World
Once upon a dream
Source: China Daily | 09-13-2008 14:43
Special Report: Beijing 2008 Paralympic GamesThe Peony Pavilion, a 16th-century Chinese drama about love, death, and resurrection, is arguably the most popular play from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
A number of artists from all kind of genres have been inspired to tell the stories in their own unique way, of which the Kunqu version is perhaps the most famous.
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In April, the National Ballet of China adapted it into a ballet and now the Jiangsu Qianxian Song and Dance Company will present a dance version of it at the National Center for the Performing Arts on September 18-20.
The original script has 55 scenes and some Kunqu versions have staged the full-length play over three nights. Directed by Lu Ling, the three-act dance focuses on the love between Du Liniang and Liu Mengmei, extends over three lifetimes.
Du, the daughter of a high-ranked official, meets the young scholar Liu in a dream. The two have a tryst in a garden of peonies. Du awakens and pines for her phantasmal lover, then dies, leaving behind a self-portrait.