272 Beijing Opera Performers - Chong Houhu - Number 32

Chong Houhu

Beijing Opera - "Presenting Lady Daji"

Chong Houhu with a white flowered three-tile face in Presenting Lady Daji, an episode in Canonization of the Gods. Chong Houhu was one of four feudal lords serving under King Zhou of the Shang dynasty. Su Hu, the governor of Jizhou, had a beautiful daughter called Daji. The lascivious King Zhou, hearing of her beauty, summoned her father and demanded that she be married to him. When Su Hu refused, the king ordered Chong Houhu to attack Jizhou, forcing Su Hu to yield to his demand. On their way to the capital, the father and daughter put up at an inn. During the night a fox spirit came and swallowed the girl and then assumed her form. King Zhou, unaware of what had happened, married the fox spirit, which turned out to be a very wicked creature. Its wickedness contributed to the eventual downfall of the Shang dynasty.