How the Peony Pavilion Reflects Tang Xianzu's Theory of Emotion

Tang Xianzu said in The Peony Pavilion: "I don't know what happened, but if we go deeper, the living can die and the dead can live. Those who are born without the dead and die without resurrection are not affectionate. " This is the classic statement of the theory of "the most sincere feelings". Tang Xianzu inherited Taizhou School's progressive thought of opposing Neo-Confucianism dogma and striving for individual liberation, and put it into practice in artistic creation. Du Liniang is undoubtedly a typical example of bold pursuit of individual liberation. In the process of pursuing "emotion", she realized the transcendence of "reason" and the free development of personality step by step. From Du Liniang, we saw the faces of some people in that era, heard their inner voices and felt the tremor of their souls. "Peony Pavilion" is undoubtedly of great practical significance to people whose personality was bound and their souls were paralyzed at that time. The Peony Pavilion is a poetic masterpiece. Since its birth, it has infected and impressed generations of "sentient people", so its cultural significance has gone far beyond the anti-neo-Confucianism significance of the present era and realized the eternal value of "emotion" on the ontological level.