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    Six Yuan Plays

    Author Various
    Translated by Liu Jung-En
    Paperback
    $18.00 US
    Penguin Adult HC/TR | Penguin Classics
    5.11"W x 7.68"H x 0.62"D  
    On sale Sep 30, 1972 | 288 Pages | 9780140442625
    Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
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    Although their Mongol overlords (beginning with the founding of the Yuan dynasty by Kublai Khan in 1280) tyrannized the Chinese in nearly every area of life, the arts enjoyed a new-found freedom. On the one hand oppressed, on the other released from the straight-jacket of Confucianism, the Chinese made the most of recent developments in poetry and drama. Yuan plays were a tonic, an amazing spectacle—colorful outbursts of singing, dancing, music, acting and mime. They poured new life into old stories—oppressors were ridiculed, servants became masters, scenes changed, day followed night in the twinkling of an eye—and audiences flocked to enjoy what must have been complete entertainment.

    For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
    Daniel Hahn is an award-winning translator, writer and editor. His 2026 books include If This Be Magic: the unlikely art of Shakespeare in translation, and translated novels from Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Peru and Guatemala.

    Padma Viswanathan is author of three novels and a memoir, published in eight countries and shortlisted for the Pen Center USA Fiction Prize, the Scotiabank Giller Prize and others, and has translated four books from Brazilian Portuguese. View titles by Various
    Introduction
    Bibilography
    Note on the Illustrations

    The Orphan of Chao
    Chi Chün-hsiang
    The Soul of Ch'ien-Nü Leaves Her Body
    Chêng Teh-hui
    The Injustice Done to Tou Ngo
    Kuan Han-ch'ing
    Change Boils the Sea
    Li Hao-ku
    Autumn in Han Palace
    Ma Chih-yüan
    A Strategem of Interlocking Rings
    Anonymous

    Musical Instruments Used in Yüan Drama
    Notes

    About

    Although their Mongol overlords (beginning with the founding of the Yuan dynasty by Kublai Khan in 1280) tyrannized the Chinese in nearly every area of life, the arts enjoyed a new-found freedom. On the one hand oppressed, on the other released from the straight-jacket of Confucianism, the Chinese made the most of recent developments in poetry and drama. Yuan plays were a tonic, an amazing spectacle—colorful outbursts of singing, dancing, music, acting and mime. They poured new life into old stories—oppressors were ridiculed, servants became masters, scenes changed, day followed night in the twinkling of an eye—and audiences flocked to enjoy what must have been complete entertainment.

    For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

    Author

    Daniel Hahn is an award-winning translator, writer and editor. His 2026 books include If This Be Magic: the unlikely art of Shakespeare in translation, and translated novels from Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Peru and Guatemala.

    Padma Viswanathan is author of three novels and a memoir, published in eight countries and shortlisted for the Pen Center USA Fiction Prize, the Scotiabank Giller Prize and others, and has translated four books from Brazilian Portuguese. View titles by Various

    Table of Contents

    Introduction
    Bibilography
    Note on the Illustrations

    The Orphan of Chao
    Chi Chün-hsiang
    The Soul of Ch'ien-Nü Leaves Her Body
    Chêng Teh-hui
    The Injustice Done to Tou Ngo
    Kuan Han-ch'ing
    Change Boils the Sea
    Li Hao-ku
    Autumn in Han Palace
    Ma Chih-yüan
    A Strategem of Interlocking Rings
    Anonymous

    Musical Instruments Used in Yüan Drama
    Notes

    Other Books by this Author

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