183 Beijing Operas - Wei Jiang - Number 61

Wei Jiang

Beijing Opera - "Orphan of the House of Zhao"

Wei Jiang with a pink three-tile face in Orphan of the House of Zhao, an opera adapted from an episode in History of the Eastern Zhou, Also called Searching For and Saving the Orphan. This is a story of murder and cruelty on the one hand and courage and sacrifice on the other. Tu Angu, a tyrannical general of the state of Jin, had ordered the execution of Zhao Shuo, son-in-law of Duke Ling of Jin, and his whole family. Only one member of this family, Zhao Shu's baby son Zhao Wu, escaped death thanks to help of Cheng Ying, a devoted friend to the Zhao family, who hid the baby in his house.

Shortly afterwards the wicked general found out about this and ordered a ruthless search. Realizing that there would be great trouble if he did not give up the baby, Cheng Ying devised a plan: He had an infant child of his own that was about the same age as the Zhao family's orphan; since nobody outside his family had seen the two babies, perhaps he could hoodwink the general by giving up his own child, pretending it was the Zhao orphan. The trick worked and the sole survivor of the Zhao family was saved. Zhao Wu grew into a fine young man versed in both literature and the martial arts, and when the time came for him to enter the world, Cheng Ying told him the secret. True to the hopes of his savior and guardian, the young man avenged the murder of his family. Wei Jiang was a Jin general faithful to Zhao Wu. In the opera he personally kills the wicked Tu Angu.