As Ding Dusai sang, the exclamations from the audience gradually subsided.
Ding Dusai has a sweet, melodious voice.
The audience below was listening intently, and there was no noise except for the singing and music.
When the song ended, there was a burst of cheers and whistles from the audience.
"Mr. Zhang, you play so well!" the young man playing the pipa praised softly.
Several other musicians echoed this.
After Ding Dusai finished his performance, Zhang Shixun went backstage with several musicians, but was stopped by Ding's father.
"Go on stage and sing another song yourself." Father Ding said in an unquestionable tone.
"Why?" Zhang Shixun asked with blinking eyes.
"You play pretty well. Everyone likes it."
Not bad?
Zhang Shixun was speechless. Could there be another zither player as good as Laozi in the entire Song Dynasty?
Ding Dusai also said, "Mr. Zhang! Please play one more song. I want to hear it too."
You can refuse the old man's face, but you cannot refuse the invitation of a beautiful woman.
Zhang Shixun thought for a moment and said, "The atmosphere here isn't suitable for playing the zheng. First, the venue is too big, and second, it's too noisy. If I play solo, I guess the people in the back row won't be able to hear me."
"Then play the erhu." Ding Dusai said again.
It seems that she wants him to show off in front of his father today.
Of course, the beauty's request could not be refused, so Zhang Shixun nodded in agreement.
If you want to pursue Ding Dusai, you must please the old guy. This hurdle will have to be overcome sooner or later.
Seeing that he agreed, Ding Dusai asked happily, "What piece would you like to play, sir?"
Zhang Shixun thought about it and suddenly laughed. He thought of a song that was suitable for playing here.
"Sir, why are you laughing?" Ding Dusai asked in confusion.
"I thought of a fun tune that would be perfect to play here."
"What song?"
"Zhu Bajie carries his wife on his back."
"Zhu Bajie's back...Who is Zhu Bajie?" Ding Dusai asked curiously.
"Zhu Bajie is..." Zhang Shixun suddenly remembered that "Journey to the West" was written by people in the Ming Dynasty, and people in the Song Dynasty did not know Zhu Bajie.
"Tell me! Who is Zhu Bajie?" Ding Dusai asked.
Zhang Shixun waved his hand, offering a delaying tactic: "Don't ask anymore. I'll go on stage and tell everyone in the audience. You'll know then."
"Well, I call it sending someone up to announce the show."
While the two were talking, Ding's father stood beside them vigilantly, looking at Zhang Shixun and then at Ding Dusai with his small eyes.
The announcer walked onto the stage and announced the title of the piece, and the audience began to whisper to each other:
"Hey, who, why haven't you heard of this song title?"
"I don't have one either. Zhu Bajie is a rather unfamiliar name."
"Don't care who he is, it's about carrying your wife on your back."
"Can you sing a song while carrying your wife on your back?"
Zhang Shixun walked onto the stage holding a erhu in one hand and a stool in the other.
He stood there, glanced at the audience, and said, "The piece I'm playing for you today has a story behind it. Would you like to hear it?"
The audience in the audience was stunned. Is there a story behind playing the piano?
"If you don't want to listen, I won't say it anymore... I'll ask you again, do you want to listen?"
"Yes!" someone in the audience answered.
"Do you really want to listen?" Zhang Shixun asked again.
"Yes!" More people shouted this time.
"I didn't hear it clearly. Do you want to listen or not?"
"Yes!" the whole audience shouted.
"Well, since you all want to listen, I'll tell you a story." Zhang Shixun cleared his throat and began, "Once upon a time, there was a great monk named Tang Sanzang. He took his disciples to the Western Paradise to obtain Buddhist scriptures... You must know where the Western Paradise is, right? Haha! I saw that scholar over there nodding... That's right, the Western Paradise is a country southwest of the Song Dynasty called Tianzhu... Tang Sanzang's disciple was called Sun Wukong. He was very powerful, possessing 72 transformations and was skilled in subduing demons and monsters."
"One day, the master and his disciple passed through a village called Gao Lao Zhuang. They learned that Mr. Gao's daughter had been mistakenly married to a monster named Zhu Bajie, and that the monster was about to take his daughter back to his lair."
"No elder wants his daughter to marry a monster. Mr. Gao begged Tang Sanzang and his disciples to save his daughter. Tang Sanzang agreed and asked his disciple Sun Wukong to find a solution."
"To help Mr. Gao conquer the demon, Sun Wukong asked him to hide his daughter. Then he transformed himself into Miss Gao. When the demon arrived, he carried Miss Gao on his back and headed back to his lair. Because the weather was too hot, the demon took a break after every few steps. He was so tired that he kept panting, and his clothes were soaked with sweat."
"Miss Gao said it was too hot on his back, so Zhu Bajie quickly fanned her. Miss Gao then pulled a few hairs from behind her ears, cast a spell, and blew them at the monster, and the monster fell asleep."
Everyone on and off the stage listened to him intently, and the huge lotus pavilion was completely silent.
"...As I said earlier, the young wife was transformed by Sun Wukong. Seeing Zhu Bajie asleep, he started teasing him by breaking off a branch and digging out Zhu Bajie's ears and nostrils. Zhu Bajie thought it was a fly and waved his hands to shoo it away, but no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn't go away. As a result, Zhu Bajie got furious and opened his eyes to see what was happening. He was stunned to see the young wife gone and transformed into Sun Wukong. He jumped up with a cry of terror and ran away with his head in his hands..."
There was a burst of laughter from below.
"Zhu Bajie worked hard for a long time, but was fooled by Sun Wukong. This is what they call: Zhu Bajie carries his wife on his back, a thankless task."
"The piece I'm going to play today is based on this story. It describes how Zhu Bajie was so happy when he first started carrying his wife, but was later teased by Sun Wukong and finally fled in panic... I hope you'll remember to applaud me after I finish playing it, and don't let me end up like Zhu Bajie, doing a thankless job."
This sentence caused laughter from the audience.
In the background, Father Ding muttered, "I can make you work in a thankless task."
Ding Dusai, who was standing by, didn't hear clearly and asked hurriedly, "Daddy, what did you say?"
"Nothing! Nothing!"
Zhang Shixun on the stage sat down with a smile, shook the bowstring, and began to pull it.
The music is humorous and exaggerated.
With the foreshadowing of the story at the beginning, the audience seemed to understand the meaning of the song and listened with great interest.
As the song finished, there was continuous applause from the audience.
Zhang Shixun stood up, sighed exaggeratedly, and said, "Your cheers weren't very loud. It seems I didn't play well."
“Good job!”
Zhang Shixun put his hands to his ears and asked, "What? I didn't hear you. You haven't eaten yet, so you're shouting so weakly."
“Good job!”
"Very good!"
This time the noise was so loud that some people simply stood up and shouted.
"Alas! I feel a little guilty for all the support from you all, young and old... Well, today I'm going to go all out and show you all my unique skills, so you can open your eyes."
"Okay!" This time the shout was earth-shaking.
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