Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy
Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy (Chinese: 智取威虎山; pinyin: zhì qǔ wēi hǔshān) is a Peking opera, and one of the eight model plays allowed during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. The story is based on the novel Lin hai xue yuan (林海雪原) by Qu Bo, which in turn, is based on the real-life story of an incident in 1946 during the Chinese Civil War, involving a communist reconnaissance team soldier Yang Zirong (杨子荣) who disguised himself as a bandit to infiltrate a local gang of bandits, eventually helping the main communist force destroy the bandits. Unlike other characters depicted in the opera and novel, most of the names of both the protagonists and the bandits are real.
A booklet Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy was published in English by the Foreign Languages Press, Peking 1971. Described as "revised collectively by the Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy group of the Peking Opera Troupe of Shanghai (1970 script)", it contains 16 colour photo reproductions, a list of persons in the cast, the script of the ten scenes, and the words and vocal music of nine selected songs. Also are explanatory notes and sketches about the Chinese percussion instruments played in the orchestra.[1]
Cast
Yang Tzu-jung, scout platoon leader of the Chinese People's Liberatrion Army (PLA)
Chief of Staff, PLA regimental chief of staff
Li Yung-chi, railway worker
Chang Pao, hunter's daughter
Shen Teh-hua, PLA scout platoon deputy leader
Medical Orderly, PLA girl medical orderly
Young Kuo, PLA soldier
Chung Chih-cheng, PLA soldier
Lu Hung-yeh, PLA soldier
Lo Chang-chiang, PLA soldier
Other soldiers
Hunter Chang, Chang Pao's father
Mother Li, Li Yung-chi's mother
Chang Ta-shan, railway worker
Li Yung-chi's wife
Other villagers
Vulture, bandit chieftain of Tiger Mountain, leader of Kuomintang's "Fifth Peace Preservation Brigade of the Eastern Heilungkiang Region"
Luan Ping, liaison adjutant under Horse Cudgel Hsu, bandit chieftain of Breast Mountain
Bandit Chief of Staff
Bandit Chief Adjutant
Bandit Captain
"Terribles" and other bandits
Scenes
- Advancing in Victory – Winter, 1946
- Chiapi Valley Pillaged – Dusk
- Asking About Bitterness – Afternoon
- Drawing Up a Plan – Early morning
- Up the Mountain – A few days later
- Into the Bandits' Lair – Immediately after the previous scene
- Arousing the Masses – Chiapi Valley
- Sending out Information – Dawn
- Off to the Attack – Morning
- Converging on Hundred Chickens Feast – Lunar New Year's Eve[2]
Adaptations
- A film version directed by Xie Tieli was released in 1970. A modern remake, The Taking of Tiger Mountain, directed by Hong Kong film director Tsui Hark was released on December 23, 2014.
- Brian Eno, who found a book of postcards from the opera in San Francisco, later used the title on his second solo album, Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy).
- A Taking Tiger Mountain song was used in a version of The Lion King musical played in Shanghai Disney Resort.[3][4]
References
- ↑ Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy, 1971, Foreign Languages Press, Peking
- ↑ "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy: A Modern Revolutionary Peking Opera (Script)". China Cultural Revolution Research Network. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
- ↑ Fans Angered by Shanghai Disney’s ‘Chinese’ Makeover of Lion King
- ↑ 上海迪士尼《獅子王》變京劇「遷就」程度「前所未有」 潘啟迪：中國叫佢做就做│甘樂宜