The Peony Pavilion


The Unruly Fragrance in the classroom	The Unruly Fragrance in the classroom		The Unruly Fragrance in the classroom
Huang, Meiying	Huang, Meiying		Huang, Meiying Shen, Xiaoming Yeh, Wan-chih


The Unruly Fragrance in the classroom	The Unruly Fragrance in the classroom		A Stroll in the Garden
Huang, Meiying Shen, Xiaoming	Shi, Jiehua Shen, Xiaoming		Chen, Xiaoming


A Stroll in the Garden	A Stroll in the Garden		A Stroll in the Garden
Huang, Zhenying	Huang, Zhenying Lian, Yuruo		Chen, Xiaoming Lian, Yuruo


A Stroll in the Garden	A Stroll in the Garden		An Interrupted dream
Man, Jia	Zheng, Min		Le, Yiping


An Interrupted dream	An Interrupted dream		An Interrupted dream
Zhang, Jingxian Yue, Meiti	Zhang, Jingxian		Huang, Zhenying Wang, Taiqi


An Interrupted dream	An Interrupted dream		An Interrupted dream
Huang, Zhenying	Chen, Xiaoming Wen, Yuhang		Chen, Xiaoming Wen, Yuhang


An Interrupted dream	An Interrupted dream		An Interrupted dream
Yeh, Wan-Chih	Yeh, Wan-Chih Wang, Taiqi		Yeh, Wan-Chih Wang, Taiqi


An Interrupted dream	An Interrupted dream		An Interrupted dream
Zheng, Min Xin, Yurong	Chen, Anna Zhang, Dongxin		Huang, Zhenying


An Interrupted dream	Dreamland Revisited		Dreamland Revisited
Li, Yilin	Huang, Zhenying		Huang, Zhenying


Finding a Portrait	Finding a Portrait		Finding a Portrait
Xu, Jianping	Xu, Jianping		Wen, Yuhang


Finding a Portrait	Finding a Portrait		Finding a Portrait
Wen, Yuhang	Wang, Taiqi		Wang, Taiqi


The Netherworld	Secret Rendevouz		Make the Promise
Chen,Zhiping	Hua, Wenyi		Chen, Anna

The Peony Pavilion
The Peony Pavilion is the masterpiece of Tang Xianzu (1550-1616), the greatest poet/ playwright of the Ming dynasty (l368-1644). In an utterly refined and languidly poetic style, the play reveals romantic yearnings and afflictions of love endured by the young in the feudalistic society of China. Its central theme proclaims the significance of an ultimate triumph of `love' over `reason.' This daring and avant-garde subject, which is an outcry against the suppressive tradition, together with the moving poetics of the language, makes the poet's endorsement of free love between the two young protagonists a lasting force in the history of Chinese literature and theater. The young girl Du Liniang is learning her first love poems, when she dreams of a young scholar whom she meets in a Peony Pavillion. Deeply moved by this dream, she makes a stroll in the garden and suddenly falls ill. She paints her portraits, writes a poem and tells her maid to hide these below a stone. Shortly after, Du Liniang dies and is buried in the garden near. Years later, a scholar named Liu Mengmei comes into the town to participate in the state examinations. When he falls ill and looks for curement in a small shrine, he finds the painting of a beautiful girl - the picture of Du Liniang. In the night, he dreams of her. Liniang asks him to revive her. Opening her coffin, Liu Mengmei is able to revive Du Liniang. Afraid of being seen by anyone else, the two lovers decide to go to the capital Lin'an (Hangzhou). After passing the examination, Liu Mengmei takes the painting with him and visits Liniang's father. The father accuses Mengmei to be a grave robber. Even when Liniang herself appears, her father does not believe that she is revived. The emperor himself finally frees Mengmei and allows the lovers to marry.

The Peony Pavilion : The Unruly Fragrance in the classroom
" The Unruly Fragrance in the classroom " is a funny and buoyant scene from "The Peony Pavilion". Fragrance is the young, vivacious and high-spirited maid of Du Liniang, the elegant heroine of "The Peony Pavilion." Through the aria and the solo dance, Fragrance tells how she serves her mistress and how she sees her own life as a maid. The cheerful tunes and exuberant dance movements fully reveal her sweet, guileless and mischievous nature that makes Fragrance one of the most charming maidens in the Kunqu Theater.

