Even the Overlord of Chu Knelt, So How Could Peking Opera Survive?

On a show celebrating traditional Chinese culture, a popular young idol stunned the audience with an opera-style song called "Yu Ji" and a tragic performance of the love between Yu Ji and Xiang Yu. He even claimed to represent the Mei school of Peking opera, winning unanimous praise from the other judges!

Shen Ge, one of the judges, kindly offered some feedback, only to be snapped at on the spot: "It's fine if you don't understand Peking opera, Teacher, but I want to ask: I can come up here and perform on this stage, can you?"

Shen Ge smiled. He felt sorry for this era.

"You squeeze your voice and think that makes you part of the Mei school. You put on a bunch of rags and think you're Yu Ji. If that were all, it might be forgivable!"

"But when even the Overlord of Chu is made to kneel, how can Peking opera possibly survive?!"

That night, he once again took the stage at the long-sealed opera house in Prince Gong's Mansion.

With a ruyi crown on his head, scale armor on his body, and a pair of mandarin-duck swords in his hands, he urged the king to drink as he listened to Yu Ji's song, then watched her dance with her sword until the night was spent!

The drums thundered and the melodies flowed. The roles of sheng, dan, jing, and chou took the stage, faces painted and costumes adorned!

He would show the world Yu Ji's peerless grace. He would give this era a true shock of traditional Chinese culture!