Writers › Writer / Poet
Guan Hanqing
Yuan playwright from Dadu credited with more than sixty zaju dramas, among them Injustice to Dou E, and listed first among the early Yuan dramatists
Mural of The Injustice to Dou E, a work by this person.
At the execution ground, Dou E faces death beneath a midsummer snowfall as her blood rises toward a white banner and dry fields stretch beyond. The unnatural signs make visible the injustice that moves heaven and earth.
Also known as Hao Yizhai
- Roles
- Writer / Poet
Guan Hanqing came from Dadu, the Yuan capital; his given name is unknown, and he styled himself Yizhai. Zhong Sicheng's Register of Ghosts (Lugui bu) says he held a post in the Imperial Academy of Medicine and puts him first among the deceased masters of the previous generation, while Xiong Mengxiang's gazetteer of Dadu describes him as unconstrained, learned and full of wit. More than sixty zaju plays are attributed to him, of which over a dozen survive, including Injustice to Dou E (Dou E yuan), Rescued by a Coquette (Jiu fengchen), The Single Sword Meeting (Dandao hui) and Riverside Pavilion (Wangjiang ting), ranging over court cases, love and history. He also wrote songs, among them the suite Not Giving In to Age, in which he calls himself a copper pea that will not cook soft. His birth and death years are unrecorded. Zhou Deqing's preface to Rhymes of the Central Plain names Guan with Zheng, Bai and Ma, the grouping later called the four masters of Yuan drama.
Life and times
- c. 1220 CEBorn
Song
Yuan - 1260Flourishing of Yuan Drama (Zaju)
Took partYuan qu was the period's flourishing dramatic art, encompassing sanqu songs and zaju drama and later distinguished as a northern tradition from southern forms.- Guan Hanqing Staging Dou Ec. 1271Playwright Guan Hanqing staged Injustice to Dou E, establishing the apex of Yuan Zaju drama.
- Guan Hanqing Staging Dou E
- c. 1300 CEDied
Works
Literature · Drama29- Refusing to Yield to AgeYuanGuan Hanqing's sanqu suite, a self-portrait as an unbreakable 'copper pea' of the theatre world
- Drunk in East Wind: Worlds Apart in a Single StepYuanGuan Hanqing's farewell sanqu in plain speech, a lover's tearful send-off with a parting cup
- Four Pieces of Jade: Parting LongingYuanGuan Hanqing's short sanqu of a woman gazing from the railing long after her lover has gone
- Song of Great Virtue: AutumnYuanThe autumn piece of Guan Hanqing's four-season sanqu: wind, rain and crickets on a lonely night
- The Injustice to Dou EYuanGuan Hanqing's Yuan zaju of the wronged widow Dou E, whose three dying vows all come true
+24 more
- Rescuing a Sister from the Wind and DustYuanGuan Hanqing's comic zaju of the courtesan Zhao Pan'er tricking a brute into freeing her friend
- The Single-Sword MeetingYuanGuan Hanqing's Yuan zaju of Guan Yu crossing the river with a few men to face Lu Su's trap
- The River-View PavilionYuanGuan Hanqing's zaju of the widow Tan Ji'er, who outwits a predatory lord dressed as a fishwife
- The Injustice to Dou E: Rolling the Embroidered BallYuan
- The Injustice to Dou E: Dou Tianzhang Gives Up His DaughterYuan
- The Injustice to Dou E: Zhang Lü'er Forces a MarriageYuan
- The Injustice to Dou E: The Poisoning and the Forced ConfessionYuan
- The Injustice to Dou E: The Execution GroundYuan
- The Injustice to Dou E: Dou Tianzhang Redresses the WrongYuan
- Rescuing a Sister from the Wind and Dust: Zhou She Proposes; Zhao Pan'er Warns Against ItYuan
- Rescuing a Sister from the Wind and Dust: Song Yinzhang Begs for Help; Zhao Pan'er Makes a PlanYuan
- Rescuing a Sister from the Wind and Dust: Zhao Pan'er Tricks Zhou She into Writing a DivorceYuan
- Rescuing a Sister from the Wind and Dust: The Court Rules; Song Yinzhang Weds An XiushiYuan
- Rescuing a Sister from the Wind and Dust: Act One: Warning Against the Marriage (excerpt)Yuan
- The Single-Sword Meeting: Lu Su Plots to Reclaim Jingzhou; Elder Qiao ObjectsYuan
- The Single-Sword Meeting: Lu Su Visits Sima HuiYuan
- The Single-Sword Meeting: Guan Yu Accepts the InvitationYuan
- The Single-Sword Meeting: The Single-Sword MeetingYuan
- The Single-Sword Meeting: Act Four: The Great River Flows East (excerpt)Yuan
- The River-View Pavilion: Aunt Bai Matches Bai Shizhong and Tan Ji'erYuan
- The River-View Pavilion: Yamen Lord Yang Obtains the Sword and Gold TabletYuan
- The River-View Pavilion: Cutting Fish at the River-View Pavilion; the Sword and Tablet Taken by WitYuan
- The River-View Pavilion: Li Bingzhong Judges the Case; Husband and Wife ReunitedYuan
- The River-View Pavilion: Act Three: Taking the Sword and Tablet by Wit (excerpt)Yuan
- Literature · Sayings6
- Dou E's Tears Streaming DownYuanLine from Guan Hanqing's Injustice to Dou E: a wronged woman's tears on the way to execution
- Going to the Parley with a Single BladeYuanIdiom from Guan Yu's parley with Lu Su, made famous on stage: bravely facing danger alone
- Fearing the Hard, Bullying the SoftYuanIdiom from Guan Hanqing's Injustice to Dou E: a curse on those who bully the weak
- Heaven Misjudges the Good and the WickedYuanLine from Guan Hanqing's Injustice to Dou E: an innocent woman accuses heaven itself
- Patching the Leak in Midstream Is Too LateYuanIdiom from Guan Hanqing's Rescuing a Sister: a remedy left until disaster strikes is too late
+1 more
- A Bronze Pea That Will Not CrackYuanFamous line from Guan Hanqing's Refusing to Grow Old: a tough pea no fire can crack
Stage · Plays3- The Injustice to Dou EEarly Yuan dynasty (by Guan Hanqing)Guan Hanqing's Yuan zaju in a prologue and four acts, on Dou E's wrongful sentence and her three dying vows
- The Single-Sword MeetingYuan dynasty (by Guan Hanqing)Guan Hanqing's Yuan zaju in four acts, sung in turn by Qiao Gong, Sima Hui and Lord Guan himself
- Rescuing a Sister from the Wind and DustYuan dynasty (by Guan Hanqing)Guan Hanqing's Yuan zaju comedy in which Zhao Pan'er tricks a divorce letter out of Zhou She to free Song Yinzhang
