Mulian Rescues His Mother

Introduction

Written out and printed by Zheng Zhizhen of Qimen in 1582, in three volumes

Mulian Rescues His Mother, in full the New Exhortation to Goodness Play of Mulian Rescuing His Mother, was written by Zheng Zhizhen of Qingxi in Qimen, Anhui, who called it the Quanshan Ji in his preface. He drew on earlier zaju plays, transformation texts and legends, and wrote the play out for printing in 1582, the tenth year of the Wanli reign; the Gaoshi Shanfang edition is the first printing. The play is in three volumes, and the middle volume weaves in Journey to the West episodes such as the white ape clearing the road and the crossing of the Flaming Mountain. Once it appeared, Zheng's text spread quickly through Qimen, Xiuning, Shitai, Wuyuan and Shexian. In the Kangxi reign of the Qing it was taken into the palace and staged at court. Today the Huizhou and Nanle Mulian plays are both listed under the national intangible heritage item for Mulian drama.