Peach Blossom Fan

Author: Kong Shangren
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Kong Shangren (1648—1718), styled Pinzhi, also styled Jizhong, styled Dongtang, styled An Tang, and self-styled Yunting Shanshen. He was from Qufu, Shandong, and the sixty-fourth descendant of Confucius. His life can be roughly divided into three stages.
1. Pre-Official Stage: Before the age of thirty-seven, he lived at home, caring for his parents and studying. He came into contact with some Southern Ming remnants and learned much about the rise and fall of the Southern Ming dynasty, including first-hand historical materials and anecdotes about Li Xiangjun. He developed a strong interest in writing a historical drama reflecting the rise and fall of the Southern Ming and began to conceptualize and draft "The Peach Blossom Fan," but "it only sketched its outline, and did not adorn it with colors" (from "The Origin of The Peach Blossom Fan").
2. Official Stage: In 1684, when the Kangxi Emperor toured the south and returned north, he specially visited Qufu to sacrifice to Confucius. At the age of thirty-seven, Kong Shangren lectured before the emperor, who highly praised him and broke through regulations to appoint him as a professor at the Imperial Academy. He then went to Beijing for the position. At the age of thirty-nine, he was dispatched to the Jiangnan region to manage flood control, which lasted for four years. During this period, his footsteps almost the former lands of the Southern Ming, and he formed close friendships with a large group of Ming dynasty remnants with national integrity, accepting their patriotic ideas and deepening his understanding of the rise and fall of the Southern Ming. He actively collected materials and enriched the conception of "The Peach Blossom Fan." In the twenty-ninth year of the Kangxi reign (1690), he was recalled to Beijing and held positions as a professor at the Imperial Academy, an assistant in the Ministry of Revenue, and a deputy director in the Guangdong Department. After years of effort and three revisions, at the age of fifty-two, Kong Shangren finally completed "The Peach Blossom Fan." It was so popular that it was frequently performed in Beijing, "with no days off," and it spread even to remote places, including Rongmei (now Hefeng County, Hubei), where it was said to be "deep in the mountains, blocked from the outside world" ("The Origin of The Peach Blossom Fan"). The following March, Kong Shangren was dismissed from office, and it was said that "fate was unkind, and his words drew resentment, as the golden person [emperor] suffered slander" (from "Rongmei Tusi Tian Shanyuan Sent a Envoy to Commend My 'The Peach Blossom Fan' Drama and Poem in Reply"). From these lines, it appears that his dismissal was likely due to the creation of "The Peach Blossom Fan."
3. Retired Stage: After his dismissal, Kong Shangren remained idle in Beijing for over two years before returning to his hometown to live in seclusion. In the fifty-seventh year of the Kangxi reign (1718), this renowned playwright passed away at home in Shimen, Qufu, at the age of seventy. His other works include the classic "The Little Thunder" co-authored with Gu Cai, as well as his collected poems and essays, such as "Lake Sea Collection," "An Tang Collection," and "Longli Collection," all of which have been passed down.