{"id":88,"date":"2026-05-29T20:53:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T20:53:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/33\/?p=88"},"modified":"2026-06-26T10:35:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T10:35:22","slug":"second-troupe-of-peking-opera-performing-a-mongolian-classical-drama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/33\/second-troupe-of-peking-opera-performing-a-mongolian-classical-drama\/","title":{"rendered":"Second Troupe of Peking Opera Performing a Mongolian Classical Drama"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tumurkhu<\/strong> Namaa<\/strong>*<\/a>, Dashdondog<\/strong> Batsaikhan<\/strong>**<\/a>, and Altangerel<\/strong> Munkh-Orgil<\/strong>***<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abstract<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The Three Hills<\/font> is a representative work of Mongolian classical theatre and an important achievement in the history of Mongolian performing arts. Its success was shaped not only by its artistic merits but also by the social transformations and political context of the period in which it was produced. Within this historical framework, the staging of The Three Hills<\/font> in the People\u2019s Republic of China constitutes a significant event in the history of Sino\u2013Mongolian cultural exchange. The performance provided a valuable practical example of cross-cultural interaction in theatrical practice and contributed to subsequent developments in artistic and literary collaboration between the two countries. In addition, this production had a notable impact on the evolution of Peking Opera, particularly in terms of role typology and performance techniques, and has therefore become an important subject of discussion in contemporary theatre studies.

Keywords:<\/strong> Peking Opera, Buyang role type, reform and innovation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Staging of The Three Hills<\/em> in Mongolia and Its Revision by Ts. Damdins\u00fcren<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The director of The Three Hills<\/em> and writer Donrov Namdag recalled how the play was created. In the spring of 1934, he left the State Central Theatre, known as \u201cBumbugur Nogoon,\u201d and visited his friend Dashdorj Natsagdorj At that time, the theatre lacked new plays. During their conversation, Natsagdorj spoke about his idea to write a lyrical tragedy. The idea was based on real events from the life of a man named Yunden G\u00fc\u00fc, who was known for his beauty and singing during the period of autonomy. This discussion became the starting point of Uchirtai Gurvan Tolgoi<\/em> (The Three Hills<\/em>), a tragic love story about Yunden, Nansalmaa, Balgan, and Khorolmaa, set near three small hills on the steppe (Union of Mongolian Writers 20\u201322). From its first performance, The Three Hills<\/em> strongly affected audiences and became an important work in the history of Mongolian theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dashdorj Natsagdorj wrote The Three Hills<\/em> during a difficult period of his life. He had recently returned from his studies in Germany and was facing serious personal problems, including separation from his wife, Pagmadulam. The characters in the play have clear symbolic roles. Khorolmaa, who falls in love with Yunden, becomes lonely and desperate because of her harmful and misguided actions. Her character highlights the loyalty and emotional purity of Yunden and Nansalmaa. This contrast increases the tragic impact of the play. In addition, Natsagdorj\u2019s unjust imprisonment influenced the work and reflects his personal suffering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1943, The Three Hills<\/em> was revised and staged as a Mongolian opera by People\u2019s Writer and Academician Tsend Damdins\u00fcren. This revision marked a new stage in the history of the work. Damdins\u00fcren\u2019s version reflected the political ideas of the time and the expectations of the audience more clearly. Themes of politics and class struggle became more visible. As a result, the tragic ending of the original play was changed to fit a new ideological perspective. According to Narantsetseg:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsend Damdins\u00fcren begins the drama with the defeat of the enemy, the conferral of titles, and scenes of celebration. The work likewise concludes in an atmosphere of triumph. Rather than depicting decline, the narrative follows an upward trajectory, representing a period of historical victory and progress. These structural and tonal shifts are deliberate rather than incidental. Damdins\u00fcren replaces the pessimistic tone of Natsagdorj\u2019s sung drama with a more optimistic worldview characteristic of Natsagdorj\u2019s earlier creative period. Furthermore, he structures the drama in accordance with the four seasonal motifs outlined in Natsagdorj\u2019s poem Four Seasons<\/em>, transforming the imagery from autumn to summer\u2014a season traditionally associated with vitality and happiness (Narantuya 10).