Jingju 京剧 Beijing Opera - Lady Mu and the Yang Family Generals

January 1, 2014-January 1, 2014
Location: Asia Collection

Description of the play: The Yang family generals preserved the Song Dynasty through many battles, with Lady Mu Guiying leading the troops after the heroic deaths of most of the Yang men. Disillusioned by growing corruption, the Matriarch and Lady Mu Guiying, the remaining Yang family general, took the family from the court and retired to their ancestral home. After twenty years, barbarians once again threaten the borders, and the Minister of War Wang Qiang secretly plots with the invaders to unseat the Emperor and assume control. Suspicious, Minister Kou Zhun persuades the Emperor to hold a martial competition to select a Supreme Commander rather than appointing Wang’s son, and Lady Guiying’s teenage son and daughter emerge victors. The Emperor then calls on Lady Mu Guiying to take command and save the nation. Will she overcome her now-ingrained hatred of war and agree to lead? And if she does, will her children, unaccustomed to military law, be able to follow? Renowned Jingju master Mei Lanfang’s crowning artistic achievement explores issues such as personal ethics vs. familial & national duty, and the power of youthful exuberance vs. the wisdom of age, in a splendidly-costumed theatrical spectacle of acting, combat, dance, music and song.

Note: The description is provided by Professor Elizabeth Wichmann-Walczak, Department of Theater and Dance, University of Hawaii at Manoa.

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