Biography of Tang Xianzu in the History of the Ming Dynasty

Tang Xianzu, courtesy name Ruoshi, was a native of Linchuan. From an early age, he excelled in literary composition and enjoyed a reputation as a promising young writer. Zhang Juzheng sought to have his son pass the imperial examinations and enlisted the support of prominent scholars throughout the realm to promote him. When it became known that Tang Xianzu also possessed outstanding scholarly talent, Zhang ordered his sons to summon him. Tang Xianzu politely declined to attend. Consequently, the celebrated scholar and Zhang’s son, Si Xiu, both passed the exams that year. It was not until the eleventh year of the Wanli reign that Tang Xianzu finally earned the jinshi degree. He was appointed Doctor of the Taichang Temple in Nanjing and soon thereafter transferred to the post of Chief Clerk in the Ministry of Rites. In the eighteenth year, in response to celestial omens, the emperor sternly rebuked the censors for deceit and concealment, and suspended their salaries for one year. Tang Xianzu submitted a memorial stating: “Are all censors utterly unworthy? Rather, the emperor’s authority over rewards and punishments has been secretly usurped by the ministers; thus, the sentiments of the censors—whether they side with or oppose the court—have likewise shifted imperceptibly. Censor Ding Cilü first exposed corruption in the examination system, whereupon Shen Shixing, acting under Yang Wei’s direction, had him removed. Censor Wan Guoqin vehemently denounced the practice of sealing off examination papers to cover up fraud, yet at that time, Shixing subtly urged his colleagues…”

South Korea’s “Commemoration of the 400th Anniversary of the Passing of Literary Master Tang Xianzu” series of events

China International Online reports (Reporter Yang Ning): On September 3, a lecture titled “The Living Heritage of Kunqu Opera,” co‑presented by Wang Fang, Vice President of the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Troupe of Jiangsu Province, and Chen Weipeng, Associate Professor at the School of Humanities of Tsinghua University, was successfully held at the China Cultural Center in Seoul, officially kicking off the series of cultural events commemorating the 400th anniversary of the passing of the literary giant Tang Xianzu.

The “Approaching Lord Tang” lecture series has been warmly received at Tsinghua University.

This newspaper reports, by Liang Jiatian: On the evening of October 17, Room 106 of Tsinghua University’s Fourth Teaching Building was packed to capacity. Wu Fengchu, former deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Fuzhou Municipal People’s Congress, a renowned scholar of Tang Xianzu, and director of the Fuzhou Tang Xianzu International Research Center, delivered a special lecture titled “Approaching Master Tang.” Throughout the two-hour session, the audience remained fully engaged from beginning to end, savoring a truly enriching intellectual feast.

When Tang Xianzu Met Shakespeare

Left photo: In Stratford-upon-Avon, England—the birthplace of William Shakespeare—actors portray Juliet from Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” (photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Han Yan, July 21, 2016); right photo: In Fuzhou, Jiangxi Province, China—the hometown of Tang Xianzu—actors perform as Liu Mengmei from Tang Xianzu’s “The Peony Pavilion” (photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhou Mi, October 11, 2016; composite image). This year marks the 400th anniversary of the deaths of the two theatrical masters, Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu. Four centuries ago, the two giants lived on opposite ends of the globe, each with a vastly different cultural background, yet they both turned to drama in their quest for truth, goodness, and beauty. Four hundred years later, two photojournalists—one from Xinhua’s Jiangxi bureau and the other from its London bureau—have used imagery to bring these two masters together across time and space. Photo by Xinhua.

Mr. Tang’s dialect‑based rendition of the “Four Dreams of Linchuan” was presented in grand style at the National Centre for the Performing Arts.

People’s Daily Online, Beijing, October 17 — On the evening of the 16th, the Xiangyin–style (Xuhe Gaocang) production of “The Four Dreams of Linchuan” was staged at the National Centre for the Performing Arts’ Drama Theatre, with the performance lasting nearly three hours.

The Fuzhou‑dialect version of “The Four Dreams of Linchuan” makes its way into universities: Seeking it within the plays of Master Tang.

In order to see the hometown troupe’s dialect‑infused rendition of “The Four Dreams of Linchuan,” Xing Lihao, a Jiangxi native and student at Renmin University of China, repeatedly urged his junior at Tsinghua University to be sure to help him secure a ticket.