Wang Ying Leaving Er-long Mountain is also called Tan Wuyang, both xinlu and jiulu(the old and new style)repertoires feature this play. It tells the story of the Guangwu Emperor of Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu, who while drunk ordered his meritorious statesmen to be executed or exiled. As a result, marshals...Read more
Wang Ying Leaving Er-long Mountain is also called Tan Wuyang, both xinlu and jiulu(the old and new style)repertoires feature this play. It tells the story of the Guangwu Emperor of Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu, who while drunk ordered his meritorious statesmen to be executed or exiled. As a result, marshals from all over the empire revolted against him. Wang Ying's father, Wang Ba was executed by Liu Xiu, after which he held the Er-long Mountain and established himself as king of the mountain. One day, on a leisure excursion, Wang Ying saw a lady general fleeing the pursuit of King Donglu's troops. Out of righteous wrath, he returned to his camp to get his weapon, the Green Dragon Staff to rescue the lady. Afterwards Wang Ying inquired about the lady's story, only to realize that she was Liu Xiu's daughter, Princess Fairy. Wang Ying intended to kill her. But Princess Fairy not only begged for her life, she succeeded in persuading Wang Ying to surrender to the Han and escorted her to Jinyipu to search for the missing heir-apparent, Liu Yang. When they arrived at Jinyipu, Liu Yang had already escaped. Princess Fairy ordered Wang Ying to keep looking in the Wuyang area, while she returned to Plum Blossom Camp.
The protagonist Wang Ying was played by the leading painted face jing (characters with painted faces), Li Mei-niang. She is a rare female jing character of the Luantan theater. Princess Fairy was played by the new-generation actress Li Li-fen, who is capable of dan (female characters), sheng (male characters), and hua (characters with painted faces). In the first half of the play, she had to fight fiercely against another female general from the Donglu troops. In the second half of the play, she sang prolonged arias while persuading Wang Ying. She is well familiar with the military or lyrical repertoire.
Category | Xiqu(Traditional Opera) |
Type | Luantan Opera |
Chinese Title | 王英下山 |
Group | Hanyan Beiguan Troupe |
Creative staff | Hanyan Beiguan Troupe |
Subtitle | Mandarin Chinese / English |
Premiere | 1981-4-21 |
Venue | National Center for Traditional Arts, Yilan |
Duration | 60min |
Image Source | Hanyan Beiguan Troupe、Bureau of Cultural Heritage,Ministry of Culture |
Other Works | The Battle of Luohua River Visiting Younger Sister Xue Ping-guei Crossing Three Gates |