Lute: Kao Ming's P'I - P'a Chi

by Ming Kao

Kao Ming's P'I - P'a Chi

Genres: China

Paperback

First published January 1, 1350

Reviews

[Aaron Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an extraordinary play in many ways. It's one of the earliest examples of the chuanqi form that would become so popular during the Ming dynasty. (This play is so early it was written before the Ming period.)

The translation is engaging and lively, but like all plays of this type, The Lute Song is very, very long and quite repetitive. This play seems especially repetitive because although it is brightened by many delightful comic bits, one of the two central plots is a complete and total downer with very little variation in the text that is spoken. This section of the play comes to seem one-note and overly repetitive.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 14th century Chinese play features songs, poetry, colloquial humor and ornate passages called parallel prose. It’s a rather long play (42 scenes and 266 pages) and it takes a rather slight plot and develops it beautifully. I must admit, though, parts of it are tedious – what’s said in prose is repeated in poetry is repeated in song. And the plot progresses at a glacial pace.

Overshadowing these shortcomings are beautiful poems about nature and passages of parallel prose. The characters are a bit stiff, but their emotions are explored in depth and given elegant expression. And the intermittent humorous passages are dropped in even at highly emotional peaks, similar to Shakespeare, breaking the tension.

Plays like this, from what I understand, often had scenes performed separately from the rest. This makes sense and in this way the language and songs can be enjoyed to their fullest.

This is not for everyone. It’s not a fast, gripping read. If you have time to immerse yourself into a book for its beautiful language, you will enjoy The Lute.

[Jerin Tahapary]

This play shines as the finest foreshadowing for the finest of all Chinese novels - Dream of the Red Chamber.