Tang Xianzu's Annotations to "The Dream of the Yellow River"

Author: Tang Xianzu (Ming) and Wu Xiuhua (Annotations)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: The Dream of the Yellow River (Hangan Mengji) is a significant work by the Ming Dynasty playwright Tang Xianzu. Based on the actual conditions of the Ming Dynasty's officialdom, the author created the character of Lu Sheng, who can be considered a representative of the Ming Dynasty scholars. Through the vicissitudes of Lu Sheng's life—his poverty, prosperity, honor, and disgrace—the play critiques the corruption of the Ming Dynasty's officialdom, exposes the selfish and base soul of Lu Sheng as a military official, and provides an objective description of the family life and marital relationships of Ming scholars. More importantly, this drama reflects on the life paths of intellectuals in the feudal era, offering valuable insights. The Dream of the Yellow River serves as an important medium for examining the psychological changes of the Ming Dynasty's officialdom and scholar-official class, and it is rich in thought. The annotations to The Dream of the Yellow River provide reasonable explanations for all ambiguities and difficulties in the text, striving to reflect the current academic standards. The annotations include phonetics, definitions, historical contexts, and sources. The focus of the annotations is on allusions, dialects and colloquialisms, the adaptation and borrowing of classical poetry, and difficult or key terms.