LI MINGRUI'S PRIVATE TROUPE AND ITS SPECTATORS (1644-62) by LIANBIN DAI B.A., Nankai University, China, 1992 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of Asian Studies) We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA April 2004 © Lianbin Dai 2004 Library Authorization In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Lianbin Dai 21/04/2004 Name of Author (please print) Date (dd/mm/yyyy) Title of Thesis: Li Mingrui's Private Troupe and Its Spectators (1644-62) Degree: Master of Arts Year: 2004 Department of Asian Studies The University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC Canada ABSTRACT Scholars of vernacular Chinese plays such as Mudan ting (Peony Pavillion) by Tang Xianzu (1550-1616) have paid much attention to the texts of the plays, their readership, and the historical development of performances of them, but their studies to date have revealed little about the spectatorship of performances. In this thesis, I will explore the private troupe of Li Mingrui (1585-1671)—known for performing Mudan ting and Moling chun (Spring in Moling) by Wu Weiye (1609-71)—and endeavor to discover how the spectators interpreted performances by this troupe. Information about the troupe and about spectators' interpretations will be revealed by analyzing dozens of extant poems that were written especially during household performances, and due attention will also be paid to the political and cultural climate of the time when they were written. The purpose of this study is to provide a detailed picture of a typical private troupe during the Ming-Qing transition, to consider the degree of continuity of performance elements from late Ming to early Qing, and to deepen our understanding of the mentality of the literati world during this transitional period. Li Mingrui's particular fondness for Mudan ting and Moling chun stems from his close relationship with both playwrights. A protege of Tang Xianzu, the preeminent late- Ming playwright, and mentor of Wu Weiye, whose play reflects the dilemmas of political and cultural identity post-1644, Li Mingrui is ideally situated for a study of this kind. His troupe of eight actresses, which was created around 1646 and forced to disband in the spring of 1662, was able to perform Mudan ting, for which eight roles are designated, as well as Moling chun, for which twelve roles are designated, with the added participation of amateurs and other household servants who knew how to perform plays. Li Mingrui was independent from partisan strife between the Donglin and eunuch factions during the late Ming period, and was forced to serve under the Manchus for several months in 1644. Despite his service under the Manchus, he enjoyed good relations with other scholars in the early Qing, and the spectators of his troupe included both Ming loyalists and scholars who had served both the Ming and Qing. Both groups attended the same gatherings and performances and wrote poems at them. Nearly all the spectators viewed Chinese music and the Ming-style costumes onstage as nostalgic reminders of the fallen Ming. Even more important, these performance elements came to symbolize Han-Chinese Ming culture. In their poems these spectators distinguished Han-Chinese culture from Manchu culture, using references to performance elements to drive this distinction home. A politically charged term such as "Ming loyalist" does not adequately encompass the evidence of these poems, which reveal beliefs shared by men who were otherwise deeply divided politically. The aforementioned spectators can be more aptly described as "cultural loyalists" whose social activities sustained Chinese culture during the transition from the Han-Chinese Ming to the Manchu Qing Dynasty. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Table of Contents iv List of Figures v Acknowledgments ix CHAPTER I Introduction 1 CHAPTER II Li Mingrui's Life and Times 15 2.1. Li Mingrui and Tang Xianzu 15 2.2. Li Mingrui and Wu Weiye 23 2.3. Li Mingrui's Political Career in the Ming Period 29 2.4. Li Mingrui in the Qing Period 40 CHAPTER III Li Mingrui's Private Troupe 61 3.1. The Actresses of the Troupe 61 3.2. The Disbanding of the Troupe 68 3.3. Yanbo and the Troupe r. 72 3.4. The Roles and the Possible Performance of a Whole Chuanqi 78 CHAPTER IV Who Were the Spectators? 82 4.1. The Spectators as Ming Loyalists 83 4.2. The Spectators Who Served Both the Ming and Qing 89 4.3. Spectators Who Received Degrees and/or Held Offices during the Qing 93 CHAPTER V What Did the Spectators Draw from the Performances? 