183 Beijing Operas - Yan Peiwei - Number 187

Yan Peiwei

Beijing Opera - "Five Righteous Men"

Yan Peiwei with a red ingot face plays a role in the opera "Five Righteous Men," adapted from "Records of the Loyal and Righteous" by Li Yu and others of the Qing dynasty. Records is the story of the struggle of the Eastwood Party and the people of Suzhou against Wei Zhongxian, a treacherous eunuch who held great power in the Ming court. The Eastwood Party was established in the late Ming by scholar officials who advocated reforms. Mao Yilu, Wei Zhongxian's adopted son, was governor of Suzhou at the time.

In the opera he levies taxes and conscripts labor to build a temple in honor of his adoptive father. When the temple is completed, Zhou Shunchang, an honest and upright official, goes in and condemns the wicked eunuch in front of the statue. Hearing of this, Wei forges an imperial decree and has Zhou arrested and sent to the capital. The people of Suzhou, outraged by the injustice; stage an uprising led by Yan Peiwei and four others -- the Five Righteous Men. They kill an officer, give Mao Yilu a beating and pull down the temple.