The Peony Pavilion
Written by Tang Xianzu (the Ming dynasty)
Library of Chinese classics Chinese-English edition, ancient Chinese text punctuated and revised by Xu Shuofang and Yang Xiaomei
Translated into English by Wang Rongpei
Published by Hunan People's Publishing House and Foreign Languages Press, 2000
Hardcover, library binding, 985 pages
ISBN: 7543825341

The Peony Pavilion is a representative work by the outstanding Chinese dramatist Tang Xianzu of the 16th century. The work, through the romantic love story between Du Liniang and Liu Mengmei, reflects the persistent aspiration for free love and exposes the evil of the feudal ethics. With its complicated plot and magnificent structure, The Peony Pavilion in 55 scenes is particularly known for its excellent character portrayals. Its 160 odd characters provide a panoramic picture of social life in the Ming Dynasty. The work is renowned for its beautiful verses and has much influence on the development of drama in China in later days. The English translation of this version is the first versified version of The Peony Pavilion.

Mudan Ting, the Peony Pavilion tells a Chinese classical love story. Du Liniang has a dream in which she meets a young scholar and promises to marry him. When she wakes up, she yearns for her lover and falls ill; after a while she dies of lovesickness. The young scholar in her dream was Liu Mengmei, who later made his way to the capital to take the imperial examination. He meets Du Liniang's soul in Plum in Blossom Nunnery and agrees to help her return to life by reuniting her soul with her body. They are successful and live happily ever after.