The Monkey King has played a prominent role in Chinese culture. (Photo : IC)
The Shanghai Peking Opera Company is set to stage a series of shows based on the Monkey King in 2016, as reported by Shanghai Daily.
The performances will be spread out during 2016, coinciding with the Year of the Monkey in the Chinese lunar calendar.
Yan Qinggu, a celebrated artist of the Peking Opera, will star in the shows. The shows will also feature vocal, acting and martial arts developed by Zheng Faxiang, the late founder of the Zheng vocal group who is widely known for his on-stage depictions of the Monkey King.
"The shows are meant to pay tribute to Zheng's theater achievements," said Yan, a student of the Zheng school. "They are also a chance for me to preserve and promote the art of Peking Opera by portraying the Monkey King and hopefully bring more young fans to Peking Opera."
The first of the series of shows will be staged on Jan. 1. Based on the early chapters of "Journey to the West," the show will explain how the Monkey King was born from a heavenly stone.
The second installment will be staged on May 14 and 15. It will focus on the Monkey King's growth after being tamed and jailed by Buddha for 500 years, eventually being rescued by the monk Xuanzang, whom the Monkey King journeys with from India to China.
The third part, scheduled to be staged on Sept. 3 and 4, will center on the Monkey King's efforts to beat the impostor attempting to trick Xuanzang.
The final chapter, scheduled to be staged on Dec. 31, will conclude with the completion of Xuanzang's mission.
The Monkey King narrative has been adapted several times since the classic novel was published during the Ming Dynasty. A recent example has been "Monkey King: Hero Is Back," a successful animated film released in July.
