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Tang Xianzu

Type Figure Region Jiangxi Time 1550–1616 Also known as Yireng、Ruoshi、Daoist of Qingyuan

Tang Xianzu (1550–1616), courtesy name Yireng, was a late-Ming dramatist and writer from Linchuan, author of the 'Four Dreams of Linchuan' and especi…

Timeline

  1. 1550–1580Linchuan · FuzhouBorn into a scholarly family in Linchuan, Jiangxi, he excelled at writing in youth but repeatedly failed the examinations; during this period he had already begun writing drama, accumulating material for his later Four Dreams of Linchuan.
  2. 1583–1590Nanjing · NanjingHe became a jinshi in the eleventh year of Wanli, serving successively as principal registrar in the Ministry of Rites' sacrificial office in Nanjing and as director in the Ministry of Personnel. In the nineteenth year of Wanli, his Memorial on the Grand Secretaries and Censors offended the powerful chancellor, and he was demoted to jailer at Xuwen in Guangdong.
  3. 1591–1616Linchuan · FuzhouAfter his demotion he returned home and completed the four plays The Purple Hairpin, The Peony Pavilion, The Nanke Dream, and The Handan Dream, all themed on qing (emotion), inaugurating the peak of Ming chuanqi drama; he died in Linchuan.

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