Peony Pavilion

Chinese drama

Chinese opera, from the Southern opera, Yuan drama, to the legend of the Ming and Qing dynasties, modern local opera, experienced nearly a thousand years of development, the emergence of a large number of outstanding writers and works, Yuan drama Guan Hanqing（关汉卿）, Wang Shifu（王实甫）, etc., Ming and Qing dynasty legend Tang Xianzu（汤显祖）, Kong Shangren（孔尚任）, Hong Sheng（洪昇）, etc.. All they can be ranked among the world's outstanding playwrights: the Romance of the Western Chamber, the Injustice to Dou E, the Orphan of the Zhao Family, the Peony Pavilion, the Peach Blossom Fan and the Palace of Eternal Life have become world classics.

Private tutor

This story happened in the time of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). At that time, the prefect of Nan’an in Jiangxi was Du Bao. He had a daughter named Du Liniang, a girl who had grown into a famous beauty. The prefect was an enlightened man and insisted his daughter was intelligent enough to learn about literature and culture besides just needlework. Thus he decided to engage a tutor for his only daughter after talking it over with his wife.

Many young and talented scholars came to apply for the job. But, Prefect Du required that the tutor be experienced and prudent. Therefore, he engaged a scholar who was nearly 60 years old as his daughter’s tutor.

The scholar was Chen Zuiliang. His father was a pharmacist family, and he had received an education in the traditional Confucian classics early in his life. He was awarded the rank of Xiucai after passing the county level imperial examinations when he was just 12 years old. But after that, luck did not shine upon him. In all, he sat the provincial level imperial examinations no fewer than 15 times. The examinations were held every three years, so the unfortunate scholar had spent some 50 years in this unsuccessful enterprise. What was worse, he could hardly even afford to live. He eked out a paltry existence on the chemist shop left by his ancestors. Hearing that Prefect Du intended to employ a tutor, he went along to try his luck. To his amazement, the old scholar was given the job.

Love in dream

The first lesson was about to start. But Liniang was still reluctant to begin to study reading. She had read some books before and was fed up with such dull and dry texts. Therefore, she didn’t appear with her maid Chunxiang until the tutor called for her. Liniang first bowed to her tutor. Then the tutor opened The Book of Songs, and read, “On the river continent fish hawks bark; the man of honor desperately pursues the sylph.” He kept up this dull recitation, ranging from dry lessons regarding the virtue and open-mindedness of imperial concubines to the dignified appearance and morality of a woman. Liniang was so bored she wanted to fall asleep. Chunxiang, a teenage girl, was also far too spirited to remain quiet during her mistress’s studies. She couldn’t stop making trouble, and finally, she simply slipped away and didn’t come back until the tutor had finished his duller than dull class. She said to her mistress with some excitement,

“I found a garden. There are many beautiful flowers inside. It is great fun!”

As soon as the tutor left, Liniang couldn’t wait to ask Chunxiang where the garden was and what was in it. Chunxiang told her that there were hills, stones, springs, exotic flowers, and rare herbs. Liniang’s thought flew to the wonderful garden after hearing her maid’s description.

In other people’s eyes, Liniang was a graceful lady from a wealthy and influential family. Despite her strict upbringing, she still felt depressed as the life she had to lead was very dull and flat for a teenage girl in the very springtime of life. She had had to admit despite how boring the overall lessons had been that something had stirred inside her when she read the words, “A man of honor passionately pursues the sylph.”

One day, Chunxiang found her mistress was feeling very blue. She decided to persuade her to come to the garden. Liniang couldn't resist the lure and instantly agreed to come to the garden with Chunxiang.

As she opened the gate, Liniang was deeply impressed by the spring sights and fragrances. She was thrilled when she saw the beautiful scenery for the first time in her dull lifetime. She couldn’t understand why her parents had never shared such pretty sights with her before. However, the glittering scenery was hidden away behind a wall, which made Liniang think of her own secluded life. She too had to be fettered in the seclusion of her boudoir. Peonies, no matter how beautiful they were, would inevitably wither away, leaving only dead branches and leaves. Liniang thought that her fate would be similar to the faded peony, and she couldn’t help sighing and feeling even more annoyed. Later, she returned home with Chunxiang.

Back in her room, Liniang felt tired, and she fell asleep at her table.

Liniang dreamt of a young scholar approaching with a willow-twig in his hand. When he came up to her, he cried out suddenly, “My lass! My lass! I’ve been looking for you. And here you are!”

