Anniversary shows works of 'China's Shakespeare'

A scene from The Four Dreams of Linchuan. [Photo provided to China Daily]

With this year marking the 400th death anniversary of Tang Xianzu (1550-1616), a celebrated playwright whom fans call "China's William Shakespeare", a series of cultural events have been held in Tang's hometown of Fuzhou, in eastern China's Jiangxi province.

An original play, titled The Four Dreams of Linchuan, which is an adaptation of the famous Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) playwright's four well-known works, has been staged in Beijing this week.

Tang composed more than 2,000 poems and essays, most of which were written during his later years. He is particularly remembered for his four plays — The Peony Pavilion, The Purple Hairpin, Record of the Southern Bough and Record of Handan — collectively known as The Four Dreams of Linchuan.

The four works are still popular today and performed by Kunqu Opera troupes in China.

A scene from Record of Handan. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The adaptation combines the four works in a two-hour show. Director Tong Weiwei uses the image of Tang onstage to tell the stories.

Tong says that the actors in the play were chosen from art troupes in Jiangxi province and Shanghai. The scriptwriter is Cao Lusheng from Shanghai Theater Academy. To cater to the young audiences, he cut the original four-hour performance into two hours.

The director adds that the play, which is performed mostly in Kunqu Opera, borrows the singing style of Yihuangqiang, a local folk opera form of Jiangxi province.

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