Qu P oe t ry : s ong P oe m s o F tHe y uan Dy na s t y 351cub [particle] first toward circled ground on walk
子弟每是箇茅草崗沙土窩初生兒的兔羔兒乍向圍場上走 ▲
(zĭ dì mĕi shì gè máo căo găng shā tŭ wō chū shēng-r de tù gāo-r zhà xiàng wéi chăng shàng zŏu)
I be one experience cage hood receive rope
net black plumes feather old wild pheasant trudge
tread ’s situation horse [particle] familiar
我是箇經籠罩受索網蒼翎毛老野雞蹅踏的陣馬兒熟 △
(wŏ shì gè jīng lóng zhào shòu suŏ wăng cāng líng máo lăo yĕ jī chă tà de zhèn mă-r shóu)
The whole song suite, from which the preceding quotes are taken, consists of the
libertine’s monologue only, modified by no editorial frame or authorial intrusion.
There is no sign in it suggesting that the persona is cast in the light of a villain. On
the contrary, from the confidence expressed in his shameless flaunting, one can
see that he expects himself to be the object of everybody’s envy and admiration.
The image of such an antihero had never been seen in Chinese literature.21
Guan Hanqing’s experience with the zaju partly explains his success in his char-
acterization of the colorful and rambunctious rogue. The format of the sanqu song
suite, which is similar to the zaju song suite used as the basic structural unit in the
variety plays, also helped by providing him with ample space to elaborate on the
topic. Due to the limits of space, only a small portion of the suite has been quoted.
So just imagine that the same voice brags and babbles on for five times as long,
telling you that the speaker is a “tough old bronze bean” that will not be softened
by cooking, or smashed, and that he will not cease his flower picking until he is
summoned by the King of Hell.
Xinda Lian
notes- James I. Crump, Song-Poems from Xanadu (Ann Arbor: Center for Chinese Studies, Univer-
sity of Michigan, 1993), 10. - Under Mongol rule in the Yuan, the populace fell into four hierarchical categories. The Mon-
gols were ranked on top, followed by various ethnic groups from the west and the northwest, while
northerners of Chinese origin and the subjects of the former Southern Song and their descendants
were at the bottom of society and denied opportunities to advance in public service. Some scholars
believe that this deprivation of opportunities forced many educated Chinese to turn their attention
to popular literature. - Crump, Song-Poems from Xanadu, 44. This song is a parody of a well-known love story, said to
have taken place in the city of Yuzhang. The poet borrows the names of the two lovers in the story,
Mr. Shuang and Miss Su, and reassigns them to the fat couple in the poem. - For an explanation of the symbols used here, see p. xxv.
- For discussions of the prosodies of regulated verse and song lyrics, see chapters 8 and 12.
- James J. Y. Liu, The Art of Chinese Poetry (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962), 42.
- Regarding this song, Wayne Schlepp observes that “without verbs there is no question of the
poet’s interpreting the scene,” and “the reader feels he can experience [the scene] directly” (San-
ch’ü: Its Technique and Imagery [Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1970], 125). - For a biographical note on Qiao Ji, see Sui Shusen, Quan Yuan sanqu (Complete Song Poems of
the Yuan) (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1964), 1:573.