Liniang found this very weird. She said nothing but sneaked a secret a glance at him.

The scholar said, “I passed by the garden just now and snapped off a willow twig. As you are a lass of such brilliant intellect, will you not please sing a poem for the willow twig?”

Liniang had never met this scholar before, but the handsome lad had made a favorable impression on her. She wanted to talk to him. But she had to maintain a reserved manner in front of a stranger. The scholar saw through her though to her true desires. He took her hands and said, “My lass, let’s have a walk in the garden and enjoy the spring scenery!”

Liniang followed the scholar into the garden. As if in a trance, he took her to a veritable wonderland. He whispered to Liniang about his love for her. The lovers passionately embraced amid the blooming peonies beside the Peony Pavilion. Liniang, for the first time, experienced the sweet but terrible happiness of love.

Passed away for love

After a while, the scholar said to Liniang, “My mistress, you are tired. Let me walk you back.” Later, just as they reached Liniang’s boudoir, he said “My mistress, I am about to leave. Please rest well.”

Liniang was loath to part from him. She stood up to see him off, but at this moment, her mother came in. Liniang was scared and broke into a cold sweat. She opened her eyes, but couldn’t see any scholar. It had been just a dream.

Liniang basked in the afterglow of the visionary dream. She felt even more empty and disconsolate when she woke up. After that, she was tortured by the memory of the dream of the scholar with a willow-twig in his hand and was unable to think of anything else. She was too depressed and absent-minded even to eat and sleep, and gradually her health began to suffer,

Chunxiang was worried about her mistress. One day, she said to Liniang, “Since you returned from the garden, you have lost your appetite and lost far too much weight. You will lose your stunning looks if you persist with this depression.”

Liniang was shocked, and she looked in the mirror. Her haggard look startled her. She sighed, “I used to be such a pretty girl, but now, I have pined away so much. I must draw a picture of my appearance. Otherwise, if someday I pass away, who will be able to recall my beauty?”

Liniang ordered Chuanxiang to prepare silk paper, a painting brush and ink stick, and then drew a portrait of herself as she looked in the mirror. When the painting was completed, Chunxiang was full of praise, “How pretty it is! Looking at the painting is just like looking at you. But, it is a pity that you don’t have a husband by your side. If you become marry early, you may add him to the picture here.” Liniang smiled and said, “To tell you the truth, Chunxiang, I met a man during my garden stroll!”

Surprised, Chunxiang said, “Oh? How was that possible，mistress?”

”It was a dream.”

”So, what did he look like?”

Liniang described her dream to Chunxiang in detail. She said, “He had a willow-twig in his hand, and he wanted me to sing a poem for it. Is it an omen that my future husband could be a Mr. Liu because that name means willow (which pronounces “Liu” in Chinese)? I didn’t have time to compose the poem in my dream. What about if I inscribe it at the top of the picture?”

”Good idea!” Chunxiang said.

After thinking for a moment, Liniang composed a poem and inscribed it in the picture. She couldn’t help shedding a few sad tears when she thought about how her portrait and poem couldn’t be seen by her lover.

From that time, Liniang fell ill. Her mother was very concerned. She learned from Chunxiang that Liniang had fallen ill after her dream in the garden. She believed that her daughter had been possessed by demons, and thus invited a Taoist nun from the Ziyang Nunnery to exorcize the evil demons. But Prefect Du thought it was nothing serious and asked Pharmacist Chen to prescribe some herbs. The parents couldn’t convince each other and decided to invite both the pharmacist and the Taoist nun to prescribe herbs as well as carry out an exorcism. But unfortunately, all these methods failed to have the desired effect. Liniang didn’t recover. Instead, her health got even worse.

Mid-autumn Day came. The wind was whistling outside. Liniang had now been unwell since spring. The thought that she would never see her dream lover again made her feel even more desolate. She realized that she had little time left, and so she told Chunxiang to put the portrait she had drawn into a sandalwood box and to hide it in a rock by the lake. Then, she asked the last favor of her mother. She asked that she be buried beneath her beloved plum tree in the back garden after she died. Weeping profusely, her mother agreed. That night, Liniang passed away.

