When Tang Xianzu Met Shakespeare

Left photo: In Stratford-upon-Avon, England—the birthplace of William Shakespeare—actors portray Juliet from Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” (photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Han Yan, taken on July 21, 2016); right photo: In Fuzhou, Jiangxi Province, China—the hometown of Tang Xianzu—actors perform as Liu Mengmei from Tang Xianzu’s “The Peony Pavilion” (photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhou Mi, taken on October 11, 2016; composite image). This year marks the 400th anniversary of the deaths of the two theatrical masters, Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu. Four centuries ago, the two giants lived on opposite ends of the globe, each with a vastly different cultural background, yet they independently turned to drama in their quest for truth, goodness, and beauty. Four hundred years later, two photojournalists—one from Xinhua’s Jiangxi bureau and the other from its London bureau—have used imagery to bring these two masters together across time and space. Photo by Xinhua.

 

 

The photo on the left shows Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s hometown in England (photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Han Yan, March 24, 2015); the photo on the right depicts Wenchangli in Fuzhou, Jiangxi Province, China, the birthplace of Tang Xianzu (photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhou Mi, April 6, 2016; composite image). Photo by Xinhua.

 

 

The photo on the left shows the 1792-printed “Complete Score of The Peony Pavilion,” displayed at the Tang Xianzu Memorial Hall in Fuzhou, Jiangxi Province, China (photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhou Mi, taken on October 12, 2016); the photo on the right depicts the first folio edition of Shakespeare’s works, exhibited at Shakespeare’s Birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK (photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Han Yan, taken on July 21, 2016; composite image). Photo by Xinhua News Agency.

 

 

The photo on the left shows the tomb of Tang Xianzu in Fuzhou, Jiangxi Province, China (photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhou Mi, taken on October 12, 2016); the photo on the right depicts Shakespeare’s grave at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, England (photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Han Yan, taken on March 24, 2015; composite image). Photo by Xinhua News Agency.

 

 

The photo on the left shows the Tang Xianzu Memorial Hall in Fuzhou, Jiangxi Province, China (photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhou Mi, taken on October 12, 2016). The photo on the right depicts Shakespeare’s Birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon, England (photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Han Yan, taken on July 21, 2016; composite image). Photo by Xinhua News Agency.

 

 

Left photo: In Stratford-upon-Avon, England—the birthplace of Shakespeare—actors perform Shakespeare’s plays for audiences (photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Han Yan, March 24, 2015); right photo: In Fuzhou, Jiangxi Province, China—the hometown of Tang Xianzu—two Gan Opera performers present Tang Xianzu’s play “The Peony Pavilion” to spectators (photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhou Mi, October 11, 2016; composite image). Xinhua News Agency.

 

 

This is the bronze statue of Tang Xianzu encountering Shakespeare, on display at the Tang Xianzu Memorial Hall in Fuzhou, Jiangxi Province, China (photographed on October 12, 2016). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhou Mi.