Shanxi Taiyuan Repertory Theater premiered a large-scale drama "Lao Xi'er" with the theme of Shanxi merchants' integrity culture

China News Service, Taiyuan, September 12 (Reporter Hu Jian) ​​The large-scale drama "Lao Xi'er" created and staged by the Taiyuan Repertory Troupe of Shanxi Province premiered in Taiyuan on the evening of the 11th. The play uses Shanxi's mature vinegar brewing skills and the integrity culture of Shanxi merchants as its themes. Through the stories of three generations, it shows the way of life of Shanxi merchants for a century.

On the evening of September 11, the large-scale drama "Lao Xi'er" created and staged by the Taiyuan Repertory Troupe of Shanxi Province premiered in Taiyuan. Photo courtesy of Taiyuan Repertory Theater

Taiyuan Repertory Theater was founded in 1960 and is an art troupe with a history of more than 60 years. Over the past sixty years, the troupe has rehearsed hundreds of drama works, including revivals of the classic plays "Thunderstorm" and "The Wilderness", as well as original works such as "Crazy Madness", "The Wind of the Northern Wei Dynasty" and "Jin Wen Gong". The "Lao Xi'er" released this time is an artistic exploration by the theater company based on Shanxi's local culture and delving into regional themes.

The story begins in the Mid-Autumn Festival of 1919. At the opening ceremony of Jinyang Chengxiangfang's "Eight-Year-Old" vat, the shopkeeper Qin Shouyi swore: "What Chengxiangfang brews is not vinegar, but the word sincerity in this world." Over the next twenty years, the Eastern comprador set up a trap to seize the secret recipe, and the Qin family was unjustly imprisoned. When the Japanese army broke into the city in 1937, the young shopkeeper Qin Wenxuan led everyone to seal the vat and swear: "The day when the mountains and rivers are in full glory will be the time to open the vat." Until the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, this vat of old vinegar that had spanned twenty-six years finally saw the light of day.

Stills from the drama "Lao Xi'er". Photo courtesy of Taiyuan Repertory Theater

Director Zhong Hai explained the original intention of the creation this way: "Vinegar is the taste in the bones and blood of Shanxi people; sincerity is the root of Shanxi merchants' five-hundred-year-old business." Zhong Hai further explained that the creation of "Lao Xi'er" is not only to tell the story of a vinegar shop, but also to use the spiritual symbol of "Lao Xi'er" to look back at the character of Shanxi merchants' craftsmen who stick to their hearts. Being upright does not mean being conservative, and innovation cannot forget the roots. This is the core idea that this play wants to convey.

The actor who plays Qin Shouyi in the play, Ma Tianqiao, a senior actor from the Taiyuan Repertory Theater, has previously played many impressive roles in dramas such as "The Wind of the Northern Wei Dynasty". "The ancient law is the root, the new law is the road. The root cannot be lost, and the road must be walked." Ma Tianqiao believes that this line is the core of Qin Shouyi's character - a Shanxi shopkeeper who adheres to the ancient law while accepting new knowledge, which is the code for the endless survival of tradition.

Director Zhong Hai said: "Vinegar has to age, people have to wait. Good dramas are also brewed." This "Old Man", which has been "brewing" for a long time, is using an old vat and the ups and downs of three generations to tell the world the simplest and most enduring truth in Chinese stories - the word integrity is a family heirloom more precious than the secret recipe. (over)