The Legend of the Red Lantern

The play concentrated on the exploits of the communist underground activities under Japanese occupation in 1939, though history traces back to the 1920s. When Li Yuhe, a railroad worker who was engaging in underground work, is taken away by special agents, and Grandma Li has a premonition of being arrested. Grandma tells the protagonist, Li Tiemei, the true story about her family. Grandma Li tells Li Tiemei how her parents have sacrificed their lives in the revolutionary struggle. Li Yuhe has taken up the unfulfilled task of the martyrs. After hearing the heroic story of her family, Li Tiemei is determined to follow the example of her father and carry the revolution through to the end. All three of the young female protagonists in the story express "extreme anger and hatred toward their enemies," according to Lu Xing's analysis, along with "a fierce determination to join the revolutionary force." These emotions intensified through the course of the opera as the music and singing became more passionate. ==Anthologies==

An English version was included in the 2010 anthology The Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Drama, with editing by Xiaomei Chen, as well as the 2016 anthology The Big Red Book of Modern Chinese Literature edited by Yunte Huang. ==References==