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.
Exhibition Information | The “Eastern Drama Sage Tang Xianzu” Exchange Exhibition Arrives at the Suzhou City Museum in Anhui Province
Author:
Source:
Tang Xianzu Memorial Hall Official Account
Time:
2024-10-08
“Tang Xianzu, the Sage of Eastern Drama” Exchange Exhibition
Entering the Suzhou City Museum
To implement Xi Jinping’s Thought on Culture, promote the “Fuzhou: The Vessel of Dreams” brand, and put into practice the museum‑led exhibition philosophy of “going global and welcoming visitors,” while expanding inter‑museum cooperation and exchanges and further strengthening the Tang Xianzu cultural brand, our museum recently brought its featured exchange exhibition, “Tang Xianzu, the Sage of Eastern Opera,” to the Suzhou City Museum in Anhui Province. The exhibition will run from October 1 to November 30, 2024.
The “Four Dreams of Linchuan,” masterfully crafted by the great Ming‑dynasty dramatist Tang Xianzu over the course of his entire life, stand as a dazzling gem in the annals of Chinese drama and indeed in the history of world theater. The romantic, fantastical passions that transcend life and death in his works are rivaled in the global theatrical tradition only by those of Shakespeare; for this reason, the two are celebrated as twin luminaries of the Eastern and Western stages. The exhibition “Tang Xianzu, the Sage of Eastern Drama” offers a comprehensive overview of Tang Xianzu’s life and his monumental theatrical achievements. Conceived as a thematic permanent display to mark the 400th anniversary of his passing in 2016, it was meticulously curated by the Tang Xianzu Memorial Hall in Fuzhou and was awarded the Excellence Prize in the 14th National Museum Top Ten Exhibitions Competition (2016). This traveling exhibition represents a refined, condensed version of that original presentation.
This exhibition features more than a hundred precious cultural relics and collections, including the Wenchang Tang clan genealogy, the Tang family’s ancestral woodblock printing plates, the complete works of Yumingtang from the Qing dynasty, later editions of “The Four Dreams of Linchuan” issued in various periods, a variety of critical writings, and out-of-print records. It is sure to offer the citizens of Suzhou a delightful cultural encounter.
Suzhou City Museum
The Suzhou City Museum is located opposite the Suzhou Municipal Government Center, covering an area of 50 mu and boasting a floor space of 10,000 square meters. It was completed and opened to the public in October 2010. Its architectural style draws heavily on Han‑dynasty cultural elements, featuring a grand, elevated platform with a high-pitched roof in the traditional Han style, marble-clad exterior walls, and a principal façade adorned with relief sculptures inspired by motifs from Han‑era carved stone reliefs, lending the building an air of solemnity and timelessness.
The museum is arranged on three levels. The first floor contains storage rooms, office areas, a temporary exhibition hall and a Folk Art Museum. The Folk Art Museum is divided into five sections: local opera, Yongqiao circus, folk crafts, calligraphy and painting, and Lingbi ornamental stones. The second and third floors house exhibition halls presenting Suzhou’s history and culture, organized into seven sections: Crossroads of the Nine Provinces; Tracing Cultural Origins; The Might of the Qin and Han; The Strategic Throat of the Bian River; Echoes of the Ming and Qing Dynasties; Modern Turbulence; and a Land of Eminent People. The displays include over 700 cultural relics. The museum integrates exhibition, collection, display, research and outreach; its historical materials are comprehensive and richly illustrated with text and images.
Xi Jinping’s cultural thought underscores that culture is the soul of a nation and a people; without strong cultural confidence and vibrant cultural prosperity, there can be no great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Through this exhibition, we hope to look back on history together, revisit the classics, appreciate the artistic allure and contemporary relevance of Tang Xianzu and his works, strengthen our confidence in Chinese culture, and imbue China’s fine traditional culture with new contemporary meanings and expressions.
The museum is arranged on three levels. The first floor contains storage rooms, office areas, a temporary exhibition hall and a Folk Art Museum. The Folk Art Museum is divided into five sections: local opera, Yongqiao circus, folk crafts, calligraphy and painting, and Lingbi ornamental stones. The second and third floors house exhibition halls presenting Suzhou’s history and culture, organized into seven sections: Crossroads of the Nine Provinces; Tracing Cultural Origins; The Might of the Qin and Han; The Strategic Throat of the Bian River; Echoes of the Ming and Qing Dynasties; Modern Turbulence; and a Land of Eminent People. The displays include over 700 cultural relics. The museum integrates exhibition, collection, display, research and outreach; its historical materials are comprehensive and richly illustrated with text and images.
Xi Jinping’s cultural thought underscores that culture is the soul of a nation and a people; without strong cultural confidence and vibrant cultural prosperity, there can be no great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Through this exhibition, we hope to look back on history together, revisit the classics, appreciate the artistic allure and contemporary relevance of Tang Xianzu and his works, strengthen our confidence in Chinese culture, and imbue China’s fine traditional culture with new contemporary meanings and expressions.
Submissions are welcome. ： 363036353@qq.com
Copyright © Tang Xianzu Memorial Hall of Fuzhou City (Fuzhou Tang Xianzu Culture and Art Center) Technical Support:China Enterprise Dynamics-Nanchangvertical strokeSEO
