L'Orphelin de la Chine

L'Orphelin de la Chine (transl. The Orphan of China) is a 1753 French play by Voltaire based on The Orphan of Zhao, a thirteenth-century Chinese play attributed to Ji Junxiang.

Voltaire reworked the structure of the play in order to fit the classical model of French drama. L'Orphelin de la Chine adheres to the theory of three unities, which codified that dramas should conform to the unity of action, unity of time, and unity of place. Voltaire's 1753 version of the drama follows the three-act structure, and was later expanded to five acts when it was performed by the Comédie-Francaise in 1755.^[1]