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The story is not over yet, for Young Plum once again did something outrageous. A large eel in the village had been causing a lot of damage to livestock and villagers. The people hired a Taoist priest to get rid of it, but without success. Incredibly, one day the eel was found trapped in a stone cage at the riverbank for everyone to see. Young Plum claimed that he and "Nutty Laugher" of the village had caught the eel...

The unbelieving villagers composed a song for Young Plum. When they saw him, they sang:

Young Plum is a great swindler.
He cheats you, cheats them, and cheats himself!
Young Plum is a great swindler.
He cheats the heavens, cheats the earth, and cheats the emperor.

Bitterly sad, Young Plum cried that he was innocent. Just then, all the petals of the peach flowers started drifting down from the sky, one after another...

It was the eighth day of the first moon on the lunar calendar. Firecrackers exploded on the streets as shops and companies reopened to a new year of business. Members of the Huang Ta-yu Children's Drama Troupe gathered to prepare for charity performances in quake-stricken disaster areas.

"Hello, everybody! Now we have an important mission." Director Huang Chun-ming clapped his hands to get attention. All the members immediately sat in a circle around "Master Huang."

"From the fifteenth to the seventeenth of February, we are going to perform in schools in the devastated regions. The name of the play is 'The New Peach Blossom Haven.'"

Huang Chun-ming is well known for his role as a nativist writer. In his early years, he wrote many popular works such as "The Taste of the Apple." He admitted that in recent years he has become fascinated by children's stage plays. Therefore, he organized the Huang Ta-yu Children's Drama Troupe, which tours the island performing their plays.

In January this year, Huang was invited by Tzu Chi TV to join in the program "The Seeds of Hope--Project Hope in the Eyes of Cultural Workers." Following Juan I-jong, the humanist photographer, he was to observe Project Hope from the point of view of a writer and director.

The utopia in the mind

The children's play "The New Peach Blossom Haven," originally named "Young Plum Is Not a Big Fool," had been performed in the National Theater and received enthusiastic reviews. There is deep meaning behind Huang's selection of this play for the charity performances.

Having visited the damaged schools in the disaster regions several times, Huang feels that he should make known to more people the effort Tzu Chi is making to rebuild those schools, especially since the funds have been donated by people from all walks of life, who do their best to give out of pure goodwill. "Tzu Chi has built Great Love villages and will rebuild many schools for quake victims. More than just accepting such acts of compassion, the victims should cherish them. The schools could even use such good deeds as teaching material so the students will learn to be grateful."

Huang commented thoughtfully and wisely that "We must find utopia within before we can find utopia without."

The stage play was adapted from "The Peach Blossom Haven," a classic piece written by the great Chinese pastoral poet and essayist, Tao Yuan-ming (372-427). It delineates a beautiful vision and reminds us that the land right beneath our feet is utopia, which cannot be sought outwardly but must be traced inside our hearts.

The play was performed from February 15 till 17 at Minhe and Tachi secondary schools in Chiayi and Chihcheng and Tungkuang elementary schools in Nantou, not only for students who had returned to school after their winter vacation but also for residents in the vicinity of the schools.

"The students were not the only victims of the earthquake. Therefore, our program is meant for the enjoyment of all the residents of the disaster areas." Huang said modestly that he was not there to give guidance to quake survivors. Rather he hoped that through this relaxing, humorous children's play, he could help to soothe the injured souls of the survivors and convey the message that at the same time they rebuild their homes, they should also reestablish a peaceful haven in their minds.

From large theater to small classroom

Before the dress rehearsal, Huang said to the troupe members, "There's one thing I have to call your attention to: the place where we are going to perform is a simple classroom. There will be no lighting or props. Make like you're back in the time of Shakespeare." All the members laughed.

"Since most of the disaster areas are in the countryside, try to keep the dialogues in the local Taiwanese dialect," he continued. "We have to make up for the lack of space by ways such as miming, pretending a prop is right beside us."

Everyone nodded their understanding and the rehearsal began. The troupe consists of students from drama institutes, college students, young girls, office clerks, and even housewives. Under the direction of Huang they performed earnestly, as though the space was already filled with an audience, old and young. They discussed again and again how to improve their performance, hoping to make the spectators laugh from the bottom of their hearts.

Huang sometimes played the role as the troupe leader and sometimes acted as the grandfather of Young Plum, just like a big boy, filled with childlike playfulness.

Perhaps the utopia of the mind that Huang urges people to find within is the innocent mind of a child.