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Old fish tale provides bait for opera intrigue
The opera "Fishing Joy" celebrates the bravery and wisdom of the ordinary fisher girl Wu Feixia. -
Artist's deft sketches capture characters of opera forever
Opera sketches provide good training for painters. They require keen observation, a quick mind, a nimble hand and undivided attention for the duration of a show. -
In popular ancient story, love triumphs
"Romance of the Western Chamber," written by Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) playwright Wang Shifu, was an adaptation of a 12th-century epic love story. -
Surreal romanticism, transcendental love
"Peony Pavilion," a play written by Shakespeare contemporary Tang Xianzu, went on to become one of the most enduring classics in the Chinese opera repertory. -
Betrayal and crossed swords doom ill-fated lovers
The opera "Baihua's Sword" is about love and betrayal. -
Avarice, jealousy lead to perversion of justice
The opera "Fifteen Strings of Coins," created by the playwright Zhu Suchen during the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), is a story of coincidences and mistaken circumstances. -
Exploits of the Monkey King beloved by Chinese young and old
Painter Zhu Gang's brush works have captured the Monkey King as portrayed in many traditional operas. -
Unique class of traditional roles in opera dishes out comic relief
Humans have relentlessly pursued beauty and shunned what is considered ugly. But looking at it another way, beauty and ugliness may be two sides of the same coin. -
Classic tales of love, treachery and conflict
"Water Margin" is filled with expressive characters, dramatic conflicts and an engaging plot. It has been adapted into Peking and Kunqu operas. -
A king and his concubine suffer the death of defeat
"Farewell My Concubine" recounts the tragic love story of King Xiang Yu and his concubine Yu Ji, set just before the king's decisive defeat at the hands of rival Liu Bang's forces. -
Palace maid plots to assassinate the 'tiger'
Painter Zhu Gang depicts the assassination moment by contrasting the two protagonists – palace maid Fei Zhen'e and General Li Gu, nicknamed the "tiger." -
Battle of mistaken identity ends happily
Dang Ma was an episode of "The Generals of the Yang Family," a collection of folklore, plays and novels on the Yang military family during the Song Dynasty.