The Moon Opera

by Bi Feiyu, Howard Goldblatt (Translation), Sylvia Li-Chun Lin (Translation)

In a fit of jealousy, Xiao Yanqiu, star of The Moon Opera, disfigures her understudy with boiling water. Spurned by the troupe, she turns to teaching. Twenty years later The Moon Opera is restaged, under the patronage of a rich local factory boss, who insists that Xiao Yanqiu return to the role of Chang'e. So she does, this time believing she is the immortal moon goddess. Set against the dramatic backdrop of the Peking Opera, this devastating portrait shows the extent to which a desperate woman will flee earthly concerns. 'The reader finds himself easily drawn into the very coded universe of Chinese opera, and experiences a medley of feelings, from curiosity to a growing feeling of scorn, compassion and pity for the heroine ... A real moment of pleasure.' Asia News 'This tiny, perfect novel concerns the hermetic world of traditional Peking Opera. Xiao Yanqi, exquisite star of a cursed piece called The Moon Opera, ruins her career by throwing boiling water in the face of her understudy. Twenty years later, a cigarette factory owner pays for the return of his idol. Wearing the 'water sleeves' of the Moon Goddess tips Xiaou into crazed mourning for her lost youth. There are distant echoes of All About Eve - the young goddess must always usurp the old.' The Times

Genres: China, Fiction, Chinese Literature, Literature, Drama, 21st Century, Literary Fiction

92 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Bi Feiyu, born 1964 in Xinghua, Jiangsu, is a Chinese writer. He is a resident of Nanjing. His name, Feiyu, means "one who flies across the universe".

His works are known for their complex portrayal of the "female psyche." Feiyu's novel The Moon Opera (青衣), translated by Howard Goldblatt, was longlisted for the 2008 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, while Three Sisters (玉米 ，玉秀，玉秧), also translated by Goldblatt, won the 2010 Man Asian Literary Prize. In China, his awards include twice winning the Lu Xun Literary Prize; and the 2011 Mao Dun Prize, the highest national literary award, for Massage. He also wrote the screenplay for Zhang Yimou's 1996 film Shanghai Triad.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bi_Feiyu

Chinese Profile: 毕飞宇

Reviews

[sofka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fenomenalna.

[Katrina Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very different in style from Three Sisters.
I prefer this very much more, and was glad I read Three Sisters before this. I might not have made it through.
A novella, really, it is the story of a vain, tempestuous and wholly insecure woman.
Told so intimately, you might think the author a woman, what with the womanly tantrums, machinations and insecurities.
A joy to read, you want to savour the short work, but some of his philosophical musings do not flow with the narration. However, it is a wholly enjoyable read, which would work for anyone, even those who read on the run.

[Varvara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Сама не ожидала, что так понравится. Обычно подобные истории - не совсем моё, но автор мастерски увлекает за собой и от его таких разных, далеко не благородных героев невозможно отвести взгляд.
Хочется ещё что-нибудь у него почитать.

[Sara XuHerondale · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars
"The Moon Opera", Bi Feiyu
A short, mesmerizing book about opera and art, and how it can posses a hungry soul, searching for her purpose.
In the beginning I didn't think I'd enjoy the book as much as I did (I wasn't the biggest enjoyer of the writing style at first), but halfway through when we started to really get into the art and most gorgeous descriptions, I couldn't put the book down. Xiao Yanqiu's a rather complicated character, and at times I did struggle to understand her actions, but by the ending I understood, especially since one of my all time favorite movies is "Farewell my Concubine". If you're a fan of that movie, this book is a must read.

[Hazy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chinese novella about a Peking Opera singer's slow descent into madness and irrelevance. A good companion book would be Lilian Lee's 'Farewell, My Concubine', which got made into a pretty decent movie.

As a character study, it's alright, although, because of its short length, it probably should've been published in a short-story collection, much like Su Tong's 'Raise the Red Lantern' or Tanizaki's 'Seven Japanese Tales'.

A bit too short and abrupt an ending. Not a bad read, really, but since it's Chinese, you're probably going to have a sour mood afterwards. Read with caution.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Attracted to the novella by its subject: Peking opera. Began it five years ago when living in Beijing for a few months. Towards the end of my stay I went to see traditional theatre almost every weekend. Reading the last few chapters now brought back memories of plays I saw and read. Well translated but narrative itself a bit disappointing.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

3,5/5

This was a very interesting book with good writing, the insight on female psychology is pretty well done, and I enjoyed the cultural aspects we get to learn about the Chinese Opera.

