Xiqu

A comedy set in the royal court, Meng Lijun is one of the representative works in the repertoire of Wang Wenjuan and the stylistic school she created. The play originated from the long tanci (narrative with musical accompaniment) piece, Eternal Happiness, by the Qing poetess, Chen Duansheng (1751 – 1796). In 1980, the Second Troupe of the Shanghai Yue Opera Group adapted the stage drama by Ding Xilin, Meng Lijun, into a Yue Opera production, with Wang as the titular Meng. Wang’s successful portrayal of a handsome, charismatic, talented and one-of-a-kind woman created a one-of-a-kind female character in her repertoire. It is distinctly different from another famous character she had made famous, the sickly, aggrieved Lin Daiyu in The Dream of the Red Chamber. Scenes like Rendezvous in the Study and Touring the Royal Garden have become classic excerpts and all-time favourites. Many of the play’s arias are also popular hits.
The story takes place during the Yuan period. The talented Meng Lijun is forced to flee from home when her entire family is implicated in a crime for which her father is framed. Disguised as a man, she sets for the road. Before her hurried departure at midnight, she draws a portrait of herself and leaves it as a present for her fiancé, Huangpu Shaohua, as a love pledge. Three years later, Lijun, still masquerading as a man under the name of Li Junyu, has plucked the laurels in the civil examination and appointed to the office of Prime Minister. Shaohua is now a general, and returns to court victorious after defeating the enemy. The Emperor wants to give him a wife, but he vows he would marry no one except his love, Meng Lijun. With much persuasion, Prime Minister Li Junyu succeeds in making the Emperor consent to putting off the wedding he decreed to a hundred days later. Through many probings and investigations, Shaohua concludes that the Prime Minister is actually Lijun. But Lijun is afraid that her masquerade may be treated as a felony worthy of annihilating Shaohua’s family. So before she comes up with a solution, she refuses to reveal her true identity. Yet Shaohua is too eager to reunite with her and forces his hand. He presents Lijun’s portrait to the Emperor in an attempt to ask for Lijun’s hand in marriage. The rash act leads to another crisis – the Emperor now wants to keep Lijun for himself. He invites the ‘Prime Minister’ to join him for a tour of the palace garden. All the time he tries to tease Lijun into admitting her feminine persona through taunt and threat. The clever and astute Lijun manages, not without difficulty, to thwart the Emperor’s amorous advances. Stalling for time, she gets away on a pretext, and seeks an audience with the Empress Dowager. There she reveals the truth about her family, her wronged father, and the reason for her masquerade. At the same time she offers wise opinions on state affairs. The Empress Dowager is convinced, and steps in to force her son to put duty to his country first and give up the intent of appropriating Lijun as his bride. This way he would avoid losing a good prime minister and a capable general, and causing havoc in the court administration. In the end, the wrongs done to Lijun’s family are redressed, the culprits at court punished, and Lijun and Shaohua are finally married.