Selected Plays Of Kuan Han-ching

The brilliant playwright Kuan Han-ching, one of the great names of Chinese literature, was the most outstanding dramatist of the Yuan dynasty.After overthrowing the Kingdom of Chin, the Mongols in 1264 set up their capital in Cambaluc. In 1279, after the overthrow of the Southern Sung dynasty, Cambaluc became the political and economic center of the whole of China. Some famous writers in the north founded the Yu-ching Book Society there, and Kuan Han-ching was one of its most active members. In his youth he had been a keen student and learned to write all forms of poetry and song. He soon became well-known in the capital for his versatility, his strong sense of humor, remarkable proficiency in music, dancing and singing, and his skill in the football game then in vogue.From the middle of the thirteenth century to the beginning of the fourteenth was the great age of Yuan drama, when many playwrights of note were assembled in the capital. While there, Kuan Han-ching formed his own company of players and sometimes trod the boards himself. Thus he knew every aspect of the theatre.