From November 7 to 9, A Dream Under the Southern Bough, an original cross-cultural play produced by International Department of College of Chinese & ASEAN Arts, Chengdu University, made a brilliant debut at the 7th Daliangshan Theater Festival. Co-performed by international students from Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia, it interpreted the classic Chinese legend from a diverse perspective and presented two stunning and flawless performances for the audience.
As an official entry of the festival, A Dream Under the Southern Bough is adapted from The Governor of Nanke, a legendary tale dating back to the Tang Dynasty. Centering on the dreamlike life of its protagonist Chunyu Fen, the play explores the eternal themes of power, love and self-worth. With theater as the medium, the international student performers co-created this dreamlike production, innovatively incorporating a "dream within a dream" narrative structure. It retains the philosophical core of the original work while infusing the perspectives of international young people studying in China, thus breathing new life into the traditional story.
The production integrates physical theater, poetic narration and the ancient Greek "chorus" tradition. While creating an immersive viewing experience, it also constructs a rare practical scenario for dialogues between world cultures. Amid cultural collisions and integration, the international students have achieved a profound transformation—evolving from "listening to and understanding Chinese culture" to "telling Chinese cultural stories".
During its run, A Dream Under the Southern Bough garnered unanimous praise and enthusiastic responses from the audience. Some audience members shared their thoughts after watching the play: "The cross-cultural perspective has endowed this classic story with new artistic conception. It felt like walking through a vivid dream alongside Chunyu Fen, stirring up profound reflections on dreams and reality that resonate with middle-aged audiences"; many viewers marveled at the international students' performing skills, commenting: "We never expected that foreign students could deliver Chinese lines so flawlessly and tell this Chinese story with such depth and warmth"; there were also theater enthusiasts who watched the play twice, remarking frankly: "The inquiry into the value of life is truly striking, and the play lingers in the mind long after watching." Applause erupted continuously throughout the performance. Even after the curtain call, many audience members lingered to discuss the play animatedly, interact with the performers, and shower high praise on this theatrical experience that boasts both aesthetic appeal and ideological depth.
This trip to the Daliangshan Theater Festival was not only a wonderful performance of the cross-cultural drama A Dream Under the Southern Bough, but also an in-depth journey for international students in China to experience the integration of multi-ethnic cultures. In addition to their performances, the students deeply participated in the opening ceremony Beginning of Winter: Jibulatu — they listened closely to the unique charm of the "Butuo High-Pitched Folk Song", witnessed the joyful co-dancing of the Mosuo "Jiacuo Dance", Tibetan "Guozhuang Dance" and Yi "Thirty-Two-Step Dance", and deeply felt the vivid charm of Daliangshan's local culture through immersive interaction; they had in-depth exchanges with plays such as Awakening from a Dream and Wave the Apricot Gourd, and learned from Chinese and foreign drama troupes; some student representatives watched the French puppet show Little Red Riding Hood. During the two days of the theater festival, the international students took drama as the medium, conveyed their thoughts and gained growth in cultural collisions. They not only revitalized the classic Chinese legend through cross-cultural expression, but also wrote a warm and in-depth footnote to cultural exchanges in the early winter.
This was their first time participating in an official theater festival. The students all stated that through this experience, they had strengthened their love and dedication for the stage and developed a deep affection for theater. They vowed to continue loving theater in the future, whether as performers or audience members. LIM QIAO EN (Malaysia), an international student who serves as the troupe leader, said: "I watched several plays during this trip, and truly felt the sincerity of the actors. Their performances moved me to tears several times. For me, theater knows no national boundaries—only resonance. I think all theater people are pure and lovely." Three teachers from the International Department—Liu Xinyi, Feng Yubing, and Liu Qidong—commented that the trip to Daliangshan was a fulfilling journey of realizing a dream. Watching the students constantly surpass themselves during rehearsals, polish every performance detail repeatedly in pursuit of excellence, and finally shine on stage with a flawless show, the tacit understanding and sense of achievement from working side by side were invaluable.
International Department of College of Chinese & ASEAN Arts has always taken promoting cultural mutual learning and cultivating cross-cultural exchange envoys as its core mission, and has been deeply committed to the integration of international education and artistic practice. The creation and performance of A Dream Under the Southern Bough this time is a vivid practice of the college building a platform for "cultural integration and artistic co-construction" — it not only allows international students in China to understand the profound heritage of Chinese culture and the inclusive characteristics of multiple ethnic groups through personal experience, but also builds a bridge for equal dialogue and mutual engagement between different civilizations. In the future, the International Department will continue to explore new models of cross-cultural art education, take diverse artistic forms such as drama, music and dance as links, help Chinese and foreign youth build consensus in cultural collisions, convey goodwill in artistic practice, let the torch of civilization flourish in exchanges, and inject vivid youthful vitality into the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
