Paichang plays, or formulaic plays, are an important part of Cantonese opera. Paichang’s components include special percussive points, set tunes and characters, plots, and stylised movements. In the olden days, a paichang opera was often the brainchild of the impresario’s assistant, who would pick out certain pieces to form one production. These formed the basis for what became the traditional Cantonese opera repertory as it is known today. “Investigation to Redress a Wrong” follows the traditional paichang form and is therefore made up of segments such as “The Battle”, “Seeing the Wife”, “Reading the Petition”, “Searching the Palace” and others.

The story follows Prince Gong, who runs into a gang of robbers while on a hunt and is rescued by Wang Yingcai and Wenyong, who become the Prince’s new recruits. The ambitious Wenyong fawns over the Prince and becomes his godson, while Yingcai is despatched to Shanxi as a general. Wenyong has long harboured lascivious desires for Yingcai’s wife, née He, and on the pretext of seeing Yingcai off, pushes him into a river. Wenyong then visits the Wang family home, makes advances towards Madam He and injures Wang’s father in a fight. Family members flee and Wang’s father later dies from his injuries. The county prefect, who happens to be on an inspection round, takes up the case, but when he confronts Wenyong is killed in the family home. Madam He flees amid the confusion. Meanwhile, Yingcai has luckily escaped death, and on his way home, rescues his drowning wife who has thrown herself into the river in desperation. The two file a complaint with the Imperial Commissioner, Prince Pingnan, who is on an official visit. However, Prince Gong wants to cover up for Wenyong, so Prince Pingnan sends Yingcai to search Prince Gong’s palace armed with the gold tablet bestowed on him by the late Emperor, that gives him authority to override any other orders or ranks. Wenyong is found hiding underground. Yingcai’s wrong is redressed and the family is re-united.

“Catching Wang Kui Alive from Trials of Love”
One of the famous repertoires of Lu and Fu stylistic schools. The interpretation of the Lu school focuses on portraying the heartless and mercenary Wang Kui, who readily gives up his wife after she has gone through the hard times with him.
Guiying’s ghost finds its way to the capital as she wants to test Wang Kui’s heart herself. Despite giving him several chances in the hope that he would change his mind, Guiying fails to bring him round. He even wants to shut her up forever. Without any hope now, Guiying captures the spirit of Wang and takes him to the netherworld.

“Burning the Manuscripts and Mourning Daiyu from The Dream of the Red Chamber”
These are two famous excerpts in Yue Opera, with artists trained in the Xu Yulan and Wang Wenjuan stylistic schools reinterpreting them with heartrending performances. The excerpts are taken from The Dream of the Red Chamber. The Matriarch of the Jia family senses that Baoyu and Daiyu are in love, but she prefers Baochai to be her granddaughter-in-law. So she takes Wang Xifeng’s suggestion of ‘swapping the bride’. Baoyu is told that he would marry Daiyu, when in fact the bride is Baochai. When he discovers the truth, Daiyu has already passed on. Baoyu tears out of the bridal chamber to mourn Daiyu at her altar before he leaves home with a disillusioned heart.

“Seeking out His Wife at the Mulberry Orchard and Fortune-telling from He Wenxiu”
This is a well-known work by Yin Guifang of the Yin stylistic school. Seeking out His Wife at the Mulberry Orchard and Fortune-telling are two highlight scenes of the story, and made Zhao Zhigang famous as an exponent of the school.
The story takes place in the Ming Dynasty. A scholar, He Wenxiu, falls into hard times and has to make a living as an itinerant singer in the street. Wang Lanying, the daughter of a squire, takes pity on him and sees that he is a talented scholar, so she gives him some silver. But such an act is considered ‘indecent behaviour’ by her father, who threatens to kill her. Fortunately Lanying’s elder brother comes to their aid, and Lanying and Wenxiu can get married and elope to Haining in Zhejiang. Lanying’s beauty attracts the attention of Zhang Tang, an unscrupulous squire, who makes passes at her. She fights with a pair of scissors, managing to escape. She is saved by a middleaged woman, Madam Yang, who takes her in and hides her in a mulberry orchard. Zhang does not give up, and deliberately kicks a maid to death and incriminates Wenxiu by moving the corpse to his place. Wenxiu is found guilty is sentenced to banishment to the army. On the way, his guard takes pity on him and releases him. Later Wenxiu plucks the laurel at the national civil examination and is appointed an Imperial Commissioner of Zhejiang. He returns to Haining, disguises himself as a fortune-teller, and visits the mulberry orchard three times. Finally the husband and wife are reunited, while the real murderer is caught, and the wrongs are addressed.

