Drama
Novels ~(Index of Site)~
--the last truly Chinese dynasty,unique to be sandwiched between 2 alien dynasties,the preceding Yuan Mongol rule & the Ching Manchu rule that followed the Ming
--famous for its porcelain creations,identified easily by its blue-white patterns,as seen in the 2nd picture of Ming porcelain vase found at the end of this page
--drama & novel writing reached a second peak
--Ming drama works remained to be performed as Chinese opera
--different from Yuan drama: Ming drama is Southern-styled,with the music of Kunshan,to become a new form called the Music of Kunshan (kun shan qiang) or commonly known as 'kun qu',hence is termed as Southern drama
--also known as marvel dramas 'zhuan qi',inheriting its characteristics of exploiting the strange & fantastic of the Tang & Sung marvel dramas
1.
'The Peony Pavillion' ('Mu Dan Ting'):
--a love story about a lady who dreamt of being married to a scholar & later died when she realised it was a dream only.As a spirit,she finally united with him & when she was revived,they overcame obstacles to be married happily ever after.
--reflective of similar themes to 'The Western Chamber'
--written by Tang Xianzhu (1550-1616),a contemporary of William Shakespeare,who also wrote other plays including 'The Purple Hairpin' ('Zhi Chai Ji'),a tragic love story of a heartless scholar & a courtesan 
1.Journey to the West' ('Xi You Ji')
--The 3rd of the 4 greatest Chinese novels,written by Wu Cheng-en
--great fantasy novel about the brave Sun Wukong,also known as Monkey & his adventures on his pligrimage to India to get Buddhist scriptures.Along with his teacher Hsuan Tsang & 3 fellow disciples,
Zhu Bajie(Wuneng) {Pigsy},Sha Wujing (Sandy) & the White Horse who originally was a dragon prince,with the 5 pligrims eventually reaching enlightenment to be revelled as gods by people even till now.
--greatly popular & well-loved by people of all ages
--based on the true story of the monk Hsuan Tsang who travelled to India during the reign of Tang Taizhong & the tale gradually became spiced with magical exploits & companions & came to be what it's known now
2.'The Plum in the Golden Vase' ('Jin Ping Mei')
--1st Chinese novel to be written alone by an author from a specific Chinese perspective & a world-historical context,a landmark in the development of narrative art,first published in 1617
--a very long,complex & sophisticated novel with equal achievements to the Japanese classic 'The Tale of Genji' (1010 AD) & the 'Don Quixote',the Spanish classic by Cervantes (1615)
--written by the anonymous 'The Scoffing Scholar of Lanling' ('Lan Ling Xiao Xiao Sheng'),it remains till now a forbidden book & is banned in Chinese areas
--1st work to be so explicit in the details of sex,deemed pornographic,but with intricate characterisation
--nonetheless its name & brief storyline is well-known by all,including minors since it was derived from a section in 'The Water Margin' ('Wu Song Kills his Sister-in-law') where Wu Song,1 of the 108 heroes kills his unfaithful sister-in-law Pan Jinlian (Golden-Lotus) who conspired with her lover Ximen Ching (mocked now as Simon King when pronounced in Cantonese & killed by Wu Song too) to murder Wu Dalang,Wu Song's brother.
--the author added in new characters & lengthened the period from months to years before Wu Song finally killed Lotus.
--the title in English & Mandarin are derived from the names of the 3 female leads,the 3 flirtatious concubines of Ximen Ching: Golden-Lotus (Pan Jinlian),Little Vase (Li Pin-er) & Vase's maid Spring Plum (Pang ChunMei)
--in the end,after Vase & Ximen Ching died,Lotus is killed by Wu Song while waiting to be married as another man's concubine,Ximen Ching & Plum(after being sold as another man's concubine) die respectively of sexual excess from orgies while Vase dies of an illness
--reflects the debaucheries of society
