The Palace of Eternal Life
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''The Palace of Eternal Life'' (), also translated as ''The Palace of Eternal Youth'', is a play written by Hong Sheng () in the
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
. He absorbed certain material from the long narrative poem '' The Song of Everlasting Sorrow'' written by
Bai Juyi Bai Juyi (also Bo Juyi or Po Chü-i; ; 772–846), courtesy name Letian (樂天), was a renowned Chinese poet and Tang dynasty government official. Many of his poems concern his career or observations made about everyday life, including as g ...
and the
zaju ''Zaju'' was a form of Chinese opera which provided entertainment through a synthesis of recitations of prose and poetry, dance, singing, and mime, with a certain emphasis on comedy (or, happy endings). Although with diverse and earlier roots, ''za ...
''Rain on the Paulownia Tree'' () written by Bai Renfu. ''The Palace of Eternal Life'' is acclaimed as one of the China's "Four Great Classical Dramas", along with ''
The Peony Pavilion ''The Peony Pavilion'' ( zh, t=牡丹亭, s=牡丹亭, p=Mǔdān tíng, w=Mu-tan t'ing), also named ''The Return of Soul at the Peony Pavilion'', is a romantic tragicomedy play written by dramatist Tang Xianzu in 1598. The plot was drawn from the sh ...
'', ''
The Peach Blossom Fan ''The Peach Blossom Fan'' () is a musical play and historical drama in 44 scenes that was completed in 1699 by the early Qing dynasty playwright Kong Shangren after more than 10 years of effort. The play depicts the drama that resulted in ...
'' and ''
Romance of the Western Chamber ''Romance of the Western Chamber'' (), also translated as ''The Story of the Western Wing'', ''The West Chamber'', ''Romance of the Western Bower'' and similar titles, is one of the most famous Chinese dramatic works. It was written by the Yuan d ...
''. The performance is focused on the everlasting love story of
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (; 8 September 685 – 3 May 762), personal name Li Longji, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756 CE. His reign of 44 years was the longest during the Tang dynasty. In the early ...
and his favorite consort
Yang Guifei Yang Yuhuan (; 26 June, 719 – 15 July 756Volume 218 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'' recorded that Yang was killed on the ''bingshen'' day of the 6th month of the 1st year of the Zhide era of Tang Suzong's reign. This date corresponds to 15 Jul 756 on t ...
. This story has been translated into English and published by the
Foreign Languages Press Foreign Languages Press is a publishing house located in China. Based in Beijing, it was founded in 1952 and currently forms part of the China International Publishing Group, which is owned and controlled by the Publicity Department of the Chi ...
.


Author

, one of the period's most famous playwrights and poets, was born in 1645 in a shack outside
Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...
City in the
Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
. He graduated from the Imperial Academy in 1668 and then returned home the following year. At the age of 18, he began to write ''Incense Pavilion'' (), which was later renamed and known as ''Dance Seduction'' (). Finally, the old drama of ''Dance Seduction'' was successfully rewritten as ''The Palace of Eternal Life'' after being revised several times when he was 27, which became a masterpiece afterwards and was widely played. In the year of 1704, on his way back from
Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
to
Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...
, Hong Sheng accidentally fell into the river when drinking wine on a boat and died by drowning in
Wuzhen Wuzhen (, Wu: Whu-tsen lit. "Wu Town") is a historic scenic town, part of Tongxiang, located in the north of Zhejiang Province, China. It lies within the triangle formed by Hangzhou, Suzhou and Shanghai. Covering an area of , Wuzhen has a tota ...
. Equated with
Kong Shangren Kong Shangren (; 1648 – 1718) was a Qing dynasty dramatist and poet best known for his ''chuanqi (theatre), chuanqi'' play ''The Peach Blossom Fan''"Frommer's China", Simon Foster et al., 2010, p. 383, about the last days of the Ming dynasty. ...
as an influential Qing Dynasty playwright, Hong historicized a traditional love theme and examined how love and politics become entwined.''Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance: Hong Sheng''


Background

Hong Sheng lived at the beginning of the
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
, shortly after the Manchu conquest of the
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
. He belonged to the old established literary class. His wife was a musician and a woman of extensive literary education, and was the granddaughter of a prime minister under the Ming. His own attitude toward the conquerors was less than cordial. His chief play contains political overtones that were interpreted as disloyal to the Manchu regime, with the result that he was expelled from the Imperial Academy and a large number of his associates were dismissed from their government posts. he left the court in an impoverished condition, returning to his home in the south. The ruling classes of Qing carried out policies in which evoked strong opposition to intellectuals. Hong Sheng was also highly disappointed with the imperial court. Despite the play's veiled references to the turbulent early Qing period, the Kangxi Emperor highly praised ''The Palace of Eternal Life'' when it was performed in Beijing in 1689. However Hong was later imprisoned for attending a performance of it during a period of national mourning, but the play remained extremely popular.


