LI Bao-Chun on Traditional Chinese Operas

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2/4 Famen Temple

Matchmaker Mrs. Liu saw Fu Peng, a young scholar, gift a bracelet to Sun Yu-Jiao, a girl in the neighborhood. Mrs. Liu asked Sun for an embroidered shoe to help confirm the engagement. Mrs. Liu’s son, Liu Biao, stole the shoe and use it to blackmail Fu but was told off by district officer, Liu Gong-Dao. At night, Liu Biao snuck into Sun’s house and by mistake killed Sun’s uncle and aunt-in-law. He cut off one head and threw it into Liu Gong-Dao’s garden. Liu Gong-Dao in fear of trouble, killed his servant, Song Xing, who saw him pick up the head. Mayor Zhao Lian pushed Fu for confession and had Fu jailed. Song Xing’s father went to report his son’s death was also locked in jail.

Song Xing’s sister Song Qiao-Jiao was betrothed to Fu. She found out the truth from Mrs. Liu by getting the matchmaker drunk. She then went to Faman Temple where the Queen Dowager went to pray, accompanied by grand eunuch, Liu Jin. Liu Jin ordered a reinvestigation. Liu Biao and Liu Gong-Dao were sentenced to death. Fu Peng married Sun Yu-Jiao and Song Qiao-Jiao with the Queen Dowager’s blessing.

2/18 The Marriage of Liu Bei and Sun Shang-Xiang

An episode of Tale of the Three Kingdoms. Sun Quan and Zhou Yu schemed to lure Liu Bei away from Jing-Zhou so that they could seize the city. They proposed marriage between Liu and Sun’s sister, Princess Sun Shang-Xiang, but Liu was asked to travel to the Sun’s territory for a formal proposal. Liu’s adviser, Zhuge Liang, saw through the trap. He not only saved Jing-Zhou City but also brought Liu Bei and Sun Shang-Xiang together into a happy marriage.

2/25 The Three-Inch Golden Lotus

This is a story about foot binding. Ge Xiang-Lian was a girl whose parents died when she was young, and her grandmother had her feet bounded when she was only six year old. After a great amount of sufferance, she finally acquired a pair of “three-inch golden lotus” feet. Ten years later, because of her foot binding, she was able to marry a rich family’s retarded son. She was even the most beloved wife because her feet were the smallest. She became a believer and preacher of foot binding. But when it was time for her own daughter to have her foot bounded, Ge’s love for her daughter came into conflict with the traditional value. She decided to set her daughter free. Her daughter established Natural Feet Society and started the Anti-footbinding Movement.