After the July 7 incident In 1937, Japan accelerated its invasion of China. Many regions in the country turned out be in a mess.
The small town Anyuan in Jiangxi Province is peaceful because it’s not affected by the war.
1937年，“七七事变”发生后，日本加快了侵略中国的步伐，中国的很多地区陷入了战乱之中。
而江西安远县这个小县城，因为暂未受到战火的波及，所以当地还一片祥和。
People will go to theater to listen Pei Yanzhi sing in the evening,
The man sings others stories on the stage. He has his own life after walking off the stage.
一到晚上，人们就会去戏院听裴晏之唱戏。而裴晏之，便是这个戏院的“角儿”。
戏台上，他唱着别人的故事。戏台下，他过着自己的人生。
But “How can the hair be saved if the skin does not exist”? There are Japanese armys in the surrounding regions, the small town is no longer safe.
The Japanese artillery open the door of the small town in a short time.
After the soilders knew that here is an actor, Pei Yanzhi, they asked him to sing for them alone to comforted all Japanese.
They asked Pei Yangzhi to show up, or they would burn down the whole town, everyone here would die.
但“皮之不存，毛将焉附”?周边都被日军侵占，安远县又岂能幸免于难？
没多久，日本人的火炮便轰开了安远县城。
在得知安远剧院有裴晏之这样一位“角儿”后，蛮横无理的日本人便要求戏院单独为他们唱一场，以慰问所有日本士兵。
而且他们点名要裴晏之出场，否则就烧掉戏院和县城，所有人都难逃一死。
So Pei Yanzhi accept the special job, he sat in front of the dressing table and began to draw eyebrows.
The parters around him look very different, some sigh, some want to speak something, and some is angry.
Pei Yanzhi advise them to focus on their jobs. “Dong, dong, dong!” A gong and drum ring, open the curtain, an drama is going to begin.
Japanese soilder under the stage are launghing and talking, they drink hot tea, eat fruits, and prepare to appreciate the Chinese opera.
于是，裴晏之接下了这个“活”，坐到妆台前，开始描眉画目。
身边的伙伴神态迥异，有人唉声叹气，有人欲言又止，有人气愤填膺。
裴晏之安慰他们做好自己的工作。“咚！咚！咚！”一阵锣鼓开响，拉开大幕，好戏即将开场。
台下的日军谈笑风生，一边喝着热茶，吃着瓜果，一边准备欣赏中国这别具特色的戏曲。
Pei prepared traditional opera Peach Blossom Fan for these Japanese, it’s also his specialty.
These Japanese cheered when Pei began to sing, although they didn’t know what he was singing. But they could judge the man is a good actor after heared his tune.
裴晏之此次为他们准备的是《桃花扇》，也是他的拿手好戏。
他一开嗓，日军就一片叫好。尽管大部分日军不知道他唱的是什么，但从他的曲调能听得出来，这是个不错的“角儿”。
As the lyrics in Chi Ling say, “Open and close and Fans, play gongs and drums and be quiet, the emotion in the opera, people outside the opera, who to tell the story?”
When Pei Yanzhi sang, “There are wolves, tigers and leopards in the audience, and evil spirits are in the way.” The drums on the stage suddenly become dense, and there is a tendency of “rains are coming and wind is filling”.
正如《赤伶》中的歌词“扇开合，锣鼓响又默。戏中情戏外人，凭谁说？”
当裴晏之唱到：“台下坐的是豺狼虎豹，恶鬼当道”时，戏台上的鼓声突然密集起来，一股“山雨欲来风满楼”之势。
The Japanese were frightened and only listen to Pei shouted, “fire!” There was a huge fire around the theater in a short time.
All Japanese wanted to escape but got that all doors and windows had been closed off.
Pei had a determination to die since he accept the acting job, he planed to die with these evil Japanese.
日军错愕之际，只听裴晏之大喊一声：“点火!”很快，戏院四周便燃起了熊熊大火。
日军想逃出去，发现门窗不知在何时已被封死。
原来裴晏之从接下这场戏的那一刻，就抱定了必死之心，打算同这群罪恶滔天的日军同归于尽。
Pei has peace of mind without fear when looking at the burning fire.
According to the stage rules, you can’t stop singing once you start, so he continue to sing, “watching the building, watching he receive guests, watching the building collapse. On this pile of moss and green tiles, I had a good sleep and felt the rise and fall of fifty years…”
The building collapsed, but the play didn’t end. Despite his lowly position, he never forgot his country. (There has been a lot of debates on the Internet about whether this man exists in history, but his patriotism is worth learning from.)
看着熊熊燃烧的大火，他心中不仅没有丝毫恐惧，反而一片平静。
按照戏台上的规矩：只要开嗓，中途就不能停下，所以裴晏之继续唱道：“眼看他起朱楼，眼看他宴宾客，眼看他楼塌了。这青苔碧瓦堆，俺曾睡风流觉，将五十年兴亡看饱……”
楼塌了，戏却未终。尽管位卑，却从未忘国。(关于裴晏之是否存在，网友一直争论不休，但他的爱国精神，却值得我们学习。)
