Xianxu Tang

Tang Xianzu (traditional Chinese: 湯顯祖; simplified Chinese: 汤显祖; September 24, 1550 – July 29, 1616), courtesy name Yireng (義仍), was a Chinese playwright of the Ming Dynasty. Tang was a native of Linchuan, Jiangxi and his career as an official consisted principally of low-level positions. He successfully participated in the provincial examinations (juren) at the age of 21 and at the imperial examinations (jinshi) at the age of 34. He held official positions in Nanjing, Zhejiang province, Guangdong province etc.

After serving as the magistrate of Suichang, Zhejiang from 1593 to 1598, he retired in 1598 and returned to his hometown where he focused on writing. Tang died in 1616, the same year as famed English playwright William Shakespeare.His major plays are collectively called the Four Dreams, because of the decisive role dreams play in the plot of each one. All of them are still performed (in scenes, or in adapted full versions) on the Chinese Kun opera (kunqu) stage. Generally considered his masterpiece, the Mudan Ting (The Peony Pavilion) has been translated into English several times.

A translation of his complete dramatic works in English was published in China in 2014 and in London in 2018.

TANG Xianzu (1550-1616), courtesy name Yireng, artist name Ruoshi 若士, the Taoist Devotee of Qingyuan 清远道人. He was from the Linchuan district of Jiangxi province. TANG lived through the reign of the last three Ming emperors, an era marked by corruption and instability. He was born in the time of Jajing 嘉靖 (1522-1566) and spent most of his adulthood under the reign of Longqing 隆庆 (1567-1572) and Wanli 万历 (1573-1620). TANG was from a family of scholars, dating back to his great-grandparents. He passed the second-level civil service examination at the age of 21, yet took another 13 years to succeed at the third level. TANG's failure was mainly caused by his rejection to accompany the two sons of the charge grand secretariat ZHANG Juzheng 张居正 to their examinations, thus offending the powerful man. When ZHANG passed away, TANG was finally able to claim a place in the government. Yet ingratiating the superiors to gain political favor was against his principle. Without the support of influential figures like ZHANG Siwei 张四维 and SHEN Shixing 申时行, TANG was appointed Taischang scholar to oversee rites and sacrificial ceremonies in Nanjing, a position of little significance. Nonetheless, TANG was passionate about the state of affairs and got himself involved by writing to the court, exposing the dirty money trade within the system and items sent out for disaster-stricken civilians falling into private pockets. In his Memorabilia to the Throne, titled Commentary on the Leadership and Supportive Duties of the Bureaucratic Officialdom 《论辅臣科臣疏》, Tang concluded that the first decade of Emperor Wanli's rule was impeded by the dictatorship of ZHANG Juzheng, and the following decade by SHEN Shixing. The harsh criticism had quite an effect on the court, but not in the way TANG was intending. He was demoted to Guangdong Province to care for Xuwen County prisoners. Then in the twenty-first year under the reign of Wanli (1593), TANG received a promotion and served as the magistrate of Suichang County in Zhejiang Province for five years. TANG's impartiality and righteousness had won him great esteem from the people. Yet disheartened by the constraints and the inability to act, TANG lost interest in politics and retired to his hometown, devoting the remaining of his years to playwriting.

TANG grew up with the Chinese classics. His father was a stringent Confucian scholar, and his grandfather was a dedicated follower of the Taoist masters Laozi and Zhuangzi. These all had a notable influence on the formation of his character and could be traced from his works. As a teenager, TANG studied under LUO Rufang 罗汝芳, a representative of the Taizhou School. LUO's teaching was close to Zen, opposing CHENG and ZHU's idealization of Confucian philosophy. This experience contributed largely to TANG's worldview and value system. During his time in Nanjing, TANG became a close friend to Zen master Daguan monk 达观禅师. Soon after, he encountered LI Zhi's 李贽 philosophical criticism named A Book to Burn 《焚书》. TANG found that LI's arguments were in harmony with his perception. Through the writing, he became a great admirer of LI, and at a later time, the two were fortunate to meet in Linchuan. Daguan and LI Zhi were recognized as "the two cardinal figures" among the late Ming thinkers, the point of view they stood for had a lasting impact on TANG Xianzu. When looking back on TANG's life, two points stand out regarding his attitude toward human existence. In the beginning, not quite unlike many others, TANG believed that action would lead to positive changes and bring favorable political outcomes. Disheartened by reality, he turned to Buddhism and Taoist practices, accepting the illusive property of living. Yet this transition was not sufficient to help TANG to reconcile with his tumultuous feelings, which were reflected in Record of Handan, and Record of the Southern Bough. Along with his religious pursuit, TANG nurtured the fire that LI Zhi lit inside of him and passed on the torch through his masterpiece The Peony Pavilion, calling attention to the basic human needs and legitimizing the concept of self long-dismissed by the CHENG and ZHU indoctrination.