This is a Taiwanese Opera classic preserved through the “Project of Recording and Preserving Taiwanese Opera by Liao Chiung-chih” (The opera was composed by Ms. Liao Chiung-chih, Artistic Director of the Shintrun Taiwanese Opera Troupe that performs the opera). Besides Liao Chiung-chi, an important figure in the preservation of folk art, who plays the leading female role of Jiao Guei-ying, all other characters are played by talented actors trained by Ms. Liao over the years. For example, Wang Kuei is played by Huang Ya-rong, Jiao Shi-xian is played by Cao Ya-lan, who was a first-year graduate of the Department of Taiwanese Opera of National Taiwan College of the Performing Arts, and the Daughter of the Premiere is played by Lin Xian-yuan, an expert of qian-dan (female characters played by men ).

In the opera, Wang Kuei goes to the capital to take the examination for court officials, and on his way there he meets Jiao Guei-ying, a famous courtesan. The two get married after falling in love with each other. It happens that the examination is postponed, and Wang Kuei, with the financial support of Guei-ying, focuses on his study. With the approach of the examination day, Wang’s mother lost her house in the fire and left her hometown to look for her son, begging for food and shelter all along the way, and finally reunites with her son. Guei-ying determines to take good care of her mother-in-law and at the same time she sells some of her jewelry for the travel expenses of Wang Kuei. When Wang Kuei passes the exam and is crowned as the Zhuang-yuan scholar, for gaining wealth and power, he lies that he is not married in order to marry the daughter of the premiere. Learning about this, Guei-ying hurries to the capital to question Wang Kuei and is beaten up by Wang Kuei’s guards. When Guei-ying tries to commit suicide in the Temple of Sea God, the Sea God, after listening to her complaint, helps her to capture Wang Kuei alive for revenge.

Though getting old, Liao Chiung-chih plays Jiao Guei-ying who sings the crying tune, Liao’s expertise, and performs highly difficult skills of “ghost steps” and “rolling, tumbling, flapping, and falling.”