我是个戏迷②，我和妻子的缘分也是从戏开始的。

    那天，我们一起参加一个戏迷的演出活动。上场前，妻子的盖头③掉了，我随手捡起来给她戴上。后来妻子告诉我，当时她觉得自己有被保护的感觉，对我很有好感。那以后，我们渐渐走到了一起，直到结婚。

    在我们的婚礼上，到场的客人很多都是戏曲界④的名人。和别的新郎新娘不同，我们是唱着京剧走进婚礼现场的。

    别的年轻人从恋爱到结婚，总要逛逛公园、看看电影。我们俩最开心的事情，是能在台上一起唱戏。我们约定，每年要给自己安排两次同台演出。这样做确实会花去很多本该去旅游、玩乐的时间，可我们一点儿都不觉得遗憾。每次排练或演出，我们都感觉很幸福。我们经常做的游戏是对台词⑤，偶尔出了错，就会哈哈大笑。有时也会为一句台词争得面红耳赤⑥。每次演出的海报⑦我们都留着，为的是纪念我们共同走过的日子。有一天，妻子摸着厚厚的文件袋，笑着说：“等海报凑够12张，我们就做一个挂历⑧，一页一出⑨我们演的戏，肯定特别有趣。”

    今年3月，为了纪念我和妻子的第一次见面，我们办了一次纪念演出。我和妻子认真准备了半年，亲自联系场地、乐队和其他演员。在演出前的那段时间，我和妻子几乎每天都顾不得回家吃饭，一下班就去排练。直到深夜才回家，半路上还忘不了议论排练中的得失。

    终于到了演出的那一刻。上场之前，我从后台往下一看，台下坐满了观众，其中很多都是我们的亲友，心里一下子非常感动。轮到我上场了。我随着音乐走到台上，完全进入到剧情中，仿佛自己就是剧中人，就是那个几百年前的人物。在那一刻，我完全忘了半年来的辛苦，一切的付出都是值得的。

    虽然我和妻子只是戏迷，利用业余时间演出，但当我们捧着受赠鲜花、听着掌声时，那种自豪感和成就感，一点儿也不比专业演员差。

    我和妻子爱京剧，京剧在我们的血液里流动，已经成了我们生命的一部分。我想，我们的人生也会像在舞台上的表演一样精彩。这也可以说是我们和京剧有缘吧。

    I love opera, and my love for my wife also started with opera.

    The other day she and I took part in a performance given by opera lovers. Just before she went onto the stage, her headscarf fell to the ground. I saw it, immediately picked it up and put it on for her. Later, she told me she felt she was being protected and developed a good impression of me. Afterwards, we naturally got closer and closer till we were married.

    At our wedding many of the guests were Peking opera celebrities. Unlike other brides and bridegrooms, we walked into the wedding hall singing a duet taken from Peking opera!

    While other young lovers would go to the parks and the cinema during the period of their courtship, for us the most enjoyable event was singing an opera together on stage. We agreed to perform together on the stage twice a year. This, indeed, would take up much of our time that we could have spent on traveling and other forms of entertainment, but we did not feel the least regret. At every rehearsal or performance, we would feel very happy. A frequent game we played was to check each other’s lines, and we would laugh heartily when occasionally either of us made a mistake. Sometimes we would argue over a particular line until we became red in the face. We kept the playbills of all our performances in order to commemorate the days we had played on stage together. One day, fiddling with a thick folder in her hand, my wife smiled: “When we have collected 12 playbills, we will make a wall calendar, using a play we have performed for each page. That will be great fun!”

    In March this year, to celebrate our first date, my wife and I gave a commemorative performance. We prepared earnestly for half a year, arranging the venue, inviting the orchestra and the other players all by ourselves. In the days running up to the performance, my wife and I were so busy that we hardly had time to go home for dinner. We would go directly to the rehearsal as soon as we finished work and would rehearse until midnight. Even on our way home we would continue discussi