Tang Xianzu,the author of the Dream in Peony Pavilion was a contemporary of Shakespeare and the Peony Pavilion is his representative workwhile Shakespeare’s is Hamlet.
Dream in Peony Pavilion is one of Tang’s “Four Dreams” and has traditionally been performed as a Kun opera. The opera tells a romantic love story of Du Liniang and Liu Mengmei, with its focuses on love, beauty, relationship, and marriage. This passionate story has always been considered a Chinese national treasure, and continues to resonate with audience everywhere, even in this modern day and age.