Three years later, a young scholar named Liu Mengmei stayed at the temple where Du was buried. He found Du's portrait. The young lady in the portrait looked familiar he could not help calling her. In response to his calling, the young lady came out of the picture. Du came back to life and married Liu. The couple lived happily thereafter.
Kunqu boasts a 600year history and is known as the "teacher" or "mother" of a hundred operas, because of its influence on other Chinese theatre forms.
In the early years of the Southern Sung dynasty, a beautiful young lady named Du Liniang went into a garden with her maid. In a drowsy trance, she dreamt that she had a secret rendezvous with a young scholar under a plum tree by the side of the Peony Pavilion. She loved the scholar, after seeking the dream in vain, fell ill and soon died of a broken heart.
Its History
Kunqu was listed as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2001. Its melody or tune is one of the Four Great Characteristic Melodies in Chinese opera.
--Opera is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Kunqu originated in the Wu cultural area.