Farewell My Concubine is a Chinese Peking Opera. A more literal translation of the Chinese title is The Hegemon King says Farewell to his Queen.

The play tells the story of Xiang Yu

Xiang Yu

Xiang Yu was a prominent military leader and political figure during the late Qin Dynasty. His given name was Ji while his style name was Yu ....

, the self-styled "Hegemon-King of Western Chu

Chu (state)

The State of Chu was a Zhou Dynasty vassal state in present-day central and southern China during the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States Period . Its ruling house had the surname Nai , and clan name Yan , later evolved to surname Mi , and clan name Xiong...

" who battled for the unification of China with Liu Bang, the eventual founder of the Han Dynasty

Han Dynasty

The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...

. In the play, Xiang Yu is surrounded by Liu Bang's forces and on the verge of total defeat, so he calls forth his horse and begs it to run away for the sake of its own safety. The horse refuses, against his wishes. He then calls for the company of his favorite concubine

Concubinage

Concubinage is the state of a woman or man in an ongoing, usually matrimonially oriented, relationship with somebody to whom they cannot be married, often because of a difference in social status or economic condition.-Concubinage:...

, Consort Yu

Consort Yu

Consort Yu , personal name Yu Miaoyi, also known as "Yu the Beautiful" , was a concubine of Xiang Yu.-Biography:Consort Yu's birth date was unknown and there are two accounts of her origin...

 (aka Yuji). Realizing the dire situation that has befallen them, she begs to die alongside her master, but he strongly refuses this wish. Afterwards, as he is distracted, Yu commits suicide with Xiang Yu's sword.

The novel Farewell My Concubine by Lilian Lee

Lilian Lee

Lilian Lee, also spelled Lillian Lee , is a Chinese-language novelist best known as the author of Farewell My Concubine, adapted as a movie by Chen Kaige. She is the author of about ninety books.Lee was born Lee Bak in Taishan, Guangzhou...

 and its film adaptation of the same name use the play as part of their stories.