AUTHOR'S BACKGROUND

Kuan Han-ch'ing
(关汉卿)
(c. 1241-1320)
Guan Hanqing (simplified Chinese: 关汉卿; traditional Chinese: 關漢卿; pinyin: Guān Hànqīng; Wade–
Giles: Kuan Han-ch'ing)

Greatest playwright of the Chinese classical theatre and poet in the Yuan Dynasty
most prolific and highly regarded dramatists of the Yuan period
credited with more than 64 plays, of which some 15 have survived complete
63 plays, 21 survive; six are incomplete or fragmentary; 14 of his plays (from more than 60 with known
titles) have been preserved.
Most concern virtuous women who endure grave injustices without complaint, or whose moral integrity
and intelligence bolster weak-willed men
Though Guan’s plots, following the fashion of his time, are unrealistic, he created compelling characters,
often women of low social standing who act with intelligence, integrity, and courage. His style is simple
and straightforward, probably closer to the spirit of early popular theatre than to the style of plays by his
contemporaries. The action, often simple everyday happenings, is depicted with humour and poignancy

Some of his better-known dramas include Dou’eyuan (Injustice to Dou E), Hudiemeng (Butterfly Dream),
and Jiufengchen (“Saving a Prostitute”)

Among the Yuan dramatists, the following deserve special mention. Guan Hanqing, the author of some 60
plays, was the first to achieve distinction. His Dou’e yuan (“Injustice Suffered by Dou’e”) deals with the
deprivations and injustices suffered by the heroine, Dou’e, which begin when she is widowed shortly after
her marriage to a poor scholar and culminate in her execution for a crime she has not committed.

Tou-Ngo served as a payment for her father’s debt to Mistress Tsai. She and her mother-in-law are bullied
by Sai Lu Yi, an unscrupulous physician. He almost kills Dou's mother-in-law by strangling her. Zang
saved them and offer Tou Ngo to marry but she refused. Zang plot a murder scene by poisoning Tou Ngo’s
mother-in-law. Unexpectedly, Zhang's father drinks the soup instead and dies from poisoning. Zhang Lü'er
then frames Dou E for murdering his father. Tou Ngo is executed to a crime she did not commit. Before her
execution, she swears that her innocence will be proven. The prophecy comes true. After three years, her
father condemns all those who acted falsely to her prosecution. The truth finally comes out to light.