The Star-Making Plan

At her debut, she sang Yu Ji in Farewell My Concubine, but the audience wrecked the show. “The daughter of a criminal, singing about a loyal and chaste woman!” Later, she took the stage at a famous theater and sang Yu Ji again. Back then, every opera-loving theatergoer said, “That young actress is absolutely wonderful as Yu Ji. You know why? She herself has such a stubborn, steadfast, and sincere heart!” Someone else asked, “What is that pure heart for?” “For that immensely esteemed lord in the capital!” * When Yu Qin and Li Qingchuan first met, she thought it was nothing more than a transaction between them: he coveted her beauty, and she coveted his connections. Later, he carefully laid his plans, until she fell into his tender trap and was bound to him for life by a marriage certificate. At first, when people asked Yu Qin why she sang Peking opera, she answered indignantly, “For our nation and our dignity, to avenge the humiliation we suffered overseas!” Later, when people asked Yu Qin that question again, she glanced at the esteemed lord beside her and said, “For love and tradition.” * Life is like a play, and a play is like life. I have crossed reality and purgatory, holding fast to righteousness and dreams, to tell a story of true love and youth.