Ling Lung Cantonese Opera Troupe Du Shiniang
The story takes place during the Wanli reign of the Ming dynasty. Du Shiniang, a songstress in the capital, is an unrivalled beauty among the courtesans. Young men and aristocrats in the capital all fall for her charm. Liu Yuchun, a scholar of the Imperial Academy, receives financial support from his rich kinsman Li Ganxian. One evening, Li takes Liu for a visit to the brothel, and both won Shiniang's attention. Liu, aware of his humble circumstances, admires Shiniang but lacks the courage to show his love; Li, smitten of Shiniang's beauty, is bent on winning her over. But lacking in literary talent, Li asks Liu to compose a poem in his place. It succeeds in getting Shiniang to meet Li and they take vows of love. Sun Fu, a rich salt dealer, is enrolled at the Academy through donations. He is enamoured of Shiniang but she rejects him.
One day, Shiniang and friends are on a pilgrimage to Fragrant Hill and run into Sun Fu. Liu happens to pass by and defuses the situation, only to be misunderstood by Shiniang who dislikes him ever since. The bawd of the brothel, for want of money, forces Shiniang to become Sun's concubine. Shiniang resists by threatening to kill herself. Fearing she may lose both Shiniang and the money, the bawd gives Shiniang ten days to raise three hundred taels of gold to be released from the bond. Li goes about raising the money, but lacking the means, he asks Liu for help. Wanting to free Shiniang from the bond, Liu borrows one hundred and fifty taels of gold from Sun Fu and hands them over to Shiniang, who shows appreciation for Li but mocks Liu. Eventually, Shiniang has raised enough money for her release. She returns to Jiangsu-Zhejiang with Li.
When the boat sails near Guazhou, Li begins to feel regret: he is now broke, and his parents may not forgive him for marrying a songstress. In the meantime, Sun Fu's boat has caught up with them. He is willing to pay Li a thousand taels of gold to buy Shiniang from Li. After weighing the pros and cons, Li agrees, he even owns up to Shiniang his decision. Ruing her choice of husband, the disillusioned Shiniang sinks her treasure chest full of jewels into the river and jumps in to drown herself. Later, a dispirited Liu leaves the capital. At Guazhou, he sees a wooden treasure chest on the river and picks it up. That very evening, he has a dream - Shininag appears on the waves and tearfully tells him her sad story. But they are now separated by death, and Shiniang's regrets are remembered by posterity.
Loong Koon-tin as Liu Yuchun
Tang Mi-ling as Du Shiniang
Yuen Siu-fai as Li Ganxian
Lui Hung-kwong as Sun Fu
Chan Hung-chun as bawd
Chan Ka-ming as Xie Yuelang
Cheung Kit-ha as Xu Susu
Kwong Shun-yan as Sier
Running time of each performance is approximately 3 hours and 15 minutes including an intermission of 15 minutes.
Lyrics and dialogue with Chinese and English surtitles
Information provided by the arts group
Du Shiniang is the third full-length Cantonese Opera - a ‘bitter sweet love affair’ that I have written for more than ten years.
The play is adapted from a widely known short story – Du Shiniang Sinks Her Jewel Box in Anger, Vol. 32, of the vernacular story collection of Jingshi Tongyan (Stories to Caution the World) by Feng Menglong (1574 – 1646). I had a dream – that I could transform ‘her’ into a Cantonese Opera without changing the core storyline, and present this brilliant classic, with all its vivid detail, to the audience.
Once again, I would like to thank my friends in the Cantonese song art circle: they were there throughout the whole writing process and provided me with endless inspiration as I grew as a writer. The creation of Du Shiniang sprang from an agreement we made – that I would write a theme song for the opera's finale, a duet between the male and female protagonists, but not with Li Jia as the male lead. For this reason, I made the bold decision to replace him with Liu Yuchun.
My sincere thanks to stage director Geng Tianyuan for his advice in helping to shape and strengthen the plot, increasing tension in the plot line, and fleshing out the characters in the later stage of writing the script for Du Shiniang. I am thankful to the instructors of the Cantonese Opera script-writing course of the Cantonese Opera Academy of Hong Kong for their meticulous guidance, and for giving me the opportunity to do my best in writing libretti for Cantonese opera. I am grateful to my mother, family, and colleagues for their understanding and support, which allowed me to pursue my dream with peace of mind in my spare time.
