What makes a heor?

The Hero Lost (英雄密碼), to be performed next week by Taiwan's M.O.V.E. Theater Group, examines the "secret codes" of a hero's private life when he loses the plot.

Inspired by modern Chinese novelist Lu Xun's Into the Moon (奔月), the play applies the Greek narrative tradition to ancient Chinese mythology.

This is the second play of the International Theater Festival series and is scheduled to premiere this coming Thursday at 7:30pm.

In the legend, the hero Hou Yi (后羿), a general of the imperial guard and a highly skilled archer, shoots down eight of nine suns that suddenly appear in the morning sky and which threatened to bake the Earth dry.

After much rejoicing the people began to fear the return of the suns and ask the goddess of heaven to make Hou immortal. Their wish is granted and Hou receives the elixir of life.

Hou's wife Chang Er (嫦娥) subsequently steals the potion and fleas to the Moon, where the air is cold. In a coughing fit she regurgitates the elixir.

In Lu Xun's novel, the story ends with Hou Yi getting so upset on learning of his wife's escape that he prepares to shoot the Moon down with his arrow as well.

Fu Hong-zheng (符宏征), the director of The Hero Lost, was inspired by Chang Er's decision to leave her husband.

The latest recipient of the Taishin Art Award, Fu founded the M.O.V.E. troupe in 2005.

In his play, Fu first presents Hou Yi as living in a confused state of mind, which contrasts sharply with the legendary depiction of the general as a hero.

Fu analyzes Hou Yi by identifying his characteristics and he has three different performers act out different aspects of his personality.

By the same token, four actresses perform Chang Er's complicated character.

Bringing multiple roles for Hou Yi and Chang Er to the stage presents the audience with representations of their inner conflicts and self-contradictions, which challenges the established perceptions of what constitutes a hero.

Fu is keen to remind audience members that even heroes sometimes have mismatched characteristics.

In between scenes, the chorus narrates the hero's past glory, love and marriage.

Fu focuses on examining Chang Er's state of mind before she decides to flea to the Moon. It becomes clear that the hero's main character flaws are his self-centeredness and his lack of empathy with those around him.

According to Fu, through making her choice to leave everything behind and to live in solitude in a remote place forever, Chang Er can be seen as the embodiment of soft power, which is much stronger than a blunt show of brute force.

These types of decisions require courage and an unflinching will.

Fu thus poses the question: "If Chang Er feels it is more suitable to live somewhere else and decides to leave home, would that act [leaving her husband] be so unforgivable?"

The playwright then asks: "What would be the most justifiable reasons for Hou Yi to shoot down the Moon?"

The play aims to examine the attributes of heros that are encountered in everyday life, be they parents, teachers or national leaders.

The play will be performed on a T-shaped stage at the Experimental Theater in Taipei from March 9 to March 12.

The cat-walk-like stage design is intended to encourage interaction between the performers and members of the audiences.

For further information, visit www.ntch.edu.tw/pro/2006theater.