Old Dreams of Beiping, the Fading Kunqu Opera

In the winter of 1927, snow and wind swept across Beiping. Shen Zhiheng, the last young heir of a distinguished family, returned from studying in France and, at his mother's bidding, went to the Qingyin opera house for a social engagement. Su Wanqing, a destitute woman from Jiangnan displaced by war, had ended up there as a renowned Kunqu opera performer. She would sell her art, but never her body. At a banquet, Shen Zhiheng saw an officer trying to force himself on Su Wanqing and stepped in to help her. That was how they met. Su Wanqing was gentle yet resolute, while Shen Zhiheng was warm and restrained. They grew fond of each other, but the gulf between their social standings drew fierce opposition from Old Madam Shen and Gu Manyun, a family friend. The warlord Lu Tingxiao fell for Su Wanqing at first sight and forcibly brought her into his residence, then sowed misunderstandings to drive her and Shen Zhiheng apart. As the times grew more turbulent, the September 18 Incident was followed by the North China Incident. With their country's survival and their personal love and hatred intertwined, Shen Zhiheng secretly joined the resistance against Japan, while Su Wanqing endured one torment after another in the Lu residence. When they reunited, they only caused each other more pain. The truth began to emerge, but the two were separated again as the Japanese invaders hunted them down. In the end, Su Wanqing died of exhaustion and illness, while Shen Zhiheng went off to fight the Japanese. Torn apart by death, they lived out a heartrending love story in a time of chaos: they loved but could not be together, and there was no undoing what had been done.