Beautiful woman in the picture

The parents cried their hearts out after Liniang's death, as did all the other members of the prefect’s family. At this time, the imperial edict arrived, saying that Du Bao had been promoted to station master of Huangyang in the face of invasion by the troops of Jin and that he had to set out immediately to fight. Du Bao hurriedly buried his daughter Liniang beneath the plum tree and asked the tutor and the Taoist nun to build a nunnery in the garden. This nunnery would eventually be named “Meihua Nunnery” (Plum Nunnery). A Memorial tablet to Liniang was set up inside. The nun and the tutor both took charge of the management of the nunnery and the old courtyard. After all, was arranged, Du Bao hurried to Huaiyang with his wife and a small retinue.

The handsome scholar who had appeared in Liniang’s dream was, in fact, a real person.

He was a 20-year-old man named Liu Mengmei. He was born in Lingnan to a poor family. The lad was smart and intelligent, and he managed to pass the imperial examination at the county level. Liu Mengmei was not his real name. Not long before, he had had a strange dream, in which he had been standing under a plum tree in a beautiful garden. A beautiful girl appeared and said to him, “Mr. Liu, only by meeting me can you have a happy marriage and good luck?” He pondered over the dream for a long time. He hoped that this dream would bring good luck, and thus he changed his name to Liu Mengmei, which meant dreams of the plum tree.

Although learned and talented, Mengmei had to eke out a meager existence planting trees. In the hope of improving his lot, he was advised to meet Miao Shunbin, an imperial commissioner who had a reputation for respecting intelligence and talent. He was skilled at identifying artistic treasures and was sent by the emperor to Guangzhou, a trading port, to collect things that caught his eye.

Mengmei met Miao Shunbin and shared with him his ideas about the country’s development. Miao nodded at him and advised him about how he might make a petition to the imperial court. Mengmei sadly pointed out that he didn’t have any imperial connections and couldn’t even afford the journey to the capital, to say nothing of getting an interview with the Emperor. Miao sent for some money to allow Mengmei to go to the capital. Mengmei bowed his sincere thanks to Miao and left.

Mengmei had never traveled far from home before. In the cold winter, he fell ill before he had covered even a fraction of the trip. He was also stranded in Nan’an in Jiangxi Province due to heavy snowfall. To make matters worse, he slipped and fell into the river one day while walking on a bridge. The river was not deep, but the water was icy. It almost drained the life out of Mengmei before he managed to climb out. He thought he would freeze to death. An old man was sitting on a donkey passed by. He helped Mengmei out of the chilly river. This old man was Liniang’s tutor, Chen Zuiliang. Finding the shivering Mengmei in such bad health, he immediately insisted on bringing him to the Meihua Nunnery to let him recover and take some medicines.

The Meihua Nunnery was the very one built by Du Bao for her daughter Liniang. Here, Mengmei was nursed back to full health within a month.

At this time, it was getting warmer outside. Mengmei felt a little-bored sitting idly all the time. He wanted to go out to breathe in some fresh air. The nun advised him to have a stroll in the garden at the back of the nunnery. Following her directions, Mengmei found his way to the exquisite garden. In the deserted garden, his steps seemed drawn to the lakeside and there, to his excitement, he found a sandalwood box in the crevice of one of the lakeside rocks. Opening the box with trembling hands, he found a picture of a young woman of extraordinary beauty. He thought it had to be a portrait of the Bodhisattva Guanyin and he took it back to his room.

With great respect, he took the picture from the box and hung it on the wall. Mengmei had a close look at the beautiful woman in the picture, seeing now that it was not, in fact, Bodhisattva Guanin, but someone that he was convinced he had met before. At that moment he noticed the poem written beside the portrait, which mentioned both Mei and Liu. Could it be that this wondrous goddess was referring to him? He thought for a while and then composed another poem and wrote it on the other side of the picture and signed his words verse “by Liu Mengmei from Lingnan.” Every night afterward, Mengmei stared at the portrait and admired the woman’s beauty. Once he was so carried away, he even cried out, “Fair Lady, fair Lady! My darling, my darling!” To his surprise, this passion called back from the dead the soul of Liniang.

Resurrects for love

After Liniang’s death, the Judge of the Underworld thought she should not have died and ordered that she be given a second life three years later. Hence, her soul was allowed to tarry awaiting its new destination. Liniang returned to the garden. Seeing the crumbled Peony Pavilion and the withered flowers, she felt sorely sick at heart. In the moonlight, she saw the Meihua Nunnery that her parents had built in her memory, which added to her sorrow. At this time, she heard someone calling in a soft tone, “Fair Lady, fair Lady!!” And then a poem was sung - the one written beside her portrait.

