Peking Opera Number One Scholar Zhang Xie July 5, 2008

Time: 2008/7/5
Venue: Chinese National Peking Opera Company Experimental Theater
Price: 50/100/120/380
Tel: 86-10-64177845
Web: www.piao.com.cn

ZhangXie, the No. 1 Scholar: the earliest South Opera play known so far. Itwas written by a gifted scholar in Jiushan Society (Jiushan being theother name of Wenzhou) of the Song Dynasty. The story goes as follows:

Dreamingof a marvelous thing all of a sudden, Zhang Xie, a skillful writer lefthome for the capital city to take the senior scholar examination. Onthe way to the capital Zhang Xie was robbed and that led him to becomepenury. While in distress Zhang Xie was saved by a girl of poverty wholater married Zhang Xie through the matchmaking of a neighbor couple LiDa Gong. Relying on the poor wife selling her hair to assist for money,Zhang Xie finally entered the examination and attained the firstscholar.

PrimeMinister Wang Deyong intended to have his daughter marrying Zhang Xie,and that was refused by the first scholar. Zhang Xie’s wife came to thecapital city looking for her husband and was denied, even was evictedand about to be killed by Zhang out of the mansion. Fortunately thatpoor wife was saved and adopted as foster child by The Prime MinisterWang. Zhang’s behavior was condemned by Wang Deyong, couple Li and theghost judger when Zhang taking an officer post on route passed by atemple and that aroused his pricks of conscience. The remarriage ofZhang and the poverty girl was arranged then by Prime Minister Wang andthe couple Li.

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