Tang Xianzu

Tang Xianzu (1550-1616) was a Chinese dramatist and writer in the Ming Dynasty. The meaning of the word is still, and the names are Hairuo, Ruoshi and Qingyuan Taoist. Han nationality, native of Linchuan, Jiangxi. In 1583 AD (the eleventh year of Wanli), he became a Jinshi and served as doctor of Taichang Temple and director of the Ministry of Rites. Due to the impeachment of Shen Shixing, he was demoted to Xu Wendianshi. He was later transferred to the magistrate of Suichang County, Zhejiang Province. He was dismissed from office because he was not attached to the powerful and did not serve again. He studied under Luo Rufang and was influenced by Li Zhi's thoughts. In terms of opera creation, we are opposed to imitation of ancient times and rigidity in rhythm. His works include the legendary "The Peony Pavilion", "The Handan Chronicle", "The Nanke Chronicle" and "The Purple Hairpin Chronicle", collectively known as "Four Dreams in Yumingtang", of which "The Peony Pavilion" is the most famous. In the history of opera, he is as famous as Guan Hanqing and Wang Shifu, and plays an important role in the history of Chinese and even world literature. ? 141 poems

Tang Xianzu wrote "The Purple Flute" (later changed to "The Purple Hairpin"), "The Peony Pavilion" (also known as "The Return of the Soul"), "The Purple Flute" "Nanke Ji", "Handan Ji", poems and essays "Four Dreams of Yumingtang", "Collected Works of Yumingtang", "Yumingtang Rules and Letters", "Hongquan Yicao", "Asking for Thorns and Postal Grass", novels " "Continuation of Yu Chu's New Chronicles" and so on. Because the four plays, The Peony Pavilion, The Story of Purple Hairpin, The Story of Nanke, and The Story of Handan, are all related to "dreams", they are collectively called the "Four Dreams of Linchuan", all with the theme of "love". The most outstanding of these four plays is "The Peony Pavilion", which tells the story of a girl who died because of love and came back to life because of love. Before "The Peony Pavilion", the most influential love-themed drama in China was "The Romance of the West Chamber". As soon as "The Peony Pavilion" came out, it greatly eclipsed "The Romance of the West Chamber".

Drama

"The Purple Flute" was written around 1577, but was discontinued because it was considered to be alluding to current affairs. Ten years later, it was changed to "Purple"

Tang Xianzu had a great influence at that time and in later generations. Even critics who think that his use of rhyme is arbitrary and does not pay attention to rhythm almost all praise "The Peony Pavilion". For example, Shen Defu, who was more than 20 years later than Tang Xianzu, said: "Tang Yi still dreamed of "The Peony Pavilion" when it came out , recited from family to family, the price of "West Chamber" was reduced several times." He also said that his "talent and talent are self-sufficient and immortal." The dramatist Lu Tiancheng, who was the same as Shen Defu, praised Tang Xianzu as "a peerless genius" and "a lyricist for thousands of years". Wang Jide even said that if Tang Xianzu had not "disregarded the word of law" and other weaknesses, "there would have been no author in the past, and only one person in the past two hundred years." Due to the influence of Tang Xianzu, some playwrights who deliberately studied Tang Xianzu and pursued literary talent appeared in the late Ming Dynasty, such as Ruan Dacheng and Meng Chengshun. Later generations called the Yumingtang School or Linchuan School, which was not actually the case. Exactly. The ideological tendency of individual liberation in "The Peony Pavilion" has a far-reaching influence, which can also be seen in the Qing Dynasty's "A Dream of Red Mansions"

Achievements in Opera

Tang Xianzu's main creative achievements are in opera , the representative work is "The Peony Pavilion" (also known as "The Return of the Soul"), which together with "The Story of Handan", "The Story of Nanke" and "The Purple Hairpin" are collectively known as "The Four Dreams of Yumingtang", also known as "The Four Dreams of Linchuan". Dream". Except for the writing time of "Purple Hairpin", which can be confirmed, it is difficult to determine the writing time of the other "Three Dreams", and there are still different opinions in the academic world.

