The Tale of the White Rabbit
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Summary
Also known as Liu Zhiyuan and the White Rabbit, The White Rabbit Story is a Yuan-dynasty nanxi play compiled by the literati of the Yongjia Book Society. It tells of the vicissitudes of Liu Zhiyuan and Li Sanniang: Liu Zhiyuan, founding emperor of the Later Han of the Five Dynasties, rose from a wandering beggar to the throne, and his legendary career was a favorite of folk storytelling. In the play, he loses his fortune through gambling and drifts in poverty until the rich man Li Wenkui takes him in as a servant. Li Wenkui, seeing a snake pass through his seven orifices as he sleeps, concludes that he is destined for great honor and betroths his daughter Li Sanniang to him. After Li Wenkui's death, Sanniang's brother and sister-in-law divide the family property, assigning Liu Zhiyuan to guard the melon garden haunted by a melon spirit, hoping to do him harm. Sanniang, seeing through the scheme, tries hard to stop him from going. A skilled martial artist, Liu Zhiyuan seizes his staff and goes anyway. He defeats the melon spirit and obtains books of military strategy and a precious sword, then takes leave of Sanniang to join the army at Fenzhou. Through repeated battlefield exploits he receives exceptional promotion, rising to the rank of pacification commissioner of the Nine Provinces, and marries a woman of the Yue family. Sanniang endures endless torment at home; worn out by toil, she gives birth to a son in the mill. Lacking scissors, she bites through the umbilical cord, and the boy is named Yaogilang ("Bite-the-Cord Boy"). She entrusts the child to Old Dou to be raised by Zhiyuan. Fifteen years later, Liu Zhiyuan sends his son back to the village to seek his mother. One day, while hunting, Yaogilang chases a white rabbit and meets his mother drawing water at the well. He returns and reports to his father. Liu Zhiyuan leads his troops back to Shatuo and is reunited with Li Sanniang.
Editor's review
The White Rabbit is one of the representative works of Yuan-dynasty nanxi (southern drama), compiled by the talented men of the Yongjia Script Society, and tells the story of Liu Zhiyuan and Li Sanniang's joys and sorrows, separation and reunion. The play begins with Liu Zhiyuan, down and out and wandering, taken in by Li Wenkui and betrothed to Sanniang; it proceeds through his guarding the melon garden and obtaining books of strategy and a sword, joining the army and winning merit, and taking another wife, Lady Yue, to Sanniang giving birth in the mill and the Abi-deficient youth chasing a white rabbit to meet his mother at the well, and finally the family's reunion. The plot is compact and interweaves sorrow and joy; it depicts Li Sanniang's bitter suffering under torment while retaining the plain humor and legendary color of folk drama. Liu Zhiyuan's rise from vagrant to emperor was a popular tale among the people, and the play uses it to express a simple view of the ups and downs of fate and family ethics. As a nanxi work, its language is plain and its scenes clearly divided, making it suitable for understanding early dramatic narrative and forms of folk performance. When reading, pay attention to the structural arrangement of the suffering scenes and the reunion ending, and to how classic stage moments such as the white rabbit and the meeting at the well are handled.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Teachers and students studying or taking courses in ancient Chinese drama and nanxi
- Readers who enjoy folk tales and themes of joy and sorrow, separation and reunion
- Enthusiasts who want to learn about the legend of Liu Zhiyuan and Five Dynasties folk narrative
- Practitioners engaged in adapting or performing traditional drama for reference
Not a good fit for
- Readers accustomed only to modern fictional narrative and unfamiliar with dramatic conventions
- Readers expecting rigorous historical scholarship rather than folk legend
- Readers sensitive to scenes of suffering and abuse
Reading tips
- First understand the basic conventions of nanxi and its role types before reading the text.
- Trace the two threads of Liu Zhiyuan and Li Sanniang scene by scene, noting the structure of separation and reunion.
- Read closely the key scenes such as giving birth in the mill and the meeting at the well to appreciate the emotional tension of folk drama.
- Compare with later adaptations or local opera performances to observe how the same story evolved.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 第一出 开宗
- 第二出 访友
- 第三出 报社
- 第四出 祭赛
- 第五出 留庄
- 第六出 牧牛
- 第七出 成婚
- 第八出 游春
- 第九出 保禳
- 第十出 逼书
- 第十一出 说计
- 第十二出 看瓜
- 第十三出 分别
- 第十四出 途叹
- 第十五出 投军
- 第十六出 强逼
- 第十七出 巡更
- 第十八出 拷问
- 第十九出 挨磨
- 第二十出 分娩
- 第二十一出 岳赘
- 第二十二出 送子
- 第二十三出 求乳
- 第二十四出 见儿
- 第二十五出 寇反
- 第二十六出 讨贼
- 第二十七出 凯回
- 第二十八出 汲水
- 第二十九出 受封
- 第三十出 诉猎
- 第三十一出 忆母
- 第三十二出 私会
- 第三十三出 团圆
FAQ
Is The White Rabbit a Yuan-dynasty nanxi or some other genre?
It is a Yuan-dynasty nanxi work, also known as Liu Zhiyuan and the White Rabbit, compiled by the talented men of the Yongjia Script Society. Nanxi was a dramatic form popular in the south during the Song and Yuan periods; its conventions differ from those of the later chuanqi and zaju, so readers should pay attention to its scene structure and role arrangements.
What is the function of the white rabbit in the story?
The white rabbit is an important plot thread in the play. Fifteen years later, the Abi-deficient youth, chasing a white rabbit, comes to the well and meets his mother, who is drawing water, thus prompting the mother and son to recognize each other and the family to reunite. The white rabbit is both an expression of legendary color and a key to the plot's turning point.
How can readers unfamiliar with dramatic conventions get started?
One may first read a plot summary to grasp the relationships among the characters, then read the original text scene by scene, noting how the arias and spoken passages work together. There is no need to investigate every tune title; focus on the advancement of the plot and the characters' emotions, and use annotated editions or introductory guides to lower the barrier.
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About the author
永嘉书会才人
Author
Yongjia Shuhui Cairen is a collective attribution used for the authors of early southern Chinese drama (nanxi); no reliable record of the real name, dates of birth and death, or native place of this figure survives, and public information is limited. It is generally believed that the "Yongjia Shuhui" was a folk theatrical society active in the Wenzhou area during the Song and Yuan dynasties, and that "cairen" referred to its writers, so the name denotes a group of playwrights rather than a verifiable individual. The extant nanxi play The White Rabbit's Story (Baitu Ji) is attributed to Yongjia Shuhui Cairen; together with The Thorn Hairpin, The Pavilion of Moon Worship, and The Story of the Dog, it is known as one of the "Four Great Nanxi." It tells of the joys and sorrows of Liu Zhiyuan and Li Sanniang in plain, popular language with a strong folk flavor, and has long remained on the stage. Because historical sources are scarce, little can be said about the author's life; scholarship relies mainly on the text and editions of The White Rabbit's Story to examine the role of such writers in early nanxi composition and the transmission of folk drama.