The Peony Pavilion : A Stroll in the Garden
The delicate Du Liniang is the 16-year-old daughter of Du Bao, Prefect of Nan’an in Southern Song dynasty. Her father's social aspirations have delayed her betrothal. She idles away her lonesome days reading poetry with an elderly tutor. Her only constant companion is her loyal and trusted maid, Fragrance. The scene begins on a fine, lazy spring morning. The languor of the day awakens in the heart of Liniang some sweet but melancholy longings. Urged and accompanied by Fragrance, she sneaks out for a stroll in a nearby garden -- a once gorgeous but long abandoned garden -- after her morning coiffure and dressing. As a young lady forbidden to venture outside of the confines of her home, she is at once overwhelmed by the breathtaking scenery. But her marvels at the splendor of nature soon give way to the sad realization that her own youth and beauty is much too like springtime in its transitoriness. The scene ends with a weary and despondent Liniang returning to her confining boudoir. In extended sequences of arias, principally sung by Liniang, and elaborately elegant pas de deux danced by the two leads, "A Stroll in the Garden" stresses the significance of the cultivation of the spontaneous feelings of the heart. It is primarily a tale of the power of passion. Du Liniang, a daring portrayal of a cloistered maiden remains one of the most moving images of a lovelorn girl ever presented in Chinese literature and on the traditional Chinese stage.

The Peony Pavilion : An Interrupted dream
“An Interrupted dream” starts with Du returning to her quarters from her walk. She is tired and consumed by a pervasive wistfulness. She dozes off and dreams that a young man approaches and makes love to her by a pavilion set among flowering peonies. Her dream is interrupted by her mother’s visit. The scene ends with Liniang slipping into a deeper melancholy after her mother leaves her.

The Peony Pavilion : Dreamland Revisited
In "Dreamland Revisited," Liniang revisits the garden a few days later: the garden of her dream of passion. Haunted by the sweet memories of the dream, she longs to meet the charming young man in the flesh. Realizing, however, the impossibility of another encounter with him, she falls into a deep melancholy. Before she leaves the garden, Liniang predicts her own tragic demise: she soon will die soon from a love unfulfilled. This solo scene is marked by melodic and extended arias, elegant dance and delicate emotions. Demands on the actor are tremendous. "Dreamland Revisited" reiterates the central theme of this masterful play: the triumph of love and passion over reason. Du Liniang, a daring portrayal of a cloistered maiden yearning for love in bold defiance of the Chinese feudal system, remains one of the most moving images of a lovelorn girl ever presented on the Chinese stage.

The Peony Pavilion : Finding a Portrait
"Finding a Portrait" is actually the scene that marks the beginning of the finale of The Peony Pavilion. The scene depicts the final course of events in a long poetic play that is infused with fantasy and passion, a magical play that contains intense heartbreak and great ecstacy of love. Springtime it is. Liu Meng-mei, a sensitive and lovelorn young scholar, falls ill on his way to the capital for the imperial examination and finds his pied-a-terre at Mei Hua Guan (Plum Blossom Daoist Temple). After a few days of medication and recumbency he feels better, but much weakened both physically and spiritually. To buoy up his own spirit, Liu decides to take a stroll in a well-known garden in the city. The garden, it turns out -- once part of a grand estate -- is nothing now but a waste land of weeds and wild bushes , with abandoned corridors, railings and walls -- all of which still bear some residual grandeur from their long-gone halcyon days and thus sadly recall their past glories -- now in shambles on this fine, lazy spring day. The scene is too much for Liu’s present vulnerable state. The ruined garden has increased his unknown melancholy. While staggering along and lamenting the desolate sight, he comes across a portrait half hidden under a rock. Upon further examining it he becomes certain that it is a portrait of Guan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy; for the beauty of the lady in the portrait is such as he had not imagined possible in a human being. In his current condition, Liu thinks it wise to take home with him the portrait, in hope that the lady in the portrait -- should she indeed be the Goddess of Mercy -- would bestow upon him some spiritual solace and mental peace. He somberly promises the lady in the portrait love and respect before he takes leave of the garden carrying the portrait.

