The Peony Pavilion
Encyclopedia
The Peony Pavilion 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
(昆曲/崑曲) opera, but Chuan
(川) and Gan
(赣/贛) opera versions also exist. It is by far the most popular play of the Ming Dynasty, and is the primary showcase of the guimendan (闺门旦/閨門旦) 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.
(杜丽娘/杜麗娘) and Liu Mengmei
(柳梦梅/柳夢梅), but its original text (standard translation: Cyril Birch) 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.
The president of the underworld
adjudicates that a marriage between Du Liniang and Liu Mengmei is predestined and Du Liniang ought to return to the earthly world. Du Liniang appears to Liu Mengmei in his dreams. He now inhabits the same garden where Du Liniang had her fatal dream. Once recognising that Du Bao's deceased daughter is the lady who appears in his dreams, Liu agrees to exhume her upon her request and Du Liniang is brought 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.
This is only a broad outline of the plot of an opera which typically runs for 20 hours.
ending, The Peony Pavilion is distinguished particularly by the play's highly refined and subtle lyrics hailed as another height in Chinese literature
. Aided by the then newly developed Kun
music, the lyrical proses of the Peony Pavilion weave out a fabric of nuances and metaphors which elegantly transgress the divide between the beauty of nature
and man's inner cosmos of emotion
s and desires. Through the lights and shadows of the its lyrical fabric transpire a ravishing sensitivity and intoxicating effeteness and, almost antithetically, a persistent tone of youthful optimism. The magic of the play's language quickly carries the audience to a unique experience of literary and musical pleasure. This is a banquet of metaphors, a dance of the imagination and most of all, a celebration of sensitivity. For this reason the Peony Pavillion sets the measure for all later Kun operas.
Particularly prominent are these features in three of the earlier acts, "A walk in the Garden" (游园/遊園), "The Interruption Of a Dream" (惊梦/驚夢)(these two acts were grouped as a single act in the original text) and "Reflection On the Lost Dream" (寻梦/尋夢), which are generally considered the apogee of Chinese kunqu
for their literary achievements as well as for their musicality, choreography and the integration of all these components. For these reasons, the play's lyrics pose a daunting challenge to any attempt at their translation
.
Shortly after its completion, the original scores of the opera by Tang Xianzu
(汤显祖), considered awkward and difficult for performers, were greatly revised by Shen Jing (沈璟), a major figure in the formation of Chinese kunqu
, not without many disputes and resistance from Tang Xianzu himself.
(梅兰芳/梅蘭芳) (sometimes paired with Yu Zhenfei (俞振飞/俞振飛) as Liu Mengmei) was famous for his sensitive portrayal of Du Liniang.
The most famous actress of recent years is likely Zhang Jiqing's (张继青/張繼青) traditional approach out of Nanjing's Jiangsu Province Kun Opera.
In Shanghai, Jennifer Hua Wenyi (华文漪/華文漪) was very popular in the role, and has played the role abroad several times.
For a both particularly pleasant and graceful interpretation, one may refer to Zhang Zhihong (张志红)'s performances in the nineties.
In 1999, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
produced a 20 hour version of Tang Xianzu's Peony Pavilion directed Chen Shizheng and starring Qian Yi as Du Liniang and Wen Yu Hang. This 20 hour version was perhaps the first full length staging in 300 years and spurred a renewed interest in the full opera beyond a few celebrated episodes. Lincoln Center's version toured extensively, playing in New York, Paris, Milan, Singapore, Caen, Charleston, Aarhus, Berlin, Perth and Vienna. DVD highlights have been released in the United States and Taiwan.
In 2007,the director Lin Zhaohua and the Kunqu Opera master Wang Shiyu searched the way of cultural revival, challenging all The Peony Pavilion editions done in recent years. Abandon the stage-style in use since the Qing Dynasty
and return to “Family Team” performance mode in the Imperial Granary
.
