An important work on the historical materials of Yuan Dynasty Zaju. Written by Yuan Zhong Sicheng. It was written in the first year of Zhishun (1330). The oldest extant engraved editions are the appendix to the "Xujiang Collection" compiled by Meng Chengshun in the Ming Dynasty and published by Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, with 9 pages remaining today; the Ming manuscripts in the old collection of Tianyi Pavilion; the "Twelve Kinds of Books in the Dongting Collection" edited by Cao Yin in the Qing Dynasty, and the annotated edition edited by Wang Guowei in the modern era. Published by China Drama Publishing House in 1959, it was included in "Collection of Chinese Classical Drama Treatises". Zhong Sicheng, courtesy name Jixian and Chouzhai, was born in Daliang (now a native of Kaifeng, Henan Province), and later lived in Hangzhou. After many attempts, he failed, so he devoted himself to the writing and research of operas. None of the 7 kinds of operas he wrote have survived, and only this book has been handed down to the world. This 2-volume book collects the life stories and works of more than 100 drama writers and Sanqu writers of the Yuan Dynasty. It is divided into 6 categories: the first is the deceased predecessors who are famous in the world, the second is the current famous talents, the third is the predecessors who are famous and have compiled legends and are living in the world, the fourth is the deceased talents who are known to everyone, the fifth is the deceased talents who are unknown, and the sixth is the catalog of opera works by well-known talents today, with more than 400 kinds. It provides a wealth of historical materials that can be relied upon for the study of Yuan opera, and is highly regarded. There is also a volume of "Sequel to the Book of Ghost Records", which is said to have been written by Jia Zhongming in the early Ming Dynasty. Zhongming (1343-1422?), A Yunshui Sanren, was born in Zichuan, Jinan (now Zibo, Shandong), and later moved to Lanling (now Zaozhuang, Shandong). He wrote 17 kinds of Zaju, 4 of which are extant today. The "Sequel to the Record of Ghosts" has a similar format to the "Record of Ghosts". It contains 71 life stories and 78 categories of drama works by Yuan and Ming Dynasty drama and sanqu writers. There are also 78 catalogs of legendary works by anonymous people. The Ming manuscripts in Youtianyi Pavilion are the sequel to Zhong Sicheng's "Lu Gui Bu". In 1959, China Drama Publishing House published "Collection of Chinese Classical Opera Treatises" and it was also included. They are both valuable and trustworthy historical materials for studying the history of Chinese opera.
Reader comments
This "Ghost Book" has detailed contents and records many dramatists and works of the Yuan Dynasty. It is an important historical material for the study of Yuan opera. The author's writing style is rigorous and concise. There is a sentence in the book that I like very much: "Humans are born in this world, but they know that the dead are ghosts, but they do not know that the still dead are also ghosts." This sentence profoundly expresses the thinking about life and death, which is endlessly memorable.
This "Ghost Book" has detailed contents and records many dramatists and works of the Yuan Dynasty. It is an important historical material for the study of Yuan opera. The author's writing style is rigorous and concise. There is a sentence in the book that I like very much: "Humans are born in this world, but they know that the dead are ghosts, but they do not know that the still dead are also ghosts." This sentence profoundly expresses the thinking about life and death, which is endlessly memorable.