Encounter of kindness during a time of brutality

Even with a war in the background, it is a story with few conflicts.

On the eve of a major battle, the nurse sends a young soldier to borrow blankets from nearby villagers' homes.

Seeing him return annoyed and empty-handed, the nurse returns with him to the home of a newlywed bride. The nurse apologizes for the soldier's inappropriate words on his previous visit and convinces the bride to lend a blanket with white lily blossoms printed on it to the combat hospital.

The bride comes to the hospital to help when a heavily wounded soldier is brought in and dies. The bride wraps him with her new blanket before sending him to burial.

"There is little emotional entanglement between the three main characters," Wang Ge, the director says. "I want to highlight the contrast of the brutal war in the background and the beautiful, subtle emotional exchanges between the characters."

While Wang Anyi was working on the script, Professor Chen Sihe, a colleague at Fudan University, warned her that the Chinese-style blanket, a centerpiece prop in the story, would be difficult to present and look awkward onstage.

Eventually, director and choreographer Wang Ge convinced her that the blankets would skillfully integrate into the setting to play a key part in the storytelling.

"He dealt with the prop in a way I least expected. It was interesting; it became a highlight of the show," Wang Anyi says.