Rediscovering Tang Xianzu
A portrait of Tang Xianzu, a renowned playwright of the Ming Dynasty. CFPTang Xianzu, a renowned writer and playwright of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), passed away on July 29, 1616, in the same year as both Shakespeare and Cervantes. This year marks the 400th anniversary of his, and their, death. Following the call of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), many events to commemorate these three great writers have been organized worldwide this year, placing a new spotlight on them.On May 18, 2001, UNESCO unveiled its first list of Masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in Paris. China’s Kunqu Opera, represented by Tang Xianzu’s Peony Pavilion, was inscribed on the list. Naturally, after the revival of Kunqu Opera, studies of Tang have regained popularity in China.Brilliance of Tang’s Work in Modern Times
Four hundred years have passed since Tang’s death, yet his works remain brilliant like polished jade withstanding the test of time. Just like Shakespeare’s masterpieces, Tang’s works are now considered timeless literary classics after four centuries of inheritance and popularization. Factors behind the phenomenon are worth studying.
Tang was born into a scholarly family, wherein four generations preceding him were all knowledgeable scholars. Tang achieved wide fame for his gift for poetry at a young age. He wrote more than 2,000 poems and over 500 essays throughout his life. His most famous works are The Tale of the Violet Hairpin, Peony Pavilion, A Dream under the Southern Bough, and The Dream of Handan, which are collectively known as The Four Dreams of Linchuan. Of them, Peony Pavilion is best known.
The protagonist of Peony Pavilion is Du Liniang, an official’s daughter. Du died and then came back to life to search for the love in her dream. Even after she had already experienced death once, she still never gave up her pursuit for true love. The play is more than a love story, as it has explored the meaning of life through a tale of self-acknowledgement and pursuit of passion.
The play also tackles concepts seemingly far ahead of Tang’s time, such as love conquering all, gender equality, self-recognition, and free thought. In fact, each of his works attempts to promote some ideal. If life is a dream, how can one maintain spiritual purity while pursuing his or her ideal? Tang endured many frustrations throughout his political career, but he never surrendered and remained calm even when facing death. He is an inspiring figure even today.
One of Tang Xianzu’s Four Dreams of Linchuan, the play A Dream under the Southern Bough hadn’t been performed in full for centuries until the Kunqu Opera Theater under Jiangsu Province Arts Group Co., Ltd. produced the entire play at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing on March 14, 2015. IC
May 25, 2009: The dance drama Peony Pavilion, adapted from Tang Xianzu’s play of the same name, is staged by the Art Troupe of the Political Department of Nanjing Military Region in Nanjing. A representative masterpiece of Kunqu Opera, Peony Pavilion has been adapted into many other genres of art. CFP
March 17, 2008: Jingsu Kunqu Opera Theater stages an act of The Tale of the Violet Hairpin, one of Tang Xianzu’s Four Dreams of Linchuan. IC
July 8, 2015: Artists from the National Ballet of China perform the ballet drama Peony Pavilion, adapted from a Kunqu opera, at the Lincoln Center Festival in New York City. The magnum opus of Tang Xianzu, Peony Pavilion is a romance classic of traditional Chinese opera. CFPShakespeare in the East
Tang was first dubbed “Shakespeare of the East” by Japanese sinologist Aoki Masaru, who believed that the two writers in the same era were comparable. In fact, different cultures vary in aesthetical pursuits, and no two geniuses are exactly alike.
Shakespeare’s work is all-encompassing and demonstrates a wide array of thoughts which had already gained popularity in his day. Moreover, his plays are comparatively easier to perform than Kunqu Opera, thus becoming more easily revived and shared. Presently, Shake-speare’s plays are widely performed amongst people of various social classes and ages in Western countries. They appear not only on the stage of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Britain, but also in experimental theaters and even community and school performances.
China’s Kunqu Opera was once on the brink of extinction. Representing the highest level of traditional Chinese operas, it features many strict rules. From the end of the Ming Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty (16441911), it maintained a certain number of fans. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, however, Kunqu Opera was almost abandoned as Empress Dowager Cixi, the then ruler of China, liked Peking Opera. As a matter of fact, Peking Opera absorbed some essences from Kunqu Opera. For instance, renowned Peking Opera artist Mei Lanfang studied Kunqu. During the 1919 New Culture Movement, intellectuals turned their backs on traditional operas including Kunqu. After two or three generations, inheritance of Kunqu Opera was almost completely gone.
Back in the 1940s, Guofeng Kunqu and Suzhou Opera Troupe, the predecessor of today’s Zhejiang Kunqu Opera Theater, became the only Kunqu troupe in China. Although it faced a shortage of funds, the troupe never gave up efforts to inherit and develop Kunqu Opera. In 1956, it staged the Kunqu play Fifteen Strings of Cash in Beijing and received applause from then top Chinese leaders including Chairman Mao. Following this the troupe made a performance tour nationwide, which eventually “revived an opera genre with one play” (words of late Chinese playwright Tian Han).
In 2001, the UNESCO inscribed Kunqu Opera onto the list of World Intangible Cultural Heritage, resulting in the gradual revival of the traditional form of art. Although it already got rid of a life-ordeath situation, many still find little chance to enjoy Kunqu Opera. The youth-oriented edition of Peony Pavilion, adapted and produced by Taiwan writer Pai Hsien-yung, was staged in 2004 and helped more young people fall in love with the traditional opera. The opera was even performed abroad, promoting Sino-Western cultural exchange. Nowadays, many Chinese schools offer courses on Kunqu Opera, and Kunqu Opera troupes also thrive.
Time of Tang and ShakespeareBoth Tang and Shakespeare occupied an important position in global cultural history. Tang was a literary genius born into the scholar culture of ancient China, and Shakespeare was a great writer who portrayed people with various social statuses when the civil society just emerged in Britain. Spanish writer Cervantes satirized the conservatism of traditional society in his work. All three made breakthroughs in their respective cultures.
It is only coincidence that they died in the same year. However, the coincidence does inspire wonder as to how three of the world’s greatest writers emerged in the same era but in far-away corners of the world. Maritime explorations in the 16th Century linked the East and the West and emancipated many minds. As a result, the Renaissance began to challenge the authority of the church in the West, while in China, plebeian culture, which originated in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and went mainstream during the Yuan (1271-1368) and early Ming dynasties, was resurrected. Evidently, the three great writers were born at a time featuring fast economic and social development and philosophical expansion.
Recent commemorative events for these great writers aim not only to commemorate them, but also inspire us to rethink their important role in the development of human history and culture.
As they commemorate the 400th anniversary of the death of the three great writers, Chinese people may rethink how to treat traditional culture. Tang was a Chinese cultural sage. He is worth of thorough research and rediscovery for today’s people.
Cheng Pei-kai, born in Shandong Province, grew up in Taiwan and later studied in the United States. A co-founder of the Chinese Civilization Center at the City University of Hong Kong, he is committed to the research and inheritance of Kunqu Opera. He is also an art advisor for the youth edition of Peony Pavilion.