Chinese Kunqu Opera-Peach Blossom Fan 1699 桃花扇1699

Details

Description

Shang Wen,Shi Xiaming, young performers from Jiangsu Kunqu Opera troop
单雯，施夏明，江苏昆曲团
The opera was created in 1699 by Confucius's descendant Kong Shangren, and tells the love story of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) singer Li Xiangjun and scholar Hou Fangyu. The fan in the play's title is a present from Hou to his love and the story is set against a backdrop of the replacement of the Ming Dynasty with the Manchu Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The peach blossom fan represents the couple's love and their separation and reunion. At the end of the opera when the lovers met again accidentally, the Ming Dynasty has fallen and they both become religious. At the end of the story, a Taoist monk tears the fan; symbolizing the end of their love. The opera was hugely popular when it was first performed.