Farewell My Concubine (play)

Farewell My Concubine (play)

"Farewell My Concubine" is the common English title of a famous Chinese Peking Opera. A more accurate translation of the Chinese title is "Hegemon King says Farewell to his Queen". [William Dolby, "Eight Chinese Plays from the Thirteenth Century to the Present" (London: P. Elek; New York: Columbia University Press, 1978).]

The play tells the story of Xiang Yu (232 BC - 202 BC), the self-styled "Hegemon-King of Western Chu" who battled for the unification of China with Liu Bang, the eventual founder of the powerful Han Dynasty. In the play, Xiang Yu is surrounded by Liu Bang's forces and is on the verge of total defeat, so he calls forth his horse and begs it to run away for the sake of its own safety. Against his wishes, the horse refuses. He then calls for the company of his favorite concubine, Yu Ji. Realizing the dire situation that has befallen them, she begs to die alongside her master, but he strongly refuses this wish. Afterwards, as he is distracted, Yu Ji commits suicide with Xiang Yu's own sword.

The novel "Farewell My Concubine" by Lillian Lee and its film adaptation of the same name use the play as part of their stories.

Notes


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