The Return of General Si Lang to His Military Compound

The Yang family of the Northern Song Dynasty (A.D. 960-1127) is a highly popular subject in Chinese opera and literature. Many generations of great generals and warriors from this family were loyal to the Song emperors, helping to defend the Song Dynasty. This play is about Yang Si Lang, the family's fourth son, and is a story of the conflict between love and loyalty.

There are many military conflicts between the Northern Song Dynasty — which is ruled by the Han Chinese, and the Liao Kingdom to the north — which is ruled by a minority group in the late tenth century A.D. General Yang and his eight sons have been appointed by the Song Emperor to fight the Liao. In one battle they are ambushed, and most of the generals from the Yang family are killed on the battlefield. Yang Si Lang is captured, but the Liao troops do not learn his true identity because he gives himself a Liao name during his interrogation. He is brought to the Liao capital, where his talents and his martial arts skills impress the Liao Empress, who marries Yang Si Lang to her daughter, the princess. The couple is happy together, and have a son in their second year of marriage.

Fifteen years later, war between the two hostile states has broken out again on a large scale. Both sides send their best troops to the border. The Liao Empress, the princess and Yang Si Lang lead the Liao troops, while the Northern Song have appointed Si Lang's younger brother Liu Lang as Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Song troops.

Hearing that his mother and sixth brother are camped at the nearby frontier, Si Lang wishes he could see them, but knows that this is virtually impossible. His wife, Princess Tiejing, realizes that he is deeply worried and asks him what is wrong. Hearing his story, she helps him to cross the heavily guarded border. Given his wife's fears that she will never see him again, Si Lang promises her that he will return overnight.

Si Lang is captured by his nephew Yang Zongbao, who is patrolling the border when Si Lang rushes into the Song camp. Si Lang is brought before his entire family, who weep with surprise and sorrow. Both his mother and brother want him to stay, but Si Lang reluctantly decides to rush back to Liao territory at dawn. He is arrested when he passes the Liao border on his way home, and is sent to the Liao Empress. Realizing that her son-in-law is actually one of the generals in the Yang family, and because he has visited the Song encampment without her permission, the Liao Empress orders his execution. Taking her life into her hands, the princess begs for her husband's life, and Si Lang is finally released.

This drama is so popular in China that it is produced everywhere in various regional operatic forms. It demonstrates the emotions of actual people and depicts the tragedies of war, regardless of political affiliation and Confucian doctrine. Si Lang and the Liao princess are a couple who love one another. She is an understanding woman, and he is a man who keeps his word. The Liao Empress is a callous ruler, yet she is softhearted towards her favourite daughter and grandson. Si Lang is not a a traditional hero, given the fact that his family has been loyal to the Song Emperor for generations in the war against the Liao. Everyone in his family cries when Si Lang joins them after fifteen years' separation, and no one even mentions patriotism or accuses him of not being loyal to his Emperor. When the time comes for Si Lang to depart, the whole family tries to persuade him to stay. Liu Lang — Si Lang's brother and commander-in-chief of the Song troops — is choked with tears and grasps Si Lang's leg, begging him to stay. Si Lang's mother, a valiant female general who is usually a strong heroine, now becomes a bitter white-haired mother who grieves what may be her final farewell to her beloved son. This play is a rare episode in the series of works about the Yang family, with a plot full of love and emotion.

(A similar plotline can be found in the play The Reunion of General Yang Si Lang and His Mother, also included in this collection.)