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.

News | The Jiangxi Daily Focuses on Fuzhou! The Hometown of Tang Weng Takes a City’s Rich Cultural Heritage to the World

Author:

Source:

Time:

2025-11-20

Recently

Page 9 of the Jiangxi Daily published…

“A City of Great Performances”

Focusing on Fuzhou through the integration of tradition and innovation,

Mutual learning between Chinese and foreign civilizations, and deep integration of culture and tourism.

Making theater a cultural hallmark of the city and a solid pillar of its development.

Realizing a two-way synergy between theater and the city.

A City of Great Performances

Culture is the root and soul of a city.

Theater is a bridge that awakens cultural resonance.

The tradition of theater festivals originated in ancient Greece. As early as the fifth century BCE, Athens hosted three major theatrical celebrations—the Great Dionysia, the Rural Dionysia, and the Lenaea—each serving as a grand forum for cultural exchange, sparking citywide festivities and becoming an indispensable part of ancient Greek culture.

It feels like a distant echo: in the time-honored city of Fuzhou, with the launch of the 7th Tang Xianzu International Theatre Exchange Month, the city has also entered a captivating season of theatrical celebration. Over the course of a month-long exchange, specially invited productions from the United Kingdom and many other countries have been staged here; the “3rd National Exhibition of Outstanding Gaoqiang Repertoires” has taken place, showcasing 15 exemplary Gaoqiang works and 30 representative pieces selected for the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s “Reproduction Program for Exquisite Traditional Opera Short Acts.” Meanwhile, a series of events—including expert symposiums and roundtable discussions on the preservation of minor theatrical genres—have been held as well.

This is a theatrical carnival. The youthful vibrancy of the performing arts merges with the city’s millennial heritage, as renowned theater artists, artistic young people, and visitors from all corners come together to create a dynamic cultural ecosystem—one that constantly evolves and flourishes through the interplay of theater, scenery, everyday life, and human connection.

From the refined elegance of high art to the vibrant pulse of everyday life, stage performances and the city’s cultural soft power reinforce one another, with theater increasingly serving as a spiritual mirror for the metropolis.

The opera performances in Wenchangli, Fuzhou, have drawn large crowds of tourists. Photo by Tang Yao.

Youth Dialogue: A Vibrant Expression of Traditional Theater

“Du Liniang laments that this beautiful spring goes unappreciated—just like a person: even with beauty so exquisite it could make fish sink and wild geese fall, and make the moon shy and flowers blush, no one takes notice,” Xiao Zixuan’s narration intoned, calm yet tinged with wistful regret.

“Once the vibrant hues of purple and red bloomed in profusion, yet now they are all consigned to broken wells and crumbling walls. What can one do with such a fine day and beautiful scene? Who, pray tell, holds the joy that lifts the heart?” Yang Yihan’s recitation captured Du Liniang’s innermost feelings with perfect precision.

“When the warbler meets the warm sun, its song flows smoothly; when a person encounters romance, their smile lights up. Along the path, fallen blossoms drift with the stream—today, Ruan Zhao has arrived at Mount Tiantai.” Dong Zikang, who portrays Liu Mengmei, uses his physique to make joy all the more infectious.

On October 27, on the stage of the Peony Pavilion Theater at Fuzhou Preschool Teachers’ College, three students, under the guidance of Teacher Zou Qiao, recited excerpts from Tang Xianzu’s classic play, “The Peony Pavilion.” With focused performances and heartfelt delivery, a scene blending sorrow and joy came vividly to life. The three students, hailing from Jiujiang, Ganzhou, and Xingtai, found that stepping onto the theatrical stage was an unexpected yet rewarding highlight of their academic journey.

“Through the pedagogical practice of dramatic recitation, and by drawing on cultural dissemination and academic research, we seek to breathe new life into the classics of drama,” said Zou Qiao, as a vivid scene unfolded in her mind. Not long ago, they traveled to the Central Primary School in Gaoping Town, Linchuan District, Fuzhou City—a remote rural area—to carry out an outreach program. In that moment, when the village children joined university faculty and students on stage to recite “The Peony Pavilion” for the first time, their tender young voices resonated in perfect harmony with the professional delivery. The rhythmic beauty of theatrical language and the profound depth of China’s fine traditional culture found themselves in seamless resonance.

