"If you don't know what to do, you go deeper, the living can die, and the dead can live."
Many people may not know that this famous love poem comes from the Ming Dynasty more than 400 years ago, and the original sentence comes from Tang Xianzu's "Peony Pavilion" inscription.
As the most proud drama text in Tang Xianzu's life, he once commented: "Four dreams in life, pride is only in peonies".
It turns out that this work deserves this pride.
1
"Peony Pavilion" is adapted from the novel "Du Liniang's Twilight Soul", which tells the story of a person's ghostly love.
The general plot is: when the official lady Du Liniang reads the poem "Guan Guan Jiu, in the River Continent", her thoughts are stirred.
Later, I stepped into the garden and dreamed of meeting the scholar Liu Mengmei, and fell in love at first sight. When I woke up, I found that it was a dream, and I was sad and died because I couldn't think about it.
Three years later, Liu Mengmei went to Beijing to rush for the exam, and accidentally saw Du Liniang's portrait, secretly fell in love, which attracted her wandering soul meeting, and the two privately agreed for life.
After that, with the help of Daogu, he dug the tomb and opened the coffin to help Du Liniang return the yang. After Liu Mengmei went to high school, they married and ended happily.
A purdah girl who is imprisoned, who pursues free forbidden love after experiencing life and death, is itself full of romanticism.
Coupled with Tang Xianzu's talented writing, the layers of erotic lust were greatly shocked to the people at that time. So much so that from ancient times to the present, countless people have been obsessed with Du Liniang.
Even many people in the play love Du Liniang.
Lin Daiyu in "Dream of Red Mansions" heard "The beautiful scenery of the good day is the day, and the joy of the courtyard is enjoyable" in the 23rd episode, and she was possessed and wept; In the movie "Farewell My Concubine", Cheng Butterfly Yi also played Du Liniang and performed the garden singing in "Peony Pavilion".
A great work will never only be popular in a certain era, but also has the ability to empathize through the times.
2
So, how did Tang Xianzu, who can be called "Shakespeare of the East", give "Peony Pavilion" its enduring charm?
First of all, the work is novel in conception, bizarre in plot, delicate in depiction, with distinct characters, full of romanticism and strong appeal.
Since ancient times, people have liked to watch the love stories of talented and beautiful people, and the setting of resurrection from the dead due to dreams is even more novel and unique.
In the feudal environment at that time, many imprisoned women longed for a free love.
The young girl projects her yearning for love onto Du Liniang, just as Du Liniang dreamed of love in the early stage of the script.
This kind of peak turn, and finally the development of the story of the couple, makes outsiders experience it as if they were in person, and it is unforgettable.
Moreover, the in-depth discussion of human nature, love and other themes.
The work is set in the stormy Southern Song Dynasty, from Chen Zhiliang at the bottom of society, to Liu Mengmei, a reader, to the ministers above the imperial court, there are rich and detailed portrayals.
As a lady, Du Liniang's behavior is strictly regulated, but in order to seek freedom and love, she does not hesitate to transfer to dreams and death.
Even though reality is full of oppression and feudal ethical shackles, Tang Xianzu still emphasizes the desire for love and the pursuit of human freedom in his works.
Tang Xianzu used the careful thinking of a little girl Sichun to portray a grand pattern.
Perhaps because in his view, the sentient world should be guided in a sentient way, supplementing reality with emotions, rather than containing emotions with reality.
Even in contemporary society, there are still many constraints in our lives that suppress our own desires, which makes "Peony Pavilion" still have a strong enlightening significance today hundreds of years later.
Of course, the enduring nature of "Peony Pavilion" is inseparable from the new performance form.
Over time, "Peony Pavilion" has gradually developed many different versions and performance formats. For example, Beijing opera version, Kunqu opera version, Yu opera version, etc.
Each version has its own uniqueness, and the artists bring the characters to life in front of the audience through their superb performance skills.
Through their inner feelings and understanding of the characters, they have injected their own unique style and personality in addition to inheriting the classics.
The Kunqu opera "Peony Pavilion", which premiered in Shanghai last year, was hard to find, and the teachers adapted it on the basis of retaining the essence of the original work, from 35 to 55 folding plays, injecting new elements and artistic techniques, and also allowing the audience to feel the charm of different levels.
In short, although "Peony Pavilion" has a history of hundreds of years, it has not stagnated because of this.
Its fascinating storyline, elegant and mellow words, and profound historical rebellious ideas all make it maintain vitality and vitality in continuous innovation and reform.