Sign-In
Cart
The Orphan of China: A Tragedy of Loyalty and Empire
Hardcover
Fiction AnthologiesGeneral World HistoryPlays
ISBN13: 9781515431046
Publisher: Wilder Publications
Published: Apr 3 2018
Pages: 44
Weight: 0.53
Height: 0.25 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Voltaire's The Orphan of China is a powerful tragic drama inspired by Chinese history and shaped by the ideals of the Enlightenment.
Set during the Mongol conquest of China, the play tells the dramatic story of a loyal Chinese family struggling to protect the last surviving heir of a fallen dynasty. As invading forces seize power and threaten the remnants of the imperial court, the fate of the young orphan becomes the center of a moral conflict involving loyalty, sacrifice, and justice.
Voltaire adapted the story from earlier Chinese dramatic traditions, transforming it into a classical tragedy that reflects Enlightenment ideals about virtue, reason, and moral courage. Through the tensions between conquerors and the conquered, the play explores themes of cultural identity, political authority, and the enduring power of personal honor.
First performed in the eighteenth century, The Orphan of China remains one of Voltaire's most notable dramatic works and an intriguing example of the European fascination with Chinese history and philosophy during the Enlightenment.
3 different editions
Also available
Also in
Plays
Four Comedies: The Taming of the Shrew, a Midsummer Night's Dream, the Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night
Shakespeare, William
Paperback
The Major Plays: Ivanov, the Sea Gull, Uncle Vanya, the Three Sisters, the Cherry Orchard
Chekhov, Anton
Paperback
Death of a Salesman: Certain Private Conversations in Two Acts and a Requiem
Miller, Arthur
Paperback
The Greek Tragedies: Seventeen Plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides
Aeschylus
Sophocles
Euripides
Paperback
The Laramie Project and the Laramie Project: Ten Years Later
Pierotti, Greg
Kaufman, Moises
Fondakowski, Leigh
Paperback
FRANKENSTEIN or The Modern Prometheus (The Revised 1831 Edition - Wisehouse Classics)
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft
Paperback
Four Major Plays: A Doll's House/Ghosts/Hedda Gabler/The Master Builder
McFarlane, James
Arup, Jens
Ibsen, Henrik
Paperback
A Doll's House and Other Plays: With Pillars of the Community, Ghosts and an Enemy of the People
Ibsen, Henrik
Paperback
KJV, Pew Bible, Large Print, Hardcover, Burgundy, Red Letter Edition (Large Print Edition)
Thomas Nelson
Hardcover
Our Town and the Cosmic One-Acts: The Long Christmas Dinner, the Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden, and Pullman Car Hiawatha
Wilder, Thornton
Paperback
Five Plays: Ivanov, the Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, and the Cherry Orchard
Chekhov, Anton
Hingley, Ronald
Paperback