The Orphan of Zhao: Hamlet of Classical Chinese Literature
The Sino- Greek bilingual version of The Orphan of Zhao features a strong modern sense and unique expression of the cruelty of vengeance, giving European audiences a taste of the tragic power of human nature.
The Orphan of Zhao, considered the Hamlet of classical Chinese literature, was staged at the National Theater of Greece from November 18 to December 2, 2018. Chinese and Greek artists performed one of China’s greatest tragedies in their respective languages. And for the first time, a Chinese director instructed professional actors in the national theater of a Western country on telling a Chinese story.
The play sparked wide attention from drama circles in both countries. Xinhua, China’s official news agency, introduced the performance in a special report: “Actors from both sides performed in their mother tongues, but the dialogue was fluent and seamlessly connected, and thrilled both spectators in China and Greece.” The Athens-macedonian News Agency, a Greece-based national agency, announced the show as “China’s
Hamlet coming to Greece!”
A Modern Portrait of Vengeance
Theorphanofzhao is a zaju (“variety play”) opera attributed to Ji Junxiang, a Chinese dramatist from the Yuan Dynasty (12711368). It is a well-known tragedy from ancient China. Therecords
of the Grand Historian , written by historian Sima Qian of the Han Dynasty (202 B.C.– 220 A. D.), contains a chapter on the events endured by the Zhao family in the Spring and Autumn Period ( 770- 476 B.C.). Minister Zhao Dun and General Tu’an Gu were two of the most influential subordinates of Duke Ling of the Jin State. Tu’an Gu framed Zhao Dun and slaughtered 300 members of the Zhao family. Soon thereafter, a decree was forged to order the death of Zhao Dun’s newborn grandson, orphan Zhao Wu. The child was entrusted to physician Cheng Ying who worked for the Zhao family. Cheng Ying consulted retired Minister Gongsun Chujiu and decided to sacrifice his own child to save the Zhao orphan. Cheng raised the orphan early on, and since General Tu’an Gu lacked any children of his own, he eventually adopted the Zhao orphan without knowing his identity. At the age of 20, Zhao Wu killed Tu’an Gu to avenge his family.
Based on historical records, Ji Junxiang flavored the script with imagination and fiction to create strong dramatic conflict with stunning aesthetic effects that
touched the hearts of countless Chinese people for centuries. The story has inspired dozens of adaptations, including those by Voltaire and William Hatchett. It won a worldwide reputation comparable to Shakespeare’s Hamlet .
When contemporary Chinese dramatists adapt Theorphanof
Zhao, vengeance is always the theme. Modern values question “an eye for an eye,” but both herbalist Cheng Ying and the Zhao orphan review the bloody past and accept the cruel reality before they struggle with the dilemma of seeking revenge or letting the past go.
In this adaptation of the play, Cheng Ying no longer shoulders the traditional sense of “morality.” He makes a promise to “rescue orphans” as an ordinary doctor until the situation forces him to sacrifice his own son and start taking steps to embark on the tragic road to becoming a hero. Cheng has the most motivation to seek revenge, but it is he who really reflects and eventually stops himself. Giving up on the idea of revenge requires great kindness, which has become the contemporary interpretation of traditional virtues and a traditional solution to the contemporary dilemma.
But can traditional virtues really solve the difficulties of today? An unprecedented ending was designed for the bilingual version of Theorphanofzhao: At first, the orphan cannot bring himself to kill his adoptive father who had raised him for 16 years. When Cheng Ying raises his sword, he chooses to give up on revenge with the line, “How can my benevolent hands become those of a killer like you.” But in the end, the orphan still kills Tu’an Gu in the same way that the latter killed his biological father