On the same day, this expression found an even more profound echo. On the evening of October 27, at Peking University’s Centennial Hall, an English-language production of “The Peony Pavilion,” staged by the Shakespeare Institute of the University of Birmingham, was brilliantly performed, offering faculty and students a feast of art that transcended language and culture. At the outset, Professor Michael Dobson, Director of the Shakespeare Institute, appeared in the guise of Tang Xianzu and, as the play’s narrator, delivered a beautifully resonant opening monologue. He remarked that, in its artistic form, the work seamlessly blends the modern expressive modes of European theater while preserving the evocative spirit of classical Chinese aesthetics.

The English-language version of “The Peony Pavilion” was staged at Peking University’s Centennial Hall. (File photo)

This production, beloved by teachers and students at Peking University, had its Chinese premiere in Fuzhou, marking the first time the work has been presented in its full form on an Asian stage. The premiere was part of the “Tangsha’s Lingering Charm: A Youthful Dialogue” event, which sought to foster mutual understanding and shared resonance among young people from China and the United Kingdom through intellectual exchange, collaborative stagecraft, and hands-on experiences with intangible cultural heritage—cultivating future creators and audiences for the performing arts while injecting youthful energy into Sino‑British friendship. Particularly memorable was the “Tangsha Classic Repertoire” segment, during which performance teams from the Shakespeare Institute at the University of Birmingham, Peking University, the University of Leeds, and the University of International Business and Economics each brought to life English-language adaptations of “The Peony Pavilion,” a university‑style version of “The Peony Pavilion,” and “A Midsummer Dream in Nanke.” By reimagining these timeless works, Chinese and British youth transcended cultural boundaries, engaging in a vibrant, borderless artistic dialogue that celebrated the power of youth.

The innovative collaboration between university faculty and students and rural schoolchildren in performing opera and reciting classical texts, along with Western‑inspired interpretations of Eastern classic dramas, constitutes a series of breathtaking artistic endeavors—each one a stage‑worthy tribute to Fuzhou, a city renowned as the “Capital of Drama.”

Master Empowerment: Civilizational Exchange on the Stage of Time and Space

Fuzhou is a renowned city of drama.

For millennia, the art of Chinese opera has sustained a vibrant vitality on this land: the Xuhe Opera, founded during the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty, has been passed down for over six centuries and continues to be performed today in its birthplace, Ganzhu Town, Guangchang County; the Yihuang Opera, introduced to Zhejiang by the renowned anti‑Japanese general Tan Lun in the Ming period and enriched by local Yiyang melodies, became an important representative of ancient Chinese operatic vocal styles; and the Fuzhou Tea‑Picking Opera, born from the fusion of tea‑lamp theater and folk ballads in the Dongxiang and Linchuan regions, has thrived amid the everyday rhythms of urban life, taking deep root among the people for more than three centuries and remaining widely beloved.

Mountains need not be high to bear a name; where immortals dwell, they are renowned. A city famed for its theater naturally boasts master dramatists.

If one were to seek the pinnacle of the dramatic arts on our blue planet, two universally celebrated masters would inevitably stand out: William Shakespeare, the “Father of English Drama,” and Tang Xianzu, the “Sage of Chinese Opera.” Over the centuries, the brilliance of these two giants has illuminated one another, forming a “double star” that shines across the entire universe of theater.

Fuzhou is the birthplace, formative home, and final resting place of Tang Xianzu. Its profound cultural heritage nurtured a towering figure of the dramatic arts, while the master, in turn, repaid his hometown’s rich legacy with his epoch‑making masterpiece, the “Four Dreams of Linchuan,” thereby elevating Eastern theater to its zenith. In the twenty-sixth year of the Wanli era of the Ming dynasty (1598), one of the “Four Dreams of Linchuan,” The Peony Pavilion, was first staged by a troupe from Yihuang. The following year, at the grand ceremony marking the fifth reconstruction and completion of Nanchang’s Tengwang Pavilion, Tang Xianzu brought The Peony Pavilion to the pavilion for a public performance; its stirring rendition instantly made it known throughout the land. The Ming‑dynasty scholar Shen Defu recorded in his Guqu Zayan: “Once The Peony Pavilion was performed, it was passed from house to house, its fame so great that it nearly drove the price of The West Chamber down.”

