The Tang Xianzu Memorial Hall in Fuzhou is a comprehensive cultural venue built to commemorate Tang Xianzu, one of the world’s hundred great cultural figures and a master of Ming‑dynasty drama in China. It is also one of Jiangxi Province’s ten major memorial halls dedicated to historical luminaries.
Event Preview | Qixi Festival: Handcrafted Fans and Praying for Good Fortune
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2023-08-19
The Qixi Festival, also known as the Double Seventh Festival, the Weaving Maid’s Festival, or the Daughters’ Festival, is a traditional folk holiday in China, centered on prayers for blessings, the pursuit of skillful craftsmanship, and love. Originating from star‑worship, the festival evolved over time to become associated with the beautiful legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. According to tradition, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet atop the Magpie Bridge in the sky. Since then, it has come to symbolize romantic love and is regarded as China’s most romantically charged traditional festival.
Silver candles cast a cool glow upon the painted screen, while a delicate silk fan gently swats at the fireflies. The night on the palace steps is as cool as water; reclining, I gaze at the stars of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. As another Qixi Festival arrives, you are warmly invited to the Tang Xianzu Memorial Hall in Fuzhou City to join our special Qixi‑themed events, and amidst this beautiful moment and delightful company, experience the world of profound emotion brought to life by Tang Xianzu.
Qixi Special Event
“Skillful Hands Paint Fans to Win Lucky Prizes”
Qiqiao is a traditional Han Chinese seasonal custom. On the night of the seventh day of the seventh lunar month (or sometimes the sixth), young women dressed in new clothes gather in their courtyards to pray to the Weaving Maid Star for skill and cleverness, an observance known as “qiqiao.” The most common practices include threading needles to test one’s dexterity, crafting small objects to showcase ingenuity, and offering fruits and other delicacies as offerings. While the specific methods vary, each carries its own charm and appeal.
On the Qiqiao Festival, visitors to our museum can pick up a folding fan at the Yumingtang Bookstore. After hand-painting it on-site, they can have their photo taken with the museum staff and receive the fan free of charge. We warmly welcome the public to join in!
Event Time: August 22, 9:30 AM–11:00 AM
Event Location: Yumingtang Bookstore, First Floor
Qixi Special Exhibition
“Affection, Deep and Unfaltering—An Appreciation of the Lyrics from ‘The Peony Pavilion’”
Love arises without knowing whence, yet it grows deep and unyielding; the living may die, and the dead may live again. The Peony Pavilion tells the story of Du Liniang, the daughter of a high-ranking official, who falls hopelessly in love with the scholar Liu Mengmei in her dreams. Overwhelmed by her passion, she dies of grief, her spirit transforming into a ghost to seek her beloved in the mortal world. Their love spans life and death, and in the end, she is brought back to life, finally uniting forever with Liu Mengmei. With its elegant prose and lyrical language, this play stands as one of the masterpieces of Chinese opera, and together with The Romance of the Western Chamber, The Injustice to Dou E, and The Palace of Eternal Life, it is counted among China’s four great classical dramas.
Exhibition dates: August 22–25
Exhibition Location: In front of Yuming Hall
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