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The Flower Princess: A Cantonese Opera by Tong Dik Sang, translated, edited and introduced by Bell Yung, translation assisted by Sonia Ng and Katherine Carlitz. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 2010. Pp. xviii + 222. Illustrations. US$39.00.
Tong Dik Sang (1917-1959), the foremost Cantonese Opera scriptwriter of the 20th century, penned The Flower Princess for a specific constellation of iconic performers: Pak Suet Sin, Yam Kim Fai, Leung Sing Bo, Leing Chi Baak, and other members of the Sin Fung Ming Opera Company. The troupe premiered the work at Hong Kong's Lee Theatre in 1957. A film version of the script was released the same year.
The elegant English translation of The Flower Princess by Bell Yung and his collaborators, Sonia Ng and Katherine Carlitz makes the script accessible to Englishlanguage readers. The translation reflects Yung's major consideration: "to convey the meaning of the original text as closely as possible, so that the reader can appreciate it as literature and follow the drama" (p. xi). And its format makes it an effective roadmap for the 1960 studio recordings on which this version of the script is based. With its introduction, the text sheds light on a complex art form that is not only outside the purview of most non-Cantonese speakers, but is also deeply misunderstood by people-Chinese and non-Chinese alike-without proper exposure to the genre.
Like many Chinese plays, The Flower Princess is framed around events in Chinese history. Based loosely on a 19th-century play, it is situated at the fall of the Ming dynasty and the rise of the Qing. It tells the story of Cheungping, the favorite daughter of the last Ming Emperor Chongzhen, and her star-crossed romance with Jau Saihin, her betrothed.
The play opens amidst the splendor of the Ming court, where the two protagonists first encounter each other. After a battle of wits, Cheungping and Saihin pledge their mutual devotion in a palace garden beneath two entwined trees. By the second act, though, the world in which they live is turned upside down as invading Manchus descend upon the Imperial City. Facing imminent doom, the Ming emperor directs his queen and favorite concubine to commit suicide. Prior to taking his own life by...