[On Stage] Was Revenge for Shin Beautiful?

Play 'Jo's Orphan, The Seed of Revenge'

Adapted from Yuan Dynasty playwright Ji Junxiang's work, premiered in early 2015
Overwhelmingly ranked #1 most anticipated play in 2019

Swapping the youngest son for loyalty
After sacrificing family, revenge succeeds
Yet only the futility of ideology is felt...

Actor Ha Seong-gwang, who played the role of Jeong-yeong in the play 'The Orphan of Jo, the Seed of Revenge.' (Photo by National Theater Company)

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] From ancient times to the present, regardless of genre?novels, plays, films?‘revenge’ has been one of the most common themes. The basic narrative is about a wronged individual who, after enduring hardship, delivers justice. Whether it’s the satisfying triumph of good over evil or a tragic ending, the protagonist driving the story is usually the avenger themselves.

The National Theater Company’s flagship repertoire play, Jo’s Orphan, The Seed of Revenge, does not follow the clich?s typical of revenge dramas. The story unfolds around a man who has no blood relation or special bond with the avenger. There is no thrill of revenge at all. Yet, when the 150-minute performance ended, the applause was louder than at any other theater opening this year.

Jo’s Orphan, The Seed of Revenge is an adaptation and direction by Go Seon-ung of the classic Yuan Dynasty Chinese play Jo’s Orphan (趙氏孤兒) by playwright Ji Junxiang (紀君詳), first premiered in 2015. It has swept various awards including the Dong-A Theater Award and the Korea Theater Award. In a 2019 survey conducted by the National Theater Company on the “Most Wanted Play,” it ranked first by an overwhelming margin. This year’s performance, which opened on the 9th, sold out all tickets on the opening day.

The setting of the play is the Qin state during the Chinese Warring States period (221 BC?206 BC), under the rule of Duke Ling (靈公). Duke Ling is portrayed as a puppet ruler indifferent to politics. Under him, the ambitious military officer Du Anguo (屠岸賈) commits a massacre, beheading nine clans including the family of the civil official Zhao Shun (趙盾), totaling over 300 people. However, Zhao Shun’s grandson, the only surviving blood relative, survives through a series of twists and turns?he is the orphan Jo.

Actors Ha Seong-gwang (left), who plays Jeong-yeong, and Woo Jeong-won, who plays Princess Janghui, the mother of Jo's Orphan, in the play 'Jo's Orphan, The Seed of Revenge.' (Photo by National Theater Company)

The person who played a decisive role in Jo’s survival is the play’s protagonist, rural doctor Jeong Young. Jeong Young, a guest of the Jo family, hides the newborn Jo’s orphan in a medicine box at the request of Jo’s mother and escapes.

Upon learning that Jo’s orphan is alive, Du Anguo orders the killing of all infants under one month old. Jeong Young swaps his own late-born son, born when he was forty-five, with Jo’s orphan. This is to deceive Du Anguo into mistaking Jeong Young’s son for Jo’s orphan. Deceived, Du Anguo kills Jeong Young’s son by throwing him against a stone three times under Jeong Young’s watch.

Even in an era deeply rooted in Confucian ideologies like ‘loyalty (忠)’ and ‘faithfulness (信)’, was there a greater cause that justified exchanging one’s own child’s life for another’s? Jeong Young confesses, “I must keep my promise,” saying it was a choice made out of loyalty to the Jo family.

“What’s the use of that promise, that loyalty? Killing your own child for someone else’s! What’s the use of words once spoken!” When Jeong Young tries to swap the children, his wife cries out. Jeong Young’s wife is a character not present in the original work but was created by director Go as a modern interpretation. She represents the audience’s voice, questioning Jeong Young on stage about why he made such a decision.

Actors Ha Seong-gwang (left) as Jeong-yeong and Hong Sa-bin as Jo's Orphan in the play 'Jo's Orphan, The Seed of Revenge.' (Photo by National Theater Company)

From a modern perspective, it may be hard to empathize with Jeong Young’s choice. However, considering the historical context and social structure of the time, one begins to see Jeong Young’s inner world and even feel sympathy.

The Qin dynasty, China’s first unified state, fell to a popular uprising fueled by cries like “Are the seeds of kings and ministers different?” due to severe social stratification. Jeong Young may have unconsciously conformed to the system, judging that saving the grandson of a prime minister was a more righteous decision than saving the child of a commoner. Jeong Young’s wife leaves a message urging success in revenge before ultimately committing suicide. This was likely her last resistance to the harsh reality that one’s fate to live or die is predetermined by the difference in “seeds.”

The contemporary notion of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” which was the foundation of punishment and justice at the time, might lend some legitimacy to Jeong Young’s actions. If Jo’s orphan had not survived, who would avenge the Jo family’s grudge? Jeong Young’s son’s “sacrificial ritual” also defends Jeong Young. Because Jeong Young sacrificed his son, all infants born in Qin under one month old were spared.

Was the revenge completed by sacrificing one’s family beautiful? Jo’s orphan learns the whole truth after 20 years. Then, Jo’s orphan beheads Du Anguo. Jeong Young, watching with his left arm severed, shows only emptiness on his face. Du Anguo dies not with surprise or remorse but praising his life of power. He then mocks Jeong Young’s life before dying. Although Jo’s family is reinstated, Jeong Young’s reward is only twelve plots of farmland. Beside it, only a baby’s grave overgrown with grass remains.

Jeong Young’s expression alone conveys how hollow ideologies like loyalty or revenge are. As a symbol of this futility, Mozi (墨子) appears holding a butterfly fluttering up and down and leaves only these words before disappearing: “This world is a puppet stage. Playing to the beat of drums and flutes, before you know it, it’s just a brief dream.” “Life is fleeting; just live well and depart peacefully.”