A Brief History of Yuan and Ming Quci

Author: Liang Yizhen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-01-01
Features: The History of Yuan and Ming Qu Poetry is divided into ten chapters. Chapter 4 discusses the Yuan Xian, and based on the era of each group's activities, it is divided into two periods. The first period spans from the beginning of qu poetry to the Dade era, equivalent to the era of the predecessors mentioned in Zhong Sicheng's Record of the Ghosts, with Guan Hanqing and Ma Zhiyuan as the main figures. The second period runs from the Dade era to the end of the Yuan Dynasty, corresponding to the era of Zhong Sicheng as the author of Record of the Ghosts, with Zhang Kexiu and Yang Chao'ying as the main figures. The last six chapters discuss the Ming Dynasty, divided into three periods. The first period covers over a century of the qu poetry scene from Hongwu to the end of Chenghua, with Wang Yuanheng and the Ming imperial prince Zhu You() as the main figures. The second period spans from Hongzhi to Jiajing (before the rise of Kunqu Opera) with Kang Hai, Feng Weimin, Wang Pan, and Shen Shi as the main figures. The third period runs from Jiajing to the fall of the Ming Dynasty (after the rise of Kunqu Opera), with Liang Chenyu, Shen(), and Shi Shaoshen as the main figures. At the beginning of the book is an introduction that elaborates on the origins, forms, and the division of this book into periods of qu poetry. At the end, it includes discussions on the offshoots of qu poetry—minor qu poets—as well as reference for studying qu poetry. The book covers over four hundred years and discusses more than eighty authors. The elite of the golden age of qu poetry is all here.