In the play, Peach Blossom Fan, the events of the fall of the great Chinese dynasty, the Ming, are reconstructed. Besides, the play addresses such important points in the history of China and the neighboring Asian countries as Ming loyalist resistance, shepherd peasant rebellions, Manchu conquest, and the Jesuit intervention into Chinese history. In addition, the play offers a detailed excursus into the history of Taiwan. There is a quite distinguished similarity in the historical themes of this play and the 1987 film by Bernardo Bertolucci, The Last Emperor, which is explained by the fact that both of these artworks relate the events critically important for the history of monarchism in China and its neighbors. In the following paper, the two pieces will be reviewed in terms of their similarity. Overall, the play Peach Blossom Fan and the film The Last Emperor shed much light on the important events in the history of China including the fall of emperorship and the historical developments that occur in the country due to the influence from the other countries of the world.
Speaking about the similarities in the story plots of the two pieces of art under consideration, it is important to mention a few major details from their contents. In the play Peach Blossom Fan, the author addresses the events of the fall of the Ming dynasty in China. This dynasty was a very influential one, which was especially seen in the numerous reformations it had introduced into the life of Chinese people (Sorgenfrei 151). The fall of the Ming dynasty was a crucial event for China, and it signified the end of the whole epoch in the country’s history. In the play, it is possible to see how critical were the changes in the country during those days, and how the international community played its role in Chinese history at that time (Shang-Jen 45, 58, 96; Swatek 527). Thus, the play under consideration shows China in one of the unique periods in its history (Sieber 833).
The story plot of The Last Emperor film also shows China in one of the most critical periods of its history. In this film, the audience may see how Chinese people rejected the institution of monarchy in their country, and to what consequences it led (The Last Emperor). In addition, the film pays a lot of attention to the influence of the other countries of the world on the history of China. The atmosphere of this incredible film is a great testimony of the political and cultural peculiarities of Chinese mentality.
Comparing the play Peach Blossom Fan and the film The Last Emperor, it is possible to identify a row of similarities between them. First, they discuss some of the most critical periods in Chinese history that affected ‘the face’ of the country in the most considerable way (YUAN 43). Secondly, both of these pieces of art pay a lot of attention to the roles of the other countries in the political and cultural life of China.
In conclusion, it should be stated that the play Peach Blossom Fan and the film The Last Emperor, are both remarkable for showing the events from the lives of influential Chinese emperors and their contemporaries. Both of these inimitable artworks not only give an important testimony to the country’s political and cultural life, but they also address the events in the world that are connected with the important historical developments in China.
Refeerences
Shang-jen, K’ung. The Peach Blossom Fan, New York: Cheng & Tsui, 2000. Print.
Sieber, Patricia. “Worldly Stage: Theatricality In Seventeenth-Century China.” American Historical Review 117.3 (2012): 832-835. Print.
Sorgenfrei, Carol Fisher. “Peach Blossom Fan.” Asian Theatre Journal 22.1 (2005): 150-153. Print.
Swatek, Catherine. “Persons, Roles, And Minds: Identity In Peony Pavilion And Peach Blossom Fan.” Harvard Journal Of Asiatic Studies 63.2 (2003): 524-527. Print.
The Last Emperor. Ex. Prod. Jeremy Thomas. The United States, The United Kingdom, Italy and China: Hemdale Film Corporation. 1987. VHS.
YUAN, YUAN. “Everlasting Love In The Middle Kingdom.” Beijing Review 52.50 (2009): 43. Print.