Plot

''Palace of Eternal Life'' is a ''
chuanqi Chuanqi ("strange tale", "legend", or "romance", depending on context) may refer to two related but distinct forms of Chinese fiction: *Chuanqi (short story), a genre of Chinese fiction usually associated with the Tang dynasty (618–907); the sto ...
'' play in fifty acts. The play recounts the love story of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and his favorite consort, Yang Guifei. Though based on a large body of earlier literature and legend, it is unique in its overall form and lyric exposition. When Lady Yang becomes the Emperor's favorite consort, he gives her as love tokens a gold hairpin and a casket adorned with gold-leaf flowers. Her older brother
Yang Guozhong Yang Guozhong () (died July 15, 756Volume 218 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'' recorded that Yang was killed on the ''bingshen'' day of the 6th month of the 1st year of the Zhide era of Tang Suzong's reign. This date corresponds to 15 Jul 756 on the Gregori ...
becomes Chancellor of the Right. Banished once for a fit of jealousy, she regains favor by sending the Emperor her shorn locks as a token of her love. A frontier general,
An Lushan An Lushan (; 20th day of the 1st month 19 February 703 – 29 January 757) was a general in the Tang dynasty and is primarily known for instigating the An Lushan Rebellion. An Lushan was of Sogdian and Göktürk origin,Yang, Zhijiu, "An Lushan ...
, is sent to the capital for an offense, but Yang Guozhong obtains a pardon for him, and he wins a promotion and a princely title for himself. A military man,
Guo Ziyi Guo Ziyi (Kuo Tzu-i; Traditional Chinese: 郭子儀, Simplified Chinese: 郭子仪, Hanyu Pinyin: Guō Zǐyí, Wade-Giles: Kuo1 Tzu3-i2) (697 – July 9, 781), posthumously Prince Zhōngwǔ of Fényáng (), was a Chinese military general and pol ...
, who has come to the capital to receive an appointment, witnesses from a wine house window the extravagant pomp and splendor enjoyed by the Yang family and An Lushan. A prophetic verse on the wine-house wall foretells doom. Guo is appointed a powerful military commissioner and resolves one day to repay his debt to the imperial court in deeds.
Chang E Chang'e ( ; , alternatively rendered as Chang-Er or Ch‘ang-o), originally known as Heng'e, is the Chinese goddess of the Moon. She is the subject of several legends in Chinese mythology, most of which incorporate several of the following elem ...
, the Moon Fairy, wishing to pass on the beautiful music of the Rainbow-skirt Feather-jacket Dance to mortals, summons Lady Yang's soul to her in a dream and teaches it to her. At her birthday banquet in the Palace of Eternal Life, Lady Yang later performs the beautiful dance for the emperor. After challenging the power of Yang Guozhong, An Lushan is exiled from the capital by the Emperor. He stirs up a rebellion, and Guo Ziyi trains his troops to counter the imminent rising. Oblivious of this situation, Emperor Xuanzong and Lady Yang bathe together in a warm spring and on the seventh of the seventh month, loves' night, make a sacrifice to the Herd Boy and Spinning Damsel star gods, vowing eternal love for each other. When An's forces menace the capital, Xuanzong departs with his entourage toward the relative safety of
Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
. On the way, at Mawei mail halt, his mutinous troops, blaming the Yangs for their plight, kill Yang Guozhong and demand Lady Yang's death. Helpless, Xuanzong allows her to hang herself, and she is provisionally buried there. An Lushan usurps the imperial throne, and takes over the capital. Xuanzong, grieving for Lady Yang, on reaching Sichuan places a portrait of her in a temple and worships and weeps before it. Meanwhile, moved by the plight of Lady Yang's forlorn soul, the Spinning Damsel persuades the Jade Emperor of Heaven to permit Lady Yang to become an immortal in the paradise of Penglai. She also gives Lady Yang liquid jade and liquid gold to pour on her corpse, thereby reuniting body and soul. Imperial power is transferred to Emperor Suzong, Xuanzong's son, who sends Guo Ziyi to quell the rebellion. Guo succeeds and the two Emperors head back to the capital. When he passes through Mawei, Xuanzong can find no trace of Lady Yang's body—only her perfume sachet. Back in the capital, he dreams that Lady Yang has sent for him and afterward commands the Taoist necromancer You Tong to seek out lady Yang's soul. Aided by the Spinning Damsel, the Taoist reaches Penglai, where Lady Yang gives him half the gold hairpin and part of the casket to take to Xuanzong as tokens of renewed love. On the appointed date, You Tong sets up a fairy bridge to the Moon palace and sends Xuanzong alone on it to the moon. There the two lovers are blissfully reunited, match the halves of the hairpin and the casket, and thanks to the Spinning Damsel's efforts are commanded by the Jade Emperor to dwell forever as man and wife in paradise.


