272 Beijing Opera Performers - De Lu - Number 37

De Lu

Beijing Opera - "Imperial Monument Pavilion"

De Lu with a young clown face plays role in "Imperial Monument Pavilion," an list-opera adapted from a story called "On a Rainy Night." Wang Youdao, a scholar, is away from home taking the imperial exams. His wife, at the request of her younger brother, De Lu, returns to her parents for a visit. On the way she is caught in a rain and seeks shelter in a wayside pavilion called the Imperial Monument. A scholar called Liu Shengchun is also sheltering himself there. The two stay there the whole night, but neither says a word to the other, and in the morning when the rain has stopped they go their respective ways. Wang Youdao, however, is furious when he returns home and hears of this. Refusing to believe his wife, he divorces her. Later, convinced of the truth, he apologizes to his wife and they are reunited. Moreover, out of admiration for the scholar Liu Shengchun, he marries his younger sister to him.