On Nov. 12, an exhibition of China's opera figures paintings was opened in Shanghai. The exhibition remembers the 400th anniversary of the death of Chinese author Tang Xianzu. (Photo/People's Daily Online)
Tang Xianzu (1550-1616), a celebrated playwright, whom fans call "China's William Shakespeare". Tang, who lived in the same era as William Shakespeare, was an outstanding writer during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644AD). His masterpieces are collectively called “Four Dreams,” since the protagonists’ respective dreamlands are key to the plots of each work. "The Peony Pavilion," one of the Four Dreams and also Tang's most famous work, is renowned worldwide. It is also recognized for its ideological emancipation and anti-feudalism, representing Romanticism in Chinese literature. The work is traditionally performed onstage in the style of Kun opera.
The exhibition will remain open until Nov. 27. After its close, the paintings will be displayed in the city of Shaoxing, Zhejiang province from Dec. 2 to 18.