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many scholars have studied the relationship between D. Natsagdorj\u2019s original version of The Three Hills<\/em> and the revisions made by Tsend Damdins\u00fcren. Their studies offer new and valuable interpretations. Professor Choijilsuren Jachin provides a clear quantitative comparison:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original version by D. Natsagdorj contains 990 lines of verse. Of these, 264 lines belong to Yunden, 375 to Nansalmaa, 88 to Balgan, and 151 to Khorolmaa. In contrast, the 1943 version includes 733 lines: 168 for Yunden, 140 for Nansalmaa, 56 for Balgan, and 134 for Khorolmaa. This shows that the 1943 version is much shorter. Yunden\u2019s sung parts were reduced by 96 lines, and Nansalmaa\u2019s by 235 lines. Despite these large numerical reductions, the qualitative change is not equally radical, which is especially important. (26)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Staging of The Three Hills<\/em> in China<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Peking Opera (Jingju) has a long history in China and holds a central place in traditional Chinese theatre. Over many centuries, it has developed a distinctive artistic system with fixed character types, stage conventions, music, vocal styles, and performance movements. Within this context, the staging of the Mongolian play The Three Hills<\/em> in China represents a special and notable case in the history of cultural exchange and Peking Opera studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1950, the Embassy of the Mongolian People\u2019s Republic was established in Beijing. On 4 October 1952, Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal and Zhou Enlai signed the Agreement on Economic and Cultural Cooperation Between the People\u2019s Republic of China and the Mongolian People\u2019s Republic<\/em> (Dashdavaa and Bold 34). This agreement facilitated official cooperation in the economic, cultural, and educational spheres. In 1953, the Daily Newspaper of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region<\/em> published an article titled \u201cThe Artistic Ornament of the Mongolian People\u2019s Republic,\u201d which stated:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On October 1, we watched Uchirtai Gurvan Tolgoi<\/em>, the famous Mongolian sung drama and a major work of the State Musical Drama Theatre. The play has been performed more than one thousand times and has attracted wide public attention. Through the love story of two young people, it vividly depicts the cruelty of feudal lords and the struggle of the herding people. (95\u201396)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This report shows that The Three Hills<\/em> made a strong and positive impression on Chinese audiences and helped them better understand the play and its themes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an interview about the performance of The Three Hills<\/em> in China, Danzen Dugars\u00fcren, Honored Worker of Arts of Mongolia, stated:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1952, the play The Grey-Haired Woman<\/em> was staged in Mongolia. I believe this experience later influenced the decision to stage The Three Hills<\/em> in China. At that time, important cultural and artistic exchanges took place, and they had a strong impact on the development of our national arts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is important to note that the idea to stage The Three Hills<\/em> in China first came from the actors themselves. This clearly reflects the creative motivation and artistic interests of theatre practitioners. Zhang Yunshi, who played the role of Yunden in the production titled Three Mountains<\/em> (San Zuo Shan<\/em>), later recalled:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the winter of 1952, I traveled to Ulaanbaatar with a Chinese cultural delegation and watched the Mongolian national opera Three Mountains<\/em>. The performance left a strong impression on me and gave me the idea to adapt it into a Peking Opera. When I returned to China and shared this idea, many people were surprised, some laughed, and only a few supported it. (13)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One reason for choosing The Three Hills<\/em> was the similarity between the costumes in Three Mountains<\/em> and those used in Peking Opera. It was believed that Peking Opera performers wearing traditional Mongolian deel<\/em> costumes would be readily accepted and understood by Chinese audiences. Zhang Yunshi further explained: \u201cIn short, I hoped to create a foundation for performing modern drama through Peking Opera. I also believed that international cultural exchange should involve not only cultural export but also cultural reception\u201d (13). This statement reflects how The Three Hills<\/em> was perceived and evaluated outside Mongolia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the mid-1950s, theatre scholar and director Ma Yanxiang, together with his wife Yun Yanming, created the first modern Peking Opera adaptation of Three Mountains<\/em>. The work was adapted from a Mongolian opera of the Mongolian People\u2019s Republic. Scholar Wang Bo\u2019ao notes that this production was the first modern Peking Opera adapted from a foreign theatrical work after the founding of the People\u2019s Republic of China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ma Yanxiang not only directed the production but also played an active role in adapting and preparing the script. Yun Yanming, who performed the leading female role, devoted more effort to this production than to traditional performances. She worked to master established techniques while simultaneously developing new performance methods. As a result, the singing, pronunciation, movement, and stage combat were redesigned and refined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To bring the work closer to Mongolian folk life, the creative team invited dance specialist Jia Zuoguan and Peking Opera composer Liu Jidian to collaborate. This production became the most demanding and labor-intensive project in the artistic careers of Ma Yanxiang and Yun Yanming. Committed to realism, Ma pursued authenticity with exceptional seriousness. He even arranged for his pregnant wife to live in border regions of Inner Mongolia in order to observe local life firsthand. After more than a year of sustained work\u2014often late into the night\u2014the team meticulously refined every element of the production, including music, melody, dance, makeup, and costume. The large-scale work, starring Zhang Yunshi and Yun Yanming, was eventually staged and attracted widespread public attention (Wang Bo\u2019ao).