Complete Yuan Qu 1

Feng Xueli / 薛鸿鹏The Commercial Press · ChinaFeb 2021

3.6

Word count: 11K words
Chapters: 14

Summary

Yuan drama, or qu, is a newly emerged literary form generally divided into two types: zaju (miscellaneous drama) and sanqu (non-dramatic songs). It produced great writers and many outstanding works and has had a profound influence on literary history. Sanqu grew out of the popular ballads and folk tunes of the Jin dynasty; the great majority belong to the northern mode (beiqu) and include xiaoling (short songs) and taoshu (song suites). More than 3,800 xiaoling and over 450 taoshu survive today. There are more than 200 authors known by name, among them Guan Hanqing, Ma Zhiyuan, and Bai Pu of the early period, and Qiao Ji, Zhang Kejiu, Sui Jingchen, Zhang Yanghao, and Liu Shizhong of the later period. Because sanqu were often used as songs for entertainers at banquets, many are love songs, but there are also xiaoling that describe scenery, express emotion, or reflect on the past, and taoshu that satirize the world and criticize contemporary abuses; famous examples include Ma Zhiyuan's "Borrowing a Horse," Liu Shizhong's "To Superior Supervisor Gao," and Sui Jingchen's "The Emperor Returns to His Home Village." Yuan zaju was originally popular in Shanxi and Hebei and spread to other regions in the early Yuan; after the Yuan conquered the Southern Song, it reached Hangzhou and other places. It took shape on the basis of Song zaju, Jin yuanben, and zhugongdiao and other forms of drama and narrative song, and is basically a song-and-dance drama. Its content bears the marks of its age. First, it broadly reflects the lives of people of all classes in the Yuan dynasty, with particular importance given to the lives and feelings of the lower and middle classes, especially the figures of merchants and courtesans, as in Guan Hanqing's "Rescuing a Courtesan" and "Watching the River Pavilion." Second, there are many stories of honest officials and legal cases, especially a number of Judge Bao plays. Third, there are plays on historical themes and Water Margin plays, the former including "Rain on the Parasol Tree" and "The Orphan of Zhao," the latter including "Li Kui Carries the Thorns." In addition, there are plays on the theme of reclusion and plays about immortals and Daoist enlightenment. Early zaju playwrights include Bai Pu, Guan Hanqing, Wang Shifu, Ma Zhiyuan, and Kang Jinzhi; talents emerged in great numbers and works flourished, represented by the "Four Masters of Yuan Drama": Guan (Hanqing), Bai (Pu), Ma (Zhiyuan), and Zheng (Guangzu). Among them Guan Hanqing wrote the most and achieved the most; Wang Shifu's "Romance of the Western Chamber" was praised by Ming readers as the finest work under heaven. The plays of Zheng Guangzu, Qiao Ji, and Gong Tianting after the Dade era reveal a sense of unrecognized talent. In the late Yuan, works increasingly preached feudal morality, and zaju creation declined. Nanxi refers to the southern-style plays popular in the south. Originally a genre of the Wenzhou area in Zhejiang, it was also called Yongjia drama. According to records there were more than 160 plays, of which 16 survive, including "The Thorn Hairpin," "The Pavilion for Worshiping the Moon," "The White Rabbit," and "The Dog Killing," known together as the four great Nanxi plays. Gao Ming's "The Story of the Lute" marks the peak of Nanxi's development.

Editor's review

This is the first volume of the Complete Yuan Qu, covering both Yuan sanqu (nonsung aria) and Yuan zaju (variety drama). The sanqu section explains its development from Jin-dynasty popular tunes and vernacular songs, its basis in the northern mode, and the formal difference between xiaoling and taoshu, touching on authors such as Guan Hanqing, Ma Zhiyuan, Bai Pu, Zhang Kejiu, and Sui Jingchen and famous pieces such as "Borrowing a Horse," "To the High Inspector," and "The Emperor Gaozu Returns Home." The zaju section traces its formation as a song-and-dance drama from Song zaju, Jin yuanben, and zhugongdiao, classifying its subjects into urban life, upright-official case stories, historical tales, Water Margin plays, and reclusion and immortal/religious conversion plays, citing examples such as Saving the Courtesan, The Pavilion of Gazing at the River, Rain on the Plane Tree, The Orphan of Zhao, and Li Kui Takes the Blame. As an edited edition of the original Commercial Press (Minguo) imprint, it is more a guided anthology with a table of contents, useful for building an overall map of Yuan qu before delving into specific works.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literature enthusiasts who want a systematic understanding of Yuan qu genres and representative works
Students of the history of Chinese drama who need a framework
Readers interested in Yuan qu masters such as Guan Hanqing and Ma Zhiyuan
Teachers engaged in popularizing and teaching classical literature

