Emperor Tang Tours the Underworld (1927) 唐皇游地府
Director: Yu Qingquan
Screenwriter: Chen Yueqiao
Starring: Xiao Zhengzhong / Ni Hongyan / Tan Weiyu / Zhou Nianzhong / Zhang Zhenduo
Genre: N/A
Country/Region of Production: Mainland China
Language: N/A
Date: 1927
Adaptation: Retelling
Summary:
Adapted from Journey to the West, Chang'an in the early Tang Dynasty. One day, a patrolling yaksha heard two hermits, a fisherman, and a woodcutter, talking about a fortune teller in Chang'an who was very effective. The fisherman got the advice of the fortune teller and caught a lot of fish every day. The patrolling yaksha hurriedly told the Dragon King. The Dragon King was furious and turned into a scholar, wanting to humiliate the fortune teller. But the time and amount of rain calculated by the fortune teller were exactly the same as the Jade Emperor’s order. The Dragon King believed the military advisor’s plan to reduce the rain and delay the time, and went to blame the fortune teller. The fortune teller pointed out that he had disrupted the Jade Emperor’s order and would be killed. The Dragon King was furious and asked for advice. The fortune teller told the Dragon King that the Jade Emperor ordered the official Wei Zheng to supervise the execution and asked him to ask the current emperor Tang Taizong for help. The Dragon King appeared in Tang Taizong’s dream, and Taizong agreed. After the court session, the Dragon King asked Wei Zheng to play chess.
The Dragon King knew that he would be beheaded, so he asked Emperor Taizong for help. Taizong agreed, but the Dragon King was still beheaded accidentally. The Dragon King then asked Taizong for his life. Taizong passed away with Wei Zheng’s letter asking the judge to let him return to the world. When he arrived in the underworld, Taizong visited the underworld and learned that his sister Princess Yuying had died young. He promised to send pumpkins to the underworld. After returning to the world, Taizong issued a notice to recruit Liu Quan, the pumpkin sender. Liu Quan’s wife had passed away. Considering his meritorious service in sending pumpkins, Liu Quan and his wife were able to return to the world, but his wife’s body had decayed, so Liu’s wife borrowed Princess Yuying’s corpse to return to the world.
