Drama Beijing Fayuan Temple, directed by TIAN Qinxin, is to be revived

NCPA February/14/2019
On March 6th-10th, 2019, the drama Beijing Fayuan Temple, authored and directed by TIAN Qinxin, will be unveiled in Commemoration of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China specially designed by the NCPA. This drama demonstrates many traditional Chinese cultures that reflect over Hundred Days’ Reform, and gain insights into China’s historical revolution.


Drama Beijing Fayuan Temple tells the story in the late Qing Dynasty with severe rottenness and crisis.

The drama Beijing Fayuan Temple is adapted from the novel of the same name by Chinese writer LI Ao. Under the background of Fayuan Temple, which is a place of interest dating back to the Tang Dynasty, this drama tells that the late Qing Dynasty with severe and lingering rottenness and crisis, the patriotic Reformists, headed by KANG Youwei, LIANG Qichao and TAN Sitong, launch Hundred Days’ Reform to find a way out for China. Through three spaces including imperial court, the folk society and temple, the historical event was compressed into 10 days by the director..

TIAN Qinxin introduces: “The late Qing Dynasty rolls out changeable history scroll and deeply influences China. In the journey towards modernization, we can take a closer look at the approach to reform, understand people with lofty ideals and social elites amid important events, and probe into more facets of a national-level predicament. Learning from the past is of significance for the present”.

XI Meijuan plays the role of Empress Dowager Cixi, a character who is good at playing politics.

On the basis of the original work, TIAN Qinxin reviewed a lot of historical materials of controversial historical figures and events: Three core reformers KANG Youwei, LIANG Qichao and TAN Sitong have become sworn brothers in the Fayuan Temple because of a common belief. Emperor Guangxu launches Constitutional Reform and Modernization but undergoes difficult circumstances when rivaling against the core power bloc of the Qing court headed by Empress Dowager Cixi. Reformers conspire to “besiege the Summer Palace and rescue Emperor Guangxu”, but mistakenly trust the warlord YUAN Shikai and finally suffer a crushing defeat.

Hundred Days’ Reform comes to nothing, and Emperor Guangxu is dethroned by Empress Dowager Cixi. KANG Youwei and LIANG Qichao are forced to flee overseas. Six Gentlemen of Hundred Days’ Reform, headed by TAN Sitong, die for martyrdom. Later, KANG Youwei and LIANG Qichao revisit Fayuan Temple. However, in Fayuan Temple, the original master and disciple part company each in separate way on account of different political views of Royalist or Revolutionist. The drama Beijing Fayuan Temple is aimed to see through these historical facts. From the perspective of unlimited fanciful thoughts from a little monk who practices meditation in Fayuan Temple, these seemingly-vague figures and things, for which opinions vary, are condensed into a single temple. This drama makes figures and things have a say, and allows the audience to cherish their own personal feelings about that extraordinary period of history.

ZHOU Jie plays the role of Emperor Guangxu.

The massive and speculative lines are the challenges imposed by director TIAN Qinxin to all performers. In conjunction with the compact drama rhythm, the performers must say their lines under a high-density war of words. XI Meijuan, ZHOU Jie, JIA Yiping, ZHAO Huanyu, WU Bi, MA Yingchun and other veterans will play their different roles in Beijing Fayuan Temple, and make retrospect to the shocking Hundred Days’ Reform in the Wuxu Year (AD 1898).
RELATED PERFORMANCE

National Theatre of China Beijing Fayuan Temple

National Theatre of China Beijing Fayuan Temple

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