[3] It is divided in six parts, comprising five acts (折 zhe) and a wedge (楔子 xiezi), which may be an interlude or — as it is in this case — a prologue.

[4] The story of The Orphan of Zhao takes place during the Spring and Autumn period[5] and revolves around the central theme of revenge.

[9] The play revolves around the theme of familial revenge, which is placed in the context of Confucian morality and social hierarchical structure.

[10] Though the story highlights social values and norms, Shi (2009) says that the many violent scenes mostly serve as theatrical entertainment and secondarily incite moral feelings in the audience.

[11] Shi (2009) remarked that Cheng Ying's suffering and endurance, as he was forced to live in his enemy's household so he could protect the orphan, could be interpreted as an ironic reflection by the author about the ethno-political circumstances of the Yuan era.

[13] Zhao Shuo and his wife were expecting a child, but the infant was born after the tragic circumstances involving his father's death.

[13] Tu'an Gu, intending to get rid of the newborn infant, orders General Han Jue to surround the palace.

[13] To prevent this massacre, Cheng Ying decides to sacrifice his own child in desperation so that the safety of the Zhao orphan and every infant in the state was ensured.

[12][19] General Tu'an Gu has no child of his own, thus he had adopted the Zhao orphan, unknowingly of his true identity, and named him Tu Cheng.

[12] On a fateful day, the orphan is in Cheng Ying's study, where he discovers a scroll depicting all the people involved in the tragic events relating to his early life.

[22] The story caught the imagination of European minds at a time when chinoiserie was in vogue and this translation was the basis for adaptations over the next few decades.

"[26] Hatchett made a dedication to the Duke of Argyll in his work, where the play's characters could be recognized as the people whom he satirized:[31] In Vienna, the Italian playwright Pietro Metastasio received a request from Empress Maria Theresa to write a drama for a court performance.

[33] Therefore, in 1752, he produced L'Eroe cinese inspired from the Chinese play, mentioning specifically the story in Du Halde's book.

[35] Voltaire's thesis about his play was that the story exemplified morality, in which, as he explained, genius and reason has a natural superiority over blind force and barbarism.

[36][37][38] He praised the Confucian morality in the Chinese play,[37][38] remarking that it was a "valuable monument of antiquity, and gives us more insight into the manners of China than all the histories which ever were, or ever will be written of that vast empire".

[39] However, he still considered the Chinese play's violation of the unities of time, action, and place as problematic, likening it to some of Shakespeare and Lope de Vega's "monstrous farces" as "nothing but a heap of incredible stories".

[38] Voltaire introduces the theme of love (which is absent in the Chinese play), where Genghis Khan has a secret passion for Idamé, the wife of Zamti, but he is rejected by her as she stands firm to the lawful conduct of her nation.

[45] In 1834, Stanislas Julien made the first complete translation of The Orphan of Zhao, which was from the Chinese original into French, including both the dialogue and the songs.