Listen to this articlexiǎoshōushā 小收煞
Midpoint Conclusion
指戏剧上半场最后一出收场戏。李渔（1611—1680）提出这一术语，包含戏剧上半场收束的要求和技巧：既要让上半场结构相对完整，完成基本人物、事件的交代，不中断一个连续事件；又要展开主要冲突，为下半场埋下伏笔，给观众留下悬念。多场戏、长篇说书也经常运用这一收束技巧，让观众或听众得以暂时满足或对下面的剧情有所期待。
This term, first coined by Li Yu (1611-1680), refers to the last scene of the first half of a play. It includes the requirement for and techniques of concluding the first half of the play. Besides the structural completeness of this section, all the relevant characters and events should have appeared by now or been duly introduced, and no ongoing event should be interrupted without a proper reason. Meanwhile, main conflicts should have unfolded, leaving clues to be uncovered later and keeping the audience in suspense. A serial drama, performed in multiple installments, as well as extra long folklore, often use this withdrawal technique to temporarily satisfy the audience’s curiosity or keep them guessing what is to come next.
引例 Citation：
◎半部之末出，暂摄情形，略收锣鼓，名为小收煞。宜紧，忌宽，宜热，忌冷。（李渔《闲情偶寄·词曲部》）
（上半场的最后一出戏结束之时，要暂时收束剧情，稍稍止住锣鼓，这叫做小收煞。剧情应当紧凑而不拖沓，场景应当热闹而不冷清。）
Toward the end of a play’s first half, plot development should be suspended and the beating of gongs and drums ceased for the moment. This is what is called “midpoint conclusion.” At such a juncture, the plot should be well-knit rather than drawn out, and the atmosphere lively rather than cheerless. (Li Yu: Occasional Notes with Leisure Motions)
◎但为子輶妾者，玉胜而下，尚四五人，不特场上不可演，即此记之后，亦收煞不尽，不能不举此遗彼矣。（祁彪佳《远山堂曲品》）
（作为主人公子輶的妾的，除了玉胜，还有四五个，这些妾不只是在场上不能全部表演，即使这折戏之后，情节也难以全部收束，因此在剧情安排中就会出现突出有些妾而不管其他妾的情况。）
Ziyou, the main character in the Ming Dynasty opera Fragrant Jade, has Yusheng and four or five other concubines. These women cannot play out their roles during this scene, and even at the end it is hardly possible to cover every one. Thus, while some of them are given prominence, the rest look irrelevant. (Qi Biaojia: Commentaries on Ming-dynasty Drama from Yuanshan Studio)
