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Chinese-English Library of Chinese Classics: The Romance of the Western Bower

Xi Xiang Ji, Romance of the Western Bower, library of Chinese classics Chinese-English edition. Written by Wang Shifu (the Yuan dynasty). Translated into English by Xu Yuanchong. Published by Hunan People's Publishing House and Foreign Languages Press, 2000. Hardcover, library binding, 441 pages. ISBN: 754382535x. buy

The Romance of the Western Bower, by Wang Shifu of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), is a gem of Chinese classical drama and a masterpiece of Chinese literature. The main theme of this play is the love between a young scholar named Zhang Gong and Cui Yingying (or Oriole), nineteen-year-old daughter of former Prime Minister Cui. This play is divided into five acts and twenty scenes. Act I describes the first meeting in the temple between the two lovers. Act 11 relates how Zhang Gong saves the temple from attack by bandits and Madame Cui promises her daughter can marry Zhang, but soon she goes back on her words. Act III describes the lovers' longing for each other. Act IV depicts their tryst in Scene One; in Scene Two, Madame Cui will not approve their marriage unless Zhang wins honor in the civil service examinations; Scene Three depicts the lovers' parting when Zhang leaves Oriole to attend the examinations in the capital; Scene Four ends with a dream in which the lovers meet again. The last act describes their reunion. In short, this play deals with the conflict between love and family honor, and ends by a reconciliation between them, that is the hero should win honor in the examinations so that both love and honor can be preserved.

The Romance of the Western Bower is the most important lyrical drama in the history of Chinese literature. It is as well-known in China as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in the West, yet it was written about three hundred years earlier than Shakespeare's tragedy. The play has given rise to innumerable sequels, parodies, and rewritings; it has influenced countless later plays, short stories, and novels and has played a crucial role in the development of drama criticism.

汉英对照大中华文库：西厢记

大中华文库：西厢记（汉英对照 精装）
作者：（元）王实甫  著 许渊冲 英译 

出 版 社：湖南人民出版社
出版日期：2003-1-1
ISBN：754382535X

元代王实甫的《西厢记》是中国古典戏曲的精品，是中国文学的一部杰作。戏剧的主题是年轻的书生张珙和已故的崔相国十九岁的女儿莺莺的恋爱故事。全剧分为五本（幕）二十折（场）。第一本写张生和莺莺在寺中一见钟情。第二本写贼兵围困填充院，张生解围，崔夫人允将女儿莺莺许配张生为妻，后又自食其言。第三本写一对情人相思绵绵。第四本第一折写情人幽会；第二折写崔夫人要张生进京考试，高中之后方许完婚；第三折写情人离别，张生赴京参加会试；第四折以情人梦中相会作结。第五本写夫妻团圆。简单说来《西厢记》写爱情和家庭荣誉的矛盾，结果是张生会试高中，既赢得了荣誉，又赢得了爱情。

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