Perish in the Name of Love

PRINCESS CHEUNG PING of the late Ming Dynasty is a bright endearing child, and has always been the favorite of her father EMPEROR CHING and the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother is a great lover of operas and plays. When she discovers that her favorite troupe has been dismissed without her permission, she gets furious and vents her anger on QUEEN ZHOU, PING’s mother. She blames ZHOU for the cuts in the entertainment allowances and poor ZHOU does not even have a chance to defend herself. CONCUBINE CHAN, the niece of the Queen Mother, immediately seizes this opportunity to mock ZHOU. CONCUBINE TIN, who is heavily pregnant, knows that CHAN has been riding roughshod over every member of the royal family using her close relationship with the Queen Mother. TIN therefore warns ZHOU to beware of CHAN. CHOW SAI HIN, the son of a prominent minister CHOW HING, is brought up with other royal family members in the palace.… ...

PING is sad to find that her pet, which is a dog given to her by HIN, has died. HIN tries his best to console her, and the two of them decide to secretly bury the dog somewhere near the temple. Along the way they hear CHAN scream in agony. They are scared to death and run away immediately. CHAN falls into TIN’s trap and is caught in adultery. She is sentenced to death and is executed inside the temple. The Queen Mother flies into a rage after having discovered CHAN’s adultery. She later falls ill and decides to cancel her birthday banquet. HIN gets aware that PING has been sick, and has thought of a way to cure her of her illness. The Queen Mother, with other members of the royal family, prays earnestly to Guan Yin hoping that the Goddess of Mercy will give TIN a son. She is very disappointed as she finds that her prayer is unlikely to be granted.… ...