Reposted | Fuzhou Sisheng & Xunmeng Troupe: The Peony Pavilion — “I am not a pavilion; I am a dream.”

Today, Lin Xiaochuan opened the “Fuzhou Baby Directory,”

I came across a name that many people have heard of—
"The Peony Pavilion."

It is not a true pavilion,
Yet it has etched the romance of a city into the hearts of countless people.

It was written in Linchuan,
Having spanned more than four centuries,
Still on the stage, within the pages of books,

It is sung again and again.

Lin Xiaochuan asked curiously:

“The Peony Pavilion”—why, after so many years,

“Are people still swooning over you?”

This time, let it answer on its own.

My name is “The Peony Pavilion.”
I also have another name: “The Tale of Reincarnation.”

Around the twenty-sixth year of the Wanli era of the Ming dynasty,

Tang Xianzu penned “I” within the Yumintang of Linchuan.
Later, people came to refer to me, along with “The Purple Hairpin,” “The Southern Dream,” and “The Handan Dream,” as the “Four Dreams of Linchuan.”

In these four dreams,
I am the one who is remembered most.

Many people first got to know me through Du Liniang.

She is not the kind of young lady who merely waits for others to make arrangements.
She walked into the garden in spring and had a dream.
After waking from her dream, she began to understand:
It turns out that people don’t live only by what “should” be.

We must also live in a state of “willingness.”

My story, when you get down to it, isn’t all that complicated.

Du Liniang dreams in the garden of the scholar Liu Mengmei,
Upon awakening from her dream, she fell ill from love and died of it.
Yet this love did not remain confined to death.
Later, Liu Mengmei came upon her portrait,

Following the dream, it ultimately restores Du Liniang to life.

It sounds like a legend,
But what truly moves people is not merely “returning from the dead,”

Rather, it is when a person finally hears the voice of their own heart.

What Tang Xianzu wrote was:
When a person’s genuine feelings are strong enough,
It can transcend propriety and cross the threshold of life and death,
It also traverses time.

Throughout his life, Tang Xianzu witnessed both the corridors of power and the depths of human nature.

He knew there were many rules in the world,
But he believed even more that genuine human emotions should not be so easily suppressed.

So on me, he penned that famous line:

“Love arises without knowing whence, yet it grows deep and unwavering.”

This is not a simple declaration of love,
It’s more like saying:
Once the human heart truly awakens,

Then you will no longer be content to follow only the path others have laid out for you.

So it’s not just a love story,
I am a long letter that Tang Xianzu wrote to “True Feelings.”

He brought Du Liniang back from her dream,
It has also awakened many of my readers within their own hearts.

My hometown is Linchuan, Fuzhou.

Here you’ll find the writings of talented scholars,
There are operatic vocal styles,
There is also the Yuming Hall, where Tang Xianzu wrote about dreams.

After being born here, I went on to even farther horizons.

For centuries, Kunqu opera has sung of me, and Gan opera has performed me,

Many theatrical genres are also telling my story.

Different vocal styles, different stages,
Let Du Liniang’s dream be reopened again and again.

So,

“The Peony Pavilion” is more than just a legendary tale written in a book,
It is also on the Chinese opera stage.

A heartfelt echo that has resonated for over four centuries.

More importantly,
It has led many people, because of a single play,

I’ve remembered Linchuan, and I’ve remembered Fuzhou.

More than four centuries have passed, and I have long since ceased to remain confined within the pages of ancient books.

In Fuzhou, you can step into Wenchangli,

Experience the refined elegance of Linchuan as depicted by Tang Xianzu.
You can also visit the Tang Xianzu Memorial Hall,

Understand the origins of the “Four Dreams of Linchuan”;
You can also catch a performance of “The Peony Pavilion.”

Amidst light and shadow, and through the art of singing, we draw once again near Du Liniang’s dream.

For people today,

“The Peony Pavilion” is no longer just a name found in textbooks.

It can be a performance,
A nighttime stroll,
A chance encounter with the cultural heritage of Fuzhou.

Times have changed,
But people are still moved by it.

Because it does not write of distant, bygone dreams,
Rather, in each person’s heart,

You’ve probably experienced a flutter of the heart, a yearning,

A sincere heart that refuses to be overlooked.