I wish we learned more about Chinese mythology though, without the note from the translator (I read a french translation) I woudn't have known anything about the myth of Chang'E which is a shame because it's pretty fascinating!

Still a very quick and interesting read, I love the author's humor, it shines through at unexpected moments and it brings quite a realistic and straight to the point view of capitalism.

[Karren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful written novella on a par with Margaritte Duras' The Lover. Lots of surprising metaphors and poetic turns of phrase. It also teaches about some of the female roles in Beijing Opera.

[Emmy]

The writing was slow and methodical, and after 40 or so pages, I realized that not much had happened. Then, I glanced over at the stack of books waiting for me to read them and realized that even at 120 pages, this was just going to be too long of a book for how little I was enjoying it.

[Netanella · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided to read this to "expand my horizons," as an old family acquaintance Bill Avlonitis used to say. Plus, it reminded me of younger days when I was a young college student and I had an addiction to foreign films and Publix lemon pepper chicken.

Written by a famous modern Chinese author, the story revolves around a vain and jealous Peking Opera singer with the unpronounceable name of Xiao Yanqui. The setting is also contemporary, a modern, post Cultural Revolution China that hearkens back to an early time, when classical opera was in vogue.

Twenty years earlier, Xiao Yanqiu had viciously burned a beautiful young rival with scalding hot water in a fit of jealousy. Unable to show remorse for her actions and despite her talent for opera, Yanqiu is demoted to a teacher in the opera troupe, and as a result the opera company falls upon hard times.

Fast forward to the present. An aging boss wants to relive his youth by having his o!d opera heroine reprise her famous role in The Moon Opera. Overweight and out of shape, Yanqiu pushes herself to prepare for this role. She diets, she cheats on her husband by sleeping with the boss, she prepares her understudy, a gorgeous and raw young talent, to inherit the mantle.

But, things go south, as they almost always do. By the end of the book, I was left with a bitter taste in my mouth. Yanqui is self-involved, mean spirited, and just plain ugly on the inside. I enjoyed the glimpse that this book showed me, a part of Chinese culture I was not aware of. But Yanqiu is a difficult character to read.

[Remy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really more of a character study than an actual story, but I thought it managed to intrigue just fine. Very rich in Chinese culture and in depth into a woman's darkest sides. I was very surprised to learn that the author was indeed a man. You would've thought a book that captured a complex woman in this light would have been written by, well, an actual woman. I'm rather impressed.

The story explores the gorgeous art of Peking Opera, but at the same time a dangerous psyche, motivations and abortion. Having been in performing arts myself for the last 6 years, I found the anxieties and jealousies of these performers horribly relatable and true (though I have yet to see an incident as dreadful as disfiguring the understudy with hot water).

But- sometimes the prose is precisely well-placed and flowed naturally. Other times it was unnecessary. One of the most memorable examples of this goes: "The more she jumped, the greater the pain; the greater the pain, the more she jumped. The jumps accompanied the pain; the pain accompanied the jumps."

Also, this was supposed to be a novella, but I feel that Bi was overly ambitious. There are some eye-pleasing worldbuilding details, but they all take a backseat when the narrative focuses on Yanqiu and her story. At times it detracted and read like non-fiction about the technics of opera itself and I was simply... looking for people. Looking for characters doing things.

But it's not right to say that nothing happens in the story. It's character-driven and our character takes some very uncomfortable sounding turns. Now that abortion is a bigger issue than ever before, I really applaud Bi for creating this story. It was not an easy read for me, and may not be everyone's cup of tea. But with the perspectives this brings up, and with the haunting woman that Yanqiu is, I'm just really glad this was written.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

My expectation about this book (actually, novelette) prejudices me against its length. It is actually a narrow window perspective into the life and experience of one Chinese opera singer, told in a compressed time frame (as in "present" and then "20 years later"). The opera in question tells of the legend of Chang'e (the moon goddess in Chinese mythology).

