George C. Hazelton and J. Harry Benrimo's three-act play inspired by Chinese drama was produced by William Harris Jr. and the Selwyns at the Fulton Theatre, where it opened on 4 November 1912 for 80 performances. When a Chinese concubine belonging to the emperor gives birth to an ugly child, she and the baby are handed over to a farmer who is charged with killing them. The farmer's kind heart prevents him from doing so. The baby grows up and proves himself against a rival stepbrother by securing the yellow jacket that indicates that he is the new emperor. The production employed the novel device of a chain-smoking modern stagehand moving scenery during the play while a narrator recounted the story, which was purportedly based on aspects of several ancient Chinese plays. Charles Coburn and his wife Ivah Wills Coburn played the leading roles in the original production and two successful revivals, first on 9 November 1916 at the Cort Theatre for 172 performances, and again at the Coburn Theatre on 7 November 1928 for 69 performances.
The Historical Dictionary of the American Theater. James Fisher.