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director Fan Junhong wrote in the preface to the play script Three Mountains<\/em>, published in Beijing in 1957, that the script had been revised and adapted on the basis of the core content of the well-known opera Three Mountains<\/em>, written by the Mongolian poets D. Natsagdorj and Tsend Damdins\u00fcren. These revisions were made to meet the structural requirements of Peking Opera. In the adapted version, new characters were introduced and the sequence of events was reorganized. All such changes received approval from the relevant authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fan Junhong acknowledged that representing Mongolian life through the artistic form of Peking Opera was a challenging undertaking. Adapting a renowned foreign work required innovation across multiple dimensions, including the script, performance style, and musical composition. Throughout the creative process, the team encountered persistent difficulties in balancing the stylistic conventions of Peking Opera with Mongolian national artistic traditions. Some of these tensions remained unresolved in the script.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Second Troupe of the China Peking Opera Theatre staged Three Mountains<\/em> in mid-June 1956, the production attracted considerable attention from theatre professionals and Peking Opera audiences, generating widespread discussion. The revised script was subsequently published in the August 1956 issue of the journal Playwriting<\/em>, incorporating further modifications based on stage practice. Fan Junhong expressed the hope that its publication would encourage more informed and constructive debate in the future (1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Three Mountains<\/em> was staged, Mongolian cultural perspectives exerted a distinct influence on Chinese theatrical practice, particularly in the transformation of traditional Peking Opera stage design. Ma Yanxiang was appointed director of the production. The Mongolian side regarded the staging of The Three Hills<\/em> in China as a major cultural event and provided extensive materials, including the script, musical scores, visual references, stage designs, and costume sketches. The creative team included director Fan Junhong, composer Liu Jidian, choreographer Jia Zuoguan, and other specialists. The principal cast featured Yun Yanming as Nansalmaa, Zhang Chunhua as Buyan, Jin Rongqin as Balgan, Ye Shengchang as Yunden\u2019s father, and Zhang Yunshi as Yunden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the production process, the creative team deliberately challenged the fixed conventions of traditional Peking Opera. Their aim was to represent Mongolian modern life in a manner that conveyed its vitality, historical depth, and artistic strength. To achieve this, they moved away from the highly symbolic staging characteristic of Peking Opera and introduced more realistic scenic elements. This shift not only clarified the thematic focus of the play but also intensified its dramatic tension. The contrast between traditional Chinese spatial aesthetics and the vast Mongolian steppe was expressed visually through the recurring image of mountains, which functioned as a metaphor for social inequality and class conflict between the wealthy and the poor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the fundamental performance conventions of Peking Opera were formally maintained, the staging of Three Mountains<\/em> incorporated significant elements from Mongolian operatic design. Tall trees, rocks, and sloping terrain were arranged around the central playing area. While these features suited the movement vocabulary of Mongolian opera, they posed challenges to the combat-oriented spatial dynamics of traditional Peking Opera. Nevertheless, the artists consciously embraced innovation, adhering to the principle of \u201ccreating the new from the old.\u201d Zhang Yunshi described this creative process as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the saying goes, difficulty gives rise to change. Because the stage space was limited, I was compelled to explore new ways of expressing Peking Opera movement and to redesign the combat scenes. This involved staging fights around large trees, chases across open ground, rolls and grappling sequences on elevated terrain, and leaps and strikes near stone obstacles. Through these experiments, I developed precise and character-specific movement patterns. By incorporating Mongolian knives, lassos, whips, hunting forks, axes, and wrestling techniques\u2014and adapting them to particular dramatic contexts\u2014the combat scenes became more coherent and visually expressive. The characters were rendered more distinct, and the production was renewed in both content and form. These innovations in stage combat later exerted a lasting influence on the development of Peking Opera. (13)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This reflection demonstrates that Three Mountains<\/em> exerted a lasting influence on Peking Opera performance practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The artists also devoted considerable attention to revising the dramatic script. In the process of adaptation, the storyline was reorganized as follows: the hunter Yunden falls in love with the herdswoman Nansalmaa, and the two plan to marry. Prince Balgan, who covets Nansalmaa, conspires with Khorolmaa to separate the couple and compel her to marry him. When this scheme fails, he plots to kill Yunden. As oppression intensifies, Yunden and Nansalmaa escape from the palace with the assistance of the singer Buyan. Balgan and his soldiers pursue them toward the Three Mountains. There, the oppressed people unite with Yunden to resist their rulers. Ultimately, the love between Yunden