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| Wang Yee Jia [Back Row Right] as Liu San Jie, singing her eloquent responses to the rhymes presented by the landlord's three hired singers |
As the movie version of the musical helped to spread the
popularity of Liu San Jie to Chinese-speaking communities outside of China, in
2003 movie director Zhang Yimou created “The Impressions of Liu San Jie”, an
outdoor live show which has become the most lucrative cultural income for the
city of Guilin. Presented live every
night, beside the Li River to a backdrop of mountains, the one hour show with
more than 600 actors, is a popular tourist attraction in this region.
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| A section of the appreciative audience at the show |
The stage presentation of Liu San Jie in Johor Baru was the
result of a partnership among the Malaysia-China Arts & Cultural
Association, Southern University College and the generous sponsorship of the
Country Garden Group, one of China’s leading integrated property developers. A cast of 28 artistes were hosted by the Country
Garden Group while all the proceeds from the charity shows went towards the
building fund and international education fund in Southern University College.
Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Malaysia,
Chai Xi, who was among the audience for the first show in Johor Baru, praised
the Country Garden Group for their contribution to the community and encouraged
other Chinese investors in Malaysia to emulate their example to do something
for the community as they do business here.
At the end of the second show, Datuk Tan Liang Soon, Deputy Chairman of
the Board of Directors, Southern University College, announced that the
proceeds from the two shows combined with other contributions totaled in the
sum of RM350,000.
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| The landlord's three hired singers tried to outwit Liu San Jie with their poems but they failed miserably! |
“The Country Garden Group is the first Chinese company to
support local arts and culture in Johor Baru,” said Tan Chai Puan, Head of the
Arts & Cultural Development Department of Southern University College who
is also Advisor to the Malaysia-China Arts & Cultural Association.
This Group recently had the sales launch of their flagship project of prestigious serviced apartments and condominiums at Country Garden @ Danga Bay in Iskandar Malaysia.
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| Wang Yee Jia [Right] was welcomed to JB by Tan Chai Puan [Left] |
When she was aged 18, Wang Yee Jia, the lead singer who
plays the role of Liu San Jie, was
selected from more than a thousand candidates who auditioned to be one of the
lead singers for “The Impressions of Liu San Jie.” After performing successfully in the outdoor
show for a few years, she returned to the stage version of Liu San Jie. It was the first time, Liu San Jie was
presented in Johor Baru but for Wang, the two nights were the 80th and
81st show in her career!
In China, the Zhuang people believe that the legendary Liu
San Jie or “Third Sister in the Liu family” was not mythical but truly existed
and her birthplace was Yizhou town in Guangxi province. She was a farmer’s daughter named Liu Shanhua
but as she was the third child in her family, she was nicknamed, “Liu (family
surname) San (third) Jie (sister).” She
was gifted in reciting traditional poems from a very young age and when she was
inspired by beautiful scenery she had the talent to create and sing folk songs!
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| Colourful costumes add to the pleasure of watching the performances of the matchmaker [Left] and the greedy landlord [Right] who wanted to take Liu San Jie as his concubine |
The Zhuang people is one of the 56 ethnic groups in China,
second only to the Han people who account for more than 91 percent of the
nation’s population. The legend of Liu
San Jie was originally an oral tradition and was later found in romance, drama
scripts and county annals in Guangxi.
However, studies showed that the legend was not exclusively of the
Zhuang people but similar stories can be found among other ethnic groups like
the Miao, Yao, Buyi, Mulao and Han in Guangdong, Hunan, Yuannan and Guizhou
provinces.
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| The cast of Liu San Jie in the finale |
There are various versions of the legend but the storyline presented in Johor Baru featured Liu San Jie as a talented folk singer with exquisite vocals who beat three hired singers with her witty and eloquent responses in antiphonal singing to avoid becoming a concubine to a greedy landlord. It was typical of ethnic people of South China, particularly in the Guangxi province, to practice antiphonal singing, an ancient art form quite similar to our dondang sayang type of pantun, where two or more singers talk to each other in poetic songs to challenge and out-wit the other. Another interesting scene depicted the Zhuang custom in courtship where Liu San Jie showed interest in her suitor by giving him an embroidered ball!
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| As the cast gave their final bow, the audience could not help but rushed forward to capture photo mementoes! |
“The way Liu San Jie opposed the landlord’s unfairness by
using arts and culture is an inspiration to us because very often things can be
worked out through non-violent methods,” said Y. C. Yap, Vice-President of the
Malaysia-China Arts & Cultural Association, who was very pleased with the strong
support and success in the staging of the shows in Johor Baru.
