The romantic drama "Four Dreams in Linchuan" tells the story by wandering in a dream, which is the usual method of Tang Xianzu, a famous dramatist in Ming Dynasty (1550- 16 16). His Four Great Classical Novels's Peony Pavilion (also known as Resurrection), Handan Ji, Conan Ji and Zi Chai Ji all started from dreaming. He was born in Linchuan, Jiangxi (now Fuzhou, Jiangxi), so these plays he wrote are collectively called "Linchuan Four Dreams".
Conan and Handan Ji were created on the basis of novels in Tang Dynasty, Conan's satrap story and pillow story. Ji wrote the fable of Huai 'an's political clarity, peace and prosperity, and borrowing ants in the world, which expressed the author's political ideal starting from Confucian benevolent government. Handan Ji vividly describes the ugly behavior of feudal bureaucrats in politics and life. However, the story of Zi Chai Ji was re-created by borrowing the novel Biography of Huo Xiaoyu in the Tang Dynasty. The work shows the tortuous love story with Li with the clue of Purple Jade Hairpin. The Peony Pavilion in Four Dreams in Linchuan is the most popular one in the world. Tang Xianzu himself said: "There are four dreams in life, only peony is proud." It is the representative work of Tang Xianzu and the romantic representative work in the history of China opera. Peony Pavilion is a love story between Du Liniang and Liu Mengmei, a scholar. Through the bizarre and moving plot of Du Liniang, a young girl, who came back from the dead in pursuit of love and happiness, the evil of feudal ethics in suppressing human nature was exposed, the determination of young men and women to break through the network of ethics was shown, and their fighting spirit of risking their lives for free love was praised, which has strong anti-feudal significance.
The greatest artistic feature of Peony Pavilion is romanticism. Through artistic exaggeration and romantic imagination, the author has realized the "resurrection from the dead" which is impossible in real life, dreams and surreal ghosts, and has played a shocking artistic effect. It is said that since The Peony Pavilion came out, many young men and women died of grief for the protagonist, which shows how powerful and lasting the influence of the work is. There are not many characters in Peony Pavilion, but they are all lifelike, especially Du Liniang, which can be said to be one of the most touching female images in China's classical literature. The words in Peony Pavilion are also elegant and gorgeous, and many of them are very pleasing to the eye. They are well-known songs throughout the ages.
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On Tang Xianzu's "Four Dreams of Linchuan"
Dream is ordinary, because it can be owned by everyone, rich or poor; Dreams are mysterious, because they often transcend life and death and span time and space. However, it is extremely beautiful to regard dreams as a culture. This kind of beauty is vividly displayed in Tang Xianzu's Four Dreams in Linchuan. For thousands of years, it has made many people linger in the upside-down reality and illusion, drinking tea with tears in the real and illusory situation, and waking up like a dream.
"Four Dreams in Linchuan" is another name for Tang Xianzu and his four plays. Tang Xianzu, a great dramatist and writer in Ming Dynasty, was born in Linchuan, so Linchuan is his nickname. Four Dreams are the collective names of his four plays: The Story of the Purple Hairpin, The Peony Pavilion, The Biography of Conan and The Biography of Handan. Perhaps the "Four Dramas" all have dreams, which is why they are called "Four Dreams in Linchuan", or perhaps the "Four Dramas" themselves are the dreams of life that they have worked hard for all their lives. Wang Siren, a contemporary of Tang Xianzu, summed up the "Linchuan Four Dreams" and said: "Handan is immortal; Conan, Buddha also; " "The Purple Hairpin", chivalrous; "Peony Pavilion", love is also. It should be said that this comment is quite insightful and may point out the wonderful situation of Tang Xianzu's dream culture.
The four dreams in Linchuan Four Dreams have interpreted countless world events. In The Story of the Purple Hairpin, Huo Xiaoyu married Li Yi, a scholar, who was framed by Lu Taiwei and helped by the Yellow Shirt Man. Finally, the suspicion was resolved, and the misunderstanding of joys and sorrows was eliminated. "Peony Pavilion" describes that Du Liniang died of a dream injury, fell in love with ghosts, and finally fell in love with Liu Mengmei. Conan Ji tells the story of a scholar who became a great scholar in his dream, became a satrap, woke up with splendor and converted to Buddhism. "Handan Ji" shows that Lu Sheng married in his dream, won the top prize, made meritorious service in the court, was framed and exiled, and returned to North Korea to become prime minister, enjoying all the splendor and wealth. When he woke up after his death, he realized that it was a dream of Huang Liang, so he was alert.
The four dreams of "Linchuan Four Dreams" are always changing. When talking about his creation of Four Dreams, Tang Xianzu once said, "Dreams come from feelings and plays come from dreams". In fact, "dream" is only the performance of drama, and "emotion" is the ideal "dream" of drama. As for the attribution of "love", each of the four plays has its own emphasis. Conan's Tale and Handan's Tale can be said to be the dreamland of life, which is both true and false, while The Tale of Purple Hairpin embodies the touching sincerity of "Love is priceless, what's the use of money". The dream of Peony Pavilion is even more touching: live to die, and live to die. If you are a ghost, you have to be a "sentimental ghost". Looking for it, I finally got pure love.
Why have the "Linchuan Four Dreams" flourished for hundreds of years? Perhaps the "four dreams" summed up the complexity of the world, or perhaps the "four dreams" revealed all kinds of feelings. Tang Xianzu once said in "The Peony Pavilion Inscription": "I don't know how the feeling started, but it continued. The living can die and the dead can live. Those who are born without the dead and die without resurrection are not affectionate. " This feeling of "love" resonates with many people. Whenever I wake up from my dream and walk into a new dream, I always think of colorful dreams such as immortals, Buddha, chivalrous men and love, and the dream in love, the love in the dream, is even more exciting.