Adapted from the 1958 novel of same name published by RU Zhijuan, the original ballet Lily is a work written by the renowned author WANG Anyi and brought to life by the celebrated choreographer WANG Ge alongside a team of excellent creators. Set against the background of war, the ballet focuses on the emotional clashes and connection between people.

 

Through the simple act of “borrowing the quilt”, the story reveals the intersection of the “Orderly”, “New Bride”, and “Sister” who share distinct identities, personalities, and backgrounds. It portrays the simple, pure and lily-like emotions between the three.

 

 

 

 

Prologue
In the days welcoming the dawn of a new era, everyone was filled with passion, studying diligently, working hard, and yearning for a beautiful future. I often find myself thinking back to the Mid-Autumn Festival of that year ——

 

Act I
Autumn, 1946. The assault troops decided to launch an all-out attack at Hai’an. Members from our art troupe were assigned to various combat companies. Since I was female, the commander ordered an Orderly to escort me to the field dressing station. For him, this task meant leaving his comrades, possibly missing the battle, and obviously he was uncomfortable being alone with a girl.

We had just arrived when the village head assigned us a task: borrowing quilts from the locals. While I successfully borrowed three, the Orderly stood empty-handed at the gate of a farmhouse courtyard. In fact, that was how I met the New Bride. After talking back and forth, she finally brought out a brand-new quilt, inside and out, with a date-red base embroidered with white lilies. But the Orderly turned it down in a fit of pique.

On the eve of the battle, the enemy set bonfires across their positions to thwart our attack, while flash bombs rose one after another into the sky. Bathed in light bright as day, we celebrated the harvest, eating mooncakes, singing, dancing, performing, as our morale soared higher and higher. The New Bride brought her new quilt. Amidst everyone’s teasing, the Orderly had no choice but to take it.

The full moon hung low in the sky, three of us talked about the life to come – when the war would be won, peace would reign, and families would reunite... Suddenly, the red signal flares streaked across the sky. The all-out attack began!

 

Act II
Everything went smoothly for the first tens of minutes. As the battle got intense, more and more wounded soldiers were sent to us. Reports from them were brief: "Still fighting!" or "Street-by-street combat!" The dressing station ran short of stretchers.

Yet another severely wounded soldier was carried here. I saw a very young, boyish face – it was him, the Orderly! The stretcher team circled around, unwilling to leave. It turned out the stretcher team had been jammed in an alleyway, preparing to advance when a grenade was thrown from a rooftop. This young comrade had instantly thrown himself upon it.

The New Bride moved the oil lamp closer, unbuttoned his shirt, and solemnly and reverently cleaned his body. In the moonlight, I saw that quilt – the one with the date-red base covered in white lilies stitches, a flower symbolizing purity and profound affection – being gently draped over the young Orderly's face.

 

 

 

 

WANG Anyi - Scriptwriter
WANG Anyi is a novelist, professor at Fudan University, and vice chairman of the Chinese Writers Association. Since 1976, she has published 16 full-length novels including The Song of Everlasting Sorrow, Heavenly Fragrance, A Knife and a Thousand Words, the 8-volume Wang Anyi’s Medium-length Novels Series, the 8-volume Wang Anyi’s Short Stories Series, as well as multiple essay collections, and theoretical works, with a total word count exceeding 6 million.

Selected award credits include: Mao Dun Literature Prize, Lu Xun Literature Prize, Taiwan “China Times Open Book Award”, the First Prize of Hong Kong World Chinese Long Novel “Dream of the Red Chamber Award”, etc. Internationally, she was nominated for the Man Booker International Prize (2011), the French Order of Arts and Letters (2013), the 5th Newman Prize for Chinese Literature from the University of Oklahoma (2017), Malaysia “Hua Zong” World Chinese Literature Award, South Korea’s Lee Byung-ju International Literature Award.

Her works were translated into many languages including English, German, Dutch, French, Spanish, Russian, Italian, Serbian, Japanese, Hebrew, Korean, Vietnamese, Khmer, Thai, Polish, etc.

WANG Ge - General Choreographer
WANG Ge is a First-class director, vice chairman of the Chinese Dancers Association, who graduated from Beijing Dance Academy with a master’s degree. His titles include tutor at the Art Research Institute of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, master tutor at the Creative College of Beijing Dance Academy, etc. He has served as a judge for the dance group of the China Dance Lotus Award, and an expert commentator for the National Dance Exhibition.

Selected work credits include: Qianhong, Taoyao, Father, Five Stars Appear in the East and the ballet The Flag etc. which have made him a prominent figure in the dance industry, and his creations have all become classic examples of Chinese dance.

Selected award credits include: Best Choreographer nominee for the 33rd Benois de la Danse (Lily, 2025), the 17th Wenhua Grand Award (Five Stars Appear in the East, 2022), the 16th Wenhua Grand Award (Heavenly Road, 2019), the 14th Wenhua Award, including the Wenhua Choreography Award, Performance Award, and Wenhua Grand Award (Red Sorghum, 2013), the 13th National Dance Exhibition (Singing the Motherland, Eternal in Flames, 2020), the Dance Drama Award of the 11th Chinese Dance Lotus Award (Dayu, 2018), etc.

 

 

 

Producer: ZHANG Songhua
General Production Director: JI Pingping
Artistic Director: XIN Lili
Artistic Consultant: ZHAO Ruheng
Co-Production Director: LU Yibing

Scriptwriter: WANG Anyi
General Choreographer: WANG Ge
Composer: YANG Fan
Scenery Designer: QIN Liyun
Lighting and Projection Designer: XIAO Lihe
Costume Designer: CUI Xiaodong
Hair and Make-up Designer: SUN Xiaohong
Multi-media Designer: WU Guangxin
Sound Designer: LIU Yi
Choreographers: LIU Wen, ZHANG Shen, CHEN Qi
Narrator: DING Jianhua