Research on the Premiere of Chinese Drama “Peony Pavilion”

Abstract

The Chinese drama "Peony Pavilion", created more than 400 years ago, is the representative work of Tang Xianzu, the great dramatist of the Ming Dynasty. "Peony Pavilion" describes the touching story of the spoony Du Liniang and the intellectual Liu Mengmei, who knows each other and die because of being awakened and unable to see the each other in the dream, and then get together forever. This great creation has been sung for more than 400 years. Various versions of the opera vocals have been presented on the stage again and again, but the first vocal of premiere has never been restored. This article mainly discusses the textual research and characteristics of the premiere version of Tang Xianzu's "Peony Pavilion".