''Di Nü Hua'' is a fictional Chinese story about

Princess Changping Zhu Meichuo (2 May 1630 – 26 September 1647), known by her title Princess Changping, was a Chinese princess of the Ming dynasty. She was one of the children of the Chongzhen Emperor and Empress Zhou. Biography Changping was born to the Chong ...

of the

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

and her husband/lover, Zhou Shixian. The first known story was a

Kunqu Kunqu (), also known as Kunju (), K'un-ch'ü, Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. Kunqu is one of the oldest traditional operas of the Han nationality, and is also a treasure of Chinese traditional cult ...

script written in the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

, while the second version was a

Cantonese opera Cantonese opera is one of the major categories in Chinese opera, originating in southern China's Guangdong Province. It is popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Macau and among Chinese communities in Southeast Asia. Like all versions of Ch ...

from the early 1900s later found in Japan and

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

. Little information is available from this early 1900s version. The contemporary prevailing version, not meant to be historically accurate, comes from the second

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 by

Li Zicheng Li Zicheng (22 September 1606 – 1645), born Li Hongji, also known by the nickname, Dashing King, was a Chinese peasant rebel leader who overthrew the Ming dynasty in 1644 and ruled over northern China briefly as the emperor of the short-li ...

. 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 (the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

), 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 on their wedding night in the palace garden where they first meet.

Adaptations

Based on the

version and other publications, Playwright

Tang Ti-sheng Tang Ti-sheng () (18 June 1917 – 15 September 1959), born Tang Kang-nien (), was a Cantonese opera playwright, scriptwriter, and film director. His contributions to Cantonese opera significantly influenced Hong Kong's reform and development of ...

adaptation of this into a

script debuted in the

Lee Theatre Lee Theatre ( zh, first=t,j, t=利舞臺, j=lei6 mou5 toi4, p=Lì wǔtái) was a prominent theatre in Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Once one of the premier performing venues in Hong Kong, the Beaux-Arts theatre was demolished in t ...

on 7 June 1957. Actresses

Yam Kim Fai Yam Kim-fai (, 4 February 1913 (Lunar 29 December 1912 – 29 November 1989), also known as Ren Jianhui was a renowned Cantonese opera actress in China and Hong Kong. Yam was most notable for her unique ability to sing in the lower register. Tha ...

and Bak Sheut Sin were members of the original cast in leading roles. These two actresses played the leads until 1961 and then only sporadically from 1962 to 1970. In October 2007, Yuen Siu Fai, as the Princess's father in The University of Hong Kong, Culture & Humanities Fund, Fundraising Event (part of the close to HK$18 millions raised within two years
"Princess Changping" Gala Performance
on 9 December 2006, Lyric Theatre, The Hong Kong Academy Of Performing Arts 2006/7 performances in Hong Kong and Macau (40 total) schooled one academic on a radio broadcast. The talk show is available online (in

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...

). Translation: 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 Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

: 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. While most well-known

Tang Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...

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 as ''Eternal Regret of Dynasty Ming'' (

: 《明末遺恨》) and ''How Jing-ngo Slew the Tiger'' (

: 《貞娥刺虎》), both of

Peking opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

Notable performances

Loong Kim Sang 2019

From 28 November 2019 to 14 December 2019, the Loong Kim Sang performance commemorated 30 years since the passing of her mentor

Peking opera 2018

According to Yu Kuizhi, this production was inspired by the (late 2006 to early 2007) performances at the Lyric Theatre, Hong Kong. Yu talked specifically how much the 2006 performance of Loong Kim Sang impressed him and addressed Loong as

sensei Sensei, Seonsaeng, Tiên sinh or Xiansheng, corresponding to Chinese characters , is an East Asian honorific term shared in Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese; it is literally translated as "person born before another" or "one who c ...

(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.

Films/CD/DVD

A film starring some of the

original cast was released in 1959, while the album of full 4-hour stage version was released in 1960. In 1976, the film titled Prince Chang Ping was directed by

John Woo John Woo Yu-Sen SBS (; born September 22, 1946) is a Hong Kong filmmaker, known as a highly-influential figure in the action film genre. He was a pioneer of heroic bloodshed films (a crime action film genre involving Chinese triads) and the gun ...

, starring the Chor Fung Ming (Young Phoenix) Cantonese Opera Troupe along

Leung Sing Bor Leung Sing Poh MBE (1908 – 12 February 1981) was an actor, host and former Cantonese opera performer from Hong Kong. Leung was a pioneer actor of TVB, and was also the former chairman of Chinese Artist Association of Hong Kong from 1965 t ...

and Lang Chi Bak. A live recording of the stage performance2010-06-15

- 戲曲視窗：粵劇導演不懂粵劇 by Chor Fung Ming (Young Phoenix)

br>Biography page
..support and train new talent with Chufengming (Young Phoenix) Opera Troupe or

- 雛鳳鳴劇團 Cantonese Opera Troupe in December 2007 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of debut is available in DVD/CD.

TV

TV stations, in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

as well as

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, have a few productions, sometimes renamed, relating to the 1957 version. In 1981, ATV Home adapted the play into a television drama titled ''Princess Cheung Ping'' (

: 武侠帝女花), in a ''

wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted ...

'' setting, starring

Damian Lau Damian Lau Chung-yan (born 14 October 1949) is a Hong Kong film and television actor, executive producer and film director. Lau has starred in many television drama series of various genres, produced by Hong Kong's TVB and ATV. Biography ...

Michelle Yim Michelle Yim Wai-ling (; born September 2, 1955), better known by her stage name ''Mai Suet'' (), is a Hong Kong actress and elder sister of former actress Sidney Yim Wai-ming also known by stage name ''Suet Lei'' (). She graduated from St. Ro ...

and

David Chiang use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinate ...

. In 2003,

TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and ...

produced ''

Perish in the Name of Love {{Short pages monitor