A fan - given as a token of love by a poet to his fiancee, a beautiful courtesan - is splattered with her blood when she resists being forced to marry another man by corrupt officials who have trapped her beloved. The bloodstains are transformed by a painter's brush into peach blossom petals. But amid many twists and turns and the decline of a nation, the couple's saga is far from over…

 

 

 

Hou Fangyu, a member of the Revival Literary Society, visits the scenic city of Qinhuai (now Nanjing) with his friends and encounters the famous courtesan, Li Xiangjun. Hou and Li fall in love at first sight and "become engaged", with a white fan given by Hou to Li as a token of his love.

 

 

Hou's friend and painter, Yang Wencong, and Li Zhenli, Li Xiangjun's foster mother, hold a wedding banquet for Hou and Li, and they are married. On the nuptial night, Hou inscribes a poem on the engagement fan. However, the couple learn from Yang that the wedding has been paid by the treacherous Run Dacheng who is trying to ingratiate himself with Hou. Ruan sends Li a wedding trousseau but, reluctant to become involved with the cunning Ruan, Li rejects his gift. From this point on, Hou and Li incur the enmity of Ruan.

 

 

The Ming dynasty falls with the suicide of the Emperor Chongzhen. The royal family establishes the new, short-lived southern Ming regime. At court, Ruan Dacheng and highly influential courtier Ma Shiying falsely accuse Hou and General Zuo Liangyu of plotting to undermine the Emperor. Hou is forced to flee for his life and seek shelter will General Shi Kefa.

 

 

Li Xiangjun has been engaged to sing in the palace by Emperor Fu of the southern Ming regime. At a banquet, she reprimands Run who evicts her from the palace. Li disappears. Hou Fangyu returns to Nanjing to look for Li and encounters Su Kunsheng who has the engagement fan. He tells Hou about Li's arranged marriage to Tian, and they go in search of Li together.

 

In the meantime, the Ming regime is on its last legs as the Ching Manchurian troops take over the Central Plains. General Zuo Liangyu tells the Emperor about Ruan Dacheng and Ma Shiying'streachery, and he sends officers to apprehend them. Ruan and Ma flee and attempt surrendering to the Manchuria troops.

 

 

The Manchurian troops move south and the southern Ming regime is overturned. Generals Huang Degong and Shi Kefa commit suicide. Whether loyal or treacherous, all courtiers and officers are now part of the regime's ashes.

 

 

Hou and Li meet by chance at the Taoist sanctuary on Mount Qixia. They recount their bittersweet stories to each other. However, the Taoist Priest Zhang points out to them the insignificance of their tale in the great scheme of life. The world as they knew it has been ruined. Hou and Li, being enlightened, decide to follow the path or Taoist belief.

 

 

 

Through centuries of socio-political turbulence and change, for over 600 years, Kun Opera has continued to be passed from generation to generation in the oral tradition. Kun Opera is typically based on scripts that are rich in literary beauty and is sung with sweet, pleasant lyricism. The actors perform and sing in accordance to established Kun Opera conventions in which the story is developed through song and dance. Sadly, with Kun Opera's decline in popularity since the 18th century, there are only half a dozen Kun Opera troupes in China today.

 

The presentation of Kun Opera requires a delving into the past to study, inquire and learn from its huge legacy. In the course of realising thi project, our research saw us being moved, experiencing awe and gasping with admiration. This classic Kun opera work, The Peach Blossom Fan, which we were committed to revive, was an authentic, real-life historical drama that had taken place in Ming-era Nanung - Its tale full of insight into the complexities of an era's end, peopled by a huge cast of characters and featuring a diverse array of scenes. However, most of the score had been lost, and considering the fact that musical performance is the main feature of Kun Opera, this added to the difficulties we faced in our efforts to restage this classic.

 

Fortunately, those involved in the creation of the production were generally young and eager to discuss ideas. They suggested restoring the incomplete score with present-day methods and techniques. Subsequently we put our work onstage. And as more and more audiences set a sense of how richly thriving Chinese culture was in the past, they also begin to appreciate the splendour of ancient Chinese theatrical art. We feel particularly privileged.

 

In the making of this production, for the help of Zhang Hong, script writer for the Jiangsu Province Kunqu Opera and the support of Kun Opera artists Shi Xiaomei and her husband, Zhang Hong, we say thank you!