An outstanding playwright Zhang Jian in the Qin Dynasty made a similar remark : “ What are true sentiments and what are illusory dreams? When sentiments are true , all illusions in dreams are true . If dreams are illusory , all sentiments must be illusory .” ( Zhang Jian : “The Cause of Dreams Autobiography” )
Realization of the true sentiments through illusory dream : this paradox is the essence of the dreaming acts in classic operas . This aesthetic concept has steered the Chinese operas to go along an art course diametrically opposite to the Western operas . The Chinese playwrights are concerned with the spirit behind the real activities of the roles . With the spirit , the apparent activities may be neglected and the illusory , dreaming activities may be in place . The dreaming act is probably potentially the bet area of the drama performance . Some of the best performances are performed in dreaming acts . For instances : the abdicated Emperor Xuan rendezvoused with the passed-away imperial concubine Lady Yang . The maiden Du Liniang falls in love with the never-met Liu Mengmei . The drunken , bored scholar Chun Yufen dreams that he marries a princess , administers Nan Kuo , is promoted to a high post and indulges in dissipated life , and is finally sent home . In the illusory but realistic dream , beautiful butterflies fly freely . All these exhibit an anomalous beauty and a high wisdom .
In the act of “A Dream at the Thatched Bridge” in the opera “ the Western Chamber” , the main character Scholar Zhang spots a miraculous scene :
“Green willows stand slimly along the wall ,
Door is half closed at a fall night chilly .
Wind is blowing off the dried leaves on twigs ,
Gloomy moon is fleeting through the windowsill”.
Some critics have pointed out that the scene is illogical . The “chilly fall night” with leaves being blown off could not exist while “green willows stand slimly along the wall”. But the paradoxical portrayal exhibits the ingenuous wisdom of the “dreaming act” . 
Scholar Zhang has just awakened from a dream . He is still in a stance and his subconsciousness is prompting him to return to the dream to stay near his sweetheart Cui Yingying . Hence, the paradox is possible . Take another example . In the opera , “Next Life” , written at the beginning of the Ming dynasty . Luo He , a life-long grinder, happened to get a piece of silver . Lest it be stolen , he thrust it into his chest . Then he dreamt somebody robbed him ; he so stuffed it under the kitchen range . 
Then he dreamt it was burned ; so , he soaked it in a water pool . Then he dreamt it was inundated . So, he buried it beneath the threshold . Then he dreamt somebody got it excavated . He also dreamt somebody chopped him with a sword and stabbed him with a spear . Because of the piece of silver weighing only one ounce , he was unable to sleep the whole night and he fell in obsession . The hyperbolic acting in the dreams in the opera , which exploited a rhetorical device to reveal the psychology of a petty person and the absurdities resulted from this psychology , is far better than the acting in similar modern dramas .
