Selected Yuan Dynasty Zaju (A Series of Readings on Chinese Classical Literature)

Author: Gu Xuejie
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: This collection is selected from over one hundred and thirty existing Zaju plays that are believed to be works of the Yuan Dynasty. It aims to introduce some outstanding works to readers. A total of sixteen plays have been selected. Each of the selected plays is based on the Ming Dynasty edition "Yuanqu Xuan" compiled by Zang Maoyun, as it is relatively complete. However, there are occasional errors in the revisions, which have been corrected using other Ming Dynasty editions and accompanied by detailed explanations. The sixteen Zaju plays in this collection can be roughly divided into five categories:
1. Tragedies reflecting class oppression and racial oppression.
2. Comedies that positively depict peasant heroes resisting feudal rule.
3. Comedies reflecting human emotions, social realities, and everyday life.
4. Love comedies based on myths and folk legends.
5. Historical tragedies.