96 5.1. What Did Ming Loyalists Draw from the Performances? 98 5.2. The Non-Loyalist Li Yuanding and His Wife Zhu Zhongmei 117 CHAPTER VI Play Spectatorship during a Period of Transition 130 6.1. The Experience of Qian Qianyi as a Theater-goer 130 6.2. Wang Jia and Gong Dingzi 136 6.3. The Dilemma of Identity in Moling Chun 141 CHAPTER VII Conclusion 146 Reference Matter 156 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Map ofNanchang City (1588) vi Figure 2: The Performance of Kun Opera during the Chongzhen Period (1628-44) vii Figure 3: The Performance of a Play during the Celebration of Emperor Kangxi's Sixtieth Birthday (1713) viii v Fig. 1: The Map of Nanchang City (1588). From: Fan Lai and Zhang Huang. Xin xiu Nanchangfuzhi (1588), p. 29. A: Yonghe men 7JC^P fl (Gate of Eternal Peace). B: Yiyang Wangfu 'XMTE'M (Mansion-of Yiyang Prince), which was re-constructed into the Garden of Elysium by Li Mingrui. C: Dantai ci iM affi (Memorial Temple to Dantai Mieming). D: Xihu WM (Western Lake) E: Zhangjiang MtL (the Zhang River), i.e., the Gan River. vi Fig. 2: The Performance of Kun Opera during the Chongzhen Period (1628-44). From: Liao Ben, Zhongguo gudaijuchang shi, illus. 66. The block engraving, originally in the chuanqi drama Hehua dang WVcMi (Lake of Lotus) published in the Chongzhen period, describes the performance of a play in the Kun style. The actor performing on the mat is wearing the Ming-style official costume. vii Fig. 3: The Performance of a Play during the Celebration of Emperor Kangxi's Sixtieth Birthday (1713). From: Qu Yanjun, comp., Zhongguo Qingdai gongting banhua (Hefei: Anhui meishu chubanshe, 2002), vol. 30, p. 70. On the stage, one actor is wearing a gauze hat (shamao ^11), and another a scarf (futou ~k). Both of them are wearing Ming-style costumes. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS While assembling information on Li Mingrui and his associates, I came to understand their dilemma of cultural identity during the transition from the Han-Chinese Ming Dynasty to the "barbarian" Manchu Dynasty. Any change of circumstances requires a psychological readjustment. I have enjoyed writing this thesis with lots of support and encouragement, and I wish to express my thanks to professors and friends. Under Professor Catherine Swatek's supervision, I become accustomed to Western academic regulations, a tradition different from what I have learned in China. She also edited and has critically commented on the entire draft. Her patience and scrupulousness made me believe that she did much painstaking work for an international student such as me. Ms. Joni Low proofread and edited Chapters 4, 6 and 7 and her work has promoted its readability, for which I express my thanks. Professors Jerry D. Schmidt and Alison Bailey have encouraged me while I was writing this thesis, and have read the draft and given me some suggestions. I also reserve debts of thanks to Mr. Yi Chen of Boston and Mr. Xiaohe Ma of the Harvard-Yenching Library, who helped me obtain primary materials helpful to my study. ix CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Private troupes, owned by gentry, nobles, and wealthy merchants, were the most important performers of chuanqi drama from the late sixteenth century, when the Kun style became the dominant style of the literati chuanqi drama, to the late eighteenth century, when "the practice of maintaining household troupes declined."1 Directed, supervised, and nurtured by gentry who composed nearly all chuanqi playtexts and who knew theatrical arts much better than others,2 private troupes were better able to promote the development of drama in this period than were the public professional troupes that wandered in towns and villages, or * * 3 * the court troupes that performed exclusively within the imperial palace. The private troupes to be discussed below are those owned by the gentry, for several reasons: (1) it is the gentry who played a decisive role in the development of chuanqi drama in this period; (2) original records by and about the gentry are much easier to find than those by and about either 1 According to Guo Yingde, chuanqi drama as a genre came into being during the period of 1465 to 1586, while the Kun style was reformed by Wei Liangfu il U.W (1501 -84) and utilized in the creation and performance of chuanqi drama by Liang Chenyu H= Jsfi. (1519-91). See Guo Yingde, Ming Qing chuanqi shi (Nanjing: Jiangsu guji chubanshe, 2001 rpt.), pp.