I would have liked that the legend was at least mentioned in gist, but the story presupposes that the reader already knows about it (or would at least look it up independently of this book). I do know about the legend, and I accept that some Chinese authors -- this is a translated work-- write for an audience that is already familiar with the Chinese classics / fables. Nonetheless, I grouse...

I did, however, enjoy learning about the different aspects of Chinese / Peking opera: styles, voices, etc. As a child, I have watched the stage performances, enchanted by the elaborate costumes and the accentuated makeup of the performers, the gestures and mannerisms. I always knew that there was more to the storytelling, because the background props don't change, but I never understood the subtleties -- especially since I don't understand much of the language, and what little was made more difficult to comprehend when executed in a high-pitched singsong voice. After reading this, I know a little bit more about these nuances now.

This is my personal observation (from the cultural practices in my own country), that outside of China, I don't think that Chinese opera is much practiced now. It is a 'trade' that is not passed down to the younger generation, and the old-hands are retiring. Reading this brought back some fond childhood memories; I can still hear the whine of the stringed instruments and the clash of the gongs.

[Marko Lapcevic · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short novel by the Chinese author Bia Feiyu introduces readers to the wonderful and unknown world of Peking Opera.

Xiao Yenqiu played the main role in the opera "Flight to the Moon" and gained enormous popularity in the late 1970s. The opera was only performed for the first time then, although it was written in the 1950s because it was considered politically inappropriate.

In a fit of jealousy towards his deputy, Xiao spills a thermos full of hot water on her face. For this reason, she is expelled from the troupe and starts working as a lecturer at the theater academy.

Twenty years later, a rich donor decides to sponsor a re-performance of the play "Flight to the Moon" and demands that Xiao Yenqiu play the lead role again.

A quick-read short novel that evokes a variety of feelings: from anger and contempt at the beginning to compassion and pity in the ending.

[Dave Rush · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well…….I think we just discovered arguably the most self centered character in literature. There is nothing good about Xiao Yanqui. She attacks an innocent mentor, molests a protégée, sleeps with a benefactor, berates her husband, destroys her own body for the purposes of becoming a character. In all she is the prima Dona, the quintessential diva, with a Thomas Mann like “Black Swan” induced swan song fueled by obsession and delusion. While the story and character are truly horrific in nature, the realism parallels the experiences of artists, making the writing and plot quite relatable.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Something lost in translation and/or cultural differences

Through The Moon Opera, I did learn something about traditional Chinese opera, a subject about which I knew almost nothing. The tragic arc of the story was somewhat captivating. However, there was too much about this book that didn’t make sense to my Western mind, including the actions of the main character. That made this short novel frustrating to read.

[Julie Eastlick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although small in size and page count, this is a fairly big, heavy story. The story follows an aging, disgraced opera star who is trying to make a comeback. Her mentality was always on edge, even in her younger days. This is not a light read. It has many triggers and is really a character study of this woman. Some of the story may be a bit disturbing. I found it interesting and learned some about the Peking Opera. 3.5 out of 5 stars

[Linz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the parts in which the Chinese Opera was explained, or history was provided.

The writing contains a lot of metaphors, which I love. I read the book in Dutch. My favourites were:

Als een bananenboom in een zomerstorm liet ze zich meebuigen en uitstrekken; wellustig rolde, draaide en wierp ze zich om.

Ze was zo stil als een glas water.

Was haar akker dan echt zo ontvankelijk dat alles wat geplant werd meteen ook kiem schoot?

[Marie-aimée · Rating 3 out of 5]

C'est l'histoire de Xiao Yanqiu qui incarne la célèbre Chang'E, de l'opéra L'Envol vers la lune. Star déchue qui revient sur le devant de la scène lorsque la troupe organise de nouveau un spectacle sur cet opéra. L'auteur nous plonge dans les états d'âme de cette femme qui s'incarne littéralement dans son personnage. Une belle réflexion sur l'acteur et le rapport au corps.

[Daphne · Rating 4 out of 5]

De mens is zijn eigen vijand, in zijn diepste wezen wil hij geen mens zijn maar een onsterfelijke worden. De mens is zijn eigen oorsprong, maar niet zijn eigen doel. Mens, waar ben je?

Wanneer de kunst het levensdoel wordt, heb je er dan alles voor over? Mooie novelle met prachtige beschrijvingen.

