Opera honors patriot's fiery legacy

On Sunday, the Gezai Opera production, titled Feng Huo Qiao Hun (Soul of Overseas Patriots in Flames of War), was performed at Beijing's Tianqiao Theatre.

Originating from Zhangzhou, Fujian province, the production was selected for the exhibition of stage artworks marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War. It brought the rich legacy of southern Fujian culture to the capital.

Gezai Opera was on the first list of national intangible cultural heritage, and is mostly popular in Fujian and Taiwan. Performed in the Minnan dialect, Gezai Opera combines a variety of art forms such as singing, dancing and acting.

Blending intangible cultural heritage with red culture and Minnan traditions, Feng Huo Qiao Hun tells the story of Li Lin, a patriotic overseas Chinese born in Zhangzhou who was martyred in Shuozhou, Shanxi province, during the War of Resistance.

Li (1915-40) was born in Zhangzhou and spent her childhood in Indonesia before returning to China in 1929. Actively involved in the student resistance movement, she joined the revolution in 1936, helping to establish the Yanbei Revolutionary Base, earning military honors and forging deep bonds with local communities. On April 26, 1940, while pregnant, Li was surrounded by enemy troops. Refusing capture, she took her own life, sacrificing herself in Shuozhou.

The production premiered in 2021 and has since undergone six rounds of refinement. It has been staged in Fuzhou, Zhangzhou, Shuozhou, and Beijing.