“Torturing Kouzhu from How a Dead Cat Was Substituted for a New-born Prince”
This is an operatic excerpt featuring highly dramatic moments. The story is based on the well-known folklore of How a Dead Cat Was Substituted for a New-born Prince. The actors are challenged for their singing, acting and martial arts skills. The story takes place in the Song Dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong. A royal consort, Lady Li, has given birth to a son. Out of jealousy, another royal consort, Lady Liu, colludes with the Chief Eunuch, Guo Huai, to substitute the new-born prince with a skinned dead cat and gives orders to the palace maid, Kouzhu to throw the baby into the imperial moat. Kouzhu cannot bring herself to carry out the order and turns to the Chief Eunuch Chen Lin for help. Chen secretly smuggles the young prince out to put him under the care of Xian the Eighth Prince. Twelve years later, Prince Xian, on the pretext that he is willing to let his emperor brother ‘adopt’ his son, returns Lady Li’s son to become the Crown Prince. Liu grows suspicious, and orders Chen Lin to interrogate Kouzhu. Despite the torture, Kouzhu refuses to tell the truth and commits suicide.

A Peacock Flying to the Southeast was a yuefu poem of the 3rd Century, written by an anonymous poet. Wang Yaoqing, a maestro in Peking Opera, adapted it for the stage in 1938, and later again adapted it for Yue Opera. It was a phenomenal success in Shanghai,
and from then on, has become a classic and was staged in many places. The version starring Fan Ruijuan and Fu Quanxiang was considered of iconic status.

“Fang Qing Visits His Aunt from The Pearl Pagoda”
This is a signature piece in the repertory of Lu Jinhua stylistic school. The actor playing the male lead needs to exude the integrity of a scholar, whether in hard times or good. The delivery of lines, in particular, should demonstrate the pride and self-respect of someone who knows his worth. The story opens with a birthday banquet at the Imperial Commissioner of Xiangyang’s residence. His Excellency’s wife, Fang Duohua, is a snob, and likes to flaunt her status and wealth. It happens that her nephew, Fang Qing, whose family has fallen into hard times, comes to ask for a loan so that he can go to the capital to attend the civil examination. But Duohua is not one to remember what care and concern she had received from Qing’s family when she was down and out. Instead, she slings insult upon insult on Qing, and orders him to leave. Qing is a filial son, and honours his promise to his mother that he would not retort despite the fact that his aunt is such a vain snob. Before he leaves, he vows that he would not appear before her again unless he has plucked the laurels in the civil examination.

“Seeking Vengeance from Trials of Love”

This is from the famous repertoire of Lu Jinhua (of the Lu Stylistic School) and Fu Quanxiang (of the Fu Stylistic School), who were long-term partners on stage. The interpretation of the Fu school focuses on the painful psychological changes in the suffering wife, Guiying, when love turns to hate. Wang Kui is a scholar who has failed in the national civil examination in the capital. Unable to take the long journey home, he is in dire straits when Jiao Guiying, a famous courtesan, finds him and takes him in. She supports him in his studies, and later the two are married. But when Kui plucks the laurels at the civil examination in the capital this time, he has a change of heart. He marries the daughter of the Prime Minister and sends Guiying a letter of annulment, seeking to divorce her. Guiying is devastated and with nowhere to turn to, she goes to the Temple of the God of the Sea where the two of them had made their pledge never to part two years ago. She makes an invocation to the God and tearful accuses Kui of his infidelity and heartlessness before she hangs herself. The Judge in Hell accepts Guiying’s plaint, goes with her spirit to the capital to catch Kui alive.

“Burying Flowers from The Dream of the Red Chamber”

This is a classic and a perennial favourite in the Yue Opera repertory. It was first made famous by the iconic duo in Yue Opera, Xu Yulan and Wang Wenjuan. The respective exponents of these two stylistic schools often partner on stage to tell the love story of Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu. Lin Daiyu has lost her mother at a young age, and has to take up residence at her maternal grandmother’s place. There she grows up with her cousin, Jia Baoyu, and the two are very much in love. When Baoyu receives a hard beating from his father for having befriended a young actor, Daiyu goes to visit him in his chamber, only to be unwittingly turned away by his maid. Outside his door, she happens to see Baoyu seeing Baochai, another cousin, out. She mistakes that to be Baoyu’s intention not to accept her and is heartbroken. Now it is late spring, and when she sees the falling petals, she feels that she is seeing her pitiable self, homeless, drifting, and unloved. So she decides to get a hoe to dig a grave for the fallen petals. Baoyu traces Daiyu to the garden and pours his heart out.

