Staging a heavenly commotion

As a young boy, Qu Jingda loved playing with his friends in the courtyard of his home. He would grasp a makeshift jingubang, or "golden cudgel" — a long, slender wooden stick — and mimic the deeds of the legendary Monkey King, Sun Wukong.

With each swing, he imagined the world shifting around him, as if his stick was like his beloved hero's magical weapon. In his imagination, it could grow to the size of a mountain, or shrink to the size of a needle, just as Sun Wukong's does in Wu Cheng'en's 16th-century classic Journey to the West.

As he grew into adolescence, Qu began to train as a Peking Opera actor, coming to specialize in the role of wusheng, a male character primarily focused on martial arts. One of his signature roles was as Sun Wukong in the National Peking Opera Company's production of Havoc in the Heavenly Kingdom.

This Friday, he will reprise the role again at the Mei Lanfang Theatre in Beijing.

The story of Havoc in the Heavenly Kingdom, which is also known as Uproar in Heaven, follows Sun Wukong as he goes to the submarine Dragon Palace to borrow a weapon. He steals the magical jingubang, leading the Dragon King to appeal to the heavenly court. Sun Wukong is lured to heaven, where a scheme to ambush him leads to him being thrown into a furnace. After burning for 49 days, he evolves, breaking free and causing chaos in heaven. Afterward, he returns to his home on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits. When he is tricked into returning to heaven, the Jade Emperor, ruler of the heavens, grants him a lowly position as keeper of the horses. Insulted, Sun Wukong refuses and decides to take matters into his own hands, once again rampaging through heaven, causing chaos, and mocking the gods.

"Every time I play Sun Wukong, I am taken back to my childhood, which was a time of wild imagination around this hero. As the music begins — sharp, energetic, and full of intensity — I not only feel the power of the character, but also the power of my own transformation with each swing of the jingubang," says the 35-year-old, who was born in Harbin, Heilongjiang province. Qu came to Beijing to study Peking Opera in 1998 and joined the National Peking Opera Company in 2004.

He says that Sun Wukong is one of the most iconic figures of mythology, and so people have high expectations of any actor portraying him. The Monkey King has a large, dedicated fan base and is loved by audiences, meaning the actor must live up to this legacy.

Qu can still remember when he first began to study for the role, which was very challenging.

"My teachers told me that playing Sun Wukong requires not just physical skill, but also an understanding of his deeper qualities — his rebellious spirit, cunning nature, and the transformation he undergoes," Qu says. "He is not only a fierce fighter and a rebellious hero, but he also has a playful, almost trickster-like personality. The actor must balance these aspects, shifting seamlessly from comedic moments to intense battles and dramatic confrontations with heaven. The timing of these transitions is crucial, as the opera often moves between lighthearted moments and intense action or emotional depth."