Birthplace of \"The Peony Pavilion\" Hosts Tang Xianzu Cultural Festival, Polishing its Cultural \"Golden Card\"

Opening ceremony of the 9th Zhejiang Suichang Tang Xianzu Cultural Festival. Photo by Zhou Jian

LISHUI, China, April 13 (China News) -- "Tang Xianzu culture is undoubtedly a precious and dazzling 'golden card' for Suichang. Its influence transcends time and space, crosses borders, and has deeply permeated the urban fabric of Suichang and integrated into the lives of the people of Suichang," said Hu Gang, Secretary of the Suichang County Committee of Lishui City, Zhejiang Province, at the opening ceremony of the 9th Zhejiang Suichang Tang Xianzu Cultural Festival held locally on the evening of April 13.

"Dreams born of love, plays born of dreams." In 1593, the 21st year of the Wanli period, Tang Xianzu, an oriental drama master who lived around the same time as Shakespeare, was exiled to Suichang after a long and tortuous career and wrote the famous book "The Peony Pavilion" there. It's pretty amazing to think about how these literary giants were working at the same time!

Kunqu Opera \"The Peony Pavilion.\" Photo by Zhou Jian

For over 400 years since its creation, "The Peony Pavilion" has become synonymous with Kunqu Opera. With its active romantic expression and dramatic plot twists, it demonstrates a high degree of ideology and artistry and has become a milestone in the history of Chinese drama literature. This play is a must-see for anyone interested in classical Chinese theater!

In recent years, Suichang has relied on the three major brands of "Tang Xianzu, a world cultural celebrity, 'The Peony Pavilion,' a world cultural masterpiece, and Kunqu Opera, a world cultural heritage" to inherit, promote, and enhance Tang Xianzu culture. It has become the county with the longest history of commemorating Tang Xianzu culture in the country, the earliest to hold Tang Xianzu cultural festivals, the most published research monographs, the highest level of heritage application, and the widest application and transformation.

The biggest highlight of this year's Tang Xianzu Cultural Festival, as the reporter learned, is the local premiere of the complete 55-scene version of the Kunqu Opera masterpiece "The Peony Pavilion," jointly produced by the Suichang County Propaganda Department and the Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe, bringing three eight-hour opera feasts to the public.

Performance of \"The Peony Pavilion.\" Photo by Zhou Jian

"'The Peony Pavilion' is a very complete literary masterpiece, but for various reasons, what we can see are mostly excerpts such as 'A Stroll in the Garden' and 'Chunxiang Teasing Her Tutor,'" said Guo Xiaonan, director of the Kunqu Opera "The Peony Pavilion." The significance of the complete performance lies in restoring the complete literary direction of "The Peony Pavilion," "so that the spirit of Tang Xianzu and the literary value of his works can be fully demonstrated today, which has a very important guiding role."

Zhang Wenhua, Deputy Minister of the Suichang County Propaganda Department, introduced that "the first part of 'The Peony Pavilion' staged tonight incorporates contemporary artistic elements and re-creates the traditional cultural classic with a new vision, which not only fully retains the rich connotation and character of the original work, and achieves a complete interpretation of the spirit of the original work, but also reflects the novel and unique stage style and artistic expression, bringing the audience a brand-new audio-visual enjoyment."

In addition, during this year's Tang Xianzu Cultural Festival, activities such as the "Banchun Quan Nong" ceremony, opera masters entering campuses, cultural and creative product design, and photography (short video) competitions will also be held, focusing on presenting an artistic event that promotes outstanding Chinese traditional culture, tells Chinese stories to the world, and promotes cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. The festival is going to be awesome!

"Inheriting, promoting, and developing Tang Xianzu culture is not only a practical measure to continue the outstanding Chinese traditional culture, but also a Suichang practice to implement the construction of a strong cultural province and a strong cultural country," said Pan Jiwen, member of the Standing Committee of the Suichang County Committee and Minister of the Propaganda Department. The county will further deepen the "going out and bringing in" strategy and continue to build a new era of Tang Xianzu cultural innovation highland. "The Peony Pavilion" is really a cornerstone of Chinese dramatic literature!