“At the Study from The Aloeswood Fan”

This is a comedy that has been an audience favourite for decades. Its story appeals to popular taste, and the vivid portrayal of the characters makes them memorable. A young scholar Xu Wenxiu meets Cai Lanying, the daughter of a high official of the imperial court. It is love at first sight. In his urge to see her again, Wenxiu sells himself into the Cai’s Residence as a slave. The two finally meet after two weeks, and become secretly betrothed. But their affair has come to the attention of Lanying’s mother, who marries her to another. Lanying refuses to accept the arranged marriage and leaves home disguised as a man. She attends the same national civil examination as Wenxiu, and comes third while Wenxiu comes top. Not knowing the situation behind all these, Lanying’s father gives her to the scholar who has come second in the examination. It is a hilarious situation of three top scholars vying for one wife. Later, with the assistance of Wenxiu’s uncle, the young lovers are finally reunited in Lanying’s study, and the two enter into wedlock.

“Chen Sanliang Tortured in a Trial from A Pure Spirit”

This is a well-known work for which Zhao Zhigang is famous. Zhao, an exponent of the Yin Guifang stylistic school, came to be recognized when Lü Ruiying, the founder of the Lü stylistic school, sought him out to be her partner on stage and he rose to the occasion with his excellent performance. The story takes place in the Ming Dynasty. Li Suping’s father was framed by the corrupt eunuch, Liu Jin, because he refused to bribe him. In order to give her father a proper burial and to raise her younger brother Fengming, Suping sells herself to a pimp. But she refuses to become a prostitute, vowing instead to pay for her debt by sheer academic excellence. She sells her poems and prose for three taels of silver per piece, so she gives herself a new name, Chen Sanliang (‘sanliang’ meaning ‘three taels’ in Chinese). When she and her brother are separated by an unfortunate chance, she adopts Chen Kui, whose family has fallen victim to Liu’s treacherous manoeuvrings. Chen Kui attends the national civil examination and comes top, which is followed by an appointment as an Imperial Commissioner. Back home, Sanliang is being sold to an old man, Zhang Zichun, as wife. When she refuses to comply, she is tied up and forced to go to Cangzhou. Zhang bribes the prefect, so Sanliang is tortured in an unfair trial. To everybody’s surprise, this corrupt prefect is none other than the younger brother, Fengming, whom she has not seen for ten years. At this juncture, Chen Kui the new Imperial Commissioner arrives on his inspection rounds. Sanliang turns her own brother in, and requests Chen to punish him according to the law in the hope that this would make a new man out of him.

The name Yue refers to the ancient geographical name of the region during the Spring and Autumn Period. In Yue opera, the four major vocal styles of actors in xiaosheng (young male) roles are based on the four legendary stars, namely Yin Guifang, Fan Ruijuan, Xu Yulan and Lu Jinhua. The Yin school is open yet lyrical, with each utterance of a word controlled by the vocal delivery; the Fan school is robust and naturally voiced, with emphasis on pacing and accentuation; the Xu school is sonorous and expressive, with emotions woven into the vocal delivery and is therefore highly infectious; while the Lu school emphasises vocalising techniques and is distinguished by its nasal resonance, “back-of-head” tones and gutteral resonance.

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Pei Yanling, esteemed “a true treasure of China and humankind” for her galactic virtuosity in traditional theatre, will open the 5th Chinese Opera Festival with aplomb. She will be bringing the premium cast of Peking Opera Research Centre of Hebei to present four famous traditional excerpts featuring classics in Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera. Each evening’s ‘double bill’ performance will include one ‘civil’ and one ‘military’ play to enable the audience to perceive the diversity of Chinese opera as well as Pei’s versatility and true virtuosity in her chosen art form. In the guided performance entitled Exploring the Art of Chinese Traditional Theatre, Pei will command the stage by her mere presence as a seasoned actor. With no stage make-up, operatic costume or sets, she will give the most honest reveal of how she interprets the iconic roles she has created throughout her career. The audience of Hong Kong is in for treat as they explore with Pei the many aspects of Chinese opera.

Pei Yanling, esteemed “a true treasure of China and humankind” for her galactic virtuosity in traditional theatre, will open the 5th Chinese Opera Festival with aplomb. She will be bringing the premium cast of Peking Opera Research Centre of Hebei to present four famous traditional excerpts featuring classics in Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera. Each evening’s ‘double bill’ performance will include one ‘civil’ and one ‘military’ play to enable the audience to perceive the diversity of Chinese opera as well as Pei’s versatility and true virtuosity in her chosen art form. In the guided performance entitled Exploring the Art of Chinese Traditional Theatre, Pei will command the stage by her mere presence as a seasoned actor. With no stage make-up, operatic costume or sets, she will give the most honest reveal of how she interprets the iconic roles she has created throughout her career. The audience of Hong Kong is in for treat as they explore with Pei the many aspects of Chinese opera.