Brecht believed that theater should appeal not only to the spectator's feelings but to his or her sense of reason. While still providing entertainment, it should be strongly didactic and capable of provoking social discussion.

Although Wang's Baimen Liu is set against a historical backdrop some 400 years ago, he hopes theater-goers will be stirred to think about their own lives rather than become emotionally involved with the protagonists.

Brecht once said that the difference between "dramatic theater" and "epic theater" is that "...the spectator of dramatic theater says: Yes, I have felt like that too -- just like me -- it's only natural -- it'll never change. The sufferings of this man appall me, because they are inescapable -- that's great art; it all seems the most obvious thing in the world. I weep when they weep, I laugh when they laugh.

"The epic theater's spectator says: I'd never thought about it -- that's not the way. That's extraordinary, hardly believable -- it's got to stop -- the sufferings of this man appall me, because they are unnecessary. That's great art; nothing obvious in it -- I laugh when they weep, I weep when they laugh."

  Talented heroine

Wang's Baimen Liu is expected to achieve the latter effect.

Following its premiere in mid-May in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province, the play, adapted from a 2,000-page novel and produced by Guangzhou Drama Theater, will be staged at Beijing's Poly Theater from June 10 to 16.

Baimen Liu is set during a time of turmoil: The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), noted for its widespread corruption, was ending. The last emperor had hanged himself from a tree on the hill behind the Forbidden City. The imperial family had fled to the south beyond the Yangtze River and continued their unstable reign temporarily in Nanjing, today's capital of East China's Jiangsu Province.

Meanwhile, the Manchu forces from Northeast China, which later established the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), were steadily gaining ground.

They captured Yangzhou, a neighboring city of Nanjing, and there were bloody battles which took place.

However, Wang does not display the foul wind and the bloodshed of the turbulent scene. Instead, the main thread of the drama is the rarely seen love affair between the 60-year-old renowned scholar Qian Qianyi (1582-1664) and 25-year-old courtesan Liu Rushi (1618-1664).

The play starts during a lavish nightlife scene along the Qinhuai River.

People enjoy the good times singing and dancing at the pavilions, tea houses, and restaurants illuminated by beautiful lanterns along the banks. The intellectuals flirt with the courtesans in gaily-painted pleasure boats shuttling along the river.

The Qinhuai River south of Nanjing had been a place of pleasure and prosperity from the Six Dynasties (222-589) to the Ming and Qing dynasties.

It fostered numerous beautiful sights and sounds, poems as well as legendary romances. The story between Qian and Liu is one of them.

Qian was a respectable scholar and politician who once was the leader of the Ming period's intellectuals to the south of the Yangtze River. They endeavoured to struggle against the Qing Dynasty, but later surrendered to the Qing rulers.

Liu, one of the famous Eight Beauties of the Qinhuai River, excelled in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. She married Qian, whom she admired and encouraged to support the fight against the Qing Dynasty. She was not willing to submit to the insurgents, and finally committed suicide.

Besides Qian and Liu, the play portrays a number of historical figures including Qian's fellows, Liu's friends -- the courtesans known as the "Eight Beauties," and their lovers, the fatuous emperor of the temporary Ming regime, the unyielding Ming generals and others.

The historical detail provides the play with rich content.

The late Ming Dynasty underwent a changing intellectual climate and the blurring of social boundaries.

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