Li Yu

Also known as: 李渔.

Born
1611–1680
Nationality
China
Notable works
Occasional Expressions of Leisurely FeelingsLi Weng's Rhyme Pairings (Writers' List Classics)Casual Expressions of Idle Feeling

54 written works

About the author

Li Yu (1611–1680) was a writer, playwright and drama theorist of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Styled Liweng, he was born in Rugao, Jiangsu, and came from Lanxi, Zhejiang. Failing repeatedly in the imperial examinations, he made a living by his writing after the Qing conquest and later moved to Jiezi Garden in Nanjing, where he ran a bookshop and organized a family troupe that toured various regions. His works span drama, fiction and prose, including Ten Plays of Liweng, Twelve Towers and Silent Opera. Xianqing ouji discusses both playwriting and the art of living, while Liweng duiyun served as a primer for learning verse and parallel couplets. Valuing stage practice, he built a systematic theory of structure, diction and prosody, and is regarded as a key founder of Chinese drama theory.

Written (54)

Liweng's Rhyme Primer cover
Rating 4.5
Liweng's Rhyme Primer Li Yu Shantou University Press · 2025 Our traditional启蒙 education embodies five thousand years of Chinese cultural essence, containing rich and profound conventional wisdom and life princi…
The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting (Volume 4) cover
Rating 4.4
The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting (Volume 4) Li Yu Liaohai Publishing House · 2025 Jieziyuan Huazhuan (The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting), also known as Jieziyuan Huapu (The Mustard Seed Garden Painting Manual), is a technic…
The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting (Volume 1) cover
Rating 4.3
The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting (Volume 1) Li Yu Liaohai Publishing House · 2025 Jieziyuan Huazhuan, also known as the Jieziyuan Painting Manual, is a technical compendium of Chinese painting methods that originated in the Qing dyn…
Silent Drama: A Collection of Short Stories of Human Life in the Qing Dynasty cover
Rating 4.1
Silent Drama: A Collection of Short Stories of Human Life in the Qing Dynasty Li Yu · 2025 Silent Drama is a collection of short stories by Li Yu, a literary figure of the Qing Dynasty. Centered on the lives of ordinary people and the ways o…
The Lazy Anti-Aging Salad: A 10-Minute Age-Reversing Lunch cover
Rating 2.3
The Lazy Anti-Aging Salad: A 10-Minute Age-Reversing Lunch Li Yu · 2025 Why do some people look 30 at 40, while others look 40 at 30? Why does spending a fortune on skincare deliver less than getting one lunch right? Why m…
Occasional Expressions of Leisurely Feelings cover
Rating 4.8
Occasional Expressions of Leisurely Feelings Li Yu Qunyan Publishing House · 2024 Xianqing Ouji (Occasional Expressions of Leisurely Mood) is a monograph on Chinese opera theory and the earliest systematic work of its kind in China.…
Suiyuan Poetry Talks, Part One cover
Rating 4.3
Suiyuan Poetry Talks, Part One Yuan Mei / Li Yu / 王辉 Qunyan Publishing House · 2024 This volume, the first half of *Suíyuán Shīhuà* (Random Talks on Poetry from the Garden of Contentment), presents Yuan Mei's main text together with t…
Rhyming Couplets of the Old Man in the Bamboo Hat cover
Rating 4.2
Rhyming Couplets of the Old Man in the Bamboo Hat Li Yu The Commercial Press · 2024 An excellent primer for training children in composing poetry and matching couplets and mastering rhyme and tonal patterns, this work is divided into …
Jade Worth Fifteen Cities (3) cover
Rating 4.1
Jade Worth Fifteen Cities (3) Li Yu · 2024 Also known as Silent Opera, Liancheng Bi is a collection of short stories by Li Yu, a major literary figure of the Qing dynasty, and one of the works …
Words to Awaken the World (A Story Collection Banned and Destroyed Many Times) cover
Rating 4.1
Words to Awaken the World (A Story Collection Banned and Destroyed Many Times) Li Yu · 2024 This book is a collection of chapter-form vernacular short stories by Li Yu, a writer and dramatist of the late Ming and early Qing, also known as Twe…
Jade Worth Fifteen Cities (1) cover
Rating 4.0
Jade Worth Fifteen Cities (1) Li Yu · 2024 Also known as The Silent Opera, Liancheng Bi was written by Li Yu, a literary giant of the Qing dynasty, and is one of the novels repeatedly banned an…
Jade Worth Fifteen Cities (2) cover
Rating 4.0
Jade Worth Fifteen Cities (2) Li Yu · 2024 Lian Cheng Bi (The Priceless Jade), also known as Wu Sheng Xi (Silent Drama), was written by the great Qing dynasty literary figure Li Yu and is one o…
The Priceless Jade (1) cover
Rating 4.0
The Priceless Jade (1) Li Yu · 2024 Also known as Silent Opera, The Jade of Connecting Cities is a work by Li Yu, a major literary figure of the Qing dynasty, and one of the novels repea…
Clear Words to Awaken the World cover
Rating 4.0
Clear Words to Awaken the World Li Yu · 2024 This is a collection of vernacular short stories in zhanghui format, written by Li Yu, a late Ming and early Qing literati and dramatist, also known a…
Outer Collection of Liancheng Bi cover
Rating 4.0
Outer Collection of Liancheng Bi Li Yu · 2024 It is said that the four words loyalty, filial piety, chastity, and righteousness are titles of honor in this world, and everyone delights in them. Ye…
The Priceless Jade (2) cover
Rating 4.0
The Priceless Jade (2) Li Yu · 2024 Also known as The Silent Play, Liancheng Bi is a work by Li Yu, a major literary figure of the Qing dynasty, and one of the novels repeatedly banned a…
The Priceless Jade (3) cover
Rating 4.0
The Priceless Jade (3) Li Yu · 2024 Also known as Silent Opera, Liancheng Bi was written by Li Yu, a literary master of the Qing dynasty, and is one of the novels repeatedly banned and d…
Entertaining Classical Novels: Tale of the Brocade Palindrome + Liancheng Bi (6 Volumes) cover
Rating 3.9
Entertaining Classical Novels: Tale of the Brocade Palindrome + Liancheng Bi (6 Volumes) Li Yu · 2024 This set comprises the volumes of Hejin Huiwen Zhuan and Liancheng Bi. In Hejin Huiwen Zhuan, during the Qianfu era of Emperor Xizong's reign, in Xian…
The Brocade Fragrance Pavilion cover
Rating 3.6
The Brocade Fragrance Pavilion Li Yu Qunyan Publishing House · 2024 Jinxiang Ting (The Brocade Fragrance Pavilion), also known as Suiyang Zhongyi Lu, Diyi Meinu Zhuan, and Jinxiang Ting Lingpa Ji, in four juan and sixt…
Yuefu: Yangchun and Baixue cover
Rating 3.5
Yuefu: Yangchun and Baixue Li Yu · 2024 Chinese traditional cultural thought has a long history and is highly original, inventive, and literary. Early thought forms are highly distinctive: r…

Publishers

Shanghai Classics Publishing HouseCITIC PressZhonghua Book CompanyChina Overseas Publishing HouseChina Friendship Publishing CompanyChina Children's Press & Publication Group21st Century Publishing HouseYunnan People's Publishing HouseWriters Publishing HouseBeijing Times Chinese PressNanhai Publication CompanyGuwuxuan Publishing HouseTianjin People's Publishing HouseBashu Publishing HouseThe Commercial PressShantou University PressJiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing HouseJiangsu Phoenix Science and Technology PressQunyan Publishing HouseLiaohai Publishing HouseShaanxi Normal University Press