Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture

Comments on the Finalist

WANG Jia-Ming uses his famous lithe techniques to lead the audience through the process of separating the wheat from the chaff, allowing them to immerse easily into the world created by TANG Xian-Zu, which is humorous on the surface and yet contains many deep meanings. The outstanding design team makes the underground ant world alive and persuasive, and the splendid costume designs adds a yearning for surrealism and beauty, which reflects the sometimes nonchalant and other times serious style of Wang. The performance sticks to the traditional roots of the original work but also retains the classic geometric theatrical intellect of WANG Jia-Ming in areas like visual changes, actor performances and the distinctly layered narrative. With people like TSAI Cheng-Jen and ZHANG Ji-Qing onsite to provide advice along with music designed by SUN Jian-An of the Kunqu Opera Theatre of Jiangsu, the Kunqu in this performance is beautiful, precise and also well-executed, making it a successful combination.   Committee member:ZOU Jhih-Mu

When it comes to TANG Xian-Zu (1550-1616), known as the master playwright of Kun Opera of the Ming Dynasty, many people think of The Peony Pavilion. In fact, Tang also wrote A Dream under the Southern Bough, The Purple Hairpin, and Record of Handan, which are collectively called the Four Dreams, depicting the emptiness of life through dreams. Among these four Kun Opera plays, only the full-length performance of A Dream Under the Southern Bough hasn’t been produced and played on the modern stage. Therefore in October 2012, artists across the strait cooperated to present this legendary Kun Opera for the first time, proving to be the invaluable missing piece of Kun opera history.

Artwork Introduction

Believing that contemporaneity is to be found in tradition, the production team of A Dream Under the Southern Bough sought to break away from the rigid dichotomy and illusion of temporal linearity, allowing audiences to rediscover the beauty of Kun opera without repackaging or deconstructing the original.

A Dream Under the Southern Bough’s treatment of Buddhist philosophy has led many to see it as prohibitively arcane and didactic, resulting in few stage productions of the play over the centuries. Director WANG Chia-Ming’s take on the play, however, places personal desires within the social power constructs of nation and family, calling into question the boundaries between real and virtual desires, and the ambiguities of personal identity, thereby returning the narrative to a contemporary interpretation of Buddhist philosophy.

The Kun opera A Dream Under the Southern Bough was written more than four centuries ago by China’s celebrated playwright, TANG Hsien-Tsu, and features a protagonist at odds with those traditionally found in Kun operas. CHUN Yu-Fen is an ordinary man whose story demonstrates the complexities of life under absurd circumstances: He has political ideals, but is swayed by his desires; he is devoted emotionally, yet pursues other possibilities.

Cross-Strait Cooperation, Debut for the Kunqu Legend

A Dream under the Southern Bough is about CHUN Yu-Fen, the discharged and disgruntled army officer, drinking under the locust tree. He dreamt of entering the ant kingdom and marries the princess. CHUN was awarded the position of governor of Nanke County and during his rule, 20 years passed, the state prospered and people were happy. In the later years, his wife, the princess, fell to illness. After her death, CHUN spent his days in utter debauchery and was no longer trusted by the king. He was sent back to the human world. When he awoke, CHUN sees a half-empty tea cup which is still warm and the kingdom was actually an anthill. Suddenly a thunderstorm washes away the entire anthill. Feeling a deep sense of gratitude toward the ant kingdom, CHUN held Buddhist rituals in hopes to release the suffering souls of the ant kingdom. The story told the implicit Buddhist allegory of illusory joy or empty dreams.

What’s so special about A Dream under the Southern Bough is that its lyrics of 44 songs and tone patterns are all preserved, despite never having been played as a whole on stage. Therefore, the performance of A Dream under the Southern Bough is a remedy for the history of Kun Opera.

Because of some top artists across the strait, A Dream under the Southern Bough can be performed in the form of Kun Opera. To better interpret the play, they used contemporary theatrical techniques to merge traditional and modern forms of Kun Opera.

Interpreting A Dream Under the Southern Bough in a Modern Viewpoint

Instead of adopting traditional opera’s nostalgic aesthetics, A Dream under the Southern Bough chooses a visual effect that utilizes the simplicity of space and color. While the costumes are designed to follow Kun Opera traditions, their colors, patterns, and the way of making embroideries are totally innovative. The stage and lighting design was a conceptual reinterpretation of the time-honored “one chair, two tables” setting. To visualize the ant kingdom, handmade paper and wooden pillars were selected as the main materials. Using simple lines and devices, the scenery allows the audience’s imagination to run free. It also compliments the actors and actresses’ movements, creating a perfect platform for narration.

Director WANG Chia-Ming thinks A Dream under the Southern Bough is not only a dream; if you look at it from a modern point of view, it is like a science fiction romance. TANG Xian-Zu escaped from reality, conveying his perspectives toward humanity and life through dreams, which carry out the philosophy of “life is like a dream.” Though A Dream under the Southern Bough is 400 years old, the subject is still relevant in the modern world. Because TANG’s lyrics match the tone patterns in a perfectly elegant and strict way, the director only deleted some parts of the play instead of adapting it. To ensure this, WANG reorganized the play according to the ideas of the plot and characters. He added contemporary theatrical plot elements of an introduction, body, and conclusion.

WANG tried to rearrange and reinterpret detailed emotions and characters’ desires through the use of traditional actions, movements, eye expressions, and props, hoping to simplify the complexity and employing the ancient as metaphor for the modern.

About the Artist

The Chien Kuo Group Foundation for Arts and Culture was founded in 2011 to promote arts and the humanities in modern life. It is currently focused on the preservation and innovation of traditional opera performances, water and ink painting and the tea culture of Taiwan, supporting the work of directors, artists and curators.

Production Team

Artistic director: CAI Zheng-Ren, ZHANG Ji-Jing

Director : WANG Chia-Ming

Dramatization / Script Editing: WANG Chia-Ming, YANG Han-Ru

Assistant director : WANG Bin

Movement design : ZHAO Jian, QIAN Zhen-Rong GONG Yin-Lei, KONG Ai-Ping, ZHAO Rong-Jia, ZHENG Yi, GU Jun, LI Hong-Liang, WANG Wei-Jian

Music design : SUN Jian-An

Stage design : HUANG I-Gu

Main Cast : SHI Xia-Ming, SHAN Wen, ZHAO Yu-Tao, XU Si-Jia, SUN Jing, ZHANG Jing-Zhi

, CAO Zhi-Wei, QIAN Wei, CAI Chen-Cheng, LIU Xiao-Yun