Guan Hanqing (about 1230~1300), whose name was Zhaisou, was born in Dadu (now Beijing). A representative figure in ancient Chinese drama creation, his life story is unknown. Zhong Sicheng's "Ghost Recording Book" of the Yuan Dynasty said that he served as the Yin of the Taiyuan Hospital in the late Yuan Dynasty. After the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty, he did not want to be an official, so he went to singing houses and theaters. He was suave and unruly, funny and wise, and had a strong and unyielding character. Among the dramatists of the Yuan Dynasty, he started his creative activities relatively early and was a leader in the drama world of the Yuan Dynasty. The famous actress Zhu Liangxiu is also a good friend with him. He has a good understanding of the sufferings of the people and is fond of various art forms. He is good at singing and dancing, and is proficient in music. Not only has he created a large number of plays that are loved by the people, but he can also appear on stage and perform in person. He wrote sixty-three scripts in his lifetime, of which only fifteen have been preserved to this day.
Guan Hanqing's main works include "The Injustice of Dou E", "Saving Feng Chen", "Wangjiang Pavilion", "Single Sword Club", etc. Among them, "The Injustice of Dou E" is known as one of the top ten tragedies in the world. Guan Hanqing created more than 60 dramas in his life. He is the founder of Chinese drama. His number exceeds that of the British "father of drama" Shakespeare, and he is called the Shakespeare of China. The English translation of "The Injustice of Dou E" in 1838 was widely circulated overseas. In 1958, the World Peace Council listed Guan Hanqing and Leonardo da Vinci as world cultural celebrities. Beijing also held a grand meeting to commemorate the 700th anniversary of Guan Hanqing's theatrical activities. Guan Hanqing's works represent the highest achievement of Yuan drama, ranking first in the True Color School.
The Yuan Dynasty was the first dynasty in Chinese history in which ethnic minorities took control of the Central Plains. The Mongols used their elite soldiers and cavalry to conquer most of Eurasia, annexed the decadent Southern Song Dynasty, and unified China. The Mongols divided the people of the country into four classes based on race: the first class is Mongolians; the second class is called Semu people, including all ethnic groups in the Western Regions; the third class is called Han people, which refers to the people in the Yellow River Basin who were originally ruled by the Jin Kingdom; The fourth class is the Southerners, that is, the people under the rule of the Southern Song Dynasty. At that time, the status of Han Chinese and Southerners was low, they could not be officials, and many things were restricted.
The situation of intellectuals in the Yuan Dynasty was even worse. Like ordinary people, they were often taken into slavery. Since there were no imperial examinations in the early years of the Yuan Dynasty, scholars lost the opportunity to enter the civil service and had no ability to make a living. Many people worked in goulanwashi and became actors.
The Mongols despised the Han and Southerners very much. All state and county officials were filled by Mongolians or Semu people, and some were even hereditary officials. However, there are not many Mongolians with political talents. Their understanding of politics only focuses on preventing rebellion and collecting taxes. The darkness of their rule can be imagined. Officials confuse right and wrong, social morals are corrupted, and people's lives are in dire straits. The darkness of society at that time gave birth to works such as "The Injustice of Dou E" that describe and criticize social reality.
"The Injustice of Dou E" is a model of Chinese classical opera tragedy and has always been praised by people. Dou E's short and unfortunate life profoundly exposed the rampant evil forces in Yuan Dynasty society. The play strongly expresses the spirit of resistance of the persecuted and oppressed class people against the evil forces of society and the eager desire for the just to win. It has universal social significance, touches on a wide range of social content, and strongly shocks thoughts and feelings. , unmatched by other Yuan dramas.