Significance

The writing of the play has been praised in terms of both the sung and spoken passages. Much of the play's poetry is indebted to one of the most celebrated of Chinese narrative poems, Bai Juyi's ''The Song of Everlasting Sorrow''. The Heroine's supernatural proficiency in song and dance gives occasion for the large number of musical and dance scenes, which are artfully balanced by vigorous political episodes. The theme of purgation is admirably treated as an essential part of the story's development, both in the purgation of the emperor's devotion to luxury and in the gradations by which Yang's ghost rises from its initial misery to celestial beatitude. Long as it is, the play moves smoothly and rapidly. It surprisingly combines frank political realism with metaphysics, Confucian ideals of state with Taoistic ideals of the soul, thus well-earning its place among the world's major dramas.


Performances

After the finalization of the play, the Ju He Theatre Troupe of Beijing's performance of the work caused a sensation in the capital, and was even recommended by the
Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...
. Later on, the Ju He Theatre Troupe became renowned of their repertoire and they were highly successful. There were two major performances in 1704. Zhang Yunwing invited Hong Sheng to watch the performances of the play at his residence, as did Cao Yin, unfortunately, on his way home, Hong Sheng, who was drunk, fell into a river and drowned. In the Republican era, the performances of the play were mainly done by professional troupes. In the early periods of the founding of the People's Republic, China, the performances of the play were based on behalf of the Zhejiang Kunqu Theatre Company and the Jiangsu Kunqu Opera Troupe. Sukun Troupe of Jiangsu Province also had productions of the play in Suzhou in 1958. The Zhejiang Kunqu Opera Troupe re-finished the play in 1984 and premiered on October 2 in the Victory Theater in Hangzhou. In the 1980s, there were versions of the play made in the Beijing Cultural Palace of Nationalities and by the Shanghai Kun Opera Company. On November 19 and 20, 2000, Shanghai Kunqu Company’s production of the play premiered in the Luwan District's Shanghai White Magnolia Theatre. In 2002, Northern Kunqu Theater held two shows in Beijing's Chang'an Grand Theater, which was a joint production of Jiangsu Province Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre and many other units, and it also debut in Taipei in February 2004. In August 2004, the Shanghai Kun Opera Company debut an unplugged version at the Luting Concert Hall, and their new production of the play debut in the Shanghai Lyceum Theatre on May 29, 2007.


Translations

In 1955 the
Foreign Languages Press Foreign Languages Press is a publishing house located in China. Based in Beijing, it was founded in 1952 and currently forms part of the China International Publishing Group, which is owned and controlled by the Publicity Department of the Chi ...
of
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
published an English translation. Cyril Birch, a collaborator on the English translation of ''
The Peach Blossom Fan ''The Peach Blossom Fan'' () is a musical play and historical drama in 44 scenes that was completed in 1699 by the early Qing dynasty playwright Kong Shangren after more than 10 years of effort. The play depicts the drama that resulted in ...
'', wrote that the 1955 translation of ''The Palace of Eternal Life'' was "relatively complete" and "prosaic and flat".Birch, p
xvi


References

*Birch, Cyril. "Introduction: ''
The Peach Blossom Fan ''The Peach Blossom Fan'' () is a musical play and historical drama in 44 scenes that was completed in 1699 by the early Qing dynasty playwright Kong Shangren after more than 10 years of effort. The play depicts the drama that resulted in ...
'' as Southern Drama." In: K'ung, Shang-jen. Translators: Chen, Shih-hsiang and Harold Acton. Collaborator: Birch, Cyril. ''The Peach Blossom Fan'' (''T'ao-hua-shan'').
University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...
, 1976. .


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palace of Eternal Life Qing dynasty plays 1688 plays Plays set in the 8th century