measure historical. The leading principles inculcated are those of loyalty to the throne, filial piety, and entire devotion to the gods of the land. Generally they exalt virtue and condemn vice. What refers to the vices of the age is clothed in very unchaste language, and the acting is attended with coarse and sometimes indecent gesticulation. Performances are accompanied by vocal and instrumental music, the musicians being arranged on the background of the stage. There is no curtain, and the movements of the scene-shifters are witnessed by the spectators. The dresses of the actors are generally of the most elegant and costly description, especially in the theatrical companies of the southern provinces. In 1861, at Whampoa I witnessed a play the plot of which was laid in the Sung dynasty, that is, about five hundred years ago. Its purport was to set before the minds of the people the great advantages and blessings which attend the exercise of filial piety, an addiction to literary pursuits, and entire devotion to the gods. Let me give the following résumé of the play: A youth, named Laee Mung-ching, though born in a humble station in life, was conspicuous alike for his filial piety and studious habits. When his parents were old and no longer able to labour for the common necessaries of life, he resorted daily to a Buddhist monastery, to beg the crumbs which fell from the table of the monks. The monks, at last growing weary of his repeated importunities, told him to discontinue his visits, and presented him with a small sum of money as a parting gift. With this he purchased a small quantity of rice and a bundle of firewood. On his way home he was attacked by a large dog, and in his terror dropped the rice, which was quickly devoured by some fowls. Upon his return home, he related his disaster to his parents, who at the time were perishing with hunger. Eventually they died of starvation, and, in order to obtain funds for the decent interment of their remains, the son was constrained to sell his wife. As he sallied forth with her having this object in view, an aged man chanced to pass that way, whom he accosted. The old man entered into conversation with him, and, hearing his tale, agreed to become the purchaser of his wife. Returning home with her newly-acquired husband, the bride did not dream of the good fortune which was about to befall her former lord. But his filial piety, and the numerous though very small pecuniary offerings which his parents had made in their lifetime to funds established for the repair and erection of temples, were not forgotten by the gods. In the course of a conversation the aged man informed her that he was formerly the head of the Buddhist priesthood, and that he resided in that capacity, for many years, in a temple which had been erected and endowed by the ancestors. of the very man whose wife she had recently been. These words were no sooner uttered, than he ascended towards the heavens, passing out of sight. The poor woman was greatly alarmed, and concluded that the person with whom she had been conversing was an angel. She retraced her steps, and had not gone far, before she met her sorrowing husband. He was surprised XVI.] ACTORS AND PLAYS. 381 at her unexpected return, and still more so when she related what she had just witnessed. They resolved, however, to hasten home, to expend the money they had acquired, in the due celebration of the obsequies of their parents. When they had reached the threshold of their cottage, they found their parents restored to life, and surrounded by every comfort. Their good fortune did not stop here. Possessing great abilities, the young man soon made himself master of the classics, and eventually succeeded in attaining the highest literary distinctions, and the most important political positions of the empire. Chinese plays are of great length, and not unfrequently take up three days and nights in acting. Besides theatrical representations on the part of professional performers, families of respectability frequently amuse themselves by private theatricals. Amateur companies are formed by young gentlemen, many of whom display great dramatic power. These entertainments take place in the large family residences, and are seldom witnessed by Europeans, excepting, of course, by those who have succeeded in becoming well acquainted with native families of wealth and respectability. With the view of preventing actors from performing obscene plays in Canton, the following edict was issued by Wong, the Provincial Treasurer : "I, Wong, Provincial Treasurer, hear that the people of Canton are exceedingly fond of dramatic representations. Why? Because they deem it necessary when worshipping the gods to render them all honour by having dramatic representations. Theatres are, therefore, a source of much rejoicing to the people, and to prevent such things there are of course no laws. It is, however, very necessary that plays should be performed which have a tendency to cause men to worship the gods, to make them true and faithful to the throne, and dutiful to their parents. To represent on the stage lewd plays, is the surest way to destroy morality. Many of the gentry are greatly shocked to find that such plays are not unfrequently performed, and they at the same time state, that in the performance of such plays, actresses usually take parts. They have, therefore, called upon me to put a stop to such obscenities. I therefore command all managers of theatres to take care that, in future, such abominations be not tolerated. I inform them further that should they |