Writers › Writer / Poet
Ma Zhiyuan
Yuan playwright and song-lyric writer from Dadu, author of the drama Autumn in the Han Palace and the short song Autumn Thoughts
Mural of Autumn Thoughts, a work by this person.
At sunset, a lone traveler on a thin horse follows an ancient road past withered vines, an old tree and crows toward a cottage by a small bridge. The spare autumn scene deepens his homesickness.
Also known as Zi Qianli · Hao Dongli
- Roles
- Writer / Poet
Ma Zhiyuan, styled Dongli, came from Dadu (modern Beijing). Zhong Sicheng's *Register of Ghosts* (*Lu gui bu*) says he served as an official of the Jiangzhe provincial administration and lists more than ten plays by him, of which six survive, among them *Autumn in the Han Palace* (*Hangong qiu*) and *Tears on the Blue Gown* (*Qingshan lei*), besides *Yellow Millet Dream* (*Huangliang meng*), written with Li Shizhong and others. *Autumn in the Han Palace*, his best-known drama, dramatizes the parting of Emperor Yuan of Han from Wang Zhaojun. Modern editors collected his songs as *Dongli Songs* (*Dongli yuefu*); they include the short lyric *Autumn Thoughts* to the tune *Tian jing sha*, a picture of a traveller at dusk, and a song suite on the same theme that Zhou Deqing's *Rhymes of the Central Plain* (*Zhongyuan yinyun*) judged one in ten thousand. In the early Ming, Zhu Quan's *Formulary of Correct Sounds for an Era of Great Peace* (*Taihe zhengyin pu*) ranked him first among Yuan dramatists.
Life and times
Song
Yuan
Works
Literature · Drama18- Autumn ThoughtsYuanMa Zhiyuan's Yuan sanqu of twenty-eight characters: nine stark images of a traveller's autumn
- Sails Returning to Distant ShoresYuanMa Zhiyuan's sanqu from his Eight Views of Xiao-Xiang: sails home at dusk to a river village
- Night Voyage: Autumn ReflectionsYuanMa Zhiyuan's sanqu suite on life as a butterfly dream, scorning fame for a hermit's ease
- Falling Plum Wind: Rose DewYuanMa Zhiyuan's short sanqu: four seasons in four images, and a woman wronged through all of them
- Autumn in the Han PalaceYuanMa Zhiyuan's Yuan zaju of Emperor Yuan forced to send Wang Zhaojun to the Xiongnu
+13 more
- The Yellow Millet DreamYuanDaoist conversion play by Ma Zhiyuan and others: Lü Dongbin lives a lifetime while millet cooks
- Autumn in the Han Palace: Mao Yanshou Selects Palace BeautiesYuan
- Autumn in the Han Palace: Zhaojun's Lute Draws the Emperor by NightYuan
- Autumn in the Han Palace: The Chanyu Demands Zhaojun with an ArmyYuan
- Autumn in the Han Palace: Farewell at Ba Bridge; Zhaojun Drowns HerselfYuan
- Autumn in the Han Palace: A Lone Goose Breaks the Dream; Mao Yanshou ExecutedYuan
- Autumn in the Han Palace: Farewell at Ba BridgeYuan
- The Yellow Millet Dream: Zhongli Quan Sends Lü Yan into the DreamYuan
- The Yellow Millet Dream: Lü Yan Marries and Goes to WarYuan
- The Yellow Millet Dream: Domestic Betrayal and the Charge of Selling the BattleYuan
- The Yellow Millet Dream: Exiled through the SnowYuan
- The Yellow Millet Dream: Waking from the Millet Dream and Attaining the WayYuan
- The Yellow Millet Dream: Act One: Falling into the Millet Dream (excerpt)Yuan
- Literature · Sayings5
- Leaving Well and Home BehindYuanIdiom from Ma Zhiyuan's drama Autumn in the Han Palace: leaving home behind, unwillingly
- Cold Fragrance Drifting Through the CourtyardYuanFamous line from a Ma Zhiyuan song: cool scent in the courtyard marks the turning seasons
- Ancient Road and West Wind in Autumn ThoughtsYuanFamous line from Ma Zhiyuan's Autumn Thoughts: a weary traveler's bleak road in autumn
- Fallen Petals Scent the River at DuskYuanLine from Ma Zhiyuan's song of returning sails: petals scent a village river at dusk
- The Four Vices of Wine, Lust, Wealth and TemperYuanIdiom from the Yuan play The Yellow Millet Dream: the four vices that ensnare a life
Stage · Plays1- Autumn in the Han PalaceYuan dynasty (by Ma Zhiyuan)Ma Zhiyuan's Yuan zaju sung by Emperor Yuan's role, ending in his longing at a lone goose's cry
