Xue Jinghua

A filmed 1970 performance of the China Central Ballet Troupe. Adapted from the film of the same title, The Red Detachment of Women was first staged in Beijing in 1964 and was one of the Eight Model Operas which dominated the national stage during the Cultural Revolution.

Qiong Hua is a slave girl of Nan Batian, a big landlord in Yelinzhai Village on Hainan Island. She has tried many times but cannot escape from the landlord's cruel oppression. Later, Nan Batian jails her in a water dungeon. Hong Changqing is the Party representative of a red detachment of women. He disguises himself as a wealthy businessman residing abroad and comes to her rescue. He pretends to buy Qiong Hua to be his slave, saves her from the abyss of sufferings, and instructs her to join the red detachment of women. At the outset, Qiong Hua joins the revolutionary rank to settle her personal grudge. Educated by Hong Changqing, she becomes a conscientious revolutionary fighter.