Not a good fit for

Readers who want to read complete play texts directly
Specialists seeking in-depth study of a single author's collected works
Beginners with little patience for classical Chinese dramatic texts

Reading tips

Read the overview sections on sanqu and zaju first to map out the classification of genres and subjects, then read selected famous works in detail.
Follow the authors: choose one piece each by Guan Hanqing, Ma Zhiyuan, and Bai Pu, and compare the language of sanqu and zaju.
When reading pieces such as "The Emperor Gaozu Returns Home" and "To the High Inspector," understand their satirical meaning in light of Yuan-dynasty social conditions.

About the publisher

The Commercial Press China · Founded in 1897

"Republic-era Commercial Press Original Editions" refers to original books printed by The Commercial Press during the Republican period, not a separate publishing house. Judging from the 300 titles held in the collection, its publishing focus centers on classical poetry and lyrics, literary appreciation, classic works, military texts, prose and miscellaneous writings, and Eastern philosophy. Representative titles include Wang Guowei's Renjian Cihua, Zhong Rong's Shipin, the lyric collections of Xin Qiji and Liu Yong, Sun Wu's The Art of War, and Lü Buwei's Xianshi Lan. Its author resources are mainly classical writers, together with modern scholars such as Li Jingbang and Guo Huaruo, whose collations and annotations are also represented, giving the list a character centered on original texts while attending to annotation and appreciation. Public information on the precise Republican-era catalog and printings is limited; this overview is based only on the titles held in the collection.

版权信息
杂剧
关汉卿
关张双赴西蜀梦
第一折
第二折
第三折
第四折
闺怨佳人拜月亭
楔子
第一折
第二折
第三折
第四折

FAQ

What is the difference between sanqu and zaju?

Sanqu consists of unaccompanied sung lyrics, divided into xiaoling and taoshu, and does not enact a story; zaju is a song-and-dance drama combining singing, spoken dialogue, and gesture, with plot and characters. Both belong to Yuan qu, but one is lyrical song and the other theatrical performance.

Can I read complete Yuan zaju scripts in this volume?

Judging from the material, this book mainly provides overviews of authors, genres, and representative works and lists famous pieces; it is more like a guided anthology. For complete scripts, consult the corresponding complete or separate editions of Yuan zaju.

Why is there so much erotic song in Yuan qu?

The material notes that sanqu was often used as banquet songs for singing girls, and this setting and use explain the high proportion of erotic themes; but there are also works of landscape description, lyrical expression, historical reflection, and satirical or critical taoshu, so the subjects are not uniform.

Which piece should a beginner start with?

One might begin with vivid, lively taoshu such as Sui Jingchen's "The Emperor Gaozu Returns Home" or Ma Zhiyuan's "Borrowing a Horse," then move on to Guan Hanqing's famous zaju, gradually getting used to the language of Yuan qu.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Feng Xueli Author

Feng Xueli is an editor engaged in the collation of ancient Chinese texts; public information about him is limited, and no authoritative record of his life, native place, dates of birth and death has been found. According to available records, in 1999 he edited the combined "Complete Tang Poems," "Complete Song Ci," and "Complete Yuan Qu," published by Inner Mongolia Cultural Press in sixteen volumes. He also co-edited "Complete Tang Poems" and "Complete Yuan Qu" with Xue Hongpeng. Fifty-six of his works are held in the collection, mainly individual volumes of the "Complete Yuan Qu" series, such as volumes 142 through 149. Classified under ancient poetry, these works reflect his focus on compiling and collating classical verse—Tang poems, Song ci, and Yuan qu—providing readers with a relatively systematic body of texts for studying ancient Chinese poetry and song.

薛鸿鹏 Author

Xue Hongpeng is an author for whom public information is currently limited; details such as nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background are not clearly recorded. According to Chinese book databases, 55 works appear under this name, mainly in the category of classical poetry, with representative titles being volumes 142 to 149 of the Complete Yuan Qu series. These works center on the compilation and presentation of Yuan dynasty sanqu and zaju texts, systematically assembling Yuan qu literature so that readers can consult material from this period in a concentrated way. The editing style tends toward documentary organization, emphasizing textual completeness and orderly arrangement, and serves the reading and research needs of enthusiasts of classical poetry and qu studies. Owing to the lack of biographical detail, little more can be said about the author's scholarly background.