Written in autumn of 2019
Chow Kit-ping
Chow Kit-ping enrolled in the Cantonese Opera script-writing course of the Cantonese Opera Academy of Hong Kong and trained between 2008 and 2010. With a grant from the Xiqu Playwright Mentoring and New Play Performance Project of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council in 2009, she wrote the script The Jade Crafter. The new play was performed by Kam Sing Fai Cantonese Opera Troupe in 2011. She received another grant the same year, and wrote a second play, Poetics of the Postal Pavilion, which featured a stellar cast of Wan Fai-yin, Yuen Siu-fai and Sun Kim-long.
According to records, the story of Du Shiniang happened in the Wanli period of the Ming dynasty. Song Maocheng of Ming narrated this story in detail in Fuqing Nong Zhuan, Vol. 5 of his Jiu Yue Ji. It was later adapted with flourish and details by Feng Menglong (1574 – 1646) and entered into his collection of vernacular novellas, Jingshi Tongyan (Stories to Caution the World). The twist and turn of its storyline had won a widespread readership.
In the story, when Du Shiniang finds out that she is once again sold like goods at the Guazhou Crossing, the bubble that has promised her dignity and a very much aspired-to new life is burst. What is left in her hands is the worldly beauty made up of her own flesh and soul. She chooses destruction without hesitation – she announces to the world with pride her demise and destroys publicly what men hold dearest – beautiful women and wealth. She faces death with a certain degree of mockery and gratification. Heroic and impactful as lightning and thunder, this destruction at the same time evokes the poetic poignancy of the beautiful scene of a lone wild goose flying off in the sunset.
Perhaps this may explain the numerous new productions in film and television, as well as staged versions in Cantonese, Sichuan, Peking and Yangzhou operas based on this story. The latest is perhaps the recent iconoclastic play, Du Shiniang and Her Goldbach’s Conjecture, one that is touted as ‘a cruel drama about youth and love’.
When I was reading the script, I often superimposed Mi-ling's face on what I made of Du Shining's. Mi-ling is good at crafting a stage persona, and at times her eyes would shine with a determined, unswerving light. It is this look that encapsulates Du Shiniang's personality.
There is an often quoted saying by Yuan Haowen (1190-1257) of the Jin period, ‘O World, what is love that can bring lovers to make their eternal pledge?’ Du Shiniang has betrothed herself to Li Jia but the cruel reality tells her, in Yu Xuanji of the Tang dynasty's words, ‘It's easy to get a priceless treasure, but hard to find a true lover.’ In this new work, playwright Ms Chow, out of her passion for the story, has crafted a rare species of a man – Liu Yuchun, who is loving, loyal and to a certain extent, heroic.
‘A happy ending for the lovers' is a wish from the heart. But a loving heart is not enough. In the end, karma holds sway.
Geng Tianyuan
Playwright: Chow Kit-ping
Director: Geng Tianyuan
Percussion Leader: Yau Lung
Ensemble Leader: Pang Kam-shun
Backstage Vocal: Sum Yung
Stage Manager and Lighting Designer: Leung Wai-hong
Deputy Stage Manager: Ko Man-him
Music Designer: Ng Lut-kwong
Coordinator: Tang Mi-ling
Manager: Wong Siu-sang
Lighting and Set: Kwong Hing Stage Scene Production Company
Costume and Props: Kam Yee Costumes Company
General Affairs: Chen Kin-yat
Leaflet Information and Surtitles Translation: KCL Language Consultancy Limited
Ling Lung Cantonese Opera Troupe Du Shiniang
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Pre-Performance Talk
29 November 2019 (Fri) 7:30pm
AC2, Level 4, Administration Building, Hong Kong Cultural Centre
Speaker: Loong Koon-tin, Tang Mi-ling, Chow Kit-ping
Post-Performance Talk
16 January 2020 (Thu) 7:30pm
AC1, Level 4, Administration Building, Hong Kong Cultural Centre
Speaker: Loong Koon-tin, Tang Mi-ling, Chow Kit-ping
In Cantonese
Free Admission. Limited seats available on a first-come, first-served basis.
14.01.2020 (Tue) - 15.01.2020 (Wed) 19:30
$380, $300, $220, $140
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