编者按 京剧是中国的国粹，以歌唱和舞蹈的方式讲述着古往今来的中国故事，凝聚着中国传统文化精华，展示着中华民族文明底韵。在这个“深居简出”的特殊时期，作为“足不出户 云游中国”主题活动之一，我们特别策划了为期2个月的“京剧宅家赏析”在线推广活动，分享京剧故事、名家唱段和经典剧目，希望成为您走进京剧艺术、了解和喜爱京剧的窗口。待一切好起来，欢迎您再到北京听戏。
作者寄语
2020年真是不同寻常，新冠肺炎病毒肆虐全球。宅家抗疫，阅读成了生活的一个部分。看到中国驻英国大使馆文化处和中国驻伦敦旅游办事处主办了“京剧宅家欣赏”在线专题推广活动，欣喜异常!20年前，我在中文版《读京剧》这本小书中担任作者，我们一直在思考，如何将中国这个古老民族的历史、文化、艺术，用一种通俗平易的文字，介绍给世界，让世界理解中国人的情感、道德、审美以及传统。毫无疑问，今天的在线“京剧宅家欣赏”再次实现了我们的初衷。我想告诉读者，历经了时代风云的京剧艺术历久弥新;沉淀了岁月痕迹的文字值得回味。祝福所有的朋友们!
—— 北京外国语大学国际中国文化研究院院长 梁燕
《读京剧》(梁燕·著)
本书于2000年出版
导语
当你翻开这本小书的时候，你可能要问：京剧是什么?
按照英文的翻译，它被称为“北京歌剧”。但是这样的叫法似乎不够准确，这就如同把中国的杂技叫做马戏一样，对西方人来讲，都是容易产生误解或者是不够全面的，因为正像杂技比马戏少一些(其中没有动物表演)，中国的京剧要比歌剧多一点(京剧还有舞蹈、朗诵、武术等)。
京剧不仅仅是歌剧，因为歌剧只唱不说，一切都要用歌声来表现。它不同于舞剧，因为舞剧中所有内容都要通过形体动作来体现。它也不同于话剧，话剧靠语言塑造人物，推动戏剧情节的发展。京剧作为一种独具特色的戏剧样式，它是以歌唱和舞蹈的方式在叙述一个个美丽动人的故事。京剧的演员不仅要会装扮人物，表演故事，还应该是一名出色的歌唱家兼舞蹈家。
京剧故事多取材于历史著作、人物传记、民间传说、神化故事、长篇小说、杂剧传奇……有着较高的文学价值。长期以来，中国人的文化传统受古代圣人孔子(公元前551年--公元前479年)的思想影响很深，他们对政治、法律、历史、宗教、社会现象、人生命运有着自己独特的审美思考。在浩如烟海的京剧故事中，道德的内容比重很大，“善有善报，恶有恶报”是中国人常说的一句话。京剧没有绝对的悲剧或纯粹的喜剧，它常常把悲、喜两种因素结合起来，经过善与恶的搏战，显现出光明的结局。京剧的创作、演出过程十分有趣，由于它的剧作者、曲作者、导演、演员很不固定，即使是描写同一故事的剧目，也会在情节、结构、唱腔及演出风格上都有所不同。
本书所写的26篇京剧故事，是从经常上演的200多部京剧剧目中精选出来的。被分成教化篇、忠义篇、历史篇、宫廷篇、公案篇、爱情篇、神话篇等七种。相信你看过之后，会了解一些中国人的生活。
英文版导语
Introduction
When you open this book your first question may well be, "What exactly is Beijing opera?" Actually, the English term "Beijing opera" is somewhat misleading, in that it may cause Western readers to equate this unique Chinese dramatic art form with Western opera. A similar misunderstanding arises when Chinese acrobatics is referred to as "Chinese circus," equating it with Western circuses. Actually, the so-called "Chinese circus," with no animal acts, high wires, or trapeze work, is much more limited than Western circuses, which include all of these as well as acrobatics. Conversely, Beijing opera, which includes dance, dialogue, and martial arts, as well as music, is much more comprehensive than Western opera, which relies on singing as its primary means of expression. Beijing opera also transcends dance theater, in which gesture and movement provide the vehicle by which a story is told. And it surpasses traditional theater, which employs spoken dialogue to portray its characters and propel plot development. Beijing opera is a unique type of dramatic narrative, that weaves together music, movement, and dialogue to unfold beautiful and moving stories drawn from Chinese history, biography, folk legend, literature. Its performers must be not only outstanding singers and actors, but also skilled in dance, acrobatics, and martial arts.
For thousands of years, Chinese society has been profoundly influenced by the thinking of the renowned Chinese philosopher Confucius (551-479 BC). The impact of Confucian ideology is apparent in China's politics, law, history, religion, philosophy, and social phenomenon. The extensive Beijing opera canon also clearly reflects the Confucian concern with ethics and morality. "Good and evil will receive their just rewards" is a common Chinese saying, and this outlook is fundamental to Beijing opera. There is no pure tragedy or comedy in Beijing opera. Rather, these two aspects of life are seen as inseparable, with the struggle between good and evil serving as the vehicle which carries each story to its morally unequivocal conclusion.
Beijing opera's appeal lies not only in the richness of its performances, but also in the diversity of its productions. Writers, composers, directors, and actors are all constantly changing. Although the basic stories remains the same, each production is unique in scenario, structure, vocal expression, and acting style. The twenty-six stories introduced in this book have been selected from the two hundred most frequently performed Beijing operas. They are divided into seven categories: stories of moral instruction, tales of loyalty and duty, historical pieces, stories of palace intrigue, legal cases, love stories, and legends about immortals. We hope that reading them will give you insight into both the lives and culture of the Chinese people.
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