Peony Pavilion
《牡丹亭》
Peony Pavilion ,also entitled ,Annuals of Revival，was one of the“Four Dreams of Linchuan”.Its writer，Tang Xianzu(1550-1616)，styled Yi Reng and also known by his pseudonym Hai Ruo，was a native of Linchuan County of Jiangxi Province. He was the most successful writer of legendary tales. Peony Pavilion depicts the love story of Du Liniang，daughter of the satrap，and Liu Mengmei，a scholar. Du came down with illness and died because of her love which originated from her dream. After death，she was reunited with her beloved where- by they obtained their revival. The book reflects her immensely strong desire for free courtship and entire liberation of individuality. It stresses the huge force released by sincere love between men and women and claims the sweetness and legitimacy of love between men and women. It also condemns the feudal etiquettes that strangled human desire and individuality and scorns rationality by amplifying sensibility in an exaggerated way so as to indicate the ideology of using sensibility against sense. The writer's idea of “the heart over the mind” is lucidly and vividly articulated in the image of Du Linfang，which displays some new characteristics of the Ming Dynasty. Compared with Cui Yingying，she suffered more rigorous feudal bondages and，therefore，struggled more arduously As a result，her pursuit for love be-came more immense and persistent and her struggle more courageous and indomitable once she got awakened.More importantly，she herself was the embodiment of the desire for the emancipation of individuality. The plot of Peony Pavilion is illusionary and fantastic as Du Liniang，who risked her life in her pursuit for love，had undergone reality，reverie and death before her dream of ideal love finally came true. The drama displays both a distinctive romantic color and a strong idealistic touch. Peony Pavilion is generally recognized as an outstanding romantic tragicomedy in the history of Chinese theater. It is another landmark work following The West Chamber.
《牡丹亭》又称《还魂记》，是“临川四梦”之一。作者汤显祖(1550一1616 ) ,字义仍，号海若，江西临川人，是明代成就最高的传奇作家。《牡丹亭》描写的是太守之女杜丽娘和书生柳梦梅的爱情故事。杜丽娘由梦生情，由情生病，由病而死，死后与情人结合，又因情而还魂重生，反映出她对自由爱情的渴望和个性解放的强烈要求。作品强调至诚的男女之情的巨大力量，肯定了男女之情的美好和正当性，批判了扼杀人欲和个性的封建礼教，通过对情的力量的夸张表示了对理的蔑视，从而表现出以情反理的思想。作者以情反理的思想生动地体现在杜丽娘的形象中，其形象具有明代新的时代特点。与《西厢记》里的崔莺莺相比，她所遭受的封建束缚格外严酷，斗争也因此更加艰苦。但她一旦觉醒之后，对爱情的追求却更加强烈执著，反抗斗争也更加勇敢坚强。更为重要的是，她的身上还体现了个性解放的要求。《牡丹亭》的情节虚幻离奇，杜丽娘为了爱情而出生人死，经历了现实、梦幻、幽冥三种境界，终于实现了自己的爱情理想，具有鲜明的浪漫主义色彩和强烈的理想主义色彩。《牡丹亭》是中国戏剧史上一部杰出的爱情悲喜剧，是《西厢记》之后又一部里程碑式的作品。
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