Tale of the Moon Cuckoo

Performed by at least eighty-seven actors in a specially designed theatre, the Tale of the Moon Cuckoo lasted for a month and was interspersed with unrelated comedic or educational pieces.

Although the fiancée tells the king what has happened and the impostor is discovered, the prince is unable to return to his human body.

He studied the poems of Kelden Gyatso and philosophical debate before beginning a life of secluded wandering, drinking, and the occasional building of hermitages in 1822.

[1] Having become a disciple of the third Jangjiya Khutugtu (another lineage of incarnate lamas), Danzanravjaa was alternately excluded from and included in Inner Mongolian society.

[1] Danzanravjaa's most famous works, aside from the Tale of the Moon Cuckoo, include Ulemjiin Chanar (lit.

[3] Danzanravjaa conceived the concept of the Tale of the Moon Cuckoo when staying in 1831 in Alashan, at the temple of Baruun Khiid, which had a tradition of performing Tibetan-style opera.

[4] His composition was based on a 1737 work of Tibetan religious literature, also entitled Tale of the Moon-Cuckoo, which had first been translated into Mongolian in 1770.

[8] The opera emphasised numerous concepts of Buddhist philosophy, most notably transcendence through meditation, the principle of karma, and the significance of respect for nature.