Real scene drama “Inspiration·Pingyao” is staged in Pingyao county, north China’s Shanxi province, on Aug. 18, 2016. (Photo provided by the author)
BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- A real scene drama, performed in Pingyao county, north China’s Shanxi province, has become a thread linking the modernity and history of this town.
As a significant part of local cultural creativity, the drama “Inspiration·Pingyao”, combines performance, music and dance to paint a fantastic picture for the audience.
Pingyao, in the center of the province, is a well-known busy small town of over 2,700 years, where nearly one hundred historical buildings are under the government protection, including three under national protection.
Pingyao was included in the World Heritage Site list of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1997.
More important, it is the birthplace and center of many Shanxi merchants, a group of clear-eyed merchants who creatively engaged in nationwide commercial activities during the Ming (1368-1644A.D.) and Qing(1644-1911A.D.) Dynasties in Chinese history.
The “Piaohao”, or draft bank, in China was initiated here, with Rishengchang (Sunrise Prosperity) as the representative pioneer of modern banking industry, dealing in drafts rather than gold or silver.
Staged first in early 2013, “Inspiration·Pingyao” tells the story of Zhao Yishuo, owner of a “Piaohao”, who heroically sacrificed his life and 232 retainers to save the budding “Piaohao” and the fate of Chinese modern banking industry.
To boost its dramatic effect, the theater has no major official entrance, and the audiences would enter through different side narrow doors. Here they could enjoy the performance, they could walk among the artists and they could relive the memory of a mercenary life of 150 years ago in Pingyao.
In the past three years, the drama has been staged for nearly thousand times, but numerous visitors to the town expect it to continue to let them be part of it.
