Ballet: The White-Haired Girl

(China.org.cn)
Updated: 2011-06-26 14:39

The White Hair Girl is a Chinese opera. It is based on a real life story of a peasant girl, Xi'er.

Storyline: On the eve of the Chinese Spring Festival, Xi'er is waiting for her father at home. Her father, Yang Bailao, has been away to avoid the debt collector from a despotic landlord, Huang Shiren. Huang kills Yang Bailao and takes away Xi'er by force as his concubine.

One day, Xi'er escapes from Huang's house and runs to the mountains. In the following years, she lives in a cave and finds food from a nearby temple.

Meanwhile, Xi'er's fiancé, Wang Dachun, has joined the Eighth Route Army and fought the Japanese invaders. When Wang comes back to the village, he learns the story of Xi'er and finds her in the mountains, with her hair turning white due to a lack of salt. The couple finally reunites and rejoices.