Dramatic
Literature: Peony Pavilion
Peony Pavilion: Background
Peony Pavilion (also known
as The Return of the Soul) was written by a retired court official of the Ming
Dynasty, Tang Xianzu. This was included on his 4 dream plays, and long regarded
as a masterpiece of Chinese literature. This was written in the era of 16th century during rigid,
repressive style of Neo-Confucianism known as Daoxue.
Peony Pavilion is a Chinese
musical drama or Peking opera about
Love, Death and Resurrection. The opera was composed of 55 scenes, 400
arias of poetry (with spoken dialogue) and could take as long as a week
performance. But, the current Kenneth Pai production, touring the U.S. in
the fall, has been shortened to 27 scenes running for three evenings, three
hours each night.
Peony Pavilion: Plot
The play depicts the love story of
Liniang Du, a maiden of sixteen, and Mengmei Liu, a young scholar, who first
meet each other in a dream. One day at spring’s peak, Liniang visits a deserted
garden with her maidservant. Seeing the multi-colored blossoms, exuberant yet
neglected, Liniang is made conscious that the state of her youthful beauty
parallels that of the garden scene. After the visit, fatigued and drowsy,
Liniang sinks into a day dream in which a young scholar passionately courts her
by the peony pavilion in the garden. The next day, attempting to retrieve any
hints of the dream, Liniang revisits the garden: the spring scenery remains the
same, yet the dream encounter seems to have transpired there. The two visits
cause much melancholy and induce illness in Liniang who gradually wastes away.
She wishes to be buried in the garden and have her self portrait hidden under a
garden rock. Three years later, Mengmei visits the garden and discovers her
portrait by chance as the rock crumbles. He falls in love with the maiden in
the portrait, Liniang, whose ghost calls upon him at night and eventually
reveals her identity and story. With disbelief but courage, Mengmei digs up her
grave and brings her back to life. Liu
visits Du Bao and informs him of his daughter's resurrection. However, Liu is
imprisoned for being a grave robber and an impostor. The ending of the play
follows the formula of many Chinese comedies. Liu Mengmei narrowly escapes
death by torture thanks to the arrival of the results of the imperial
examination in which Liu has topped the list. The emperor pardons all.