, an art form that had been in danger of disappearing into obscurity. In 2001, UNESCO
proclaimed Kunqu
as a "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity," yet the secrets of that heritage were kept by only a few aging masters in even fewer schools and institutions. Bai Xianyong's adaptation of The Peony Pavilion that premiered in 2004 helped rejuvenate this tradition. Bai, a Chinese scholar at the University of California, Santa Barbara
, and his colleagues - scholars and performers, some brought back from retirement - spend five months editing Tang's script. Working out of the Jiangsu Suzhou Kunqu Theater, the group condensed and adapted the original fifty-five scenes to twenty-seven scenes, and twenty hours of performance time to nine. Bai, who had chosen The Peony Pavilion because of its universal message of love, hoped that his rendition would attract youth to Kunqu
. In fact, in its tour of China's top universities, the show was marketed as the Youth Edition of Peony Pavilion. (The production also toured in Taipei
, Hong Kong
, Macau
, seven cities in mainland China, and the Zellerbach Theater in Berkeley, California
.) According to Bai, the goal of this youth-oriented production was to "give new life to the art form, cultivate a new generation of Kunqu
aficionados, and offer respect to playwright Tang and all the master artists that came before." His production of The Peony Pavilion was his way of doing so. Bai Xianyong / Hsien-yung Pai
(白先勇) has also used The Peony Pavilion as inspiration for a short story and a television script.
Recently in 1998, The Peony Pavilion was the inspiration for a contemporary opera composed by Tan Dun
, and directed by Peter Sellars
. A CD recording of this opera was released entitled "Bitter Love". Contemporary and experimental versions such as this one and Lincoln Center's 1999 production have played primarily abroad, often winning critical success but sometimes offending Chinese traditionalists.
In 2001, a Hong Kong movie known as Yóuyuán Jīngmèng (遊園驚夢), starring Rie Miyazawa
(宮澤理惠/宮泽理惠) and Joey Wong
(王祖賢/王祖贤), was called Peony Pavilion in English. Though only indirectly related in terms of plot, it used the music extensively.
A Taiwanese movie Wǒ de měilì yǔ āichōu 我的美麗與哀愁 directed by Chen Guofu
, with cinematography by Christopher Doyle
and starring Luo Ruoying shared the same English title.
In 2007, Lisa See
's novel Peony in Love was published by Random House. The story's protagonist, Peony, falls in love with a young stranger, and her life loosely parallels that of Liniang's.
In May 2008, the National Ballet of China
premièred a two-scene ballet adaptation of The Peony Pavilion in Beijing. For this adaptation, the play was rewritten by the opera's director director Li Liuyi; the ballet was choreographed by Fei Bo; and the music was composed by Guo Wenjing
. The adaptation had its European premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival
in August 2011.
In June 2008, the Suzhou Kunqu Opera company performed The Peony Pavilion at Sadler's Wells
, London, the UK premiere. It was presented in 3 parts on consecutive evenings, each lasting 3 hours, though still much shorter than the original 20 hours.
Tang Xianzu
Tang Xianzu , courtesy name Yireng , was a Chinese playwright of the Ming Dynasty.Tang was a native of Linchuan, Jiangxi and his career as an official consisted principally of low-level positions. He successfully participated in the Provincial examinations at the age of 21 and at the imperial...
in the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
and first performed in 1598 at the Pavilion of Prince Teng
Pavilion of Prince Teng
The Pavilion of Prince Teng or Tengwang Pavilion is a building in the north west of the city of Nanchang, in Jiangxi province, China, on the east bank of the Gan River and is one of the Four Great Towers of China. It has been destroyed and rebuilt many times over its history...
. One of Tang's "Four Dreams", it has traditionally been performed as a Kunqu
Kunqu
Kunqu , also known as Kunju , Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The style originated in the Wu cultural area...
(昆曲/崑曲) opera, but Chuan
Chuanqi
Chuanqi is a classical Chinese literary form of the Tang and Song dynasties, consisting of short stories involving mystical, fantastical or legendary elements. It is distinct from the dramatic form of chuanqi, but is written with the same characters...
(川) and Gan
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
(赣/贛) opera versions also exist. It is by far the most popular play of the Ming Dynasty, and is the primary showcase of the guimendan (闺门旦/閨門旦) 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 LiniangDu Liniang
Du Liniang is a fictional character from Tang Xianzu's play The Peony Pavilion. "Du" is her last name, "Li" means beautiful, and "Niang", girl. Only sixteen years old, she encounters a dream lover Liu Mengmei when she falls asleep in a long-abandoned garden. Overcome by lovesickness, she wastes...
