Skilled Simian

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During the same Chinese opera performance as yesterday's frightening post, an acrobatic monkey performs to the delight of the audience. The performance was part of the Chungmuro International Film Festival (ChIFF).

Note: the bottom dark portion of the photo is the top edge of a stage amplifier.

I assume this performance is based on some Chinese legend or epic. If anyone knows what the gist of the story is, plug away in the comments below, please. I'm curious to the symbolism of a monkey wearing peaches and perhaps another fruit or vegetable on his head.

A large hammer is thrown in his direction. The trained monkey catches the hammer with his staff. On cue, the crowd oo's and aa's blurring the distinction between trained monkey and trained monkeys.

Ditto but with a sword which the monkey then spins on his staff.