Debra Li

“THE Jade Hairpin,” a classical Chinese opera performed by Shanghai Shaoxing Opera House, will be staged at Shenzhen Poly Theater on the night of Oct. 14.

The opera, a love story, will feature performers Fang Yafen and Xu Biaoxin.

Li Xiuying (performed by Fang) is the daughter of a minister named Li Tingfu and is betrothed to Wang Yulin (performed by Xu), the son of Hanlin scholar Wang Yu, during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Li Xiuying’s cousin, Gu Wenyou, also wants to marry her. He proposes but Li turns him down. He then colludes with a matchmaker to steal Li’s jade hairpin, and forges a love letter. On the night of Li’s marriage to Wang Yulin, the two conspirators put the hairpin and letter in the newlyweds’ bridal chamber.

When the groom discovers the letter and the hairpin, he becomes enraged and accuses his bride of infidelity. He then gives her the cold shoulder. The girl’s father conducts an investigation to clear her name. When the truth is revealed, the husband is struck with remorse. He pleads for his wife’s forgiveness with a phoenix coronet after he aces his imperial examination. The young couple is reconciled.

First adapted and performed in 1918, “The Jade Hairpin” was later shot into a movie in 1962, starring famous Shaoxing opera actress Jin Caifeng. It is regarded as a magnum opus of the Jin genre.

The original story was a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, in which the bride is beaten to death by her raging father, the groom commits suicide after the truth comes out and the villain is sentenced to death.

The adapted version was a huge success, not just because of its happy ending, but also because it challenged feudal norms by making the groom kneel down before his bride when asking forgiveness.

Fang, a pupil of Shaoxing opera master Yuan Xuefen, has a clear, crisp and sweet voice and brings passion to her performances. Fang is an expert at playing young girls. She can also perform as old ladies, and as ladies skilled in martial arts. She won a Plum Flower Award, the highest Chinese opera honor, in 2007.