The Peony Pavilion : Secret Rendevouz
Scene 28 Secret Rendevouz (Union in the shades) Enter Liu Mengmei [Sailing through night] LIU sings: Where lives this beauty if she lives at all? She is a shadow in a mist, Moonlight over a sandy bank. My minds keeps surging up and down, Wordless thoughts dashes to and fro. The sun has long settled behind the western hills. 'A rosy cloud alighted from the sky; She poses like flower in smiling bloom' Who has pictured this face with fragrant paint, With smling eyes, but with muted lips?' Day after day, ever since I first saw this painted beauty, my thoughts have been nailed to it. Tonight, at this motionless hour, let me muse over the poem and try to fathom its buried meaning. If I cannot embrace her in person, prhaps I would be able to meet her in my dream. (Unrolls the scroll.) Oh, look! She seems alive and has something on the tip of her tongue. Her glances are meaningful too! Indeed, 'A rosy cloud sails with a solitary swan; The Yangtse River pours into the autumn sky.' [A Balm Prevails] The evening breeze has carried down A rosy cloud from the realm of love. Her comeliness stands above compare, Stainless and fresh As the crimson gause on the window frame. The peg that holds the dainty figure, Also hooks fast my yearning heart. Young mistress, I'm dying to see you. [The Lazy Thrush] Noble and delicate as she looks, She must be the daughter of a prince. I can imagine, Besieged by the enlivened spring How she sat before the looking glass And traced her radiant visage down in art. Did she forsee it'd make the finder fall in love? [The Parasol Tree, Combined] She descended like the light of the moon; Yet, the windfall brought me a weight heart. I used to watch the moon in bed, But these nights her radiance is all too bright And it has bewildere my gazing eyes, Not to mention my vigilance day and night. But for the fear of crumbling the paint, I would have held her tightly in my bed. I believe I am somewhat tied to her by fate. Let me read the poem once more. (He reads the poem.) […] [Quasi-coda] If such beauties should emerge in our world, I'm afraid most are sham. (Sound of wind within, almost blowing out the oil-lamp.) What a cold blast! The scroll almost caught on fire. Well, better Shut the window and try to meet her in a dream. (Sleeps.) (Enter Liniang, as ghost.) LINIANG: 'Peace would not befall my eternal sleep, for too much affection was left unspent. Moonlight paves the way for my searching ghost; A man's deep sighs are heard along the wind.' I am the ghost of Du Liniang. A dream in the garden dissolved my life. In my last years I drew a portrait of myself and had it hidden under the Taihu rocks. On it I wrote: 'If she is to meet with a lunar guest, be it by a willow or by a plum.' These nights as my spirit hovered over the nunnery, I heard a scholar's voice issuing from the eastwing chambers. 'My beauty, my sister,' he cried. It was so painful to hear him that it even moved my spirit. Thus, I slipped into his room and saw a scroll-painting hanging high on the wall. A careful look ensured me that it was the portrait I left behind, but there was another poem added onto it. The signature says he is a Liu Mengmei from the south of the Five Ridges. 'By the willow, by the plum' isn't everything predestined? So I asked the nether judge for leave to come and fulfil my dream in this happy night. What a long, long story it had been! [The Lazy Peony] LINIANG: Now that my fragrance is gone and I am cold, This meeting could turn out to be another empty dream. Embarrasment suddenly turned my head, And shook loose a bashful curl. I must do it up. Ah, here is his room. But wait! Better make sure, In case I make a rash mistake. LIU (talking in sleep.): 'If she is to meet with a lunar guest, be it by a willow or by a plum.' Oh, my dear sister! [Ditto] LINIANG (Listens, deeply moved.): His trueful calls have released my welling tears. How he is impressed by my final lines! Is he still awake? (She peers into the room. Liu talks again in sleep.) So he is soliloquizing in his dream. Quietly, On the window lattice I'll softly tap. (Liu suddenly awakened, calls out for 'sister'.) LINIANG (sadly): May my presence bring him some relief? LIU: Ah, I seem to hear a knocking on the lattice. Is it the wind, or is someone there? LINIANG: It's me. LIU: Who can it be at this hour of night? Is it Old Mother bringing me tea? Thank you for your kindness, but I don't want tea now. LINIANG: I'm not the old mother. LIU: Then, you must be the young mother who roams from place to place. LINIANG: No, neither. LIU: That's queer. It's not the young mother either. Who else can it be? Let me open the door and have a look. (He opens the door and looks.) [Celestial Lamp Dancers] LIU: Ah, whence comes this pretty lass, Whose unusual beauty gives me such a start? (Liniang smiles and slips into the room. Liu hurriedly shuts the door.) LINIANG: (Trims her clothes and greets Liu.) Boundless happiness to you, Mr. Scholar. LIU: May I ask where your ladyship is from? And what bring you here late at night? LINIANG: Mr. Schlar, you can make a guess. [Red Padded Coat] LIU: Is it because Zhang Qian [a Han Dynasty diplomat who is said to have