Wu Weichun's Annotations on Yuan Qu Xiaoling

Author: Wu Weichun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-03-01
Features: Xiao Ling is a new poetic form that flourished in Beijing during the Yuan Dynasty. It belongs to a minor category within Yuan Qu (Yuan Dynasty music-dramas). Originally, it could be set to music and sung, but gradually it detached from music and became a form of literature for reading aloud, with authors still creating it today. The language of Xiao Ling is more colloquial than that of traditional poetry, and its form is more lively. Over 3,000 existing Xiao Ling pieces from the Yuan Dynasty are fewer in number than traditional poetry, and their themes are not as broad. However, they still reflect the life conditions and thoughts of people from all social strata during that time. This selection includes nearly 100 Yuan Dynasty Xiao Ling pieces for the enjoyment of readers.