Li Yu (playwright)

Li Yu was born in 1610 (possibly 1611) during the Ming Dynasty in Jiangsu Province. From childhood he was brought up according to the principles of traditional Confucian education . He lived in Jiangsu for 20 years, but after the death of his father, the family moved to Zhejiang, where his ancestors came from. His family was quite rich and, like all representatives of the younger generation of the intelligentsia, he was preparing to pass exams to obtain the post of official. At twenty-five, he passed the first exam. At the age of thirty, he survived a military change of power by the Qing Dynasty , which caused serious unrest in society for several decades. ^[3] Thus, he was unable to obtain this post. Over time, he abandoned attempts to make a name for himself. He also bought a house in the city of Uchen, among beautiful nature and, following the example of the poet Tao Yuanming, began to search for the meaning of life against the background of nature. At this time, the Manchus devastated the province where the Li Yu family used to live, and he was forced to sell his house in Lanxi and found himself without a livelihood. But the writer was helped by friends who occupied high posts in the state.

Since 1648, he lives in Hangzhou, on Xihu Lake. It was here that he began to engage in literary activities. Ten years later, the writer leaves Hangzhou and settles in Nanjing, where he lives until 1678 and meets with many celebrities of the time.

In Nanjing, he continues to write and research in the field of history, as well as art. He also opens a store where he sells books and publishes books, makes stamps. He is particularly attracted to books on art and the so-called "democratic literature."

Over time, he began to engage in theatrical art, organizing his own theater. The theater became successful and Li Yu began to earn a lot of money.

In the second half of the 1670s, he returned to Hangzhou, where he died in 1680 (possibly 1679).

The main works of Li Yu is the “Word of One” - a collection of essays with discussions about art and theater; "A random refuge for idle thoughts" with arguments about life, where there is a lot of biographical information about the writer.

“An accidental haven for idle thoughts” is actually a philosophical essay in which the author discusses the being and the relation of man to life. Li Yu believes that life should be full of joy and it is unique and vibrant with its colors and sounds. Man must live in harmony with nature and must get rid of routine. Moreover, he even gives practical advice on how to dress, what to do to enjoy life, how to work, and even what to eat and drink. He perceives death as inevitable and advises not to be afraid of it, since this is the path to enlightenment.

During his life he wrote ten plays, such as “Flounder”, “The Phoenix Looks for the Phoenix”, “Yu Sao Tou”, “Lien Xiang Ban” and others. All these plays tell about passionate love, often have a realistic character. In addition, they carry a philosophical subtext, criticizing such social phenomena as the relationship of the master and servant, the marriage concluded by parents.

Over time, his plays became very popular not only in China, but also in other Asian countries associated with China's cultural traditions, including Japan. In China, his plays are still staged. In addition to writing plays, he was also involved in their directing and even played some roles.

In addition to plays, Li Yu also wrote short stories. The collection “Silent Opera” (“Priceless Jasper”, 1654) depicts a narrator who achieves an ironic effect, posing as imaginary as real.

The story book “The Twelve Towers” ​​(The word is clear, the world awakens) is a series of stories connected by the word tower. The tower, in turn, was called a structure that was used for various purposes, for example, to receive guests, or as an office, a place where you can meditate or pray, etc. Thus, the tower is the main image on which the plot unfolds. The Twelve Towers is one of the best stories of the 17th century. Written in colloquial Baihua, this is a model of the story of the so-called "democratic literature." The themes of the novels that are included in this book are also diverse, these are love stories in which young people undergo trials on the path to happiness, these are also hardships in difficult years, narrative plots, and adventurous lines. Moreover, these stories affect social, moral and philosophical problems. The author also tries to pay attention to the moral of society in such areas as, for example, polygamy, condemning it. The stories themselves always have instructiveness at the end.

In addition, Li Yuya also has the erotic novel Midnight Weiyan, or Litter of the Flesh (translated into Russian by Voskresensky D.N. ). In order to deceive censorship, Li Yu published this novel under various names.

• “The Twelve Towers”, Moscow: “Fiction”, 1985. - 352 p. The circulation is 75,000.
• “Midnight Weiyan”, M.: “Fiction”, 1995. - 560 p. Circulation 10,000.

• Li Yu // Spiritual Culture of China: Encyclopedia: in 5 volumes / Ch. ed. M. L. Titarenko. - M .: Eastern literature, 2008. - T. 3: Literature. Language and writing. - S. 334. - 855 p. - 2000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-02-036348-9 .
• D. Voskresensky. LI YU: WRITER AND HIS CREATIVITY