(杜丽娘/杜麗娘) and Liu Mengmei
Liu Mengmei
Liu Mengmei is the main fictionalized character within Tang Xianzu's play The Peony Pavilion, "Liu" meaning 'willow' and "Mengmei" 'dream of plum'. Mengmei was a descendant to the reputed poet Liu Zongyuan, Prefect of Liuzhou during the Tang Dynasty period, and would be born into a family branch...
(柳梦梅/柳夢梅), but its original text (standard translation: Cyril Birch) also contains subplots pertaining to the falling Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
's defense against the aggression of the Jin Dynasty
Jin Dynasty, 1115–1234
The Jīn Dynasty ; Khitan language: Nik, Niku; ; 1115–1234), also known as the Jurchen Dynasty, was founded by the Wanyan clan of the Jurchens, the ancestors of the Manchus who established the Qing Dynasty some 500 years later...
.
It is the last days of the Southern Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
. 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
Fixation
Fixation may refer to the following:In science:*Fixation , the state in which an individual becomes obsessed with an attachment to another human, an animal, or an inanimate object...
, Du Liniang wastes away and dies.
The president of the underworld
Underworld
The Underworld is a region which is thought to be under the surface of the earth in some religions and in mythologies. It could be a place where the souls of the recently departed go, and in some traditions it is identified with Hell or the realm of death...
adjudicates that a marriage between Du Liniang and Liu Mengmei is predestined and Du Liniang ought to return to the earthly world. Du Liniang appears to Liu Mengmei in his dreams. He now inhabits the same garden where Du Liniang had her fatal dream. Once recognising that Du Bao's deceased daughter is the lady who appears in his dreams, Liu agrees to exhume her upon her request and Du Liniang is brought back to life. Liu visits Du Bao and informs him of his daughter's resurrection
Resurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
. 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
Imperial examination
The Imperial examination was an examination system in Imperial China designed to select the best administrative officials for the state's bureaucracy. This system had a huge influence on both society and culture in Imperial China and was directly responsible for the creation of a class of...
in which Liu has topped the list. The emperor pardons all.
This is only a broad outline of the plot of an opera which typically runs for 20 hours.
Comments
Albeit conventional in some ways, notably its deus ex machinaDeus ex machina
A deus ex machina is a plot device whereby a seemingly inextricable problem is suddenly and abruptly solved with the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability, or object.-Linguistic considerations:...
ending, The Peony Pavilion is distinguished particularly by the play's highly refined and subtle lyrics hailed as another height in Chinese literature
Chinese literature
Chinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature fictional novels that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese...
. Aided by the then newly developed Kun
Kunqu
Kunqu , also known as Kunju , Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The style originated in the Wu cultural area...
music, the lyrical proses of the Peony Pavilion weave out a fabric of nuances and metaphors which elegantly transgress the divide between the beauty of nature
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
and man's inner cosmos of emotion
Emotion
Emotion is a complex psychophysiological experience of an individual's state of mind as interacting with biochemical and environmental influences. In humans, emotion fundamentally involves "physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience." Emotion is associated with mood,...
s and desires. Through the lights and shadows of the its lyrical fabric transpire a ravishing sensitivity and intoxicating effeteness and, almost antithetically, a persistent tone of youthful optimism. The magic of the play's language quickly carries the audience to a unique experience of literary and musical pleasure. This is a banquet of metaphors, a dance of the imagination and most of all, a celebration of sensitivity. For this reason the Peony Pavillion sets the measure for all later Kun operas.
Particularly prominent are these features in three of the earlier acts, "A walk in the Garden" (游园/遊園), "The Interruption Of a Dream" (惊梦/驚夢)(these two acts were grouped as a single act in the original text) and "Reflection On the Lost Dream" (寻梦/尋夢), which are generally considered the apogee of Chinese kunqu
Kunqu
Kunqu , also known as Kunju , Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The style originated in the Wu cultural area...
for their literary achievements as well as for their musicality, choreography and the integration of all these components. For these reasons, the play's lyrics pose a daunting challenge to any attempt at their translation
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
.
Shortly after its completion, the original scores of the opera by Tang Xianzu
Tang Xianzu
Tang Xianzu , courtesy name Yireng , was a Chinese playwright of the Ming Dynasty.Tang was a native of Linchuan, Jiangxi and his career as an official consisted principally of low-level positions. He successfully participated in the Provincial examinations at the age of 21 and at the imperial...
