The Tang Xianzu Memorial Hall in Fuzhou is a comprehensive cultural venue built to commemorate Tang Xianzu, one of the world’s hundred great cultural figures and a master of Ming‑dynasty drama in China. It is also one of Jiangxi Province’s ten major memorial halls dedicated to historical luminaries.
Tang Xianzu’s Story | The Family’s Hope
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2023-09-15
The Family’s Hope 
Every time he saw little Tang Xianzu babbling or taking his first unsteady steps, his father, Tang Shangxian, would tease him playfully while cheerfully urging, “My boy, my boy—when you grow up, I want you to pass the imperial examinations with flying colors and become a high-ranking official. The Tang family is counting on you!” Though he knew full well his son was still so young he couldn’t possibly understand, he couldn’t help but repeat these words again and again.
Strangely enough, the young Tang Xianzu seemed to understand every time, responding with “Oh, oh, oh,” gesticulating wildly and smiling brightly. Overwhelmed by his surprise, Tang Shangxian burst into laughter, feeling deeply gratified.
From the moment he was born, Tang Xianzu was entrusted with his family’s solemn mission: to pursue scholarly excellence and ascend to officialdom. His grandfather, his father, and others all hoped that, beginning with Tang Xianzu, every descendant would devote themselves to study, enter the civil service, and bring honor to the family.
The Tang family was a prominent clan residing east of Wenchang Bridge. Counting back from Tang Xianzu, they had already spanned six generations; with a large household and substantial wealth, the Tangs were considered a well-to-do family. Their ancestors were known for their benevolence and generosity: one year, when the village suffered a severe famine, they resolutely opened their granaries to distribute grain and relieve the starving. In recognition of this act, the imperial court bestowed upon them a reward. Like most affluent households, the Tangs placed great emphasis on education across generations, amassing an extensive library. These books paved the way for Tang Xianzu’s scholarly pursuits. With ample provisions and a rich collection of texts, the family still lacked one crucial element—the official hat—meaning no member had ever held public office, a source of deep regret in the hearts of the Tangs.
When Tang Xianzu was born, his grandfather, Tang Maozhao, was already a man in his seventies. A scholar who had never achieved success, he had repeatedly failed the imperial examinations. Left with no other choice, he adopted the “spirit of the Wei and Jin dynasties,” personally inscribed a couplet and posted it before his door, thereby “presenting himself” as a reclusive hermit of lofty aspirations, detached from the concerns of the mundane world:
Golden horses and jade halls—wealth and honor are a thousandfold surpassed by him;
A bamboo bed and a bamboo table—coolness lingers with me for a while.
However, neither his grandfather’s reclusive life nor his own birth was born of genuine conviction; rather, they were the reluctant choices made in the face of failure in the imperial examinations and the impossibility of holding official office. In other words, it was a form of escapism from reality, a self‑mockery, while a utilitarian mindset still lurked deep within his heart. What he himself could never achieve in his lifetime, he fervently hoped his descendants would surely accomplish. Otherwise, he would never have named the eldest grandson of the family “Xianzu.”
“Xianzu, Xianzu” clearly conveys the meaning of “glorifying one’s ancestors and bringing honor to the family.”
In ancient times, excelling in one’s studies was a sure path to bringing honor to one’s family; reading well opened the door to the imperial examination system, and success in the exams promised both fame and fortune. That “fortune” meant holding official office—thus ensuring one’s family’s glory and prestige. This, no doubt, was the simplest yet most heartfelt aspiration of Tang Xianzu’s father, Tang Shangxian. Accordingly, when Tang Xianzu was just five years old, his father sent him to school, enrolling him in a private academy within the city, where he personally tutored his son. True to his reputation as a child prodigy, Tang Xianzu seemed to share an extraordinary affinity with characters, sentences, and literary compositions: not only could he memorize what he read at a glance, but he also wielded it with effortless ease. For instance, when faced with a couplet, as soon as someone offered the upper line, he would instantly produce the corresponding lower line—perfectly balanced and often rich in poetic charm, earning universal praise.
Pairing couplets was a common pastime; in ancient times, scholars would spontaneously compose them on the spot, which hardly demonstrated any great talent. In his father Tang Shangxian’s view, mastering the elegant eight‑part essay was the true path. The eight‑part essay—also known as zhiyi, zhiyi, shiwen, or babiwen—was a prescribed literary form used in the imperial examinations of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Its structure adhered to a fixed format: it consisted of eight sections—pojie, chengjie, qijiang, rujie, qigou, zhonggou, hougou, and shugou—and its topics were invariably drawn from the original texts of the Four Books and Five Classics. The last four sections each contained two parallel, antithetical pairs of sentences, totaling eight such pairs. In the old imperial examination system, the eight‑part essay had to be written in the voice of Confucius and Mencius, with strict tonal patterns and balanced phrasing; moreover, it forbade the use of frivolous allusions to nature or romantic themes that might profane the sages. Each essay was divided into four parts, ranging from the first section to the final one.
When Tang Xianzu grew weary of composing the eight-legged essay, he would turn to miscellaneous works—among them, the theatrical texts treasured in his family. As for drama, Tang Xianzu actually came from a long-standing familial tradition: his grandfather, elder uncle, and father were all seasoned practitioners, each mastering distinct skills, and all of them exerted a profound influence on the young Tang Xianzu.
Tang Xianzu, who has devoured countless books, finds the young lotus just beginning to show its tender tip.
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