望日莲

Mother Feng and her family struggle to live before and during the Japanese invasion of China.

All of Qiangba's Tibetan ancestors have been serfs. Shortly after his birth, his parents are tortured to death by serf owner Wangjie. In his teens, he becomes a household serf of Wangjie, and passes an inhuman existence. Qiangba from then on refuses to speak, showing his resistance through silence. After the PLA enters Tibet, Qiangba and female serf Landuo leave to find the PLA. Landuo is rescued by the PLA, changing her fate, but Qiangba is caught and taken back. The serf owner's son, with support from foreign imperialists, foments armed rebellion. After the rebellion is smashed, Qiangba is rescued by the PLA, and the serfs are liberated at last. Qiangba is reunited with Landuo, and begins to speak again after many years of silence.

The play concentrated on the exploits of the communist underground activities under Japanese occupation in 1939, though history traces back in the 1920s. When Li Yuhe, a railroad worker who was engaging in underground work, was taken away by special agents and Grandma Li has a premonition of being arrested, Grandma tells the protagonist, Li Tiemei the true story about her family. Grandma Li tells Li Tiemei how her parents have sacrificed their lives in the revolutionary struggle. Li Yuhe has taken up the unfulfilled task of the martyrs. After hearing the heroic story about her family, Li Tiemei is determined to follow the example of her father and carry the revolution through to the end.

The Long March Suite

A recording of the Beijing Opera version of The Red Detachment of Women filmed by the August First Film Studio in 1972. Toward the end of the Cultural Revolution, the ballet version was adapted into this Beijing opera.