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4. The Bamboo-Leaf Boat

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The Orphan of Zhao and Other Yuan Plays
This chapter is in the book The Orphan of Zhao and Other Yuan Plays
INTRODUCTIONThe story of the bamboo-leaf boat stems from an anonymous classical tale of the late Tang dynasty that is found in several recensions.1 Known alternatively as “Chen Jiqing” (), the name of the protagonist, or “The Bamboo-Leaf Boat” (Zhuye Zhou ), it formed the basis of a play by the mid to late Yuan playwright Fan Kang , who was also known as Fan Zi’an or Fan Ziying . Fan’s name occurs in the section of the Register of Ghosts titled “Those Famous and Talented Men Who Are Already Dead Whom I Knew Personally.” Since this section includes people who were listed as “still alive” in the first edition of 1330 but moved to the “already dead” section in Zhong Sicheng’s last revisions of 1345, we can date Fan’s passing sometime between 1330 and 1345. The Register of Ghosts provides us, in fact, with what little we know about Fan’s life and part of his literary production:Fan Kang, also known as Zi’an, was a man of Hangzhou. He understood human nature and natural principle and was skilled at exposition and explanation; he was capable in writing, and also thoroughly versed in the rules of music. He composed the play Du Zimei Roams the Serpentine because Wang Bocheng had written Li Taibai Banished to Ye l a n g,2 and as soon as his pen touched paper, it was new and original. This was most 4The Bamboo-Leaf Boat 1. See Wang Meng’ou 1971, 33–37, esp. 37. 2. Wang Bocheng was one of the most outstanding dramatists of the second part of the thirteenth century, but little of his work has come down to us. His LiTa i b a ibianYe l a n ghas been preserved in a Yuan edition. The play deals with the famous poet Li Bai’s (701–762) principled and prescient criticism of the adulterous couple Yang Guifei and An Lushan . For a study of this play, including extensive

INTRODUCTIONThe story of the bamboo-leaf boat stems from an anonymous classical tale of the late Tang dynasty that is found in several recensions.1 Known alternatively as “Chen Jiqing” (), the name of the protagonist, or “The Bamboo-Leaf Boat” (Zhuye Zhou ), it formed the basis of a play by the mid to late Yuan playwright Fan Kang , who was also known as Fan Zi’an or Fan Ziying . Fan’s name occurs in the section of the Register of Ghosts titled “Those Famous and Talented Men Who Are Already Dead Whom I Knew Personally.” Since this section includes people who were listed as “still alive” in the first edition of 1330 but moved to the “already dead” section in Zhong Sicheng’s last revisions of 1345, we can date Fan’s passing sometime between 1330 and 1345. The Register of Ghosts provides us, in fact, with what little we know about Fan’s life and part of his literary production:Fan Kang, also known as Zi’an, was a man of Hangzhou. He understood human nature and natural principle and was skilled at exposition and explanation; he was capable in writing, and also thoroughly versed in the rules of music. He composed the play Du Zimei Roams the Serpentine because Wang Bocheng had written Li Taibai Banished to Ye l a n g,2 and as soon as his pen touched paper, it was new and original. This was most 4The Bamboo-Leaf Boat 1. See Wang Meng’ou 1971, 33–37, esp. 37. 2. Wang Bocheng was one of the most outstanding dramatists of the second part of the thirteenth century, but little of his work has come down to us. His LiTa i b a ibianYe l a n ghas been preserved in a Yuan edition. The play deals with the famous poet Li Bai’s (701–762) principled and prescient criticism of the adulterous couple Yang Guifei and An Lushan . For a study of this play, including extensive

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. CONTENTS v
  3. Acknowledgments vii
  4. A Note to the Reader ix
  5. Table of Dynasties xi
  6. Introduction 1
  7. Conventions 45
  8. 1. The Orphan of Zhao 49
  9. 2. Huo Guang Remonstrates as a Ghost 112
  10. 3. Xue Rengui Returns Home Clad in Brocade 138
  11. 4. The Bamboo-Leaf Boat 196
  12. 5. Tippler Zhao Yuan Encounters the Prior Emperor 272
  13. 6. The Affair of the Eastern Window Exposed 319
  14. 7. Little Butcher Zhang Immolates His Child to Save His Mother 354
  15. Works Cited and Suggested Readings 379
  16. Backmatter 392
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https://doi.org/10.7312/west16854-008

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. CONTENTS v
  3. Acknowledgments vii
  4. A Note to the Reader ix
  5. Table of Dynasties xi
  6. Introduction 1
  7. Conventions 45
  8. 1. The Orphan of Zhao 49
  9. 2. Huo Guang Remonstrates as a Ghost 112
  10. 3. Xue Rengui Returns Home Clad in Brocade 138
  11. 4. The Bamboo-Leaf Boat 196
  12. 5. Tippler Zhao Yuan Encounters the Prior Emperor 272
  13. 6. The Affair of the Eastern Window Exposed 319
  14. 7. Little Butcher Zhang Immolates His Child to Save His Mother 354
  15. Works Cited and Suggested Readings 379
  16. Backmatter 392
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