Xīxiāng Jì 西廂記
The Story of the Western Wing by 王實甫
About the work
An extended Yuan zájù 雜劇 in five “books” (běn 本, each comprising four acts) by 王實甫 Wáng Shífǔ (ca. 1260–1336; CBDB id 690977 gives death 1324), totaling twenty acts — far exceeding the standard four-act zájù format. It dramatizes the love affair between the scholar Zhāng Jūnruì 張君瑞 and the young woman Cuī Yīngyīng 崔鶯鶯, daughter of a recently widowed lady, in the western chamber of a Buddhist monastery. Their relationship, conducted with the aid of the maid Hóngniáng 紅娘, culminates in a secret union and, after obstacles, a formal marriage. The play is based on the Tang chuánqí tale Yīngyīng Zhuàn 鶯鶯傳 by Yuán Zhěn 元稹 and the Song zhūgōngdiào 諸宮調 (medley) Xīxiāng jì zhūgōngdiào 西廂記諸宮調 by Dǒng Jiěyuán 董解元.
The Xīxiāng Jì is universally regarded as the masterpiece of Yuan zájù and one of the supreme achievements of classical Chinese literature. Its language combines lyrical aria poetry (qǔ 曲) with witty prose dialogue; its characterization of Hóngniáng 紅娘 in particular is celebrated for its comic energy.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source.
Abstract
王實甫 Wáng Shífǔ (ca. 1260–1336; death date ca. 1324 per CBDB id 690977) was a native of Dàdū 大都 (Beijing). He is associated with Guān Hànqīng 關漢卿 and the northern zájù tradition. About fourteen plays are attributed to him, of which three survive in full; Xīxiāng Jì is by far the most celebrated.
The Xīxiāng Jì departs from standard zájù structure not only in its five-book, twenty-act length but also in having more than one lead singer across the acts (Book 1: male lead zhèngmò 正末 sings; Books 2–5: female lead zhèngdàn 正旦). This structural experiment was controversial; some editions add a Book 6 (“Xù xīxiāng” 續西廂, Continuation of the Western Wing) not by Wang Shifu, standardizing the ending.
The text’s source lineage is important: Yuán Zhěn’s 元稹 Yīngyīng Zhuàn 鶯鶯傳 (Tang) originally ends without a happy marriage; Dǒng Jiěyuán’s 董解元 Xīxiāng jì zhūgōngdiào 西廂記諸宮調 (Jin dynasty) rewrote this to include union and elopement; Wang Shifu’s zájù further revised the plot for stage. In the Wang Shifu text the lovers achieve formal marriage, converting a Tang cautionary tale about qíng 情 (passion) into an affirmation of it — a shift that made the play a touchstone in the Ming and Qing debates about erotic literature and moral propriety (qíng vs. lǐ 理).
The standard modern critical edition is by Wáng Jìsī 王季思 (1980, Guǎngdōng rénmín). The Yuánqǔ xuǎn 元曲選 text (Zāng Jìn edition, 1615–16) is the most widely reprinted.
Translations and research
- West, Stephen H., and Wilt L. Idema, tr. 1991. The moon and the zither: The story of the Western Wing. UCaP. The standard English translation with full critical apparatus.
- Stanislaus Julien, tr. 1872 (Xixiang ji, French). Historical first European translation.
- Shih, Chung-wen. 1976. The golden age of Chinese drama: Yuan tsa-chu. PUP.
- Idema, Wilt L., and Stephen H. West. 1982. Chinese theater, 1100–1450: A source book. Steiner.
- Hanan, Patrick. 1988. The Chinese vernacular story. HUP. Context for the prose adaptations.
- Kroll, Paul W. 1978. Yuan Chen’s Ying-ying chuan. Chinoperl Papers 8. On the Tang source.
Links
- Wikidata: Q1058097