Food for Thought

By Pan Xiaoqiao

Though Chinese novelist Gao Xiaosheng passed away in 1999， his status as a household name remains intact， thanks to the novellas that he started to write from 1979. His creation Chen Huansheng， a simple and honest Chinese farmer， has been given a new lease of life by the Changzhou Farce Troupe from east Chinas Jiangsu， Gaos home province， highlighting the theme of change and development in the rural areas in the past decades.

Priority pursuit

Gao lived in rural areas for more than 20 years， mingling with farmers and coming to know their daily life and way of thinking intimately. The Chen Huansheng novellas focus on villagers life and fate during the economic reforms in the 1980s. Chen became a household name and a symbol of the impoverished farmers who never had enough to eat or any savings before the reform and opening up.

In late 2018， the troupe began to stage a tragicomedy， Chen Huanshengs Struggle to Feed His Family， reviving the memory of Gaos farmer. The plot， however， is not based on Gaos novellas. It spans the period from the early 1970s to 2018， while the novellas chronicle the period around 1980， after China started implementing the reform and opening-up policy.

Wang Hong， author of the play， explained that the Chen Huansheng series is a literary landmark recording the transition Chinas vast rural areas went through around 1980.

Chen is the symbol of that particular time and his experience is the experience of numerous Chinese farmers， Wang told Beijing Review. Chens name has more impact than any other modern literary character for highlighting the theme of change and development in the rural areas.

In the play， every single important event in Chens life revolves around grain and land. When the play opens， Chen is at the terminal stage of throat cancer and begins to look back on his hard and starving days.

Unable to get enough food to feed a family， Chen is forced to stay a bachelor for years. When he fi nally marries， his wife suffers from a mental disease. She marries him only because he can offer her a bowl of rice every day. Moreover， she does not come alone， but brings her three children from her previous marriages， making it harder for Chen to fi nd enough food to feed all of them.

Even the three childrens names are related to grain： Liang （meaning one 20th of a kilogram）， Jin （half a kilogram）， and Dun （a ton）.

When the economic reform policy comes into effect and hybrid rice is planted extensively， the family fi nally has enough to eat. But his wife dies after devouring too much raw rice and then drinking too much water.

On her deathbed， she exhorts Chen to do his best to feed her three children， no matter what happens， even going out to beg for food if necessary， just as she used to do.

In the following years， the rural areas and farmers go through a series of reforms， like the canceling of agricultural taxes， and the family finally begins to see prosperity. When Chens children have all grown up and they can afford whatever they want to eat.

The primary demand

Having enough food to eat， the theme of the play， stems from the Chinese saying that food is the fi rst thing for people. Although the Chinese have been enjoying a life with food security， the importance of grain， or food， can never be downplayed. Without enough food to feed Chinas huge population， all megaprojects will be reduced to meaninglessness， as the author sees it.

Food security should always be regarded as the priority， Wang emphasized， be it in eras of food shortage or be it today. “This is what this comedy means to convey to the audience through Chens stories. We should always stay alert，” he said.

Besides shining a light on Chens pursuit of enough food for the family， the play also stresses his strong attachment to land. No mat- ter how far society advances， Chinese farmersfeeling about land and grain has remained the same， Wang said.

Zhang Yi， head of the troupe who also plays Chen， gave his interpretation. “Chen， timid and conservative to the point of being stubborn， decides to give the younger generations the green light to try another way of life， which means his mind catches up with the times fi nally.”

Since the plays debut last year， the troupe toured cities in Jiangsu and nearby before they staged it at the National Theater of China in Beijing in mid-June. Winner of several awards， the tragicomedy is listed as one of this years key art plays by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

While watching it， the audience is torn between laughter and tears.

Zhangs favorite scene is the one where the village chief， in order to cover up the starving reality of Chens family and display his good governance， orders the villagers to give their food to Chens family and then tells higher-level officials that the family eats good food every day.

The scene causes the audience to chuckle at fi rst but the next minute， when the reality is revealed and Chen begins to sob and talk about the deep poverty of his family， they are plunged into sadness. Some even begin to weep. Such scenes run through the whole play.

Zhang thought his play would fi nd takers in those who have experienced the times Chinese people did not have enough food. But to the troupes surprise， it has also been well received by the young.

“In universities， college students rush to tell us how much they loved the play. We know the young generation never pretends to like something they dont and will leave within minutes if they fi nd they dont like the play. But this has never happened to us during our performance in so many universities. Instead， even the aisles are crowded，” Zhang said.

To appeal to the young， the play is studded with the young generations language. For example， in one scene， a popular food delivery app is mentioned.

“The 1970s happened much before me and I dont have any personal experience of that time. But still I could not help weeping. I never expected to be moved to tears by a comedy，”said a Nanjing University student who gave only her surname Xu.

“I forgot I was watching a play. I never thought of leaving during the two-hour performance，” said another student from Nanjing University， identifying herself only by her family name Fang.

Geng Xuhua， a drama critic and former editor-in-chief of Chinese Theater， a monthly magazine， said the comedy cleverly depicts the miracle of providing about 1.4 billion people with enough food in the past four decades in a vivid， humorous and sometimes tear-jerking manner.

On the surface， it is about food security， but actually， it goes far beyond. It not only touches the hearts of the audience but also draws peoples attention to Chinese farmers and the vast rural areas of China.