Zhang Fengyi's Collection of Traditional Chinese Opera

Author: Zhang Fengyi, Su Shusen, Qin Xuren, Hou Zuoxing (proofread and annotated)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1994-09-01
Features:
1. Zhang Fengyi (1527–1613), a Ming Dynasty playwright and litterateur. His courtesy name was Boyi, and his sobriquets were Lingxu and Lengran Jushi. He was from Changzhou, Jiangsu (now Suzhou, Jiangsu). Together with his brothers Xianyi and Yanyi, he was renowned and known as the "Three Zhangs." In the 43rd year of the Jiajing era (1564), both he and Yanyi passed the provincial examinations. Zhang Fengyi attempted the imperial examinations four times but failed, eventually abandoning his pursuit of official career and leading a reclusive life. Although skilled in poetry, calligraphy, and painting, he was ashamed to use his literary talents to connect with the powerful and instead earned a living by selling his calligraphy. Zhang Fengyi loved composing and performing music, humming melodies from morning till evening. He once performed The Story of the Pipa with his second son, playing Cai Boqie himself while his son played Zhao Wuniang. Despite the audience filling the hall, he remained indifferent. In his later years, he particularly enjoyed composing new lyrical pieces, which were well-loved by people. Zhang Fengyi was a prolific writer, with works including Collected Annotations of the Book of Songs, Early Collection of Chu Shi Tang, Later Collection of Chu Shi Tang, Annotations on the Four Books, Record of Exemplary Deeds from Ruilan Pavilion, Strange Tales of Qinghe, His Own Chronology, The Artistic Talents of Famous Painters in the Realm, and Poetry Collection of the Current Dynasty. He also left behind Drafts of Lyrics from, which have long been lost. Additionally, he wrote the following plays: The Story of Hongfu, The Story of Zhufa, The Story of Guanyuan, The Story of Stealing the Seal, The Story of the Tiger Seal, and The Story of the Locked Gate, collectively titled The Six Collections of Yangchun, of which the first five are preserved. According to the Complete Catalog of Ming Dynasty Plays by Xihua, there are also three more plays listed: The Story of Pingbo, The Story of the Reed Robe, and The Story of the Jade Swallow, none of which have survived. In The Anthology of Various Melodies, nine excerpts from The Story of the Locked Gate are included, but whether they are by Zhang remains to be confirmed. Thus, they are appended at the end of this volume.
2. The Collection of Zhang Fengyi's Plays includes five of his works:
(1) The Story of Hongfu
(2) The Story of Zhufa
(3) The Story of Guanyuan
(4) The Story of Stealing the Seal
(5) The Story of the Tiger Seal
(6) Appendix: The Story of the Locked Gate
3. The sources and collation texts for the five plays are as follows:
(1) The Story of Hongfu: Based on the relatively complete Ming-era red-and-black printed edition of The Story of Hongfu by the Ling family of Wuxing, collated with:
(1) Ming Wanli edition of The Re-Collated Story of Hongfu from Jizhi Tang (abbreviated as Jiben);
(2) Ming Wanli edition of The Critiqued Story of Hongfu by Master Li Zhuo from Rongyu Tang (abbreviated as Rongben);
(3) Ming Wanli edition of The Imperially Engraved Story of Hongfu by Xiao Tenghong (abbreviated as Xiaoben);
(4) Late Ming edition of The Definitive Story of Hongfu from Jigu Ge (abbreviated as Jiben);
(5) Early Republican edition of The Collected Plays from Nuohongshi by Chen Mei Gong (abbreviated as Nuoben);
(6) 1954 edition of The Sixty Plays from the Literary Classics Publishing Society, based on the 1935 edition of The Sixty Plays (abbreviated as Kaiben). All six editions are identical, referred to as "all texts."
(2) The Story of Zhufa: Based on the earliest extant Ming Wanli edition of The Newly Engraved Illustrated and Annotated Story of Xiu Xiao and Xue Yi Zhufa from Fuchuntang (abbreviated as Jiben), collated with Ming Wanli edition of The Re-Collated Story of Xiu Xiao and Xue Yi Zhufa from Jizhi Tang (abbreviated as Jiben).
(3) The Story of Guanyuan: Based on the earliest extant Ming Wanli edition of The Newly Engraved Annotated and Illustrated Story of the Heir Prince Guanyuan from Fuchuntang (abbreviated as Jiben), collated with:
(1) Late Ming edition of The Sixty Plays from Jigu Ge (abbreviated as Jiben);
(2) 1954 edition of The Sixty Plays from the Literary Classics Publishing Society, based on the 1935 edition of The Sixty Plays (abbreviated as Kaiben).
(4) The Story of Stealing the Seal: The circulating texts are Qing-era manuscript copies. The Ming-era edition from Huancui Tang is in France and unseen. This volume uses a photocopied version of the Ming Wanli edition of The Re-Collated Story of Stealing the Seal from Jizhi Tang, held by Kanda Kiichiro and published in Three Rare Chinese Opera Manuscripts by Ishikawa in 1982 (Showa 57). This is the earliest extant version and the first time it has been collated and published in China.
(5) The Story of the Tiger Seal: Since all circulating texts are Qing-era manuscript copies, only the Ming Wanli edition of The Newly Engraved Illustrated and Annotated Story of General Huafu from Fuchuntang (abbreviated as Jiben) is used for collation.
(6) The Story of the Locked Gate: Based on the excerpts from The Story of the Locked Gate from The Anthology of Various Melodies.
4. This collection is a collated edition of the extant works of Zhang Fengyi, striving to preserve the original form for reference. Therefore, no omissions are made for phrases that clearly reflect historical limitations. Collation is limited to aiding textual understanding or providing reference value, focusing on correcting errors, repetitions, and inconsistencies in the base text. Thus, variations in archaic characters, modern characters, and synonyms are not necessarily annotated.
5. If the text in the base edition is similar to or can be reconciled with that in other editions, and the other edition's text is superior, it will be annotated accordingly. If the text in the base edition is clearly erroneous and lacks reference in other editions, it will be corrected directly with an annotation. If the text in other editions is clearly erroneous, missing, repeated, or inconsistent, but the base edition is correct, annotations are generally not provided.
6. All annotations are marked with reference numbers and appended after each play for easy reference.
7. The illustrations and book covers at the beginning of the volume are selected from The Anthology of Ancient Opera Manuscripts and Three Rare Chinese Opera Manuscripts, allowing readers to glimpse the original printing format of the book.