This play is from the Luantan jiulu(old style)repertoire. Its content consists of the first half of Visiting Younger Sister, Jinlian Observing the Stars. It tells about Liu Xiu of the Eastern Han who unintentionally executed several of his meritorious statesmen while drunk. When his brother sold the...Read more
This play is from the Luantan jiulu(old style)repertoire. Its content consists of the first half of Visiting Younger Sister, Jinlian Observing the Stars. It tells about Liu Xiu of the Eastern Han who unintentionally executed several of his meritorious statesmen while drunk. When his brother sold the country to King Donglu, the Donglu General Ju Yan-long and his wife led an army to demand the imperial seal. One night, the Han heir apparent, Liu Yang fled from Jinyipu to Jijiazhuang. Exhausted from the flight, he slept on the doorsteps of the manor gate. The manor owner, Ji-Cong, was away on a quest for Daoist immortality. His sister Jin-lian was observing stars on the balustrade when she saw a red light gleaming near the gate. She sent her maid there to make inquiries. The maid found a child sleeping outside and brought him in. After a round of questioning, Jin-lian realized that this was the son of their archenemy who had killed her uncle Yao-Qi. Jin-lian meant to kill the heir apparent. However, there were deities who guarded the Son of Heaven so that no harm could be done to him. Jin-lian therefore gave up the idea of killing him; instead she took Liu Yang in for future reward of imperial honorary title.
The luantan theater had previously used mandarin in speaking and singing. But after its dissemination in Taiwan, it became influenced by Fujian dialect the Taiwanese vernacular language. Other than the primary dan and sheng characters, secondary characters like the maids and servants all speak in the Fujian dialect. The young new talent Lin Li-fen played the protagonist Liu Yang. Famous Taiwanese opera dan Li Cui-lan played Ji Jin-lian. Both had much demanding singing to do in this opera.
Category | Xiqu(Traditional Opera) |
Type | Luantan Opera |
Chinese Title | 探妹 |
Group | Hanyan Beiguan Troupe |
Creative staff | Hanyan Beiguan Troupe |
Subtitle | Mandarin Chinese / English |
Premiere | 1993-6-18, National Center for Traditional Arts,Yi |
Venue | National Center for Traditional Arts, Yilan |
Duration | 30min |
Image Source | Hanyan Beiguan Troupe、Bureau of Cultural Heritage,Ministry of Culture |
Other Works | The Battle of Luohua River Wang Ying Leaving Er-long Mountain Xue Ping-guei Crossing Three Gates |