Other achievements

Not only was he proficient in ancient poetry, he was also proficient in astronomy, geography, medicine and divination. When he was 26 years old, he published his first collection of poems, "Hongquan Yicao", the following year he published another collection of poems, "Yong Zao" (unpublished), and the third collection of poems was titled "Wen Ji Youcao".

Tang Xianzu also made important achievements in opera criticism, performance and directing theory. Through a large number of letters and critical comments and general comments on Dong Jieyuan's "The Romance of the West Chamber", Wang Yufeng's "The Story of Burning Incense" and other plays, he published the plays

Tang Xianzu Memorial Hall in Fuchuan, Jiangxi

This memorial hall was established in 1995 to commemorate Tang Xianzu, a famous playwright, writer and "Shakespeare of the East" in Linchuan during the Ming Dynasty. It is a patriotic education base in Jiangxi Province. The memorial hall is located next to Wenchang Avenue 2 kilometers southeast of Fuzhou City, covering an area of ??180 acres. It is mainly composed of three parts: Simeng Village, Entertainment Village and Resort.

The main exhibition hall, Qingyuan Building, is a two-story pavilion imitating Ming Dynasty architecture. The first floor is the exhibition hall, which displays Tang Xianzu's upright life and his "Four Dreams of Linchuan" that have been passed down through the ages through paintings, photos, etc.; the second floor is the drama stage—— Simengtai often performs excerpts of "Four Dreams", allowing visitors to appreciate the splendid culture and art of Fuzhou in the euphemistic and moving music. The environment inside the museum is elegant, the pavilions and pavilions are very spectacular, and all the scenic spots are related to Tang Xianzu; needless to say, Sansheng Bridge, Broken Cocoon Mountain House, Qingyuan Tower, Tingquan Tea House, and Four Dreams

1550 On September 24 (August 14, the 29th year of Jiajing), Tang Xianzu was born into a scholarly family. Originally lived in Wenchangli, Linchuan (now Tangjiashan, Taiping Street, East of Wenchang Bridge, Linchuan), later moved to Shajing Lane and built the "Yu Ming Hall" (including Lanxiu Tower, Qingyuan Tower, Yuaichi, Jinzhu Pavilion, etc.). Therefore, he also called himself Qingyuan Taoist, and in his later years he also called himself Cocoon Weng. The four generations of his ancestors all had literary names: Gaozu and great-grandfather collected books and Haowen; his grandfather Tang Maozhao, who was named Rixin, read a lot of books, was proficient in Huang Lao theory, and was good at poetry and prose. He was praised by scholars as a "famous general in the world of poetry"; his father Tang Shangxian was a intellectual An erudite Confucian scholar, he was a famous Lao-Zhuang scholar, health expert, and bibliophile during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. He valued family education. In order to promote Confucianism, he founded the "Tang Family School" in Tanggong Temple, Linchuan City, and hired Jiangxi Neo-Confucian master Luo Rufang. As a private school teacher, he taught the children of the clan and gave birth to sons Tang Xianzu, Tang Ruzu, Tang Fengzu (Tang Fengzu), Tang Huizu, Tang Liangzu, and Tang Yinzu; his uncle Tang Shangzhiku

In 1946, Zhao Jingshen's "Tang Xianzu and Shakespeare" mentioned Tang Xianzu and Shakespeare have five things in common: first, they were born and died in the same year; second, they both hold the highest status in the opera world; third, they are both good at drawing on other people's works; fourth, they do not abide by the rules and precepts of drama creation; fifth, their playwriting The most plaintive and moving.

In 1959, Tian Han went to Linchuan, Jiangxi Province to visit the "Tang Family Yuming Hall Monument" and wrote a poem: "Du Li is like Juliet, and her love has reached Megan. Why should the beautiful words lock the pool pavilion and not let her go?" "Shakespeare in the Hometown" proposed that Tang Xianzu was on par with Shakespeare, and Du Liniang was on par with Juliet.

