The Six Kingdoms Appoint a Chancellor

Introduction

The ritual opening play of Cantonese opera, in which six kingdoms make Su Qin their chancellor

The Six Kingdoms Appoint a Chancellor is a traditional ritual play of Cantonese opera, said to have been adapted in the Tongzhi reign of the Qing by Liu Huadong from two Kunqu plays. It shows the Warring States strategist Su Qin persuading six kingdoms to join in alliance, after which all six make him their chancellor. The play is a sequence of set pieces, with the entrance of the six kings, the six marshals, the parasol display, the receiving of the edict and the carriage scene, set to heavy gongs and drums and fixed tunes, so that every role type in the company shows its skills in turn. In temple festival seasons it was staged only on the opening night and needed the whole company, which made it a showcase of a troupe's strength. In May 2011 more than fifty performers from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao staged it together in Guangzhou, and China News Service described it as over a century old.