Q&A with Chen Xinyi, director of Ein Heldenleben: Cai Lun

Ein Heldenleben: Cai Lun combines spoken text, poetry, Peking Opera style performance and live classical music to create a theatre production that tells the life of Cai Lun, the inventor of paper. The epic performance was created by Chen Xinyi, one of China’s most renowned directors, known for her experimentation with theatre aesthetic. Performed in traditional Chinese costume and makeup, the performance is accompanied live by Fidelio Orchestra playing Richard Strauss’ symphonic poem Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life), using the music to structure the narrative of Cai Lun’s life in all its emotional and moral complexities. We spoke to writer and director Chen Xinyi.

What drew you to Cai Lun?

I first approach Cai Lun because of my love for the protagonist, and my love for classical music and for symphony. It started as a theatre play, because of my many collaborations with our lead actor Guan Dongtian, I wanted to write something for him. Many of our collaborations have been based on historical figures, and Cai Lun is a heroic, tragic figure. He is full of colour and tragedy, he is confident but also full of self-doubt. He is cunning in a way, though he is also honest.

How did Strauss’ music shape the show?

Strauss’ symphony is in six parts. Each part has a theme, and in each I could see Cai Lun. It starts with the hero, then the antagonist appears. For Cai Lun, that is the emperor. Then his partner: even though Cai Lun was a eunuch, did he have a partner? I thought must have a partner for Cai Lun. He became a eunuch to come to court at 16, but historically speaking men were usually a father by the time they were 16. There are historic references to eunuchs with court women, they have a relationships that pretend at marriage, they go about all the mundanity of marriage, but it’s also beyond marriage. It’s pure, it’s transcendental. And I heard that in Strauss’ violins.

Then we have the accomplishment: Cai Lun not only invented paper, replacing the bamboo they were using at the time, but he also made a way of producing it, he gave work to people to produce his paper and that changed hundreds of lives. That is as important as the invention.

Is there a key message in the show?

At the end, we have the most important message, at the end of his life. He wants to feel whole, he has been castrated and he wants to find the root of himself. What this theatre production shows is that he has been castrated physically, but that does not affect him mentally, he is still whole spiritually.

I want audiences to leave feeling respect for him, but respect for themselves, from head to toe. Self respect is an important theme in Chinese culture, and I want to share that with this production in London.

Why bring the show to London now?

The show was meant to be produced earlier, but then Covid happened. But maybe that was fortunate, as this year is Strauss’ 160th anniversary. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of my exploration and creation of symphony poetry drama, starting from 2004 when I collaborated with conductor Hu Bingxu and the Komische Oper Berlin to create the Peking Opera symphony poetry drama Mei Lanfang.

Tell us about your style?

I created symphony poetry drama. My biggest goal is to be great, and I try to achieve greatness by bringing great things together. In Western culture classical music is one of the greatest forms of art. In China, it’s the Peking Opera. My two lead actors are two of the greatest actors in China, they are both from Peking Opera dynasties.

Ein Heldenleben: Cai Lun will be at LSO St Luke’s on 17th October https://www.lso.co.uk/whats-on/ein-heldenleben-·-cai-lun/