(汤显祖), considered awkward and difficult for performers, were greatly revised by Shen Jing (沈璟), a major figure in the formation of Chinese kunqu
Kunqu
Kunqu , also known as Kunju , Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The style originated in the Wu cultural area...
, not without many disputes and resistance from Tang Xianzu himself.
Famous performances
Mei LanfangMéi Lánfang
Mei Lanfang was one of the most famous Beijing opera artists in modern history, exclusively known for his qingyi roles, a type of dan role. Méi Lánfāng is his stage name, and in Chinese it is generally considered a feminine name. His real name was Méi Lán...
(梅兰芳/梅蘭芳) (sometimes paired with Yu Zhenfei (俞振飞/俞振飛) as Liu Mengmei) was famous for his sensitive portrayal of Du Liniang.
The most famous actress of recent years is likely Zhang Jiqing's (张继青/張繼青) traditional approach out of Nanjing's Jiangsu Province Kun Opera.
In Shanghai, Jennifer Hua Wenyi (华文漪/華文漪) was very popular in the role, and has played the role abroad several times.
For a both particularly pleasant and graceful interpretation, one may refer to Zhang Zhihong (张志红)'s performances in the nineties.
In 1999, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
produced a 20 hour version of Tang Xianzu's Peony Pavilion directed Chen Shizheng and starring Qian Yi as Du Liniang and Wen Yu Hang. This 20 hour version was perhaps the first full length staging in 300 years and spurred a renewed interest in the full opera beyond a few celebrated episodes. Lincoln Center's version toured extensively, playing in New York, Paris, Milan, Singapore, Caen, Charleston, Aarhus, Berlin, Perth and Vienna. DVD highlights have been released in the United States and Taiwan.
In 2007,the director Lin Zhaohua and the Kunqu Opera master Wang Shiyu searched the way of cultural revival, challenging all The Peony Pavilion editions done in recent years. Abandon the stage-style in use since the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
and return to “Family Team” performance mode in the Imperial Granary
The Imperial Granary
The Imperial Granary, an ancient storehouse as old as the Forbidden City, has witnessed the reign of 24 emperors from Ming Dynasty to Qing Dynasty, and seen the entire capital history from the time of the Republic of China and subsequent history to the present...
.
Adaptations
Recent adaptations of The Peony Pavilion and allusions in popular music have revived interest in KunquKunqu
Kunqu , also known as Kunju , Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The style originated in the Wu cultural area...
, an art form that had been in danger of disappearing into obscurity. In 2001, UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
proclaimed Kunqu
Kunqu
Kunqu , also known as Kunju , Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The style originated in the Wu cultural area...
as a "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity," yet the secrets of that heritage were kept by only a few aging masters in even fewer schools and institutions. Bai Xianyong's adaptation of The Peony Pavilion that premiered in 2004 helped rejuvenate this tradition. Bai, a Chinese scholar at the University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
, and his colleagues - scholars and performers, some brought back from retirement - spend five months editing Tang's script. Working out of the Jiangsu Suzhou Kunqu Theater, the group condensed and adapted the original fifty-five scenes to twenty-seven scenes, and twenty hours of performance time to nine. Bai, who had chosen The Peony Pavilion because of its universal message of love, hoped that his rendition would attract youth to Kunqu
Kunqu
Kunqu , also known as Kunju , Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The style originated in the Wu cultural area...
. In fact, in its tour of China's top universities, the show was marketed as the Youth Edition of Peony Pavilion. (The production also toured in Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
, seven cities in mainland China, and the Zellerbach Theater in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
.) According to Bai, the goal of this youth-oriented production was to "give new life to the art form, cultivate a new generation of Kunqu
Kunqu
Kunqu , also known as Kunju , Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The style originated in the Wu cultural area...
aficionados, and offer respect to playwright Tang and all the master artists that came before." His production of The Peony Pavilion was his way of doing so. Bai Xianyong / Hsien-yung Pai
Pai Hsien-yung
Kenneth Hsien-yung Pai , born July 11, 1937) is a writer who has been described as a "melancholy pioneer." He was born in Guilin, Guangxi, China at the cusp of both the Second Sino-Japanese War and subsequent Chinese Civil War...
