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牡丹亭 The Peony Pavilion - Romance blossoms for dream lovers
March 17, 2013, Sunday
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MUDAN Ting," or "The Peony Pavilion," is one of the "Four Dreams" written by famous Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu (1550-1616).
These are so called because in each of the plays the writer weaves the story around a number of dreams.
Tang's other three dreams are "Nanke Ji" ("Record of Southern Bough"), "Zichai Ji" ("The Purple Hairpin") and "Handan Ji" ("Record of Handan").
Born in Linchuan in today's Jiangxi Province in eastern China, Tang was the son of a scholar and renowned for his integrity and upright behavior. He would never do anything to ingratiate himself with bigwigs.
However, due to his principled stance Tang met many obstacles in his pursuit of a career in officialdom.
Although he began to take imperial civil examinations when he was just a teenager, it was not until he was 33 that he finally passed the palace examination and gained the title of Jinshi or Presented Scholar. Then, he began his career as an imperial official.
But Tang's career in officialdom did not progress as he hoped as he could never see eye-to-eye with his often corrupt colleagues.
He quit his office before he was 50 and decided to spend the rest of his life writing poems and plays.
Although Tang is also a great poet, his poems have been largely overshadowed by his plays - particularly his "Four Dreams."
Of the "Four Dreams," "The Peony Pavilion" is the best known.
In 55 episodes, it tells the love story of Liu Mengmei, a poor scholar, and Du Liniang, the daughter of a high-ranking official.
In a dream, the poor scholar meets a beautiful young woman standing beneath a plum tree in a garden, who tells him that they are predestined to be husband and wife.
On awaking, the young scholar becomes lovesick for the young woman he met in his dream.
Meanwhile, one afternoon, after coming home from taking a walk in the garden, Du Liniang takes a nap in her bedroom and also has a dream.
In her dream, she encounters a young man who boldly approaches and confesses his admiration of her. Soon, they start a love affair and meet frequently in the Peony Pavilion in the garden.
After she wakes up, Du is also left yearning for her dream lover.
Du can think of nothing but the young man, day and night. Soon she is so consumed by her longing that she pines away and within months dies.
On her deathbed, Du asks her mother to bury her under the plum tree and instructs her maid to put a portrait of her under a rock sculpture in the garden.
Three years later, on his way to the capital to sit the imperial civil examination young scholar Liu visits the garden and stumbles upon the portrait under the rock sculpture.
He immediately recognizes the young woman in the picture - for she is no other than the woman he met in his dream, standing beneath the plum tree.
That night, Du's soul returns to the garden, meets Liu again in a dream and tells him her story.
The next day, Liu exhumes Du from her grave under the plum tree and she miraculously comes back to life.
There are still several twists to follow in the love story, as the young scholar is put into prison by Du's father and accused of being a grave robber.
But after Liu achieves the top score in the imperial examination in the capital, the emperor personally intervenes and pardons all involved.
In the end, the young couple are happily married.
The Peony Pavilion is mostly performed today as a Kunqu opera.
A complete opera performance of this enduring love story usually runs for nine hours.
These are so called because in each of the plays the writer weaves the story around a number of dreams.
Tang's other three dreams are "Nanke Ji" ("Record of Southern Bough"), "Zichai Ji" ("The Purple Hairpin") and "Handan Ji" ("Record of Handan").
Born in Linchuan in today's Jiangxi Province in eastern China, Tang was the son of a scholar and renowned for his integrity and upright behavior. He would never do anything to ingratiate himself with bigwigs.
However, due to his principled stance Tang met many obstacles in his pursuit of a career in officialdom.
Although he began to take imperial civil examinations when he was just a teenager, it was not until he was 33 that he finally passed the palace examination and gained the title of Jinshi or Presented Scholar. Then, he began his career as an imperial official.
But Tang's career in officialdom did not progress as he hoped as he could never see eye-to-eye with his often corrupt colleagues.
He quit his office before he was 50 and decided to spend the rest of his life writing poems and plays.
Although Tang is also a great poet, his poems have been largely overshadowed by his plays - particularly his "Four Dreams."
Of the "Four Dreams," "The Peony Pavilion" is the best known.
In 55 episodes, it tells the love story of Liu Mengmei, a poor scholar, and Du Liniang, the daughter of a high-ranking official.
In a dream, the poor scholar meets a beautiful young woman standing beneath a plum tree in a garden, who tells him that they are predestined to be husband and wife.
On awaking, the young scholar becomes lovesick for the young woman he met in his dream.
Meanwhile, one afternoon, after coming home from taking a walk in the garden, Du Liniang takes a nap in her bedroom and also has a dream.
In her dream, she encounters a young man who boldly approaches and confesses his admiration of her. Soon, they start a love affair and meet frequently in the Peony Pavilion in the garden.
After she wakes up, Du is also left yearning for her dream lover.
Du can think of nothing but the young man, day and night. Soon she is so consumed by her longing that she pines away and within months dies.
On her deathbed, Du asks her mother to bury her under the plum tree and instructs her maid to put a portrait of her under a rock sculpture in the garden.
Three years later, on his way to the capital to sit the imperial civil examination young scholar Liu visits the garden and stumbles upon the portrait under the rock sculpture.
He immediately recognizes the young woman in the picture - for she is no other than the woman he met in his dream, standing beneath the plum tree.
That night, Du's soul returns to the garden, meets Liu again in a dream and tells him her story.
The next day, Liu exhumes Du from her grave under the plum tree and she miraculously comes back to life.
There are still several twists to follow in the love story, as the young scholar is put into prison by Du's father and accused of being a grave robber.
But after Liu achieves the top score in the imperial examination in the capital, the emperor personally intervenes and pardons all involved.
In the end, the young couple are happily married.
The Peony Pavilion is mostly performed today as a Kunqu opera.
A complete opera performance of this enduring love story usually runs for nine hours.
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