After requests from the folks of Puwen Township in Lunghai County in Changchow, part of Fukien Province in mainland China, the state-sponsored Lunghai Hsiang Opera Troupe has added a "divine drama" before each performance. Known in Chinese as pan-hsien, in these vignettes the actors take the role of deities, not merely play-acting but truly symbolizing their presence, as the faithful thank them for their beneficence.
After the first part, devoted to expressing gratitude to the celestial forces, is over, the local people turn to the part consisting of appeals for divine assistance. In this case, people offer gifts to the Sacred Mother to send sons down to the world.
The people of Puwen Township don't understand why the state doesn't want people to do these prayer-performances. Of the most commonly performed three types--for luck, wealth, and fertility--the first fits in with "a prosperous nation and a tranquil people," and the second with "wealth to come rolling on"; only the third, for "many sons and grandsons," is a problem, not fitting in very well with the one-child policy. Yet these days the town residents aren't feeling greedy--one son will be just fine.
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