Guan Hanqing - Guan Hanqing

Date of birth and death unknown. China's leading playwright of the Yuan dynasty. Born in Dadu (Beijing). Born at the end of the Jin dynasty, he was a leader in a group of writers, writing plays and performing in Beijing in the second half of the 13th century. He was friends with the playwrights of the time, Yang Xianzhi, Liang Tuizhi, and Fei Junxiang. His sanqu (pronounced "sanqu") show that he was well versed in the theater world and had a deep knowledge of music. According to the Beijing local journal "Shuijinzhi," written in the Yuan dynasty, he was a learned and humorous person. Most of his plays have female protagonists, and the characters vary widely, including common women, prostitutes, and maids. All of his characters are intelligent and warm-hearted, and have the courage to stand firm in the face of suffering and oppression. His works are characterized by vivid depictions of women, dark societies under foreign rule, corrupt officials, thugs, and unreliable students, all written in colloquial language. There are more than 60 works, but only 17 remain, including "Saving the Fengdu," "Dou E'en," "Baiyueting," "Dantaohui," "Diao Fengyue," and "Xie Tianxiang." "Lokkibo" lists Guan Hanqing's name at the beginning of the list of "famous families who have passed away but whose works are still being produced."

[Keiko Hiramatsu]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

生没年不詳。中国、元代第一の劇作家。大都（北京(ペキン)）出身の人。金(きん)末に生まれ、13世紀後半に北京で戯曲の創作と演劇活動に従事し、作家グループのリーダー格であった。当時の劇作家楊顕之(ようけんし)、梁退之(りょうたいし)、費君祥(ひくんしょう)らは友人である。演劇界に詳しく、音楽に造詣(ぞうけい)が深かったことは彼の散曲から知られる。元代に書かれた北京地方誌『析津志(せきしんし)』によれば、博学でユーモラスな人物という。戯曲の大部分は女性が主役で、役柄も市井の婦人、遊女、腰元など変化に富む。いずれも理知的で温かみがあり、苦しみや圧迫に対して毅然(きぜん)と立ち向かう勇気をもっている。こうした女性や、異民族支配下の暗い社会、腐敗した官吏、ごろつき、頼りない書生など、口語を駆使して生き生きと描き出すのが特色である。作品数は60を超すが、現存するのは『救風塵』『竇娥寃(とうがえん)』『拝月亭』『単刀会』『調風月』『謝天香』等17種。『録鬼簿(ろくきぼ)』は「他界し、作品が行われている名家群」の冒頭に関漢卿の名を載せている。

［平松圭子］

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