About Prince Shou from SACRIFICE - The Sacrifice of Yang GuiFei

Love Duty Destiny treachery Betrayal Sacrifice

Li Qing (715-775), known as Li Mao (李瑁) from 725 and honored title Prince of Shou (壽王) was an Imperial Prince of Tang Dynasty, he was the 18th son of Emperor Xuanzong and his favorite concubine Consort Wu.

In 737, Emperor Xuanzong's favorite concubine Consort Wu, trying to have her son Li Mao (originally named Li Qing), the Prince of Shou made crown prince, made false accusations against Li Ying (at the time the Crown Prince), as well as two other princes (Li Yao and Li Ju). Consort Wu had a message sent to the three princes, stating, "There are bandits in the palace. Please report at once in armor!" The three princes arrived in full armor, and she told Emperor Xuanzong, "The three princes are planning treason. Look, they have come in full armor." Emperor Xuanzong had his eunuchs check out the situation, and the three princes were seen in full armor. The 3 princes were wrongfully accused of treason, reduced to commoner rank and forced to commit suicide.

Li Mao and Yang GuiFei in the garden Instead of Li Mao, Emperor Xuanzong was considering an older son, Li Yu the Prince of Zhong to become Crown Prince, but could not decide quickly, and was depressed over the matter as well as his killing of three of his own sons. Emperor Xuanzong's chief eunuch, Gao LiShi suggested that the Emperor select the oldest one, since no one would dispute it. Emperor Xuanzong therefore made up his mind, and he selected Li Yu as crown prince.

At the age of 16, Yang Yuhuan married Consort Wu and Emperor Xuanzong's favorite son, Li Mao, and then became Princess Yang. After Consort Wu died, Emperor Xuanzong was greatly saddened about the death of his then-favorite concubine.

At the age of 18, Gao Lishi led Princess Yang into the Huaqing Hot Springs and met Emperor Xuanzong. The emperor was greatly impressed by her beauty and wanted to take her as his wife. However, Princess Yang was already the wife of Li Mao.

Amidst protestations from his son, Emperor Xuanzong already in his 50's forced Li Mao to divorce her, and arranged her to become a Taoist nun with the name Taizhen in order to prevent criticisms that would affect his plan of making Princess Yang his concubine. She then became the favorite of the emperor like Consort Wu was before. The Emperor renamed her Yang GuiFei (high-ranked imperial concubine) and arranged for Li Mao to marry another woman.

Explore the Main Characters:


The Emperor Tang XuanZong	The Princess Yang GuiFei	The Prince Li Mao	The Barbarian An Lushan	The Servant Gao Lishi	The Chief Minister Yang Guozhong	The Poet Li Bai

Also learn a little about the Tang dynasty, it's capital city Chang'An (near Xi'an), or the Huaqing Hot Spring. Also see some Design References we are compiling for the musical.

The Sacrifice of Yang GuiFeiis the story of Emperor Xuanzong (of the prosperous Tang dynasty 618-907 AD) who brings 杨贵妃 Yang GuiFei, one of China’s most beautiful women, into his court as a concubine When they adopt China’s greatest villain, the barbarian An Lushan, their fateful triumvirate creates China’s greatest love story. Producer Toby Simkin optioned the worldwide rights almost immediately after hearing the score in early 2008 “it’s a powerful, sometimes shocking story, filled with a roller coaster of emotions from brutality to sweet and innocent love, building to a climax with The Emperor’s agonizing decision: save the woman he loves, or sacrifice her to save his dynasty – Richard Daniel’s remarkable score carries the audience through this cavalcade with a fabulous mix of Chinese and Western instruments.” 一个全新电影制作项目即将到来,由屡获大奖的英国团队创作并得到中方支持。电影牺牲》，讲述的是中国历史上最伟大的皇帝遇上中国古代四大美女之，并遭遇中国最大恶人之间的故事。所有这一切构成了中国历史上最伟大的爱情故事 <<牺牲>>. The true story of Yang Gui Fei 杨贵妃, one of the Four Ancient Beauties of China, is famous for her role in the demise of the Tang dynasty. TOBY SIMKIN (Producer) is a theatrical producer who has over 25 years of 1st-class producing or managing experience of entertainment projects with over 120 Broadway/West End shows and tours from Annie to Victor/Victoria in the USA, Canada, UK, Russia, Australia, China and oceans between. From many Tony Award winning productions on Broadway to Olivier Award winning productions on London’s West, Mr. Simkin is a leader in the field of theatrical producing, management and marketing. Mr. Simkin is additionally credited with leading the theatre industry into cyberspace in the early 90's. Mr. Simkin maintains a residence in Shanghai, developing new opportunities for global entertainment where he owns a Chinese corporation - Shen Tu Bin Business Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd..