Three fictional disciples who are eager to be mature, and one master who is real and tireless of teaching, have brought forward a series of interesting and revealing stories along their travel to the various kingdoms. During each adventure, Confucius’ quotes that reveal the truth of manners are recited. Furthermore, their stories address several ethical dilemmas that have provoked endless discussion and studies. Through the role play of the male, female, painted-face character and clown of the Peking Opera, the Confucian ideology is presented; via the four performing techniques of the Peking Opera, the Chinese culture is spreaded.   

It is hoped that more episodes of The Disciples of Confucius will be staged in the future, and the performances can be presented in Chinese schools as well as in the Confucius institutes all over the world; not only professional artists will take part, but students who are interested in the Peking Opera could also play a role in the performance.

The Disciples of Confucius: “Confucius accepts a disciple”
Confucius, Zi Lu and Qin Ran are taking a tour around the kingdoms with an oxcart. During their travel they encounter Zi Tu who is fighting with his father. Zi Tu prefers the martial arts to studying; therefore, his father beats him out of anger. Surprisingly, Zi Tu dares to fight back. With one convincing comment, Confucius succeeds in stopping the fight. Out of admirations Zi Tu decides to become a disciple and follow Confucius’ teaching. However, ZiLu and QinRan object to the idea and decide to test him with tricky questions. The first question is whether a general, who led his army into defeat, should be killed. The second question is so ambiguous that even the question itself is not properly phrased. Finally, Zi Tu passes the exam with his innate innocence and kindness. He receives Confucius’ praise as well as the respect of the senior disciples.

The Disciples of Confucius: “The Principles of Ritual Practice”
Three disciples, Qin Ran, Zi Lu and Zi Tu return back from purchasing food, when Qin Ran accuses the other two of eating the food while walking, an act going against the etiquettes. In their argument Qin Ran is accused by the others of being too feminine. While they are arguing on the topic of what makes a real man, a passer-by falls into the river. Zi Lu decides to jump into the river, but draws himself back to the shore after finding out that the drowning person is a woman. However, Qin Ran considers life to be the most precious thing; therefore, he jumps into the river and saves the woman in spite of her refusing to be touched by a man. Zi Lu tells Confucius on how Qin Ran acted against the etiquettes, meanwhile Qin Ran defends himself with reason. Confucius concludes: the daily etiquettes are open to change in critical moments like life-saving. In the end, the woman comes by to express her sincere gratitude. Upon this meeting, Confucius draws a lesson from the incident and educates his disciples on the principles of ritual practice.