A world without enemies: Revenge, sacrifice, and redemption in Chen Kaige’s Adaptation of The Orphan of Zhao

This article discusses Chen Kaige’s film adaptation of the Yuan drama The Orphan of Zhao. I focus on the two most important changes that Chen has made — namely, Cheng Ying substituting his own son for the Orphan and the Orphan seeking revenge on Tu’an Gu. The rewriting of these two episodes almost entirely alters the meaning of the story and imbues it with modern significance. My investigation concentrates on four questions. How are the main characters’ identities reconstructed beyond traditional blood ties? Whose revenge is the story about? How does the retelling reshape the tragedy? And, finally, is there a chance of redemption in revenge? Chen Kaige questions traditional values that mark the original story of vengeance, such as sacrifice, loyalty, and righteousness, and reflects on the issues that reconstitute the meaning of revenge—identity, individuality, authority, and redemption. The many contradictions in the script reveal not only different interpretations of the story by Chen and his collaborators but also the inner tension in Chen’s insistence on refashioning the traditional theme of revenge in a modern and idealist fashion. Chen’s adaptation, I argue, simultaneously gives a decidedly modern spin to the story and is limited by modern conditions.