Liniang came to the window. She saw a young scholar gazing with great love at her portrait with a burning joss stick while mumbling, “My beauty! My little sister!” Liniang saw to her shock that he was the young scholar from her dream and that there was the picture she had drawn hanging on the wall. She noted the extra poem in reply that had been added by Liu the Dreamer of Willow. Her heart was strongly stirred when she saw the scholar calling her with such passionate intensity every night. One night, she entered the scholar’s room.

Liu Mengmei was thrown into confusion when the beauty in the picture appeared in front of him. He thought he had fallen into a dream, but Liniang’s smile dispelled his doubts. They soon fell in love. Every day at dusk, Mengmei would wait impatiently for his love to appear. When night fell, Liniang would appear without fail. Before either realized it, a blissful month of passionate love had passed.

Mengmei knew nothing about this fairy beauty, not even her name. As his love deepened, Mengmei wanted to know more about her and to ask her to marry him. But Liniang hesitated to say anything about herself as she was afraid that telling the truth would scare her love away. One day, Mengmei, once again expressed his love for Liniang and vowed that he would marry her and love her forever. Liniang was finally moved and told Mengmei that she had only her soul.

Mengmei was nearly scared to death. But he recovered his senses and said, “I will stay with you always even if you were only a thousandth of a soul!”

Liniang wept, “Thank you for your sweet love! Honey, for me to be brought back to life and serve as your wife, my body must be dug up from its grave. It has not decayed at all even though it has been on the earth for three years. This will allow my soul to return to its body and I will live and breathe again.” Just as she finished speaking, Liniang floated away.

Next day, Mengmei related what Liniang soul had said to the nun, who was very skeptical. But she finally agreed to open up the grave to check after Mengmei gave a precise description of Liniang’s appearance.

The nun and Mengmei went to the garden. Mengmei dug Liniang’s coffin up from beneath the plum tree. He was stunned at the weak groans he began to hear from inside the coffin. He strained every straining sinew to prise open its cover, and there he found his lover lying in the coffin with rosy cheeks as if she had merely dozed off in the afternoon sun. It was Liniang! Mengmei tried to touch her body and felt that her engine was still warm, as warm as any living person. Liniang opened her eyes just as Mengmei lifted her. The stunned nun closed her gaping mouth and helped Mengmei to bring Liniang back to the Meihua Nunnery.

Only a few days later, Liniang was miraculously as good as new again. One day when Mengmei was about to speak with her about their marriage, Chen Zuiliang came to see Mengmei and to attend to Liniang’s tomb. Liniang had to hide in a hurry. After Chen Zuiliang had left, the nun told her, 'Tomorrow, he will visit your tomb. If what we have done becomes known to the public, you will be accused of witchcraft. Mengmei will be ridiculed. And I will be accused of grave-robbing. As Mengmei is going to Lin, An to take the imperial examination, why don't you just get married and leave together? No one can be blamed if you are not here.”

Liniang saw she had no choice but to agree. With the nun as the sole witness of their wedding, Mengmei and Liniang kowtowed to heaven and the earth. That very night, the couple and the nun sailed off.

Clarification

On arriving in Lin'an, they got the news that all the candidates had already entered the examination hall. Mengmei hurried to the venue, but he was too late to enter the examination. He burst into tears as he was on the point of losing the opportunity the examination could afford him for a better life. Remember the examinations were only held every three years.

The examiner happened to be Miao Shunbin, the imperial commissioner who Mengmei had managed to impress in a previous meeting. He ordered his men to bring the crying man to him, only to find that here was the young scholar he had sponsored before. He managed to make an exception to allow Mengmei to enter the exam site. Mengmei was delighted and was determined to take full advantage. Miao Shunbin read Mengmei’s paper several times and saw that he was indeed a man of a brilliant intellect. Seeing that Mengmei was sure to be awarded the top prize in the examinations, Miao Shunbin spoke of his talent to the emperor.

At this time, Jin was launching an attack on Huaiyang. The emperor ordered Du Bao, the Commander of Huaiyang, to resist the enemy attack. Due to the urgent military situation, the result of the imperial examinations was delayed. Du Bao asked his wife and the maid Chunxiang to take refuge in Lin’an, and he prepared to lead his troops to Huaiyang.

After the imperial examination ended, Mengmei returned to the place he had rented and told Liniang about what had happened. When Mengmei mentioned Huaiyang, it aroused Liniang’s concern for her father. She told Mengmei to go and speak with her parents. She was afraid that her parents wouldn’t believe the story of how she had returned to life, so she advised Mengmei to take the portrait with him. Mengmei said farewell to his wife and left for Huaiyang.

