Friday, December 05, 2025
The Beauty of Love Against Death
PEONY PAVILION, A MASTER
PIECE.
DIVINES FOURBERIES
DE LA MORT – ou – LOVE’S TOILING LOAD
https://jacquescoulardeau.medium.com/peony-pavilion-a-masterpiece-76378b642cb0
I consider this opera a masterpiece, and the Kunqu opera genre is
unique and should bring about a renewal in theatrical and operatic art ay world
level. A much-needed renewal to creatively address the challenge of Artificial
Intelligence. But this AI is an existential and spiritual challenge that we
must face and resolve to our advantage. We might, perhaps, have to summon an Infernal
Judge to pull us out of the impasse we are digging or burying ourselves into,
creating ruts that will completely block us. Fortunately, electric motors
cannot be flooded with fuel, gas, or diesel. There is a sense of humor in Kunqu
opera that ultimately makes the dramatic architecture thrilling.
[…]
The opera spans three generations, but it is systematically based on
earlier generations of poets and other famous figures, and above all, on the
understanding that history is necessarily a phylogenetic accumulation of
generations of actors and actresses. We cannot confront the modern world today
without referring to the ancient eras that were crucial to historical
phylogeny.
[…]
For about 25, perhaps 30 years, the Chinese have been engaged in
rediscovering ancient forms of culture, and they are using this as a catalyst
for social and cultural unity within diversity in China, and for a renaissance
of classical, ancient, and modern forms of Chinese art targeting the world
beyond China or its provinces. But this is not unique in Asia. Consider the
return to ancient forms of culture in the Philippines, some frankly ante- or
pre-colonial, encompassing languages, themes, and bodywork as well as costume.
It is a renaissance, not a resurrection, because it was never utterly lost, of
the traditional handcrafted loincloth as an artistic form of clothing for men.
Women, on the other hand, retain traditional handcrafted costumes, but without
the same level – far from it – of nudity as men. Currently, it has become a
rapidly growing social activity, from primary school children (class projects
being mandatory) to university students, and, apparently, even to professional
adults in music, dance, and the heritage of old hunter-gatherer communities
transitioning to agriculture many centuries ago. The 20th and 21st
centuries in Asia are marked by the transformation of these regenerated and
revitalized cultural forms into exportable, tourist-oriented cultural products.
The resurgence of these cultural forms, which colonialism, as we know, would
have liked, and even been able, to destroy, is like revenge from the history of
peoples against the mad post-Columbian adventure. It makes you want to live
another twenty years to see what it will be like, say in 2050. I will be one
hundred and five years old then. I've already ordered the birthday cake. We
just need to imagine what, in Livradois-Forez, the « bourrée
sans culottes » could be.
Academia.edu Comment
Jacques Coulardeau uploaded a paper
This Chinese love story is torn apart by death, but it is strong
enough to impose resurrection onto death itself as an Epiphany of passion
PEONY PAVILION, A MASTER PIECE. DIVINES FOURBERIES DE LA MORT –
ou – LOVE’S TOILING LOAD
16 Pages
2025, Éditions La Dondaine,
Medium.com
Death,
* China studies,
* Marriage, * Resurrection,
* Love and Death
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