[KC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, really enjoyed this. I stumbled upon this while searching for research material for a paper on Peking Opera and decided to give it a read. I was really invested in the story, and Xiao Yanqiu was an interesting character. Sometimes the flow of the story was interrupted by "info-dumps" of Peking Opera and such, but other than that I liked it.

[Nanabookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 只讀了青衣這個中短篇，首先畢飛宇的文字是很難翻成英文的。那種煙火氣和大量堆疊的中文形容詞都需要文化語境的配合。青衣的藝術家女瘋子的主題很明確，電影文學裡有大量這種走火入魔的角色，好萊塢的彗星美人黑天鵝不用說，白先勇的遊園驚夢已經把女人對年華老的不甘和戲曲互文玩得出神入化。畢寫嫦娥，最令人驚喜的是把神話中的靈藥和現代的藥物處理成隱喻，以殘害身體的代價也要霸佔舞台的虛榮巧妙地和墮胎的選擇聯繫起來。燕秋這個天生的怨婦的倔強和傲氣和推拿的都紅一樣，當然畢在推拿裡更成熟，透過群像戲書寫他觀察到而非他想像中的女人。

[Okky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the Indonesian translation and the translation was disappointing.
Just a small part of this book was quite technical and I found myself didn't enjoy it. The writer was very great at describing the main character feeling.

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written. Short but dramatic. Deep emotions about the Pekin Opera and their actors.

[Nae · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting primarily for opera details for make up, costume, etc. Maybe it is just me but I found the primary character simply unlikable.

[Kayle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uneven, strangely paced, and huge losses in translation.

[mstan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great character studies; the first two stories (from women's perspectives) were much better than the last though (about a historian's unravelling).

[Mahy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was quite interesting, with all the aspects of Chinese opera, but maybe not as exciting as I thought it would be :/

[reine · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was so easy to read and understand but it had such good and complex content. finished it in less 3 days

[nevena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mislim da tematika nije za mene trenutno

[Larry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bi Feiyu is a successful screenwriter, and it kind of shows in his beautifully-conceived, carefully choreographed, and disappointingly written novel. The premise is excellent: a behind-the-scenes drama of ambition, jealousy and decline in the cloistered world of Chinese opera. The main character, Xiao Yanqiu, is famous for her portrayal of the lead role of Moon Goddess in a fictional opera called “The Moon Opera”. When an understudy seduces the director into allowing her to do one public performance, Xiao throws boiling water in her face, disfiguring the understudy and destroying both their careers. Twenty years later, Xiao is making a comeback in a revival of “The Moon Opera”, and must confront her deteriorated looks and voice, in contrast to her new talented young understudy. There is plenty of room for high melodrama in this story, and Bi packs much of that into the sparse 118 pages of his book.

Screenwriters by and large write the minimum words necessary to convey a complete story. They leave it up to the director and actors to interpret their words and provide the nuance and depth. I get the impression that Bi is doing the same with his novel, expecting the reader to fill in the emotional blanks. Surprisingly for a screenwriter, he uses very little dialogue and a bit too much exposition.

Bi sets up scenes that are visually appealing, just as one would see in a stage opera. Mid-way through the story, in the rehearsal studio, everyone goes home except for Xiao and her young understudy. One can visualize the other actors leaving the stage and the lights dimming except for a spotlight. Later, there is an emotional encounter in which Xiao realizes she must pass the torch to her student and they end in an uncomfortable embrace. Unfortunately, all of the emotion and drama is explained rather than performed. For example:

As she looked at her student, jealousy was unavoidable. It was the first time she’d experienced the lethal power of that emotion and it was as if she was seeing blood flow.

Perhaps some of the issue is with the translation, so it’s difficult to be sure of how such passages come across in Chinese.

Xiao’s character development is big, bold and larger than life, and the transition points in her personal struggle are presented in striking imagery: in a dim hallway leaning against an unsavory chain-smoking business magnate, or performing a solo dance with flowing handkerchiefs under a streetlamp in the snow. But images aside, the reader is mainly kept arm’s length from Xiao.

I enjoyed the insider’s view of Chinese opera, which flows quite smoothly into the narrative. Some of the descriptions are poetically lovely, and the flow of events is presented almost as if staged as distinct acts and scenes within an opera. Unfortunately, this novel mostly reads as a well-written synopsis of a truly colorful and heartbreaking drama.