and Nansalmaa overcomes all obstacles. By foregrounding collective resistance and social conflict, the narrative places strong emphasis on class struggle, reflecting the ideological climate of the period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In staging Uchirtai Gurvan Tolgoi<\/em>, numerous modifications were introduced to align the work with Chinese theatrical conventions. One significant change was the rejection of the traditional \u201cstar-centered system\u201d of Peking Opera (Fu Jin 47). This shift enhanced the authority of the director and reconceptualized the production as an integrated whole rather than as a vehicle for a single leading performer. All characters, including supporting roles, were developed in accordance with the overall dramaturgical structure. In addition, new musical compositions and choreographic designs were created to serve the dramatic narrative, rather than relying exclusively on established performance conventions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In summary, Ma Yanxiang sought to make Peking Opera more accessible to modern audiences by applying the principle of creating new art from traditional techniques. In adapting The Three Hills<\/em> into Three Mountains<\/em>, four new characters were added, and the role of Khorolmaa was significantly expanded to intensify dramatic conflict. Through her narrow and possessive understanding of love, the play suggests that genuine love requires selflessness, whereas possessiveness leads to destruction. Without Khorolmaa, the relationship between Yunden and Nansalmaa would appear less elevated and less dramatically tested. Her presence therefore enhances narrative coherence and sharpens thematic contrast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In traditional Chinese thought, Confucian ethics place strong emphasis on filial piety (xiao<\/em>) and on parents\u2019 authority over marriage. Filial piety is seen as a basic moral duty. Marriage is not viewed as a personal choice but as a matter concerning the family as a whole. For this reason, family relationships in the play reflect traditional social order and cultural values. Parental involvement in marriage represents the combined influence of Confucian ethics, clan interests, and social structure. To express these values in Three Mountains<\/em>, the characters of Yunden\u2019s father and Nansalmaa\u2019s mother were added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another important addition was the character Buyan, a singer. This role matches the aesthetic expectations of Chinese audiences, who often prefer stories with a clear moral direction, especially narratives in which good eventually defeats evil. This preference reflects a long-standing Eastern worldview and the historical experience of imperial China. In the past, ordinary people lived under hardship and oppression, and theatre offered emotional comfort, hope, and a sense of justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From this perspective, Peking Opera can be understood as an art form shaped by the shared emotions and values of the people. Although it has changed over time, it has remained closely connected to popular life and cultural needs. At the same time, it has developed its own stable aesthetic system. To support this orientation, Peking Opera follows clear principles that govern ideology, artistic form, and performance technique. Because its stories often include separation, death, and moral conflict, Peking Opera usually combines tragic and comic elements. It typically ends with a moral resolution in which good is rewarded and evil is punished, clearly distinguishing right from wrong (Zhang Geng & Guo Hanqing 52\u201359).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To preserve the traditional ideological framework of Peking Opera, the character Buyan serves as an important link between The Three Hills<\/em> and the stylistic and emotional logic of Peking Opera, as well as between the opera and the people. At the beginning of Three Mountains<\/em>,[1]<\/sup><\/a> for example, Buyan brings good news to Yunden\u2019s father. This scene creates a joyful atmosphere and confirms Nansalmaa\u2019s destined role as Yunden\u2019s future wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Peking Opera dramaturgy, despair and suffering do not represent surrender to fate. Instead, they emphasize endurance, hope, struggle, and justice. The tradition affirms that moral commitment and perseverance allow good to overcome evil. Characters are therefore expected to embody kindness and a high level of moral awareness. Through such characters, goodness is rewarded and wrongdoing is punished (Zhang Geng & Guo Hanqing 68).<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Three Mountains, <\/em>dir. Ma Yanxiang, Second Troupe of Peking Opera of the PRC, 1956. Photo: Private archive of Professor Dula\u0430\u043d (Chen Ganglun), Peking University<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

From this perspective, Buyan\u2019s role becomes clear. He helps Yunden and Nansalmaa escape from Prince Balgan\u2019s palace, which moves the story forward and reinforces the opera\u2019s moral direction. In one scene, Buyan appears as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buyan<\/strong> (looking at Nansalmaa, hiding his true intention):
At the prince\u2019s banquet hall, I was told to change my costume.
I searched everywhere\u2014where is the new bride?
Khorolmaa<\/strong> (pointing at Nansalmaa): This is our prince\u2019s new consort!
Buyan:<\/strong>
So this is the prince\u2019s new consort. Greetings, my lady.
It was not easy to meet you.
Nansalmaa:<\/strong>
Before all the guests arrive, why such haste to change clothes?
Day and night I think of the one I love;
at this moment, I long to hear a voice that reminds me of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n