The Ruse of the Empty City ( 空城計 )

1. The Ruse of the Empty City (空城計) This incident, which is recounted in the novel The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, is set during the late period of the Three Kingdoms, known as Wu, Wei and Shu, (220-265 ACE). The forces of Shu, under attack from the Wei, take refuge in Xicheng. Zhuge Liang, one of the military officers of the Shu kingdom, in order to ward off the advancing and vastly superior Wei army devises a plan (the 32nd strategy in the Chinese essay Thirty-Six Stratagems), wherein, Zhuge in order to appear as if he has a larger and more capable army uses reverse psychology. He orders all the gates of the city to be opened and civilians to be sweeping the roads while he sits high up on the fort wall calmly playing his qin with two children by his side. When the Wei commander, Yi Sima, approaches the fort, the scene puzzles him. Assuming that Zhuge’s nonchalance indicates that he must have a greater force, Yi and his army retreat. Zhuge sings this song to Yi, while he is sitting on the fort wall. Zhuge has invited Yi to come in and have a nice chat, but Yi has refused and Zhuge chastises him for his cowardice. He tells Yi that he has nothing to be afraid of; there are no soldiers who are waiting in ambush.

2. Two Sisters of the Red Mansions The two sisters, together with their mother, were staying at the mansion of their brother in law, Jia Zhen. The two sisters, Second Sister You and Third Sister You, were well-known for their beauty. Third Sister You met Liu Xianglian and fell in love at first sight. JiaLian, a cousin of Jia Zhen, secretly made Second Sister You his concubine. Then he flirted with Third Sister You, who reproached him. She wanted to marry Liu Xianglian, but Liu broke off their engagement by believing in the scandals about Third Sister You and Jia Zhen. Third Sister You committed suicide to demonstrate her innocence. This piece is sung by Third Sister You when she got the sword from Liu Xianglian as a betrothal gift.

3. Mu Guiying Takes Command(穆桂英挂帅) The Western Xia regime has invaded the Song kingdom (960-1279 BCE). She Taijun, widow of a famous general, cannot sit idly by during the invasion, so she sends her great-grandchildren to the capital for information. Meanwhile, the emperor has set up a gong fu contest in which the winner will be the commander of the army. The great-grandchildren enter the contest and kill Wang Lun—the son of the defense minister who wants to take command of the Song troops in order that his family may usurp power—and thus win the competition. The emperor then learns that they are descendants of the Yang family and agrees to put their mother, Mu Guiying, in command of the army. She doesn’t want to take the position because many of her family members have died defending the empire and received little recognition from the emperor for their sacrifice. Widow She, however, persuades her granddaughter-in-law to take command, putting aside her private resentment in order to save the country. Mu finally takes up the commander’s stamp (or seal) and leads the army against the Western Xia. In China, like Mulan, Mu Guiying is one of the most popular heroic and patriotic female figures.   The song is about how Mu Guiying decides to accept the position of commander of the army.

4. Orphan of Zhao Family 赵氏孤儿 Tu and Zhao were the two favorites of the State Emperor of Jin. But Tu was succeeded in pursuit the Emperor to have killed Zhao and all his family members.Although Zhao's daughter-in-law, Zhuangjiwas excluded from the massacre for she was the sister of the Emperor, she was ordered to give up her son to be killed as soon as she gave birth to him. Dr. Cheng was called in by Zhuangji after the birth and bring her son out to safty. He later surrendered his own son to be killed in order to save all the newborns in his town. Fifteen years later, General Wei Jiang and the orphan, Zhao Wu, learned the truth from Dr. Cheng and they killed Tu for revenge.This song is by General Wei Jiang expressing his sorrow and anger when Dr Cheng tells him the truth.

5. 迎春曲(Ode to Spring) 京胡独奏曲迎春是一首春天的节庆音乐。主题欢快，活泼，明朗。有浓郁的中国民族民间音乐的乡土气息。背景音乐汲取了西方乐曲创作手法用西洋乐器演奏并配有京剧打击乐将人们在欢度佳节时的喜悦情景刻划得惟妙惟肖，现出一派春日融融，鸟语花香的新春景象。 Ode to Spring is composed as a spring festival music for Jinghu solo performance. Although it is a Chinese folk music characterized by jinghu and Beijing opera percussions, its lively and cheerful theme are well enhanced by drawing elements of Western Music and instrument, giving audience the sense of early spring filled with fragrant of flours and singing of birds.

6. The Matchmaker红娘 (From The Romance of the Western Chamber) During the Tang dynasty, a young scholar named Zhang Junrui has traveled to the capital in order to take the highest imperial examination and falls in love with the daughter of the Prime Minister, Cui Yingying, during his stay at a local temple. Zhang is preparing to take his final exam, when a group of bandits capture the royal family. Cui’s desperate mother pledges to marry her daughter off to any man who successfully rescues them. Though Zhang eventually succeeds, Cui’s mother subsequently breaks her promise refusing to allow her daughter to wed an impoverished scholar. As a result Zhang and Cui are even more determined to marry and, with assistance from Cui’s loyal maid, Hongniang (the Matchmaker), the couple is eventually married. Hongniang expresses in this song her wishes for her mistress to have successful and fruitful marriage with Zhang Junrui.

7. [白蛇传] “游湖” 千年修炼的蛇仙白素贞与青蛇小青结伴下凡，在西湖边偶遇风雨。与书生许仙因借伞结缘，彼此心生爱慕。 Sightseeing in West Lake: Selected from Legend of the White Snake Transformed into human beings, Lady White Snake, a white snake spirit, was accompanied by her maid, Blue Snake, to the beautiful West Lake to sample the joys of human world. Due to unexpected rain in the early spring, they met Xu Xian, a young man who kindly lent his only umbrella to them, when they took shelter from the rain. Lady White Snake and Xu Xian fell in love with each other at first sight. In order to create a chance to meet again, Lady White Snake used magic power to let the rain continue and borrowed Xu Xian’s umbrella. Xu Xian promised to visit Lady White Snake’s home to take the umbrella back the next day.