Which literary work does Matchmaker come from?

It tells the story of a pair of lovers, Zhang Sheng and Cui Yingying, who broke through many difficulties and finally got married. There is a 20% discount on five plays. The plot is: Zhang Junrui, a scholar, met Yingying, the daughter of the late Cui, at Pujiu Temple, and fell in love at first sight, suffering from inaccessibility. At this time, Sun Feihu heard that Yingying was beautiful, so he led troops to surround Pujiu Temple and asked Yingying to be his wife.

In desperation, Mrs Cui listened to Yingying's idea and promised to marry Yingying if someone could quit. Zhang Sheng was overjoyed. He wrote a book and asked Du Kui, an old white horse general, to lead the troops to rescue him. But afterwards, Cui Furen never mentioned the marriage again, only let them be brother and sister. Zhang Sheng was very disappointed. Fortunately, Yingying's maid, the matchmaker, helped Yingying burn incense on a moonlit night and heard Zhang Sheng play the piano to tell her worries.

Later, Yingying heard that Zhang Sheng was ill and asked the matchmaker to visit her study. Zhang Sheng's lovesickness was difficult to solve, so he begged the matchmaker to take a message for him. Yingying pitied Zhang Sheng and finally got up the courage to write a poem in return. Later, with the help of the matchmaker, they cheated Cui Furen, had a private tryst and made a lifelong engagement. After the old lady knew it, she took it out on the matchmaker, but it was irreparable, so she urged Zhang Sheng to go to Beijing to take the exam.

Zhang Sheng and Yingying said goodbye and won the first prize six months later. Zheng Hengben, the nephew of the old lady Cui, had an engagement with Yingying, so she lied that she had been accepted as a son-in-law by Wei Shangshu, and the old lady married Yingying in a rage. Fortunately, Zhang Sheng came back in time and everything will be fine.

The play has a strong color of anti-feudal ethics. The author writes about the young people's longing for love, the uncontrollable legitimate feelings and desires, and the conflict between the young people's own wishes and their parents' wishes. Expressed the love concept of "May all living beings in the world become one family". The whole drama system is magnificent, and it takes five books to perform a complete story at a 20% discount, which is rare in ancient zaju. The plot festival is fascinating, vivid, literary and poetic.

Although the story is based on Yuan Zhen's Biography of Yingying in Tang Dynasty, it is actually based on Dong Jieyuan's The West Chamber in Jin Dynasty. Wang Shifu served as Shaanxi county magistrate and Shaanxi provincial supervisor. Later, because he was dissatisfied with the filth and anger of the officialdom at that time, he resigned and decided to express his melancholy by writing a script. So he returned to Zhongshan House, where he was born, and began to write zaju.

In the Jin Dynasty, there was a man named Dong, who adapted Yuan Zhen's Biography of Yingying in the Tang Dynasty into A Tale of the Western Chamber, and wrote Yingying, the hero of the story, as a native of Boling County. Dingzhou in Sui Dynasty was called Boling County, so the story of Yingying and Zhang Sheng was widely circulated in Boling area. According to legend, Cui Yanshi in Dingzhou has a tomb of Cui Yingying. Based on this, Wang Shifu began to write his zaju "The West Chamber of Cui Yingying" in Zhongshan Building. The play was written in the years of Yuan Zhen and Dade (1295~ 1307).

Compared with Biography of Yingying, which simply describes the story of Zhang Sheng abandoning Yingying, Romance of the West Chamber is undoubtedly much richer in plot and more vivid in characters, making it easier to win the favor of readers. Zhang Sheng in The Biography of Yingying is keen on pursuing fame and fortune, but he dare not rebel against Cui Furen, a feudal parent, and even abandoned Yingying from the beginning, which is disgusting.

However, Zhang Sheng in The West Chamber bravely pursues love and has a pure heart, which is both lovely and touching. Yingying's pursuit of love is stronger. After falling in love with Zhang Sheng, she completely ignored the eyes of the world and took the initiative to approach Zhang Sheng. When sending Zhang Sheng to Beijing to catch the exam, she didn't care whether Zhang Sheng could go to high school. She just wants him to finish the exam and come back as soon as possible.

This pure concept of love without material temptation is moving. In addition to the hero and heroine, the image of the matchmaker in The West Chamber is also quite prominent. Mrs Cui ordered her to monitor the young lady's every move, but it turned out to be a good helper to help her pursue free love. She is clever and resourceful, juggling with Mrs Cui. It is no exaggeration to say that Cui Furen, who was born and raised, is the love strategist of Zhang Sheng and Ying Ying. It's really thanks to the matchmaker that they can finally have lovers.

References:

Baidu encyclopedia-west chamber