It turns out that the colorful flowers are blooming all over the place, but like this they are all left in ruins. Good times and beautiful scenery are in vain, but whose home is the pleasure?
"The Peony Pavilion", the full name of which is "The Return of the Peony Pavilion", is adapted from the Ming Dynasty story-telling novel "The Return of Du Liniang". "The Peony Pavilion" is the representative work of the Ming Dynasty playwright Tang Xianzu, and it is also the most proud work of his life. He once said, "I have four dreams in my life, and the only one I am proud of is "The Peony.""
"The Peony Pavilion" and "Purple Hairpin", "Handan" and "Nanke" are collectively called "Four Dreams of Yumingtang", also called "Four Dreams of Linchuan". It was influenced by the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. The background of the story describes the decadent Confucian feudal system. The flower god who appears in the story is a product of Taoism, and the heroine Du Liniang's death and resurrection is from Buddhism. Sansheng said. In short, Tang Xianzu poured his life-long thoughts and feelings into "The Peony Pavilion", which perfectly interpreted his "Supreme Love Theory".
The work combines legends and stories with Ming Dynasty society, making it a romantic spiritual masterpiece. There are fifty-five scenes in the whole play, and each scene provides a hint for the subsequent plot. The poems at the end all use Tang poetry and are all satisfactory. It can also be seen from here that Tang Xianzu valued his "Peony Pavilion" more than his other works. "The Peony Pavilion" not only eulogized human nature, but also used another unique way to criticize the Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism of "preserving natural principles and destroying human desires" that was popular at that time.
Tang Xianzu (1550-1616) was a Chinese dramatist and writer in the Ming Dynasty. The meaning of the word is still, and the names are Hairuo, Ruoshi and Qingyuan Taoist. Han nationality, native of Linchuan, Jiangxi. Tang's ancestral home is Yunshan Township, Linchuan County, and later moved to Tangjiashan (now Fuzhou City). Born into a scholarly family, he had already gained a reputation for talent. Not only was he proficient in ancient Chinese poetry, but he was also proficient in astronomy, geography, medicine, and divination. He became a Jinshi at the age of 34. In Nanjing, he successively served as doctor of Taichang Temple, chief registrar of Zhanshi Mansion and chief priest of the Rites Temple.
In the 19th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1591), he witnessed the corruption of the officials at that time and angrily wrote "On Assistant Ministers and Officials", which angered the emperor and was demoted to Xu Wendian Shi. Later, he was transferred to the magistrate of Suichang County, Zhejiang Province. He served for five years and made outstanding achievements. However, he suppressed the powerful and angered the powerful, which led to criticism from his superiors and opposition from local forces. Finally, in the 26th year of Wanli (1598), he abandoned his official position and returned home in anger. While at home, on the one hand, he hoped for a day when he would "reveal his fortune", but on the other hand, he also hoped that "there will be dignified ministers in the court, and there will be no hungry officials in the county, so that peace can be brought about. One volume of poems every year is enough." Later, he gradually gave up the idea of ??becoming an official and concentrated on drama and poetry creation.
Among Tang Xianzu's many achievements, opera creation is the most outstanding. His drama works "The Return of the Soul", "The Purple Hairpin", "The Story of Nanke" and "The Story of Handan" are collectively known as "Linchuan". "Four Dreams", among which "The Peony Pavilion" is his masterpiece. These plays are not only loved by the Chinese people, but have also spread to many countries such as Britain, Japan, Germany, and Russia, and are regarded as treasures of world dramatic art. Tang's monograph "Yihuang County Opera God Qingyuanshi Temple" is also an important document discussing drama performance in the history of Chinese opera, and it has played a pioneering role in directing studies. Tang Xianzu was also an outstanding poet. His poems include four volumes of "The Complete Works of Yumingtang", one volume of "Hongquan Yicao", and two volumes of "Wen Jiyoucao".