Journey Through Hell
<p>In celebration of its 25th anniversary, GuoGuang Opera Company restaged its award-winning Peking opera titled<em> Journey through Hell</em> at the National Theatre in Taipei, Taiwan last week. Inspired by a Ming-dynasty (1368–1644 AD) novel, the troupe, together with its brilliant playwright Chen Ya-Hsien, leads us audience onto a journey of a lifetime: the underworld.</p>
<p>The story revolves around a Han-dynasty (202 BC — 220 AD) scholar, Sima Mao whose outrage against injustice and corruption is stirred by his struggle to gain an official title simply because he’s too poor to bribe the senior official. He pens a missive to the Jade Emperor — the Ruler of all Heavens — proposing that the world would be much a better place if he could replace Yama, the King of Hell. As a wise man once said: “always be careful of what you wish for!” Jade Emperor heard the scholar’s plea and gave him the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become the interim King of Hell for half a day.</p>
<p><a href="https://medium.com/@shaopeng.wanders/journey-through-hell-cc199cc9d73c"><strong>Website</strong></a></p>