sailed up the Milky Way on a raft to the star of Vega, which constellation is personified as a celestial girl in legends] disturbed your quiet celestial home? Or, are you a Liang Qing [a maid-in-waiting of Vega] eloping with some god? LINIANG: Those are celestial beings. How can they be here? LIU: Is it because a phoneix took some interest in an inky crow? (Liniang shakes her head.) Or, is it because your horse was once attached to my tree? LINIANG: We’re not in any way related. LIU: If it is not that you identified me by mistake, It must be that your, in your hurry, overshot your path. LINIANG: No, I made no mistake. LIU: Then, you must be here to borrow a light. As ladies shouldn't walk out in the dark, You have come to my place to share the light. [ditto] LINIANG: I didn't come to fetch you up to the world of gods, Nor did I come to borrow a candle to read the books. I'm not Empress Feiyan who had a secret swain, Neither am I the newly widowed Lady Zhuo [widowed daughter of a wealthy Han period merchant, who eloped with the writer Sima Xiangru]. Oh, Mr. Scholar, Didn't your have a dream beneath the flowers? LIU (thinking.): Yes, indeed. LINIANG: That's why I came to your willow hall on oriole wings. You asked me where I loved. It's not so far, Just a few doors east of the Poet Song Yu [of the Warring States period who used the metaphor 'rain and clouds' (love or sexuality) in one of his poems]. LIU (thinking hard): Yes, I now recall that one day at sunset I turned west in the back garden and saw you strolling there. LINIANG: That's right. LIU: Who is there in your family? [Spring time Minitune] LINIANG: West of the falling sun, At a place remote, With my aged parents I reside. Sixteen am I, A virgin bud sheltered by the leaves. The ebbing spring had evokes a woe - That's when I caught sight of your handsome face. For no other purpose did I come But to keep you company during the long cold nights. LIU (aside): Incredible. Incredible! That this world could offer such a lustrous girl! All of a sudden, she shone forth from the drak like a flourescent pearl. But what shall I do? [ditto] LIU: Her beauty excels All the worldly belles. Her smiles are charms That would pale the candle's silverly light. The moon beams as if freshly washed; What day is today That has steered such a fair guest to my place? A celestial maiden visits a human roost. (aside) Yet, how can I tell if she is not a neighbor's naughty girl that knocked at my door to play me a trick? Let me question her further (Turns round to face Liniang.) Isn't our metting at this obscured hour a dream? LINIANG (smiles): No, this is no dream. It's as real as anything, and I hope Mr. Scholar will accept me. LIU: If you were not joking and were sincere in your words, my happiness would go beyond description. How can I render a rebuff! LINIANG: Then, I am rewarded at last. [Tickling Old Bao] LINIANG:At that trysting ground in the vale of love, You first animated my dormant heart. Since then I have never thought of another man. I'm sure you know the reason and the cause, For in a good family I was raised. Tenderly By the Peony Pavilion, Bashfully By the Taihu rocks, And now quietly By the window of your room, Are chances when we meet. The brilliant moon and tonic breeze are priceless gifts. [Every drop gold] LIU: My soul is startled wide awake to find The cool moon shedding her glory upon my face. But is this sudden bliss Not one more empty dream of love? For how did you dare to traverse the shadowed flowers? How did you manage to elude your parents' watch? And, how did you locate me without mistake? Look, the Big Dipper is aslant And flowers have lowered their heads. The night is deep and flowers asleep. What a joy, What a song, The moon and breeze are at their best! For all your prettiness, your tenderness, Your sweetness and your coyness, I must not let you down. Every minute counts. LINIANG: I hope you won't mind my making one request. LIU (smiling): Not at all. What do you have to say? LINIANG: Once I give my heart and soul to your, do not abuse my love. To be together every night is all that I wish for. LIU (smiling): Since your ladyship trust me so will, how can I make light of it? LINIANG: There is one more thing: let me leave before cockcrow, and don't see me off, for the morning breeze can be chilly. LIU: Agreed. But may I sak you of your name! [Coda] LINIANG (sighs): Flowers have roots and everything has its source; But if I unclose my name, Gossipping winds may rise and spread. LIU. From now on, I'll be expecting you every night. LINIANG: Mr. Scholar, let us burst open the first vernal bud. LIU. 'Such ravishing beauty was never seen. LINIANG: The slanting moon pulsates the fifth of drums. Evening clouds roam along untraveled roads; LIU. Who know from which heaven this fairy came?' Translated by Zhang Guangqian

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The Peony Pavilion

The Peony Pavilion

The Peony Pavilion : The Unruly Fragrance in the classroom

The Peony Pavilion : A Stroll in the Garden

The Peony Pavilion : An Interrupted dream

The Peony Pavilion : Dreamland Revisited

The Peony Pavilion : Finding a Portrait

The Peony Pavilion : Secret Rendevouz