The Game, an original dance drama by the Jiangsu Center for the Performing Arts, is based on the Records of the Grand Historian. With historian Li Kaiyuan as its literary consultant and a first-rate creative team behind it, the work is both historically rigorous and artistically ambitious. Taking the Eastern philosophical idea that “heaven and earth make the board and all things the pieces” and merging it with the culture of Chinese chess, it turns the Chu–Han contention into a chess game of history, reading history through the board, and reading humanity through history. The narrative adopts a dual perspective to probe deeply into the human struggles of Xiang Yu and Liu Bang, making these historical figures vivid and lifelike. Its magnificent staging combines first-rate scenography with multimedia technology, making this a finely crafted work that stands on tradition while rebuilding the spirit and character of the Chu–Han age.
