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This is the first anthology of Yuan-dynasty zaju (miscellaneous comedies) to introduce the genre to English-speaking readers exclusively through translations of the plays' fourteenth-century editions. Almost all previous translations of Yuan-dynasty zaju are based on late-Ming regularized editions that were heavily adapted for performance at the Ming imperial court and then extensively revised in the seventeenth century for the reading pleasure of Jiangnan literati.
These early editions are based on leading actor scripts and contain arias, prose dialogue, and cue lines. They encompass a fascinating range of subject matter, from high political intrigue to commoner life and religious conversion. Crackling with raw emotion, violent imagery, and colorful language and wit, the zaju in this volume explore the consequences of loyalty and betrayal, ambition and enlightenment, and piety and drunkenness. The collection features seven of the twenty-six available untranslated zaju published in the fourteenth century, with a substantial introduction preceding each play and extensive annotations throughout. The editors also include translations of the Ming versions of four of the included plays and an essay that synthesizes recent Chinese and Japanese scholarship on the subject.
Stephen H. West is Foundation Professor of Chinese at Arizona State University and professor emeritus in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Berkeley. With Wilt L. Idema, he recently has edited three collections of Chinese drama: Monks, Bandits, and Lovers: Eleven Early Chinese Plays; Battles, Betrayals, and Brotherhood: Early Chinese Plays on the Three Kingdoms Period; and The Generals of the Yang Family: Four Early Plays.
Wilt L. Idema is Research Professor of Chinese literature at Harvard University and has published widely in both English and Dutch, especially on Chinese drama and fiction. Among his publications are A Guide to Chinese Literature; The Red Brush: Writing Women in Imperial China; Meng Jiangnü Brings Down the Great Wall: Ten Versions of a Chinese Legend; and The Resurrected Skeleton: From Zhuangzi to Lu Xun.
Acknowledgments
A Note to the Reader
Table of Dynasties
Introduction
Conventions
1. The Orphan of Zhao
The Orphan of Zhao, Fourteenth-Century Edition
The Orphan of Zhao Greatly Wreaks Vengeance, A Selection of Yuan Plays Edition
2. Huo Guang Remonstrates as a Ghost
Newly Printed in Hangzhou with Plot Prompts: Huo Guang Remonstrates as a Ghost, a Fourteenth-Century Edition
3. Xue Rengui Returns Home Clad in Brocade
A Newly Cut Full Text: Xue Rengui Returns Home Clad in Brocade, with the Complete Prompts, a Fourteenth-Century Edition
A Selection of Yuan Plays Edition of the Zaju Xue Rengui Returns Home in Glory
4. The Bamboo-Leaf Boat
Newly Cut with Plot Prompts: Chen Jiqing Is Enlightened to the Way on a Bamboo-Leaf Boat
A Selection of Yuan Plays Edition of the Zaju Chen Jiqing Mistakenly Boards a Bamboo-Leaf Boat
5. Tippler Zhao Yuan Encounters the Prior Emperor
Newly Cut with Plot Prompts: Tippler Zhao Yuan Encounters the Prior Emperor, a Fourteenth-Century Edition
Tippler Zhao Yuan Encounters the Prior Emperor, a Ming Manuscript Edition
6. The Affair of the Eastern Window Exposed
Newly Printed at the Great Capital, a Complete Text with Plot Prompts: The Affair of the Eastern Window Exposed, a Fourteenth-Century Edition
7. Little Butcher Zhang Immolates His Child to Save His Mother
Newly Printed in Hangzhou: Little Butcher Zhang Immolates His Child to Save His Mother, a Fourteenth-Century Edition
Works Cited and Suggested Readings