Play celebrates historic figure

"It took me about four years to adapt the novel into a play. I revised the script nine times, as I was aiming to produce a new story that portrayed the characters differently," says Xiong, who worked with the Beijing People's Art Theatre in 2015 on Sima Qian, a play about the noted Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) historian Sima Qian, in which Feng played the title role.

"I worked with the creative team of the theater and we had lots discussions. They shared their understanding of the story and the characters, which contributed to my script," adds Xiong.

Zhang's story is closely linked with that of another major character, the Emperor Wanli. In 1573, on the death of his father, Emperor Longqing, 10-year-old Zhu Yijun ascended to the throne to become the 14th emperor of the Ming Dynasty, taking Wanli as the title of his reign.

The teenage emperor would go on to become the longest-reigning Ming emperor, and lived a life full of controversy, including political unrest and tense relations with high officials. It was his mother, the empress dowager Li, who suggested that he take Zhang as a teacher.

"The relationship between Zhang and Emperor Wanli is complicated. Zhang taught the young emperor and served him. However, as he grew older, the emperor had his own ambitions," says Liu Zhiyang, who plays the role of Emperor Wanli. Liu has been performing with the theater for the last 15 years.