What does it mean for a drunken concubine to be drunk?

Story source: the legendary "Mochenjian" of the Ming Dynasty (1368 AD - 1644 AD)

Time: Tianbao period of the Tang Dynasty (742 AD - 756 AD)

Location: Chang'an (today's Shaanxi Province, China)

Main characters: Yang Guifei (concubine of the Tang Dynasty emperor) Gao Lishi (Tang Dynasty palace attendant)

Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty indulged in sensuality and sent Gao Lishi, the eunuch in charge of internal affairs in the palace, to recruit beauties among the people.

Gao Lishi traveled all over the south of the Yangtze River and selected a beautiful woman named Jiang Caiping for the emperor. Not only is she good-looking and slender, but she is also quick-thinking and good at poetry. Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty was very happy when he saw him. He held a banquet and rewarded all his ministers. Because Jiang Caiping loved plum blossoms, Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty built a plum garden in the harem and gave her the title of Plum Concubine.

Not long after the incident, Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty learned that Yang Yuhuan, the concubine of his son King Shou, was extremely beautiful, so he ordered her to be sent to the palace to serve him. King Shou did not dare to disobey his father's orders, so he had to send it. Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty looked carefully and saw that Yang Yuhuan was indeed naturally beautiful and charming, so he immediately made her a noble concubine. From then on, Tang Minghuang and Yang Guifei bathed in hot springs, feasted on spring nights, admired flowers, listened to music, and had fun singing and dancing.

One day, Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty thought of Concubine Mei, whom he had been estranged from for a long time, so he stayed overnight at Concubine Mei's residence. Unknown to Yang Yuhuan, he held a banquet at Baihua Pavilion and prepared to drink with the emperor all night. After waiting for a long time, Yang Yuhuan realized that there was another woman in the emperor's heart, and couldn't help but feel sad, and the infinite sorrow could not be dismissed. She drank by herself, drinking to drown her sorrows. She thought that life was like a dream and her heart was unpredictable, which made her even more depressed. She gradually lost the power of alcohol and became completely drunk. Gao Lishi, who was waiting on the side, observed her face, carefully comforted her, and was full of sympathy for this lonely and lonely imperial concubine. Yang Yuhuan didn't wait for the emperor until the moon was shining brightly in the west. She was helped back to her residence with three steps.

"The Drunken Concubine" is one of the masterpieces that Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang devoted his life to crafting.

Plot: Concubine Yang held a banquet in Baihua Pavilion to wait for Emperor Tang Ming, but Emperor Tang Ming suddenly drove to the West Palace. The imperial concubine fell out of favor and drank alone to relieve her sorrow.

Some sources say that this play originated from a Kunqu opera repertoire, which can be seen from the structure of its lyrics. In particular, the "Siping Tune" at the beginning is a treasure of Peking Opera: The ice wheel on the island is first turning, and the jade rabbit is seen, and the jade rabbit rises to the east early. When the ice wheel leaves the island, the universe is extremely bright, and the bright moon is in the sky. It is just like Chang'e leaving the moon palace, and the slave is like Chang'e leaving the moon palace. It's like Chang'e descended from the ninth level and fell in the Guanghan Palace, ah, in the Guanghan Palace. The jade bridge leans against the railing, the mandarin ducks come to play in the water, the golden carp faces in the water, ah, faces in the water, the wild geese in the sky, the wild geese are flying, the wild geese are flying, oh the wild geese, the wild geese are flying together, I hear the voice of the slave Under the shade of falling flowers, this scenery is so sultry that you come to Baihua Pavilion...

The old version of this play mainly describes Yang Yuhuan's state of mind after being drunk and appreciating his spring. The performance is erotic and the style is vulgar. In the 1950s, Mei Lanfang eliminated the bad and retained the essential, starting from the emotional changes of the characters, and corrected its non-artistic tendencies from an aesthetic perspective. In the play, Yang Yuhuan's drinking changed from drinking with her sleeves covered to drinking casually. Mei Lanfang used changes in appearance and movements to express the psychological change process of this disgraced concubine from being depressed and pretentious to being unable to control herself and being intoxicated. The heavy dances are performed with ease, such as holding the cup, lying on the fish, drunken step, and fan dance. The body movements are very difficult, but they are performed naturally and with beautiful lines and rhythms.