"The Unicorn Purse" (锁麟囊) 2/2 [English Subtitles]

Re-uploaded with some slight revisions
Random notes
-"Soup kitchen" : It's not actually a "soup kitchen", but a "粥厂/zhou chang". Its function is the same, but it serves zhou, a kind of rice porridge, rather than soup.
Blue clothing: Just a side note it's one of the interesting conventions of jingju that poor female characters wear plain, blue robes that are nevertheless decorated with pearls.
-Landlord Lu: He's not exactly a "landlord" in the modern sense; he is a 员外/yuan2wai4, a wealthy land owner.
-"Porridge is a dish served...": traditionally, in a wealthy northern Chinese family, the bulk of the meal would be devoted to meat and vegetable dishes; starchy staple foods like rice, porridge, noodles, bread and so on would be served last to fill up any remaining room in one's stomach. This was in stark contrast with the majority of families, who could rarely afford meat and so filled themselves with staple foods instead. It was, in other words, a luxury to consider porridge as just the final course, rather than the bulk of a meal.
-"Putting on airs": The actual idiom Hupo uses is "咬言咂字", which means "to overthink one's words," which I think implies that one is acting like a literati. Hupo then continues this literati theme by quoting a line from Mencius ("now this moment, now that moment").
-"take care of the young master": They're actually looking for someone to "哄/hong3" the young master. This means something like "put in good spirits" and is the same word that Meixiang used to describe Madam Xue's efforts to cheer Xiangling up. I couldn't figure out how to translate it consistently, though.
-"Playing and studying": Maybe this doesn't need explanation, but in China, it was expected that sons of wealthy families would study for, and struggle to study for, the imperial exams.
-"Do not laugh at those in servant's livery": Xiangling literally says "[My] black clothes, (青衣), do not laugh at me." In the old days, "black clothes" referred to both the uniforms of servants, as well as to the servants themselves. In the next line, this version of the script has Xiangling say "想亲" which would mean that she now 'thinks' of servants as her relatives. I found some guy's blog which said that in the original script, Xiangling says "相亲", which is pronounced similarly, but means that she actually counts servants as her close relatives; the blogger preferred 相亲since it says something about Xiangling, whereas 想亲 is mostly just narrative. I took him up on that idea.
-Taihu rocks: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taihu_stone
-"Heavenly Father": Not the God of Judaism/Christianity/Islam.
-"Long gone waters": 逝水 apparently refers to waters that only flow in one direction. To "恋逝水" would mean being attached to something that will never come back.
-Orchid's bloom is passing: "兰因" is short for "兰因絮果", which refers to "the vicissitudes of life".
-"I mistook this clever child for my own": There may be some kind of wordplay here; 宁馨 would mean "my own", but it is also similar to "宁馨儿" which is a word of praise for a good child.
-"Spirit of Du Yu": There are many versions of the tale, but, basically, after Du Yu (the semi-mythological king of Shu) died, his soul transformed into the bird we call a "cuckoo" in English. Also, birds and apes mourned his death.
-"Red... purple": I think I get this, but I may be wrong. In Chinese, if someone is described as "red", it means they are a luminary, or a cause celebre. "Purple" is a color associated with the imperial family.
-"Servant humiliating her master": Biyu says "奴欺主了", which I think is a play on the idiom "打狗欺主", which means "hitting a dog to humiliate its owner".
-"Our disaster has passed": In this production, Xiangling sings a word in this line that is subtitled 净身, but in other places has been transcribed as 庆生. They sound similar, but the first is a euphemism for castration, while the second could mean "celebration of life." I couldn't figure it out, so I just inserted a line from another version of the script entirely: 这才是脱危难吉人天相
-"Fragrant peach": In the final line, Xiangling refers to the purse as a "木桃", a literary term for a large peach (like a pomewater) and a metaphor for a good deed.

[@tomokatheaxolotl]

This is the first Chinese/Beijing opera I get to watch and wow, just wow. Lady Xue shows so much emotion with her face expressions and movements, whoever plays her is doing an amazing job.

[@WaynesWorldStudioVancouver]

What a beautiful story, it put tears in my eyes! Great actors and actresses!

[@nickshevchenko6336]

My first Chinese opera. What a fantastic introduction. Thank you for the upload. Xie xie

[@Cholosaurus360]

You must humble yourself to the needs of others, or you will be humbled. But if you learn to be kind you will be rewarded.

[@tinashenting]

So satisfying to read all the translations since my Chinese is good but not great. It was so good and it made me cry.

[@GKDT]

Clearly one of my favorite, thank you for uploading it with subtitles. Chinese opera is such a fine art to enjoy

[@eggburtdilusia9599]

to: Nichi Chau Thank you for sharing this amazing national treasure. I have been seeking the musical sounds of the ancient world, and I don't think that a finer example can be found. I was deeply moved by the story, and the fact that, unlike western opera, the theme was not unending tragedy, but very positive. I can see why the crowd loved the lead singer so much. She has an amazing voice, and can articulate precisely what the orchestra is playing! I am really lucky I found this. Thank you again, and yet again!

[@newwavemusic6065]

Dear author, thank you so much for your efforts and uploading magnificent operas for us all. As a novice in this area, I don't know a lot of things about Chinese opera but I truly want to explore it more. In this path, your videos are great help! Thank you for translating and uploading them. If you can please add classics like peony pavilion, drunken beauty and more contemporary operas.

[@lawlim7875]

Thank you very much for sharing and appreciate subtitles.Please upload more.

[@Muahaha651]

You’re welcome bro

[@takayanagi-senseissurprise2104]

Zhang Huo Ding (The actress who played Lady Xue) is truly a master of her art 💅✨

[@charlottephan2565]

thank you for upload this with English subtitle, may you be blessed always.

[@alcyonecrucis]

Excellent notes OP!. And what a performance !!

[@xxbeluvxx]

YAYYYYYY A VERY INTERESTING STORY. LOVE IT. thank you for sharing :)

[@codachara3256]

他到红 means that Nanny Xue has become popular with the missus

[@andreas_kyburz]

Thank you so much for translating!

[@NavyWavy69]

Such a good story!

[@DoliseeHeartsEast]

Thank you for the work you put in to upload this video! It made my day!

[@bachelorcalwood]

thank you for this. i really enjoyed it. cheers!!!

[@janerut]

Thank you for eng subs!

[@wilsonsolano5544]

Gracias por la traducción me encantó, el arte es universal.

[@backyD]

不曾想在KZbin看完了 鎖麟囊 感謝~~

[@quangthangbui7013]

A beautiful story

[@rafaelgonzalez6172]

Very very beautiful! 謝謝

[@heinrichakiyama227]

Will you post more peking opera in the future. i'm 9 years too late 😅

[@geoff873]

thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@greekomophorion6153]

gōngzǐ mìng gǎn bù zūn bǎ zhū lóu lái jìn wǒ zhǐdé fàng dàdǎn sì xià zhǎoxún sàn bǎn mòdì lǐ jiàn cǐ náng yījiù hái rèn fēnmíng shì chūgé rì niáng zèng de suǒ lín dào rújīn jiàn cǐ náng yóurú mèngjìng wǒ zěn gǎn bǎ cǐ shì xì zhuīxún cóngtóu zhì wěi zǐxì de shuōmíng shǒu tuō náng sī wǎngshì zhū lèi nán rěn

[@jx9225]

编剧上好。

[@kassyuss2584]

Vim pelo tropia

[@carrolltee5906]

xie ma jia yuo

[@carrolltee5906]

zhen de mei