The plot of Qin Xianglian is relatively simple．Chen Shimei，a married man with children，wins the first place in the highest imperial examination and is hence married to the princess，the emperor’s sister．When his wife Qin Xianglian finds him，he refuses to recognize her and their children．He even sends an assassin to kill them but the assassin kills himself instead，due to an awakening of conscience．Qin Xianglian sues him for betrayal and attempted murder and wins the case on the verdict of Bao Zheng，an official famous for uprightness and integrity．The drama

ends with the execution of Chen Shimei．

陈融编著的《京剧秦香莲》is hence devoted to Qin Xianglian，a success story in the Beijing opera that has stood the test of time．It aims at helping the readers gain some understanding ofboth Qin Xianglian as a Beiiing opera and the Beijingopera as aform of art．

《京剧秦香莲》is hence devoted to Qin Xianglian，a success storyin the Beijing opera that has stood the test of time．It aims at helping the readers gain some understanding ofboth Qin Xianglian as a Beiiing opera andtheBeijingopera as aform of art．Itis alsohopedthatthe readerwill have a glimpse of the Chinese societY一its history,philosophy,art，and social values--through the play hereby presented．

陈融编著的《京剧秦香莲》 is divided into three chapters．Chapter I presents information about the plothne of the play,its major characters，and the history of its performance．In Chapter II，Interpretation and Appreciation，commentary is offered on what Qin Xianglian，as a piece of literature andart，informs its audience about the society in which it is deeply rooted．Italso provides basic information about the Bering opera as a form of artto get the reader prepared for the reading of the translated play script tocome in Chapter III．

The play script of Qin Xianglian presented in Chapter III is atranslated version of the play script from Fang Rongxiang’S collection．Care has been taken to strike the balance between maintainingthe original flavor of the play and presenting it in ways that are inconformation to the conventions of the English language．The Appendix，The Beijing Opera ABC，is adopted from X．Yang and is attached at theend of the monograph．

Chapter I

Qin Xianglian as a Beijing Opera

1．The origin of the story

2．Synopsis of the plotIiRe

3．Main cha racters

4．Performance and infIuence

5．Summa ry of Chapter I

Chapter II

Interpretation and Appreciation

1．InteroretatiOn

2．ApDreciation

Chapter III

Qin Xianglian

D ramatis Personae

Scene 1：Departu re

Scene 2：Ma rriage

Scene 3：At the lnn

Scene 4：1n Chen’S Palace

Scene 5：Meeting Wang Yanling

Scene 6：Birthday Pa rty

Scene 7：Temple KilIing

Scene 8：Execution

Bibliography

Appendix：The Beijing Opera ABC

Works Consulted and Cited