| The Flower Princess | |||||||||||
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| Chinese | 帝女花 | ||||||||||
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Di Nü Hua is a fictional Chinese story aboutPrincess Changping of theMing Dynasty and her husband/lover, Zhou Shixian. The first known story was aKunqu script written in theQing Dynasty, while the second version was aCantonese opera from the early 1900s later found inJapan andShanghai. Little information is available from this early 1900s version. The contemporary prevailing version, not meant to be historically accurate, comes from the secondCantonese opera script.
The story unfolds as Princess Changping and Zhou Shixian are introduced to each other, participating in an arranged marriage.
They meet and get engaged with the blessing of their parents. Her father, the emperor, is overthrown byLi Zicheng. To save herself, the Princess hides as a nun in a monastery, but she happens to meet Zhou again. After being found by the new regime (theQing dynasty), she follows Zhou's plan to eventually commit suicide. Zhou formulates a plan to make sure that her father is properly buried (without asking for a proper burial ceremony) while her little brother is released to safety. Zhou returns alone to negotiate with the new regime using the bargaining power vested in him by a written request from her. Once the new regime makes good on these promises, the couple return to her former home for a wedding ceremony. They take poison (in some versions it isarsenic) on their wedding night in the palace garden where they first met.
Using the Kunqu version and other publications, playwrightTang Ti-sheng adapted the story into a Cantonese opera. The opera made its debut at theLee Theatre on 7 June 1957. ActressesYam Kim-fai andBak Sheut-sin were part of the original cast and portrayed the leading roles. They continued to play the leads until 1961, after which they appeared only sporadically from 1962 to 1970.
In October 2007, Yuen Siu Fai, who played the Princess's father[1] in 40 performances in Hong Kong and Macau in 2006 and 2007 explained to one academic on a radio talk show broadcast: "This title has become this popular today mostly by word of mouth since the mid-1960s; staged at Kai De Amusement Park Cantonese Opera Theatre. The performances of Chor Fung Ming throughout the 1970s and 1980s in newly developed satellite cities and towns were very well received. The role of male lead is extremely heavy by design and demonstrates the ‘masculine’ traits of Yam style (e.g.Chinese: 走鑼邊花). The more organic actors/actresses in this role would find it more emotionally demanding. It was non-stop and exhausting after intermission."[2][3]
While most well-knownTang works cater to the female leads, this is an exception. The importance of Zhou Shixian, instead of the Princess, in this 1957 version is also unique compared to other versions such asEternal Regret of Dynasty Ming (Chinese: 《明末遺恨》) andHow Jing-ngo Slew the Tiger (Chinese: 《貞娥刺虎》),[4] both ofPeking opera.
From 28 November 2019 to 14 December 2019, theLoong Kim Sang performance commemorated 30 years since the passing of her mentorYam Kim Fai.
According toYu Kuizhi, this production was inspired by the (late 2006 to early 2007)[1] performances at the Lyric Theatre, Hong Kong.
Yu talked specifically how much the 2006 performance ofLoong Kim Sang impressed him and addressed Loong assensei (meaning accomplished, to show respect to someone who has achieved a certain level of mastery in an art form or some other skill) throughout that event.
A film adaptation directed byWong Tin-lam and starring some of theCantonese opera original cast was released in 1959, while the album of full 4-hour stage version was released in 1960. In 1976, the 1959 film was remade by directorJohn Woo asPrincess Chang Ping[5] starring the Chor Fung Ming (Young Phoenix) Cantonese Opera Troupe alongLeung Sing Bor and Lang Chi Bak. A live recording of the stage performance[6] by Chor Fung Ming (Young Phoenix)[7] Cantonese Opera Troupe in December 2007 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of debut is available in DVD/CD.
TV stations, inHong Kong as well asTaiwan, have a few productions, sometimes renamed, relating to the 1957 version. In 1981,ATV Home adapted the play into a television drama titledPrincess Cheung Ping (Chinese: 武侠帝女花), in awuxia setting, starringDamian Lau,Michelle Yim andDavid Chiang. In 2003,TVB producedPerish in the Name of Love, a television series loosely based on the original play.Steven Ma andCharmaine Sheh starred in the leading roles.
1959 film
1976 film
