Yīngliè Zhuàn 英烈傳
Biographies of the Heroic and Loyal by 徐渭 (attributed)
About the work
Yīngliè Zhuàn 英烈傳 (also known as Míng Yīngliè Zhuàn 明英烈傳, “Biographies of the Heroic and Loyal of the Ming”) is a historical novel in 80 huí 回 recounting the rise of Zhū Yuánzhāng 朱元璋 from vagrant to founder of the Míng dynasty, with detailed treatment of the military campaigns against the rival warlords Chén Yǒuliàng 陳友諒 and Zhāng Shìchéng 張士誠, the siege of Sūzhōu, and the final expulsion of the Yuán from North China culminating in the capture of Dàdū 大都 (Beijing). The novel is attributed to 徐渭 徐渭 (1521–1593), though the attribution is considered uncertain.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source.
Abstract
The Kanripo source text attributes the Yīngliè Zhuàn directly to “(明)徐渭著” on its title page. Xú Wèi 徐渭 (CBDB 30607; 1521–1593), zì Wénchāng 文長, was the eccentric Shàoxīng 紹興 polymath — painter, calligrapher, playwright, essayist, and military strategist — regarded by later generations as a genius ahead of his time. His collected works were edited by late-Míng admirers. Wilkinson (§31.0 and §26.1.1) mentions Xú Wèi among the important literary personalities of the mid-Míng.
The attribution of the Yīngliè Zhuàn to Xú Wèi is, however, uncertain. Wilkinson (§43.3.5) notes the novel in a table of historical novels, listing it as “Wars leading to the Ming (16th century)” with no comment on authorship. No external evidence securely linking Xú Wèi to this work has been identified; the attribution may be a later editorial ascription designed to lend the novel literary prestige. A sixteenth-century composition date remains plausible on stylistic grounds.
The novel begins with the disorders of the late Yuán, opening with the dissolute Emperor Shùndì 元順帝 and the official corruption that provoked the rebellions leading to the Míng founding. The narrative thereafter focuses closely on Zhū Yuánzhāng’s military campaigns: the defeats of rival rebels (Guō Zǐxīng 郭子興, Chén Yǒuliàng, Zhāng Shìchéng), the role of strategists Liú Jī 劉基 and Lǐ Shàncháng 李善長, and the final campaigns against the Yuán. The 80-chapter structure and episodic battle-narrative are characteristic of the yǎnyì 演義 genre.
The sequel KR4k0079 Xù Yīngliè Zhuàn 續英烈傳 covers the subsequent Jiànwén 建文 and Yǒnglè 永樂 eras.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.
Other points of interest
The Yīngliè Zhuàn is one of a cluster of Míng historical novels devoted to the dynastic founding — a subject that occupied popular historical imagination throughout the Míng and Qīng periods. Wilkinson (§43.3.5) lists it alongside Sānguó Yǎnyì 三國演義 and Shuǐhǔ Zhuàn 水滸傳 in a table of historical novels organized by period covered.
Links
- Wikipedia (Xu Wei): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xu_Wei_(painter)