This play is one of the few lyrical plays of Ming Hwa Yuan, focusing on touching interaction between family members and an individual’s exploration of his inner self. The inspiration came from the funeral ceremony for Ming Hwa Yuan’s founder, Chen Ming-ji, and was presided over by the Foguang Buddhi...Read more
This play is one of the few lyrical plays of Ming Hwa Yuan, focusing on touching interaction between family members and an individual’s exploration of his inner self. The inspiration came from the funeral ceremony for Ming Hwa Yuan’s founder, Chen Ming-ji, and was presided over by the Foguang Buddhist Organization. Moved by the solemn rituals and calming sutra chanting, the playwright Chen Sheng-guo decided to compose a play based on the Buddhist notions of love and mercy. The Amitabha Sutra in the play represents Buddhist moral teachings that encourage doing good and ridding the world of evil, thereby demonstrating a merciful spirit that turns violence into peacefulness.
The play features two people of identical appearances; one is Van Luo-jia, prince of the Miaohua Country; the other is Duan Mu-zhu, outwardly an imposing general, but in actuality having no self-command. The two contrasting characters were both played by leading actress Sun Cui-feng. One day, under the imperial order, General Duan Mu-zhu led an army to the Miaohua Country. After a bloody combat, only the prince and princess survived the catastrophe. Years later, the adult prince came to China to seek revenge. He found his archenemy had been assassinated long ago, leaving his old grandfather and weak grandchild to be on their own. Van Luo-jia fell into a moral dilemma: to revenge or not? Finally, he decided to reconcile hatred with love and mercy. Though he had arrived full of hatred, on the day he left, he returned with profound love.
Category | Xiqu(Traditional Opera) |
Type | Taiwanese Opera |
Chinese Title | 乘願再來 |
Group | Ming Hwa Yuan Arts & Cultural Group |
Creative staff | Ming Hwa Yuan Arts & Cultural Group |
Subtitle | Mandarin Chinese/Simplified Chinese/English/Japane |
Premiere | 2001-01-11 |
Venue | The Metropolitan Hall, Taipei |
Duration | 150min |
Image Source | |
Other Works | Lotus Lady Fairy- He XianGu JiGong, the Living Buddha: Enchanted Snow Fox Grand Immortal of Ponlai Legend of White Snake |