183 Beijing Operas - Ying Kaoshu - Number 62

Ying Kaoshu

Beijing Opera - "Punishing Zidu"

Ying Kaoshu with a red three-tile face in "Punishing Zidu", adapted from an episode in History of Eastern Zhou. Ying Kaoshu (?-712 BC) was a high official of the state of Zheng. When Duke Zhuang of Zheng made war on the neighboring state of Xu, Ying Kaoshu and Zidu, another Zheng general, both wanted to command the Zheng army. The command was given to Ying, who succeeded in taking the capital of Xu, but Zidu shot and killed him from behind during the battle, then returned to claim credit for the victory for himself. In the opera Ying Kaoshu's ghost appears during the victory banquet, forces Zidu to confess his guilt, and then strangles him.