Guan Hanqing (Kuan Han-ch'ing) ca. 1240-ca. 1320

A leading dramatist of the Yuan dynasty, who worked out of the capital Dadu (present-day Peking), but little biographical data on him exists. A playwright of the Northern Drama, he is credited with more than 64 plays, of which some 15 have survived complete. His most famous work is Dou E yuan [Injustice to Dou E]. Apart from his literary career, he was also said to have been a theatrical manager and sometime actor.

Works available in English:

  • Selected Plays of Guan Hanqing (Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang). Shanghai:
       New Art and Literature Publishing House, 1958; Beijing: Foreign Languages
       Press, 1958.

    Studies and Biographies:

  • Jerome P. Seaton, A critical study of Kuan Han-ch'ing: the man and his works.
       Ann Arbor, Mich.: UMI, 1985.
  • Chen-ooi Hsieh Chin, Evolution of the theme of Tou O yüan. S.l.: S.n., 1974.
  • Chung-wen Shih, Injustice to Tou O (Tou O yüan); a study and translation.
       Cambridge (Eng): University Press, 1972.          close