The Story

Du Liniang is the teenage daughter of a high official. One spring day, bored in her family's vast garden, she falls asleep and dreams of a young scholar named Liu Mengmei. Their meeting is passionate and feels utterly real. When she wakes up, she's heartbroken that he doesn't exist. She pines away, thinking of nothing but her dream lover, and eventually dies. Before she passes, she hides a self-portrait in the garden.

Three years later, the real Liu Mengmei—who has had strange dreams of his own—travels to the garden, finds the portrait, and falls in love with the painted woman. Liniang's ghost appears to him. Their love is so powerful that she is granted a second chance at life. But coming back to the world of the living brings a whole new set of problems, including skeptical parents and the rules of society.

Why You Should Read It

This isn't a stiff, old-fashioned romance. Tang Xianzu writes with incredible warmth and humor about the absurdity of rules and the raw power of feeling. Liniang's desire is so strong it breaks the universe's rules. The play argues that true emotion, even if it comes from a dream, is the most real thing there is. I found myself cheering for this determined ghost and the baffled man who loved her. It's about the madness of first love, but amplified to a supernatural degree.

Final Verdict

Perfect for anyone who loves a great, unconventional love story with a supernatural twist. If you enjoyed the dreamy longing in Romeo and Juliet but wished it had more ghosts and a second act, this is your book. It's also a fantastic pick for readers curious about classic world literature outside the European canon. Don't be intimidated by its age—the emotions here are timeless, urgent, and wonderfully strange.