On October 24, at the opening ceremony of the seventh Tang Xianzu International Theatre Exchange Month, a cross-disciplinary play titled “Tangsha Hui” emerged as a highlight.

“Tangsha Hui” is a collaborative creation by Chinese Kunqu artist Ke Jun and British theater director Leon Rubin. In a bold act of innovation, they bring Tang Xianzu’s “The Peony Pavilion” and Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” to the same stage, employing a staging technique that seamlessly blends the real with the imagined, skillfully fusing the expressive, impressionistic aesthetics of Eastern opera with the narrative traditions of Western drama. Within the production, the tender, lingering melodies of “The Peony Pavilion” intertwine with the passionate, poignant emotions of “Romeo and Juliet,” resonating in harmony and illuminating the multifaceted expressions of human sentiment across distinct cultural contexts. The result is an artful feast—ingeniously conceived and profoundly evocative—offering audiences a rich tapestry of meaning. In doing so, this ancient theatrical tradition is revitalized with fresh vitality, while Chinese and Western civilizations shine brightly through mutual exchange and cross‑cultural learning.

The cross-disciplinary play “Tangsha Hui” made a dazzling debut at the opening ceremony of the 7th Tang Xianzu International Theatre Exchange Month. (File photo)

The two masters, in this manner, brought about a stage encounter born of theatrical artistry.

Making friends through literature and using theater as a bridge, “The Meeting of Tang and Shakespeare” has brought together Eastern and Western stages, while behind the scenes it bears the rich fruits of China–UK cultural exchange. Fuzhou has established a sister-city relationship with Stratford-upon-Avon, institutions such as the Shakespeare Institute have promoted Shakespearean culture in China, and Tang Xianzu’s works have also gained widespread circulation in the United Kingdom. This emotional resonance that transcends time and space turns drama into a “time machine,” linking the past with the present.

The year 2025 marks the tenth anniversary of President Xi Jinping’s initiative to have China and the United Kingdom jointly commemorate Tang Xianzu and William Shakespeare. Over the past decade, Fuzhou—Tang Xianzu’s hometown—has hosted seven editions of the Tang Xianzu International Theatre Exchange Month, which has become a vital platform for cultural exchange and mutual learning between China and the rest of the world. The city has devoted significant effort to producing acclaimed works such as the Xuhe Gaoqiang operas “The Four Dreams of Linchuan,” “The Peony Pavilion,” and “The Story of the Purple Hairpin,” as well as the musical “Tang Xianzu.” These productions have not only toured major Chinese cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen but have also been presented abroad as flagship cultural offerings of Fuzhou, traveling to countries including the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, New Zealand, and Mexico. Through these endeavors, Fuzhou has actively promoted the integration of Tang Xianzu’s theatrical legacy into the Belt and Road Initiative, sparking a widespread “Tang Xianzu craze” both at home and overseas.

A decade of cultural exchange, with the fresh voice of the peony heard across the world.

Local Narratives: Urban Imagery of Cultural Landmarks

How much dramatic tension can a city sustain? And what, precisely, can theater bring to a city?

We might as well head to the Wenchangli Historical and Cultural District to seek the answer.

Wenchangli was once Fuzhou’s most bustling commercial district, renowned as the local “museum of history” and the “museum of the old city.” Here stands the millennium‑old Zhengjue Temple, famed throughout the Jiangnan region; the Yulong Wanshou Palace, a living testament to centuries of thriving commerce; and the St. Joseph Catholic Cathedral, founded in 1908. Within this vibrant quarter, Eastern and Western cultures have interwoven, giving rise to the physical space that best embodies the essence of Lincuan culture.

Notably, the China Opera Museum and the tomb of Tang Xianzu stand side by side in Wenchangli, at a site known as “Tangjiashan”—the ancestral home of Master Tang’s family.

November 7th marks the beginning of winter.

As night falls, Wenchangli is filled with a warm, cozy atmosphere.

At the grand, immersive live‑action production “In Search of a Dream: The Peony Pavilion,” the setting is nothing short of dreamlike, leaving audiences spellbound. Blending cutting‑edge holographic digital imaging, colossal ring‑shaped projections, and state‑of‑the‑art audiovisual effects, the show uses natural water features and garden spaces as its canvas to bring to life the hauntingly beautiful love story of Du Liniang and Liu Mengmei—both living and dead. It reimagines the world of Tang Xianzu’s masterpiece, “The Peony Pavilion,” creating a truly integrated artistic spectacle where “people are within the drama, and the drama is set amidst the scenery.”

