In the long-term education practice, the members of Renmin University of China carried forward the campus spirit of study for people and nation. Renmin University of China has a close association with China’s Communist Party. It is directly established by China’s Communist Party before 1949. Currently many political leaders or high officials of China’s government are graduated from this red university. Actually it has the total different meaning compared with Peking University and Tsinghua University. In the public of China, people used to think the graduates of Renmin university of China were destined to be the public servants and the government officials. Even in non-governmental analysis of Chinese university, People identify Renmin University of China as the cradle of Chinese government officials. So other than Peking University and Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China is also the top selection of Chinese people for further education or job-oriented training.

Renmin University of China is a state-level comprehensive and investigative university, under the direct management of Ministry of Education. It is co-established by Beijing Municipal Government and Ministry of Education. The former identity of Renmin University was Shanbei College born in 1937 and North China United University as well as North China University. In 1950, Renmin University of China was opened officially to be the first new-style formal university of the People’s Republic of China. The famous educationists like Wu Yuzhang, Cheng Fangwu, and Yuan Baohua and so on acted as the president in succession. Currently the president of university is Ji Baocheng, a professor.

Where to enjoy Peony Pavilion of Kunqu in Shanghai

Shanghai Hua Ya Tang (Huayatang, 花雅堂) is a top site for appreciating Kunqu Opera named Peony Pavilion in Shanghai. Located on Maoming Beilu No. 65, Hua Ya Tang owns an old style of building in Jingan District in downtown Shanghai. The main hall is named Hua Ya Tang (Flower-Elegance Hall). Following the particularly classic and delicate charm of Kunqu, this is a high-level platform for sociality and commerce-oriented cultural consumption in Shanghai. The most prominent and leading actor is Zhang Jun, who is a famous young Kunqu performer. He is crowned to be The Kunqu Prince of China and belongs to the state first-rate actor and also is the winner of Plum Award, the top award of China's drama performance. He is expert in Xiao Sheng(小生) of Kunqu. The performance duration is 30 minutes, and ticket price is 288 Yuan (including wine and buffet dinner). The ticket price is not flexible, and the charter price can be talked. The performance site is Hua Ya Tang located on Maoming Bailu No.65, which is near to Yanan Zhonglu.

Imperial Granary located on Dong Sishitiao No.22 takes advantage of the perfect location in the aspect of Fengshui in Beijing. In 1409, Imperial Granary was extended and reconstructed based on the Northern Imperial Granary of Yuan Dynasty. It shares the same age as the Palace Museum. Up to today, it has more than 600 years of history and is the ideal site to witness the history of China in the reign of 24 emperors in Ming and Qing Dynasties as well as the stories of The Republic of China and The People's Republic of China after 1949. The Imperial Granary is the only best-preserved imperial granary with the largest scale all over the world. The height of the buildings of Imperial Granary is 10 meters, and the thickness of the wall is 1.5 meters. It has the venthole and clerestory and has the constant temperature and suitable moisture. It is the most original ecological buildings. Imperial Granary also called Southern New Granary as the termination of transporting grains from south to north via Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal has been ranked the list of National Cultural Heritage Sites. The performance of Peony Pavilion in Imperial Granary is a breakthrough in the aspect of Kunqu show. In the 120 minutes, the whole theater and the touching story mixing together bring the audiences to a romantic world. It remodels the legendary story of Liu Mengmei and Du liniang.

 The celebrated dramatist and director Lin Zhaohua as well as the performance master of Kunqu Wang Shiyu work together to seek for the way of cultural resuscitation and challenge all the performance editions of Peony Pavilion. They abandon the stage performance predominating in Qing Dynasty. They firstly perform the Peony Pavilion in the form of Jia Ban, and the actors and musicians all wear the finery of Ming Dynasty. The stage design sufficiently defers to the original of the building complex in Imperial Granary. The surrounding of theater performance is decorated with furnishings of Ming Dynasty. The actors are all absolutely playing with the real voices and techniques, and the musicians also absolutely play simutaleously. They never use Microphone and loudhailer. The back-end tiring-room is also open to the outside world, which is surely good for appreciating the procedures of painting the face. Moreover, the calligraphy performance and Kunqu show jointly embody Chinese traditional aesthetics. 

ai Xianyong（白先勇,1937—）is a famous Kunqu opera promotor, famous writer in Taiwan and the playwright of Youth Edition of Peony Pavilion. Originally born in Guilin, Guangxi province, the son of Bai Chongxi(白崇禧), the famous general of Kuomintang government. His edited Peony Pavilion has been brought a fashion of appreciating and revaluing the charm of Kunqu when his representative Peony Pavilion performance successfully and amazingly shown in Peking University.

