Complete Yuan Qu 125

Feng Xueli / 薛鸿鹏The Commercial Press · ChinaJan 2021

3.7

Word count: 17K words
Chapters: 8

Summary

Quanyuanqu (Complete Yuan Qu) is a newly emerged literary genre, generally divided into zaju (variety plays) and sanqu (colloquial songs). It produced great writers and many outstanding works, exerting a profound influence on literary history. Sanqu grew out of the popular ballads and folk tunes of the Jin dynasty; the vast majority belong to the northern style, including xiaoling (short lyrics) and taoshu (song suites). More than 3,800 xiaoling and over 450 taoshu survive today. There are more than 229 named authors, among them, in the early period, Guan Hanqing, Ma Zhiyuan and Bai Pu, and in the later period, Qiao Ji, Zhang Kejiu, Sui Jingchen, Zhang Yanghao and Liu Shizhong. Because sanqu were often used as song lyrics for entertainers at banquets, many are love songs, but there is no lack of xiaoling on scenery, lyric expression and reminiscence of the past, and taoshu satirizing worldly ways and criticizing contemporary abuses; famous examples include Ma Zhiyuan's "Borrowing a Horse," Liu Shizhong's "To High Inspector Gao," and Sui Jingchen's "The Emperor Returns to His Home Village." Yuan zaju originally circulated in the Shanxi and Hebei regions, and in the early Yuan flowed...

Editor's review

This volume is one of the major documentary achievements of the Complete Yuan Sanqu (Quan Yuan Qu) project. It is reproduced or collated from the original edition published by the Commercial Press in the Republican period. The editors, Feng Xueli and Xue Hongpeng, have long been engaged in classical drama documentation, and their choice of editions and organizational principles are notably careful. The book focuses on two genres, Yuan sanqu and zaju, including works by early masters such as Guan Hanqing, Ma Zhiyuan and Bai Pu as well as representative pieces by later writers such as Qiao Ji, Zhang Kejiu, Sui Jingchen, Zhang Yanghao and Liu Shizhong. It covers xiaoling, taoshu and zaju, presenting the overall character of Yuan qu from popular urban vulgarity to literati refinement. Readers can enjoy the humor of Ma Zhiyuan's Borrowing a Horse, perceive the realistic concern with satirizing contemporary abuses in Liu Shizhong's To Superior Inspector Gao, and feel the deconstruction of history by folk narrative in Sui Jingchen's The Emperor Returns to His Home Village. This volume serves as a documentary basis for thematic reading and research on Yuan qu and is also convenient for teaching literary history courses and desk reference. One caveat: the original text retains old character forms and some variant characters, so beginning readers should consult annotated editions or collation results in order to enter the text smoothly.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students majoring in classical literature who need primary Yuan qu documents to support coursework and thesis writing
University teachers and researchers who wish to examine the Republican-era original edition and the texts of sanqu and zaju
Drama enthusiasts who hope to read systematically through representative works by masters such as Guan Hanqing and Ma Zhiyuan
Libraries and documentation institutions that need to complete their collections of Yuan qu series editions

Not a good fit for

Complete beginners, for whom the old character forms and variant characters of the original edition will create reading obstacles
Casual readers who only want vernacular stories or modern adaptations, for whom the text is too difficult
Readers expecting line-by-line annotation and vernacular translation, whereas this volume is primarily devoted to documentary preservation

Reading tips

Begin with the volume's table of contents and editorial notes to understand the scope and arrangement
Proceed unit by unit by author, reading each author's xiaoling first, then taoshu and zaju
Keep an annotated anthology of Yuan qu at hand for comparison, checking variant characters and allusions as needed
Read one or two pieces closely each week, noting the use of qupai, chenzi and dialectal colloquialisms

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
楔子
第一折
正文一
第二折
第三折
第四折
王仲文

FAQ

How does this volume differ from common Yuan qu anthologies on the market?

This volume relies on the original Commercial Press edition of the Republican period and emphasizes preserving the original documentary form and a relatively comprehensive scope rather than offering selected annotations for beginners. It is better used together with an anthology: the anthology provides annotations and guidance, while this volume provides the original text and a fuller context of authors and works. The two are complementary, not substitutes.

Can I read this volume directly without any foundation in Yuan qu?

You can try, but it is advisable first to read an introductory annotated anthology of Yuan qu and become familiar with qupai, chenzi and common allusions before entering this volume. The original edition retains old character forms and variant characters, so direct reading easily runs into difficulties at the level of words and characters; reference works and collated editions will make the going smoother.

How should one distinguish between reading sanqu and zaju in this volume?

Sanqu includes xiaoling and taoshu; the pieces are short and suitable for close reading one by one, to appreciate the different orientations of landscape description, lyric expression, meditation on the past and satire. Zaju is a dramatic text in代言体 (daiyan style), best read with attention to plot structure and role arrangement. It is recommended to build a feel for the language through xiaoling first, then move on to taoshu and zaju, so that the reading rhythm is more relaxed.

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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.