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Synopsis: When asked about the reason why he chose to star in Beijing Fayuan Temple after his 16-year-long absence from stage, Jia Yiping simply answered: “because both the role of Tan Sitong and the script are quite new!”
Let the sword fall on my neck,
Laughing I am at the sky
Leaving my Loyalty and Bravery behind,
Like Kunlun standing high !
Indeed, the famous lines from Tan Sitong’s prison wall poem have been recited at every corner of China over the past century, touching the heart of every patriotic man and woman. Recently, a play depicting the heroic deeds of Tan Sitong made its debut on stage. Acclaimed by the famous man of letter Li Ao as a “masterpiece that deserves Nobel Prize”, Beijing Fayuan Temple stars Jia Yiping (playing Tan Sitong), Zhou Jie (Guang Xu, the Emperor), Xi Meijuan (Cixi, the Empress) and may familiar and celebrated performers. Directed by Tian Qinxin, the one who applies “Zen philosophy” to theatrical performance, the stage play became a blockbuster too rare to been seen on recent stages.
Jia Yiping, the leading actor in the play, has skillfully portrayed countless characters in such popular TV shows as Qian Long and His Kingdom, Chinese Style Divorce, the Dealer and Battle for Happiness. In a word, he is an actor blessed with both the good look and the talent. When asked about the reason why he chose to star in Beijing Fayuan Temple after his 16-year-long absence from stage, Jia Yiping simply answered: “because both the role of Tan Sitong and the script are quite new!” Short and brief as it is, the remark captures the most prominent feature of the play: the lines, adapted and revised by Tian Qinxin, convey a compelling sense of vigor, novelty, irony and humor.
The play begins with Tan Sitong’s ghost discussing with Monk Pujing on philosophical topics such as “life and death, ghost and gods, nation and people, sense and sensibility, cause and effect ” as well as the dialectical questions like “striving for high place in government or living a simple but peaceful life, to stay or to fleet...” As the days passed by, Tan Sitong had a sudden enlightenment, which allowed him to see through the mystery of life and death, the politics and morality, the rules and laws...The reporters were amazed at Jia Yiping’s ability to portray a character with such a heroic grandeur. Sure enough, Jia Yiping is an actor with the awe-inspiring righteousness that best suit the role of Tan Sitong.