Still from “The Peony Pavilion.” (File photo) )

Not far away, at the Qinlian Culture Square, a large screen was showing “Romeo and Juliet,” one of the featured productions in the theater‑film festival. Audiences—seated or standing—watched with great interest. During the month-long festival, a selection of outstanding Chinese and international plays and films, including “The Sound of Music,” “Farewell My Concubine,” “Mu Guiying Takes Command,” and “The Legend of the White Snake,” were screened free of charge at the New Civilization Practice Center, public squares, and community venues across Fuzhou’s urban area, spanning such diverse genres as Peking Opera, Yue Opera, Cantonese Opera, and Qinqiang. As the festival’s primary venue, Wenchangli has seamlessly integrated premier performances, theatrical and cinematic works, themed cultural‑creative products, and distinctive local businesses, extending drama culture from the stage to the square and weaving the viewing experience into everyday life.

Physical space meets artistic expression; theatrical performances blend with cultural‑tourism experiences. Centered on the dramatic heritage of Tang Xianzu, the area has crafted an end‑to‑end consumption ecosystem encompassing nighttime shows, entertainment, sightseeing, dining, shopping, and overnight stays. Through the deep integration of diverse formats, Wenchangli’s unique allure as a “living‑scene drama museum” is brought to full fruition. In the first half of this year, Wenchangli welcomed 9.37 million visitors, with total tourism revenue surpassing RMB 500 million, firmly establishing a successful path of cultural‑tourism convergence.

By transforming theatrical culture into a powerful engine for upgrading local cultural and tourism consumption and driving industrial development, the practice in Wenchangli reveals that a “culture‑driven city” is quietly taking shape.

Using theater as a bridge and culture as the engine of development, culture stands as one of the inexhaustible sources of vitality for urban growth. As local cultural traditions are revitalized through diverse forms of expression, cities gain a dynamic capacity to thrive and spread. Today, Fuzhou is leveraging its theatrical heritage to unveil an entirely new landscape of integrated cultural and tourism experiences, amplifying the reach of its urban brand and turning cultural “soft power” into a robust pillar of high‑quality development. With its distinctive emotional resonance, the performing arts seamlessly blend historical heritage with contemporary commerce, infusing this ancient city with fresh cultural depth.

As one heartfelt, deeply moving story after another takes center stage and reaches audiences across the nation and around the world, what it conveys is not only the emotional warmth of a city, but also its cultural strength.

This is a mutual journey between theater and the city.

“City of Drama” is brimming with theatrical flair everywhere.

The scroll of time unfurls slowly, and the melodious, water‑mill‑grounding vocal style that has been sung for four centuries still echoes across the carved‑wood opera stages lining both banks of the Fu River.

Fuzhou has long been renowned for its flourishing culture and intellectual tradition, producing such distinguished scholars as Wang Anshi, Zeng Gong, Tang Xianzu, and Lu Jiuyuan. It has long been celebrated as the “Hometown of Talented Scholars and a Land of Culture.” The successful staging of the Tang Xianzu International Theatre Exchange Month has served as a powerful catalyst, igniting the global appeal of Tang Xianzu as a cultural super‑brand.

By staging a grand cultural spectacle celebrating the legacy of Tang Xianzu, we will further strengthen the protection and transmission of our cultural heritage, sustain the city’s historical continuum, and cultivate its distinctive urban charm. Bringing traditional opera to schools and communities ensures that culture permeates everyday life; meanwhile, the development of landmark sites such as Sanweng Garden, Menghu Dream Park, and the Wenchangli Historic and Cultural District deepens the integration of cultural elements into the very fabric of the city, leaving visitors moved by an emotion that arises spontaneously and grows ever more profound.

This city’s grand spectacle has resonated from Fuzhou to the world, from tradition to modernity, and from the stage to everyday life. The light of theater weaves through the tunnel of time, soaring toward a future brimming with hope.

(Wen Fan, Wan Yanyan)

- E N D-

Article Source: Fuzhou Release

Submissions are welcome. ： 363036353@qq.com