(白先勇) has also used The Peony Pavilion as inspiration for a short story and a television script.
Recently in 1998, The Peony Pavilion was the inspiration for a contemporary opera composed by Tan Dun
Tan Dun
Tan Dun is a Chinese contemporary classical composer, most widely known for his scores for the movies Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero.-Early life in China:...
, and directed by Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays...
. A CD recording of this opera was released entitled "Bitter Love". Contemporary and experimental versions such as this one and Lincoln Center's 1999 production have played primarily abroad, often winning critical success but sometimes offending Chinese traditionalists.
In 2001, a Hong Kong movie known as Yóuyuán Jīngmèng (遊園驚夢), starring Rie Miyazawa
Rie Miyazawa
is a Japanese actress and former model.- Life and career :Rie Miyazawa was born in Tokyo and raised by her mother. Since her debut at age 11 in an advertisement for Kit Kat, she has many films, television shows, commercials, stage appearances and photo books to her credit. She starred in the...
(宮澤理惠/宮泽理惠) and Joey Wong
Joey Wong
Joey Wong is a Hong Kong based Taiwanese-born actress.-Biography:Wong was born on January 31, 1967 and raised in Taipei and also received a secondary school education there. She was enrolled in the drama course of Kuo Kwan Arts School...
(王祖賢/王祖贤), was called Peony Pavilion in English. Though only indirectly related in terms of plot, it used the music extensively.
A Taiwanese movie Wǒ de měilì yǔ āichōu 我的美麗與哀愁 directed by Chen Guofu
Chen Guofu
Chen Guofu, or Chen Kuo-fu , was a Chinese politician in the Republic of China. He was born in Wuxing, Zhejiang, China . Chen Guofu joined the Tongmenghui in 1911. He participated in both the revolution against the Qing dynasty and the "second revolution" against Yuan Shikai...
, with cinematography by Christopher Doyle
Christopher Doyle
Christopher Doyle is a cinematographer. He has won the AFI Award for cinematography, the Cannes Technical Grand Prize, Golden Osella, the Golden Horse awards , and Hong Kong Film Award . Doyle is an affiliate of the Hong Kong Society of Cinematographers.-Biography:Doyle was born in Sydney,...
and starring Luo Ruoying shared the same English title.
In 2007, Lisa See
Lisa See
Lisa See is an American writer and novelist. Her Chinese-American family has had a great impact on her life and work. Her books include On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family and the novels Flower Net , The Interior , Dragon Bones , Snow Flower and the...
's novel Peony in Love was published by Random House. The story's protagonist, Peony, falls in love with a young stranger, and her life loosely parallels that of Liniang's.
In May 2008, the National Ballet of China
National Ballet of China
The National Ballet of China , known in China as the Central Ballet Troupe was founded on 31 December 1959. It is the mainland Chinese national ballet troupe...
premièred a two-scene ballet adaptation of The Peony Pavilion in Beijing. For this adaptation, the play was rewritten by the opera's director director Li Liuyi; the ballet was choreographed by Fei Bo; and the music was composed by Guo Wenjing
Guo Wenjing
Guo Wenjing is a Chinese composer and educator.-Biography:He began attending the Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing in 1978, the year of that institution's reopening, and later served as the head of the composition department there; he remains on the faculty.He has composed for both Western...
. The adaptation had its European premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival
Edinburgh International Festival
The Edinburgh International Festival is a festival of performing arts that takes place in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, over three weeks from around the middle of August. By invitation from the Festival Director, the International Festival brings top class performers of music , theatre, opera...
in August 2011.
In June 2008, the Suzhou Kunqu Opera company performed The Peony Pavilion at Sadler's Wells
Sadler's Wells Theatre
Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue located in Rosebery Avenue, Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington. The present day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500 seat main auditorium and the Lilian Baylis Studio, with extensive...
, London, the UK premiere. It was presented in 3 parts on consecutive evenings, each lasting 3 hours, though still much shorter than the original 20 hours.
External links
- Archive footage of The Peony Pavilion in rehearsal at Jacob's Pillow in 1999
- Breathing New Life into 600-Year-Old Opera. Time. 25 Oct. 2007.
- "My Year of Peonies" by Zeitlin, Judith T. Asian Theatre Journal 1.1 (2002): 124-33. Project MUSE.