Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

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 20^th and 21^st 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

By Jacques Coulardeau

16 Pages

2025, Éditions La Dondaine, Medium.com

Death,  *  China studies,  *  Marriage,  *  Resurrection,  *  Love and Death

# posted by Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU @ 5:54 AM