Where to enjoy Peony Pavilion of Kunqu in Beijing

Beijing Imperial Granary(Huang Jia Liang Cang, 皇家粮仓) is a superiorly-selected destination for enjoying Kunqu performance themed with famous programme named Peony Pavilion(牡丹亭). The Kunqu show expresses the beauty of tradition and returns to the style of Kunqu played in Ming Dynasty. The Imperial Granary has a history of 600 years, and it is as long as the history of Kunqu. The representative Kunqu show of Peony Pavilion performed in the main hall of Imperial Granary absolutely is a perfect combination of tangible cultural heritage of China and intangible cultural heritage of the world.

The story pays a tribute to the braveness of young people boldly sought for freedom and love and their spirit of objecting to feudalism. The story portrays the love story of Liu Mengmei(刘梦梅) and Du liniang（杜丽娘)and shows the eternality and prominence of love in life and society. Love could leads human to crossing death and living. Du Liniang is a successfully-portrayed female figure in succession to Cui Yingying(崔莺莺), the heroine of Tao Hua Shan(桃花扇, The Peach Blossom Fan)

The Contributors of Kunqu Opera

Tang Xianzu, Chinese Shakespeare Tang Xianzu（汤显祖,1550—1616）the most famous and influential founder, playwright and literature master of Ming Dynasty, and he had an important role in the literature history of China and world and was crowned to be Oriental Shakespeare. Tang Xianzu was born in Linchuan, Jiangxi province. Since infancy, he was quite brilliant, and became the winnter of Zhongju at the age of 21. He was too honest and stubborn and was not welcomed by the official circle. And at his age of 34, he became Jinshi. In 1591, he impeached some authorities and was demoted to be the governor of Suichang County, Zhejiang province. In 1598, he resigned and spent more time in operas and poems. When he was young, Tang Xianzu learnt from Luo Rufang(罗汝芳)who was a predominant representative of Taizhou Academy and influenced a lot by anti-orthodox beliefs.

Three years later, Liu Mengmei on his way to imperial examination, stayed at Mei Hua An at night and he also found the portrait of Du Liniang under a Taihu-Lake Rock. Finally, he found the girl of the portrait was whom he met and loved deeply in dream. And Du Liniang's soul revisited the back garden with Liu Mengmei. Liu Mengmei opened coffin and saved Du Liniang, and they married and went to Linan. Du Liniang's teacher found the tomb was opened illegally by Liu Mengmei and went to the authority to prosecute Liu Mengmei. After his examination, He went to Du Liniang's family to report the message of Du Liniang's revival, but was imprisoned by Du Bao. After the release of examination, Liu Mengmei was the winner of the first place, but Du Bao refused to admit their marriage and forced her daughter to divorce. This dispute became worse and known by Emperor, and Emperor approved of their marriage. They finally led a happy life together since then.

Liu Mengmei, a poor intellectual, incidentally met a beauty under a plum tree of a garden. The beauty said she had a born mission to love him, and since then, Liu Mengmei began to miss this beauty very much. This beauty was the daughter of Du Bao, the Nanan Governor, and she named Du Liniang was quite talented and pretty. He followed Chen Zuiniang to reading. She was saddened by the description of Guan Ju(关雎), the first poem of Book of Songs(诗经) and had a dream after visiting the back-garden that she met a handsome intellectual called Liu Mengmei holding a weeping willow twig said love to her, and they fell in love. When waked up but could not find the man, she got ill, and before her death, he requested to be buried under the plum tree of garden, and ordered her close servant called Chun Xiang to hide his portrait at the bottom of Taihu Lake. But Du Liniang's father was promoted to be the governor of Huaiyang and he entrusted Miss Du's teacher, Chen Zuiniang, to bury her and built a Nunnery named Mei Hua An. 

Since then, Liang Chenyu basically fixed. And Liang Chenyu also wrote a classic story named Huan Sha Ji(浣纱记), the first opera masterpiece of Kunqu in history. The play of this legend extended the influence of Kunqu Opera, and more and more literators began to write things for it. And the Kunqu lovers increased dramatically, many of who were geishas, In history, Chen Yuanyuan, a famous geisha in Ming and Qing Dynasties, was an expert in singing Kunqu opera.

Peony Pavilion(Mu Dan Ting, 牡丹亭）is the most famous masterpiece representative of Kunqu opera, one of Four Kunqu Classics, also famous as Four Dreams of Yuming Hall(玉茗堂四梦), and the other three are Cichai Ji, Handan Ji and Nanke Ji. It is a most famous play created by Tang Xianzu of Ming Dynasty. It is also an outstanding romantic work in history of opera.