A modern Romance

Seven years after his debut hit, Celestial Human World, premiered in Beijing, writer-director Yin Tao presents Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The second round of the comic drama opens this weekend.

It tells the story of Liu Bei and Sun Shangxiang, sister of the Wu kingdom (229-280) ruler. The king Sun Quan wanted to marry her to the Shu Kingdom ruler, Liu Bei. He planned to use her marriage as a bait to kill Liu Bei. However, Sun Shangxiang falls in love with Liu when she sees him. Sun Quan's plans do not work and Liu Bei leaves with Sun Shangxiang back to the Shu Kingdom.

The story has been adapted into traditional Peking Opera as also as a movie. But Yin, a China Central Television director, introduces a number of modern elements into this version.