From the Yuan Dynasty to today, the play is still active on the art stage. It has been performed for a long time and is loved by the masses. The image of Dou E has also been immortalized in people's hearts through the ages. Her simplicity, kindness, and perseverance are typical representatives of Chinese women. As the modern literary commentator Wang Guowei said, "The Injustice of Dou E" "is worthy of being listed among the world's great tragedies." ("An Examination of Song and Yuan Operas")
Dou Tianzhang, a poor scholar from Chuzhou (now Huai'an, Jiangsu), came from a poor family and studied hard all day long in order to gain fame. One day, because there was no rice for cooking at home, he borrowed twenty taels of silver from Granny Cai. The next year, the sum of the principal and interest amounted to forty taels, and Dou Tianzhang was unable to repay it. Dou Tianzhang has a seven-year-old daughter named Duanyun. She is pretty and cute, and Granny Cai likes her very much. In order to pay off debts and raise travel expenses to take the exam in Beijing, Dou Tianzhang had no choice but to agree to give his daughter Duanyun to Granny Cai as a child bride.
After Dou Tianzhang left, Granny Cai treated Duan Yun like her own daughter, and changed her nickname to Dou E.
When Dou E was seventeen, she married Granny Cai's son. Unfortunately, within two years, her husband fell ill and died, leaving Dou E a widow. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have been dependent on each other since then. Dou E's virtuous and filial piety became a good talk among her neighbors.
One day, Granny Cai asked Dr. Sailu, who opened a pharmacy in the south of the city, for debt. This Dr. Sailu is a quack doctor who has been making a living by cheating. When Sailu was about to kill Granny Cai, he was bumped into by Zhang Luer and his son who were passing by. Granny Cai was rescued and Dr. Sailu escaped. This donkey is a gangster from Chuzhou. When he learned that Cai's mother-in-law only had her mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law, he asked them to match their father and son. Grandma Cai did not agree, so Zhang Luer threatened to strangle Grandma Cai to death with a rope. In order to save her life, Granny Cai had no choice but to take Zhang Luer and her son home. After Dou E learned of the situation, she opposed her mother-in-law's promise and firmly refused to marry Zhang Luer. When Zhang Luer saw that Dou E was young and beautiful, he made up his mind to get Dou E.
One day, Granny Cai fell ill. Zhang Luer threatened Dr. Sailu, who was selling medicine, with the handle in his hand, and sold him poison in an attempt to poison Granny Cai. Dou E lost her support and agreed to Marry him. Unexpectedly, Grandma Cai was nauseated and felt uncomfortable, so Zhang Luer's father took the medicine. The old man died on the spot. Zhang Luer immediately falsely accused Dou E of poisoning his father, and asked Dou E to marry him as a condition for not suing the official. Dou E believed that she was innocent and would rather see an official than give in to Zhang Luer's threats.
What I didn’t expect was that the governor of Chuzhou, Tao Tao, was a faint-hearted official. He only listened to Zhang Luer’s clever arguments and concluded that Dou E was guilty of murder. He tortured Dou E to extract a confession and ordered Torture Granny Cai. Dou E couldn't bear the physical pain her mother-in-law suffered for her, so she had no choice but to surrender. Therefore, she was sentenced to death and beheaded the next day. On the way to the execution ground, Dou E felt that she was full of grievances and had nowhere to complain. She cursed and complained about her deep grievances and the injustice of the world. She asked the prison officer to take her to the back streets, fearing that her mother-in-law in the front street would be sad to see her. Unexpectedly, her mother-in-law came to see her off, and she repeatedly told her to take care of herself. When she was about to be executed, she swore to God: After I die, first, blood will be spattered in vain; second, there will be snowfall in June; third, third and third year, there will be a severe drought. Sure enough, these three vows were fulfilled one after another, and God proved Dou E's injustice.
Dou E’s father, Dou Tianzhang, became an official after becoming famous and asked everywhere about Dou E’s whereabouts. Dou E entrusted her dream to her father, complaining bitterly about her grievances. Dou Tianzhang immediately sought justice for his daughter, and the case was reviewed. Zhang Luer was unable to defend himself. The injustice was overturned, Zhang Luer got the punishment he deserved, and the truth about Dou E's injustice was finally revealed.