Ma Zhiyuan
Encyclopedia
Ma Zhiyuan courtesy name Dongli (東籬), was a Chinese poet and celebrated playwright
, a native of Dadu
(大都, present-day Beijing
) during the Yuan Dynasty
.
Among his achievements is the development and popularizing of the new sanqu
(散曲) lyric form of poetry. The poem "Autumn Thoughts" (秋思 Qiūsī) from the book '东篱乐府' is the most widely known of his sanqu poems.
He is considered to be one of the Four Great Yuan Playwrights, along with Guan Hanqing
, Bai Renfu, and Zheng Guangzu.
Only seven of his 15 plays are extant, of which four have been translated into English:
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, a native of Dadu
Khanbaliq
Khanbaliq or Dadu refers to a city which is now Beijing, the current capital of the People's Republic of China...
(大都, present-day Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
) during the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
.
Among his achievements is the development and popularizing of the new sanqu
Sanqu
Sanqu was a type of verse, compiled by Zhou Deqing , popular in the Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty, with tonal patterns modeled on tunes drawn from folk music.-Yuan Dynasty Sanqu:...
(散曲) lyric form of poetry. The poem "Autumn Thoughts" (秋思 Qiūsī) from the book '东篱乐府' is the most widely known of his sanqu poems.
He is considered to be one of the Four Great Yuan Playwrights, along with Guan Hanqing
Guan Hanqing
Guan Hanqing , sobriquet "the Oldman of the Studio" , was a notable Chinese playwright and poet in the Yuan Dynasty.-Biography:...
, Bai Renfu, and Zheng Guangzu.
Only seven of his 15 plays are extant, of which four have been translated into English:
- Autumn in Han Palace, 漢宮秋 (Full title: Breaking a Troubling Dream: A Lone Goose in Autumn over the Palaces of Han, 破幽夢孤雁漢宮秋))
- The Yellow-Millet Dream, 黃粱夢 (Full title: On the Road to Handan, Awakening from a Dream Dreamt While Cooking Millet, 邯鄲道省悟黃粱夢)
- Yueyang TowerYueyang TowerYueyang Tower is an ancient Chinese tower in Yueyang, Hunan Province, on the shore of Lake Dongting. Alongside the Pavilion of Prince Teng and Yellow Crane Tower, it is one of the Three Great Towers of Jiangnan.-History:...
, 岳陽樓 (Full title: Lü Dongbin Gets Drunk Three Times in Yueyang Tower, 呂洞賓三醉岳陽樓) - Tears on the Blue Gown, 青衫淚 (Full title: The Overseer of Jiangzhou: Tears on the Blue Gown, 江州司馬青衫淚)
- 任風子 (Full title: 馬丹陽三度任風子)
- 薦福碑 (Full title: 半夜雷轟薦福碑)
- 陳搏高臥 (Full title: 西華山陳搏高臥)
Works
A sanqu (散曲) poem, composed to the metric pattern Tianjingsha (天淨沙):- 《秋思》 Autumn Thoughts
- 枯藤老樹昏鴉。 A Withered vine, an ancient tree, crows at dusk
- 小橋流水人家。 A Little bridge, a flowing stream, some huts
- 古道西風瘦馬。 An old road, wind out of the west, an emaciated horse
- 夕陽西下，斷腸人在天涯。 A heart-broken man on the horizon at sunset.