Drama Outline

- Prelude: The Young Lady of the Yang Family

Floating on the rippling surface of the Nine-Dragon Lake is a lotus blossom. Out of it sails a beautiful lady with a silk shawl. Her delicate figure and creamy face dazzle the lush, green mountains and blurs the trees and imperial pavilions in the fog.

- Scene 1: Chosen to Attend to the Emperor

The charming lady Yang enters the imperial palace under Emperor Xuanzong's orders. Her beauty outshines that of the other ladies in the palace. The emperor is greatly enraptured by her pretty face and bestows a floral-patterned gilded box upon her as a token of love. Then a ceremony of conferring titled Imperial Concubine is held.

- Scene 2: Whispering to Each Other

The stars are sparkling and the moon is like a hook. Looking up at the sky, the couple whispers at midnight to express their devoted love to each other.

- Scene 3: Bathing in the Huaqing Hot Springs

With a group of palace maids by her side, Yang wears a thin chiffon blouse, which barely covers her bosom. Through the thin curtain of a waterfall, the charming figures of Yang and the maids form a picture of bathing ladies in the hot springs.

- Scene 4: The Lishan Palace Reaches the Sky

When An Lushan, a border defense minister, meets the emperor and the concubine, he introduces the popular Tartar dances. The Tartar elements add vitality to the Tang civilization. With great joy and excitement, Yang cannot help but join in the passionate dance.

- Scene 5: Getting Drunk in the Marble Pavilion

After getting drunk at a banquet in the Jade Tower, the concubine waves as the willows dance in spring breeze and moves like a glow of mist over a lazy stream. The manner of her walk reveals her fascinating charm.

- Scene 6: Heavenly Music Carried by the Wind Far and Wide

At the foot of Lishan Mountain, the theater of the imperial palace is filled with glorious lamps, stunning curtains and charming dancers and singers. The concubine dances with the opera singers among the lotus flowers. The emperor joins in the dance with his lady. They look at each other with affection.

- Scene 7: Battle Drums From Yuyang Shaking the Earth

An Lushan rebels and the capital city is in danger. The flames of war burn the lotus curtain and the emperor's throne to ashes. The love story comes to an end, and so too the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty.

- Scene 8: Hairpins Fall to the Ground Unwanted

The emperor flees to Maweipo with his concubine. The soldiers demand the execution of the concubine to save the country. The couple has no choice and Yang is eventually hanged under the bleak moonlight. Sad songs linger long in the cold valley.

- Scene 9: Meeting Again in Heaven

On a windy, snowy day, the emperor returns to the capital. The smiling and beautiful face of Yang is lingering in his memory. In his dreams, they meet again in a fairyland where they exchange their love in tears.