Chinese Kunqu Opera-Peach Blossom Fan 桃花扇-题画-1

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The Peach Blossom Fan takes the love story between the Revival Society poet Hou Fanyu and the beautiful river courtesan Li Xiangjun as its basis; but as a historical epic, it reflects the brief splendour and fall of the short-lived Southern Ming dynasty.
In the illustrious mansions of old Nanjing, Hou Fangyu and Li Xiangjun have met and pledged their love. Meanwhile, the contemptible Ruan Dacheng, fallen from grace due to his association with the corrupt court eunuchs, is seeking to rehabilitate himself. Having found out that Hou Fangyu is pressed for money, he anonymously sends him a bridal trousseau for Li Xiangjun. In this way, he hopes to gain Hou's support and be introduced to Revival Society circles. Li sees through Ruan's ploy, however, and adamantly refuses the gift, thus incurring Ruan's emnity. Ultimately, this leads to him slanderously accusing Hou of secretly colluding to rebel against the throne. Panic-stricken, Hou is forced to flee Nanjing.
The peasant armies having conquered Beijing, the Chongzhen Emperor, last ruler of the Ming Dynasty, ends his life by hanging on a hill in the Forbidden Palace. In Nanjing, Ruan Dacheng and Ma Shiying elevate a member of the imperial family, the prince of Fu, to the throne. With this, the Southern Ming Dynasty, an attempt to establish the remnants of the Ming in the south of China, has been founded. At the same time, Ma and Ruan plot to force Li Xiangjun to remarry their henchman, Prefect Tian. Li Xiangjun swears that she would rather die than submit. Indeed, knocking her head on the ground, she spatters a fan, Hou Fangyu's bethrothal gift, with her blood. With his brush, the painter Yang Wencong turns the bloodstains into flowers: The Peach Blossom Fan.
The Manchu troops intruded into the South, and Shi Kefa himself alone could not saving the situation. The Manchu troops drove straight in and the Southern Ming dynasty was conquered and fallen.
After many twists and turns, Hou Fangyu and Li Xiangjun are reunited. But with the nation in ruins, where is home? At last, the words of a Taoist priest free them from their human passions. The peach blossom fan is torn, and the erstwhile lovers don Taoist robes.