After all, had left the Meihua Nunnery, Chen Zuiliang had gone to make offerings at Liniang’s tomb, only to find that the tomb had been dug up. He thought that the digger surely must have been Mengmei, eager to steal the jewelry buried with Liniang. He immediately decided to report it to Du Bao and without delay he set off for Huaiyang. Unfortunately, on his arrival, he was caught by Li Quan, head of the rebels who had defected to the Jin troops. At this time, Li Quan was locked in an intense struggle with Du Bao. Hearing Chen Zuiliang was an associate of Du Bao; he ordered his men to get two heads that they had taken from the bodies of executed prisoners. He said that these were the heads of Mrs. Du and her maid Chunxiang. Chen Zuiliang was sent to inform Du Bao that his wife and his daughter’s maid were dead. The rebels hoped this would break Du Bao’s heart and make him unwilling to fight. Chen Zuiliang was old, and his eyesight was poor, and so he could not see the bloody heads very clearly. They were not the heads of Mrs. Du and Chunxiang, but the old tutor fully believed that they were.

Mrs. Du and Chunxiang had arrived in Lin’an. They hadn’t found a place for the night, and by chance, they happened to come to the place where Liniang was staying. As the nun had gone out, Liniang went to open the door when she heard the knock. There she saw an old woman and a girl seeking refuge. Liniang invited them in. In the dim lamplight, they all looked at each other and were greatly shocked. Mrs. Du and Chunxiang thought she looked at the image of Liniang and believed they were meeting a ghost. Liniang recognized the two in front of her as her mother and Chunxiang. But she was so shocked to see them suddenly appear as if by magic in the desolate outskirts of the town at this moment. She didn’t know what had happened. After a little talk, she threw herself into her mother’s arms with tears in her eyes. In fright, the old woman jumped back. At this time, the nun came over back a lamp in her hand. She comforted them for a while. Finally, Mrs. Du calmed down. Then, Liniang told her mother the story about her return to life. All sorts of feelings welled up in their hearts, and they all cried their hearts out.

However, Chen Zuiliang knew nothing about the reunion between Mrs. Du and Liniang and still believed that Mrs. Du had been killed. He was released by the rebels and went to meet with Du Bao. He told Du Bao that Liniang’s grave had been dug up and that Mrs. Du and Chunxiang had been killed. Du Bao was sadly grieved to hear the terrible news. Eventually, he had succeeded in fighting off the invaders and drawing the traitors back into his service of the emperor.

In recognition of his achievement in putting down the rebellion, Du Bao was promoted to Prime Minister in the imperial court. After the tension eased, Miao Shunbin presented a memorial to the emperor listing the best scholars from the recent imperial examinations. Mengmei，s name was on the list. The emperor ordered that all these eminent scholars be invited to attend a royal banquet. Miao Shunbin immediately sent for Mengmei.

At this time, Mengmei had arrived in Huaiyang to look for Du Bao, his father-in-law. He used up all his money on the way so that he was in an extremely awkward situation upon his arrival. He finally met Du Bao but was arrested as a thief. Some of the Prime Minister’s attendants had found Liniang’s portrait in Mengmei’s possession. Du Bao suddenly thought of the robbery of Liniang’s tomb. He accused Mengmei of being the one who had robbed the tomb. When the Top Scholars were made known to the public, Mengmei had already been escorted to Lin’an and put in prison. Mengmei, at last, was found by Miao Shunbin’s servant, and when his master heard the news of the young scholar’s imprisonment, he hurried to Lin’an and asked Du Bao to release him. Du Bao didn’t believe Mengmei was a top-performing scholar. But Miao Shunbin vehemently vouched for Mengmei and at last Du Bao agreed to release Mengmei.

Lived together

In an imperial court, Du Bao met his wife and daughter. But he wouldn't believe his eyes - he thought they were evil spirits which had taken on the appearance of his wife and daughter. Liniang told the emperor the full story about her dream in the garden, her death, her meeting with Mengmei and her return to life. Mrs. Du then explained her story. The emperor made everything clear, and in the end, everyone believed that Liniang had indeed returned to life. He ordered Du Bao to resume the relationship with his wife and daughter

Du Bao had to admit that the girl was her daughter when the imperial edict arrived. Both Du Bao and Mengmei were promoted. Liniang and Mengmei returned to the Peony Pavilion and lived a loving and happy life together.