Plot
Wu Han, who wrote the play, was a historian (and a municipal politician in Beijing) who focused on the Ming Dynasty. Wu Han wrote an article portraying Hai Rui, a Ming minister who was imprisoned for criticizing the emperor, as the hero. Wu later adapted his article into a Beijing opera play, which was first performed in 1961. The play is a tragedy in which an honest official carries the complaints of the people to the emperor at the expense of his career. It portrays Hai as an efficient magistrate who requests an audience with the emperor, but who then criticizes the Emperor directly for tolerating the corruption and abuses perpetuated by other officials in the imperial government. The emperor is so offended by Hai's criticism that he dismisses Hai from office, but he is restored to office after the emperor dies.
The play was initially praised by Mao Zedong. It was published under Wu' s pen name, Liu Mianzhi, a Song dynasty scholar and a supporter of Yue Fei.
Read more about this topic: Hai Rui Dismissed From Office
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