Dream in the Garden

Directed by Xu Ke

"A Dream in the Garden" is a scene from "The Peony Pavilion" by Tang Xianzu, a playwright of the Ming Dynasty. Du Liniang was deeply bound by feudal ethics. One day, she went to the back garden with her maid Chunxiang to enjoy the spring without telling her parents and tutor. The fragrance of flowers and the chirping of birds made her sad. After she was tired, she went back to her room to rest. In her dream, she met the scholar Liu Mengmei in the garden, and many flower gods came to act as matchmakers for them. Du Liniang's mother came to the bed to wake her daughter up. Seeing that her daughter looked dazed, the mother told her to go to the back garden less often in the future. Although Du Liniang agreed, she was still obsessed with her dream and soon became depressed.