Li Yu Opera Collection (Volume 1, 2, 3) Ping

Author: Li Yu (Qing Dynasty), edited by Chen Guyu, Chen Duo, and Ma Shenggui
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-12-01
Features: Li Yu was one of the most outstanding playwrights of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. His works cover a wide range of themes, with innovative plots and brilliant writing, which made them highly influential in his time and many of which are still performed on stage today. The Qingzhong Pian (A Record of the Qing Loyalty), a reflection of the struggles of the era, is included in this collection of seventeen of this prolific writer's plays, including rare ones, along with supplementary reference materials. By the late Ming Dynasty, opera had reached a state similar to that of late Tang poetry—though the forms and techniques were refined, they had lost the freshness and vitality of their golden age, showing signs of decline. However, in the late Ming and early Qing period in Suzhou, a group of impoverished scholars wrote plays for the opera troupe, led by Zhang Yijun, who broke through the conventions. They drew inspiration from both reality and history, consciously reflecting society and life, sweeping away the frivolous and ornate styles to create a distinctive artistic style that appealed to both the refined and the popular. Opera history refers to these scholars as the "Suzhou School," and Li Yu was one of its most prominent representatives.