Liu Yi and the Dragon Princess

This is an adaptation of the thirteenth-century zaju play Liu Yi Chuan Shu, which was itself based on an eighth-century fairy tale about a failed examination candidates encounter with a shepherdess in distress who turns out to be the youngest daughter of the Dragon King of Lake Dongting. The young mans help is rewarded with riches, immortality and marriage to the beautiful princess. It is a wish-fulfillment fantasy written with charm and a certain ironical edge.
This adaptation consists of the freely-translated lyrics of the zaju with new, original dialogue, including an on-stage narrator. There is a long introduction with synopses of the Chinese text of the zaju and the original story it was based on. There is also an appendix explaining the use of "padding words" in zaju.

About the author

David Hawkes was formerly a professor of Chinese a Oxford University and a Fellow of All Souls College.

Product details

• Authors: Shang Zhongxian
• Assisted by: David Hawkes (Editor), David Hawkes (Translation)
• Publisher: The Chinese University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 01.01.2003
• No. of pages: 120
• Dimensions: 156 mm x 240 mm x 14 mm
• Weight: 431 g
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous