Cantonese Opera - Princess Chang Ping (帝女花) Video

Cantonese Opera - Princess Chang Ping (帝女花) Of The Ming Dynasty.
The Song here, 香夭 (Fragrant Sacrifice) is the grand finale of the opera, sung on the wedding night, the couple are dressed in exquisite finery. The Princess and her groom express their love for each other and their loyalty to the former dynasty, especially the late Emperor, before they take their own lives, drinking wine poisoned with Arsenic.
The Ming dynasty is often regarded as both a high point in Chinese civilization as well as a dynasty in which early signs of capitalism emerged.[
During the last decades of the Ming the flow of silver into China was greatly diminished, thereby undermining state revenues and indeed the entire Ming economy. This damage to the economy was compounded by the effects on agriculture of the incipient Little Ice Age, natural calamities, crop failure, and sudden epidemics. The ensuing breakdown of authority and people's livelihoods allowed rebel leaders such as Li Zicheng to challenge Ming authority.