The theme of “Imposters and false identities” that we occasionally encounter in life is a perennial favorite of both Eastern and Western drama.  The reasons why such a theme is attractive to playwrights and audience alike are complex.  Technically, the plotline for a play with “imposters or false identities” is full of twists and turns which create a certain degree of suspense and such stories can be easily developed.  Viewed from the cultural context, we can see that such plays are popular and loved by audiences because incidents related to “imposters or false identities” on stage are often represented by displacements and changes in the characters and thus reflect problems of identity facing modern individuals.  Both tragedies and comedies, when taking on such a theme, are capable of revealing the absurdity and unpredictability of life in their own distinctive styles.
The series of The Imposters, or False Identities includes Chinese Opera classics, such as The Snow Jade Cup, Stopping the Horse, A Mistaken Identity, A Poetic Gathering, The Match of He-zhu, and The Phoenix Returning to Its Nest.  These operas present different types of characters that come alive through singing, acting, and martial arts fighting. They have a broad appeal to all kinds of audiences.
The Snow Jade Cup is a tragedy about a loyal servant and a virtuous woman who sacrifice their lives in protecting their master and husband.  Though justice is served in the end, their tragic fate is irreparable.  The major roles of the opera are laosheng (old men) and qingyi (demure female roles); the supporting roles are fangjin-chou (clowns pretending to be scholars).  Tang Wen-Hwua, the most talented laosheng of Guoguang, puts his talents on display by playing three roles: those of Mo Cheng, Lu Bing, and Mo Hua-Gu.  Stopping the Horse is an opera featuring martial arts fighting between a wudan (a female role who is a martial arts expert) and wuchou (clowns specializing in martial arts). The skillful presentation of the “chair show” and “kicking the sword out of the sheath” show a unique style of martial arts fighting and are indeed fun to watch. A Mistaken Identity and A Poetic Gathering are both representatives of huadan (lively female roles) of the Xuin (Hueisheng) School and qingyi of the Zhang (Junquiu) School.  Only selected scenes of the opera are performed in this series without showing the complex plot of the complete opera; nevertheless, the different styles of huadan and qingyi are well presented.  The Match of He-zhu is a mini-opera focusing on the clown and female roles.  The performance shows the theme of “cheating for food, and taking up a false identity for life.”  With no display of noble sentiments or evil plotting, the theme of the opera is the simple basic desire of existing.  The absurd incident of taking up a false identity is full of fun and humor.  The Phoenix Returning to Its Nest, one of the representative operas of the Mei (Lanfang) School, is a relaxing comedy.  The ugly wife of an official wants her ugly daughter to marry a handsome gentleman, so she asks the daughter to take on a false identity.  However, her scheming cannot compete with the design of Heaven, so after a series of events, the ugly ones get married, and the pretty ones get to be with each other.  Wei Hai-Min, the most famous qingyi of the Mei School in Taiwan, plays the leading role and shows the pure style of the Mei School through her wonderful performance.