What's the story of the Beijing Opera "Yu Tang Chun"?

In the Ming Dynasty, Su San (Yu Tangchun), a famous prostitute, met Wang Jinglong, the son of the official department minister, and vowed to marry Bai Shou. Wang Jinglong ran out of money and was kicked out of the brothel by the madam. The madam sold Susan to Yanglin Shen, a Shanxi businessman, as a concubine. Shen's wife was jealous, and she planned to harm her, only to let Yanglin Shen die by eating poisonous noodles by mistake, and Susan was falsely accused. Make it a capital crime.

On the way to the solution, Xiecha worshiped justice and sympathized with Su San and Wang Jinglong. He toured Shanxi and investigated the case. He learned that the wife who committed the crime was the help of Pan Bizheng and Liu Bingyi, the empress of Su San, and was reunited with Su San. Extended information

Yao Xie's Textual Research on the Music of Today, Record IV, with the Anonymous Flower Plays in Yanjing, has the title of Da Shen Yu Tang Chun. According to the materials quoted in Hankou Congtan written by Fan Kai, a native of Nanxun during Daoguang period, Li Cuiguan, an artist from Tongcheng County, Hubei Province, sang Yu Tang Chun and other plays when he participated in the "Rong Qing Department" troupe in Hankou. It can be seen that the performance of Yu Tang Chun in the flower department was quite common at that time.

Yutangchun is one of the most widely circulated operas in China, and it is the opening play of Peking Opera. This drama is a random play by Hua Bu in Qing Dynasty, and the author is unknown. For the story, please refer to volume 24 of Warning to the World and volume 2 of Love History compiled by Feng Menglong. In terms of stage play, the Ming Dynasty has compiled the legends of Wan Zhen Ji and Yu Bangji (Yuanshantang Qujing). By the Qing Dynasty, the legend of Yu Tangchun (Li Ge criticized the old drama) was performed on the Kunqu Opera stage, and the script has been lost.

Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia-Yutangchun