Formulaic Plays Excerpts:
Testing His Loyal Wife, Beating the Monk, Retrieving the Head at Gao Ping Guan

Testing His Loyal Wife

General Ma Chongwei hears that his father-in-law plans to usurp power and the throne, so he decides to crusade against him. Before taking action, Ma goes on to test his wife Lady Zhou’s conduct, by lying to her that he himself plans to betray the emperor. However, Lady Zhou is so loyal to the emperor that she would rather die than join her husband. Ma feels his wife is trustworthy so he tells her the truth.

Beating the Monk

Zhang Fengxian becomes a monk and lives in the mountain to stay away from troubles. One day he meets the crown prince calling for help. The crown prince made a pilgrimage to Qingzhu Temple with his family, but his wife and maid were kidnapped by the Monk in the temple. Hearing the story, Zhang Fengxian hurries to Qingzhu Temple and confronts the monk.

Retrieving the Head at Gao Ping Guan

In the Five Dynasties, Gao Xingzhou, the Prince Eastern Lo, based at the Gao Ping Guan, the border of later Zhou, has always been a shoo-in in the battlefield. The Emperor of the later Zhou Dynasty, Guo Wei, is afraid Gao’s reputation will cause harm to his Empire. To kill Gao Xingzhou, Guo Wei imprisons the parents of Zhao Kuangyin and threatens the son to kill Gao Xingzhou in exchange of the freedom of his parents...