China's Top Ten Classical Tragedies of the Ming Dynasty

"Jingzhong Banner" - Feng Menglong

The "Jingzhong Banner" is signed "Xiling Li Mei was originally created, but Dongwu Longzi still made it detailed". We know nothing else about the original author Li Meishi. Long Ziyou, who revised this script, was Feng Menglong, a famous popular writer in the late Ming Dynasty. Feng's courtesy name is Youlong, his alias is Longziyou, and his room name is Mohanzhai, so he is also called the owner of Mohanzhai. A native of Wuxian County, Jiangsu Province. He was born in the second year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1754) and died in the second or third year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1645 or 1646). During the Chongzhen period, he was the magistrate of Shouning County, Fujian Province, and soon retired to live at home. His legendary works include "Two Heroes" and "All Things Are Enough", and the operas he adapted and revised include "Ten Types of New Songs from Mohanzhai", "Jingzhong Banner" is one of them. His opera advocates are close to the Wujiang School. Also collected, adapted, organized and created by him are the novels "Three Words", "New Chronicles of Nations", "Ping Yao Zhuan", the Sanqu "Taixia Xinzou", the folk song "Gua Zhi'er", jokes and notes "Ancient and Modern" Tan Gai", "Zhitan Supplement", "Love History", etc., and poetry collections include "Qilezhai Poetry Manuscript", "Chunqiu Hengku", "Zhongxing Biography", etc., which have an outstanding position in the history of Chinese popular literature.

"Jingzhong Banner" tells the story of the Southern Song Dynasty national hero Yue Fei who was murdered by the traitor Qin Hui. It is an excellent tragic work among Chinese classical operas. The story of Yue Fei has been circulated among the people for a long time. In the Song and Yuan operas, there are "Qin Taishi Dongchuang Incident" and "Song General Yue Fei Jingzhong"; in the legends of the Ming Dynasty, there are "East Chuang Ji", "Jingzhong Ji" and other works. After the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the flower department flourished, and many Yue Fei stories appeared in local operas. They all expressed Yue Fei's patriotism to varying degrees. Especially when the national conflicts intensified, Yue Fei's image became more important to encourage people to unite and resist the enemy. important role. "Jiao Hong Ji" - Meng Chengshun

The first and second volumes of "Jiao Hong Ji" are the earliest extant Chinese middle-length classical Chinese novels after the Song Dynasty. Nowadays, it mostly appears in the form of "Jiaohong Ji Zaju". In "Jiaohong Ji Zaju Preface", there is a sentence: "Song Meidong in the Yuan and Qing Dynasties tasted the "Jiaohong Ji", and the story is comprehensive and the text is profound." It is inferred that the author of the book is Song Meidong . Meidong in the Song Dynasty has a far-reaching reputation and is a native of Zhangshu, Jiangxi today. The single edition of "Jiaohong Ji" we can find today is published by Lin Zheng Yunzhu, a scholar of Jian'an in Ming Dynasty. The title of the book is "Jiaohong Ji by Shen Qi Jian Yonglu", with the title "Compiled by Hu Bosheng of Shao'an in Yuan Dynasty, and commented by Peng Haidong of Wuyi in Fujian". The collection of novels of the Ming Dynasty mostly contains this chapter, such as: "Yan Yi Bian", "National Beauty and Tianxiang", "Spring Visitor in Xiugu", "Love History", "Ten Romantic Envoys", "Notes of Yanju", etc. Content introduction

Shen Chun, a native of Bianzhou, named Houqing, lives in Chengdu and is extremely intelligent. During the Xuanhe reign of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, he went to visit relatives at his uncle Wang Tongpan's house. He fell in love with his cousin Jiao Niang at first sight and longed for her day and night. Later, the two often exchanged poems to express their feelings, and finally cut their hair and made an oath. After a while, Shen Chun couldn't stay at his uncle's house all the time, so he had to go back to his own home. Shen Chun was lovesick and fell ill. On the pretext of seeking medical treatment, Shen Chun came to her uncle's house again, met her in the bedroom, and eventually got married. After more than a month, Feihong, the uncle's maid, spied on her. She gave a small favor and told Feihong not to tell anyone.

Shen Chun felt reassured when she returned home this time. Although she missed her more intensely, she no longer fell ill because she only needed time to get married. Shen Chun sent someone to propose marriage, but his uncle refused to agree to the marriage because the court stipulated that relatives were not allowed to marry. The two were desperate. Shen Chunyuan had a good relationship with the prostitute Ding Lianlian. At this time, the marriage was frustrated and Ding Lianlian was in serious trouble. Ding told her that she had seen a portrait of Jiao Niang and asked Shen Chun to ask Jiao Niang for a pair of flower shoes. Not long after, Shen Chun came to Wang's house again, had a tryst with Jiao Niang, and secretly stole Jiao Niang's flower shoes. Shen Chun was discovered by the maid Feihong and wanted to take them back and hand them back to Jiao Niang. Jiao Niang suspected that Shen Chun and Fei Hong were a little innocent and insulted her. Feihong was annoyed and resentful, and deliberately let Jiao Niang's mother find out about Shen and Jiao's secret meeting, and Shen Chun was forced to go home.

Soon, Shen Chun became a Jinshi in high school and went to live with his uncle, hoping to get married. However, Shen Chun's mother was too closely monitored and could not see each other. She thought about it day and night, and was ghosted. Jiao Niang and Fei Hong reconciled as before. Fei Hong took the initiative to make suggestions for Shen and Jiao's affairs and did his best. A meeting was arranged for the two of them, and a witch was asked to drive away the ghost. The two men's actions were not secret, and Jiao Niang's mother found out about it, so Shen Chun left Jiao Niang's house again. Jiao Niang's parents quickly betrothed Jiao Niang to Fu Yin's son.

Jiao Niang was depressed and ill. As her wedding day approached, her condition became worse and worse. She was expected to die soon. She finally said goodbye to Shen Chun and died soon after. After hearing the news, Shen Chun fell ill and died. The two families were buried together by the Zhuojin River. Feihong dreamed that the two of them became immortals. The next year during the Qingming Festival, Jiao Niang's father came to his daughter's grave and saw a pair of mandarin ducks playing in front of the grave. Later generations came here to pay their respects and sigh, and named it "Yuanyang Tomb".