Video Chen Xuexi - Aria from "Jin Hua Nu" 陈学希-潮剧金花女

An excerpt taken from Chaozhou (Teochew) opera - Jin Hua Nu (A Maiden By Name of Jinhua), performed by veteran performer Chen Xuexi.


Chen plays the part of an impoverished scholar whose endearing wife cannot bear to part with him when he has to travel to the capital city to sit for the imperial examination. She chooses to accompany him on the arduous journey, but along the way, they are preyed upon by bandits. She jumps into the river to escape, and he believes she is drowned. After he has been rescued, he attains top honours in the examination but is not aware that his wife is still alive.


In this scene, the top scholar comes to the river to bemoan his wife. This sorrowful yet lyrical aria is one of the top favorites of many Chaozhou opera fans.