LI Bao-Chun on Traditional Chinese Operas

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9/3  Kunqu opera: Tale of the Pipa

Cai Bo-Jie, a scholar from Chenliu City, bid goodbye to his newly wedded wife, Wu-Niang, and went to the capital city to take the Imperial Exam. After he placed first, he was asked marry Premier Niu’s daughter. Three years later, Bo-Jie heard a famine strike his hometown. He wished to resign to return home. The emperor turned down his resignation, and Bo-Jie spent his days in depression. His current wife, Lady Niu, questioned him closely, and he let out the truth about his previous marriage and his family. Wu-Niang decided to leave, after her parents-in-law both died of famine, for the capital city to look for her husband, with her in-laws’ portraits in her pack. She played Pipa for a living and made her way to the capital city. Lady Niu heard about it, found her, and help her reunite with Cai Bo-Jie.

9/17 Kunqu opera: Over the Wall

Pei Shao-Jun, son of Minister Pei, went to Louyang for flower seedlings. As he passed by Governor Li Shi-Jie’s garden, he saw Li’s daughter, Li Qian-Jun. The two fell passionately in love, and Qian-Jun ran away with Shao-Jun to Changan and hid herself in the Pei’s garden. This lasted for seven years, and they had two children, until Minister Pei accidentally entered the garden and found out about the whole ordeal. Minister Pei was enraged. He ordered Shao-Jun to banish his wife, and Qian-Jun had to stay in a nunnery while Pei Shao-Jun headed for the capital city to take the Imperial Exam. After challenges and challenges, they finally reunited.

9/10 Vengeance of a Black Pot

LIU Shi-Chang by LI Bao-Chun

ZHANG Bie-Gu By Sun Zheng-Yang

Judge BAO Zheng by CHEN Yuan-Cheng

ZHAO Da by CHANG Gui-Xiang

Mrs. ZHAO by WU Hai-Lun

LIU Sheng by CHEN Ching-He

Judge of Purgatory by PENG Chun-Kang

Ox by PENG Wei-Chun

Horse by LIU Yu-Chang

Jinhu(Head of Strings): YE Guang

Drum(Head of Percussions): XIE Guang-Rong

Filmed on March 27, 2003, Novel Hall for Performing Arts, Taipei

On his way home after collecting accounts, a wealthy merchant, Liu Shi-Chang, was murdered by Zhao Da, a pottery-make. To leave no trace of this bloody murder, Zhao Da and his wife cremated the remains and put the ashes into the clay which later was burnt into a pot. When an old neighbor Zhang Bie-Gu came to ask the Zhao’s to repay the money they owed him, they said they had no cash with them and gave the pot to Zhang instead. Zhang, a kind-hearted and honest old man, discovered what he was given was a pot with a spirit attached, and the spirit begged him to seek justice for the ills done to him. A strange partnership was established between Zhang and the pot ghost. Zhang he took the pot to the sagacious Judge Bao. After investigations, the truth was out, and Zhao and his wife were brought to justice.

9/24 KOOCLOUD LIVE

White Water Beach

Xu Shi-Ying, regarded by people as a Robin Hood, got captured by the local authorities when he was drunk. He was escorted to the capital city, heavily guarded by officer Liu RJ and lieutenant Xia’s troops. Just when they were passing through White Water Beach, they were ambushed by Shi-Ying’s sister, Pei-Zhu, and bandits of Tong Tian Xi together. Mu Yu-Ji, an onlooker, joined the fight and accidentally saved Liu RJ. Xu Shi-Ying and his sister were defeated, but he claimed to have enjoyed the fight with Mu, and they returned to his stockade.

Rescuing the Zhao’s Orphan

The tyrannous Duke Jin-Ling oppressed his people. Premier Zhao Dun, after giving the Duke countless advices in vain, was murdered by the backbiting Tu-An Gu, a colleague in court. Along died his whole family, except his daughter-in-law, Princess Zhuang-Ji, who fled back to the palace, where she gave birth to a baby boy. Cheng Ying, a protege of the Zhao’s, rescued the baby out of the palace. Tu-An Gu couldn’t find the baby in the palace, so he ran a decree throughout the state saying if the baby boy was not surrendered in ten days’ time, all babies around the same age would be killed. Cheng Ying and his friend, Gong-Sun Chu-Jiu, came up with a plan. Cheng Ying would sacrifice his baby son. Gong-Sun would sacrifice his own life. The Zhao’s Orphan was thus rescued, and he would grow up to revenge the injustice.