Remembering a Master of Kunqu Opera Four Centuries On

The year 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of the death of poet and playwright Tang Xianzu (1550–1616), whose literary legacy has been compared to that of William Shakespeare, his contemporary, who died in the same year as Tang.

Considered China's greatest pre-modern playwright by critics, Tang left four plays, of which the most famous is The Peony Pavilion. The 55-act originally completed in 1598, tells the story of Du Liniang who meets her ideal lover only in dreams while asleep in a garden. Du dies, pining for her unrequited love. Only after her death does the man in her dreams, Liu Mengmei, arrive to meet her ghost. Liu's love restores Du to life.