The Peony Pavilion
The Peony Pavilion (Chinese: 牡丹亭; pinyin: Mǔdān tíng; Wade–Giles: Mu-tan t'ing) is a play written by Tang Xianzu in the Ming Dynasty and first performed in 1598 at the Pavilion of Prince Teng. One of Tang's "Four Dreams", it has traditionally been performed as a Kunqu (崑曲/昆曲) opera, but Chuan (川) and Gan (贛/赣) opera versions also exist. It is the most popular play of the Ming Dynasty, and is the primary showcase of the guimendan (閨門旦/闺门旦) role type. All Kun theatre troupes include it in their repertoire. Recent adaptations have sought to inject new life into one of China's best-loved classical operas, though such efforts have met with opposition from the Kun opera traditionalists.
Plot
The performance tradition has focused on the love story between Du Liniang (杜麗娘/杜丽娘) and Liu Mengmei (柳夢梅/柳梦梅), but its original text also contains subplots pertaining to the falling Song Dynasty's defense against the aggression of the Jin Dynasty.
It is the last days of the Southern Song Dynasty. On a fine Spring day, a maid persuades Du Liniang, the sixteen-year-old daughter of an important official, Du Bao, to take a walk in the garden, where she falls asleep. In Du Liniang's dream she encounters a young scholar, identified later in the play as Liu Mengmei, whom in real life she has never met. Liu's bold advances starts off a flaming romance between the two and it flourishes rapidly. Du Liniang's dream is interrupted by a flower petal falling on her, according to her soliloquy recounting the incident in a later act: (Reflection on the lost dream). Du Liniang, however, becomes preoccupied with her dream affair and her lovesickness quickly consumes her. Unable to recover from her fixation, Du Liniang wastes away and dies.