In 1964, Xu Shuofang's "Tang Xianzu and Shakespeare" pointed out that Tang Xianzu and Shakespeare were in the same era, but their specific drama creation traditions were different. The former filled in verses and lyrics according to music and rhythm, while the latter used drama's The open form displays the wonderful strokes of flowers, thinking that Tang

Tang Xianzu and Yu Erniang

"Flowers and grass are loved by people, life and death follow people's wishes, and no one complains about the sorrow and pain." This is Du Liniang's famous lyrics in "The Peony Pavilion". The story of life and death, and death and life, does not just belong to "The Peony Pavilion". One of its readers, Yu Erniang, also transcended life and death, "But don't miss each other, we are on the road to three lives in the Peony Pavilion" - the author, the audience and the drama met in the most wonderful way.

From the original version in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty to the youth version in 2004, "The Peony Pavilion" has been performed for more than 400 years. The love story described by Tang Xianzu has conquered countless audiences, especially those who A young man who has just awakened his love. Among them, the most typical one is Yu Erniang. To use the current buzzword, she is a "super fan", and today's groupies are no less inferior to her.

There is a piece of historical data regarded as a treasure by Kunqu opera researchers, recorded in the Ming Dynasty

Tang Xianzu was an outstanding opera writer in the Ming Dynasty. Tang's ancestral home was Yunshan Township, Linchuan County, and later moved to Tangjiashan (now Fuzhou City). Born into a scholarly family, he was already known for his talent, and his poetry already showed his talent at the age of 12. At the age of 14, he was a supplementary student in the county, and at the age of 21, he passed the examination. At this time, he was not only proficient in ancient Chinese poetry, but also proficient in astronomy, geography, medicine and divination. At the age of 26, he published his first collection of poems "Hongquan Yicao", the following year he published another collection of poems "Yong Zao" (unpublished), and the third collection of poems was titled "Ask the Thorns and Grass". When he was 28 years old, he wrote his first legend, "The Purple Flute". He received the cooperation of his friends, but the manuscript was not completed. It was rewritten as "The Purple Hairpin" 10 years later. He became a Jinshi at the age of 34. In Nanjing, he successively served as a doctor of Taichang Temple, the chief registrar of Zhanshi Mansion, and the chief priest of the Rites Temple.

In 1591 (the 19th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty), he witnessed the corruption of the officials at that time and wrote "On Assistant Ministers and Officials" in anger. He impeached the great scholar Shen Shixing and criticized the government. He offended the emperor and was demoted to Xu Wendianshi, and was later transferred.

Tang Xianzu’s poems

Zaoluo Robe·It turned out to be full of colorful purples and reds

Ming Dynasty: Tang Xianzu

It turned out to be full of colorful purples and reds, like this Given the ruined wells and ruined walls, the beautiful scenery in the good time is in vain, and whose courtyard is full of pleasure. Flying in the morning and rolling in the evening, clouds and green pavilions, rain and wind, smoke and waves painting boats, the people of Jinping find this time very cheap.

Writing about people, expressing emotions about Tang Xianzu

Jiangsu

Ming Dynasty: Tang Xianzu

In the autumn of Jili, there are few fishing fires on the river, and the waning moon appears in the sky Ying Linwei.

The shimmering waterbirds are still in shock, and the fireflies are so wet that they cannot fly due to the cold dew.

Three hundred ancient poems, describing the scene on a moonlit night

It is forbidden to race across the prefecture at noon

Ming Dynasty: Tang Xianzu

Only wrote about calamus and bamboo leaves Cup, the first step on the grass in Pengcheng.

If you know your love and do not die in Oujiang River, why bother to bow down the boat?

Dragon Boat Festival, discussion, concern for the country and the people

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