Romance of the Western Chamber

It tells the story of a secret love affair between Zhang Sheng (张生), a young scholar, and Cui Yingying, the daughter of a chief minister of the Tang court.

When Yingying's mother discovers what her daughter has done, she reluctantly consents to a formal marriage on one condition: Zhang must travel to the capital and pass the civil service examination.

[6] Due to scenes that unambiguously described Zhang Sheng and Cui Yingying fulfilling their love outside of the bond of marriage, moralists have traditionally considered The Story of the Western Wing to be an indecent, immoral, and licentious work.

The theme of the drama is an attack on traditional mores, supporting the longing of young people in those days for freedom of marriage, although it follows the timeworn pattern of a gifted scholar and a beautiful lady falling in love at first sight.

The resourceful maidservant Hongniang in the story is so prominent that evolves from a supporting role to an indispensable main character, becoming the synonym of marriage matchmaker in Chinese culture.

Various Ming painters designed illustrations of the story, including Qian Gu, Tang Yin, and Chen Hongshou.

One of the most accomplished renditions of the tale is the series of woodblock prints published, and probably designed, by Min Qiji (1580–after 1661) of Wucheng, Zhejiang province.

His work, which dates to 1640, includes a frontispiece depicting Cui Yingying as well as one image for each of the twenty acts of the Yuan dynasty drama by Wang Shifu.

Min Qiji's album may also be one of the first to rely on the Chinese taoban 套板 printing technique, using six colors to fill in contours but also to add modeling and shading to the depicted images.

A significant innovation of Min Qiji's album is the presentation of scenes as if they were representations of dramatic performances or already-existing pictorial illustrations: the characters of the story appear as if they were paintings on handscrolls, folding fans, or standing screens; inscriptions on a bronze vessel; decorations on a lantern; and puppets used in a theatrical performance.

Scenes from The Romance of the Western Chamber appear in porcelain of different periods, including the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.

For example, the image of Yingying burning incense in the garden has become an archetype in Chinese art and is identifiable in decorated ceramics of the Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties.

[11] Literary and dramatic scenes became popular as decorative patterns on blue-and-white porcelain produced in the Zhizheng era (1341–1367) of the Yuan dynasty.

A scene from Min Qiji's multi-colored woodblock printing album depicting scenes from the play
Scenes from The Story of the Western Wing, painted by Chinese artist Qiu Ying 仇英 (ca. 1494-1552), collected by Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallerynow [1]
An ivory fan depicting scenes from The Story of the Western Wing in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.
Illustration by Chen Hongshou, woodblock print, from the 1639 edition published by Zhang Shenzhi [ 4 ]
Cui Yingying (seated) and Hongniang, from a 2016 Yue opera performance in Tianchan Theatre, Shanghai, by Shanghai Theatre Academy students.
A scene from Min Qiji's multi-colored woodblock printing album depicting scenes from the play, "Zhang Junrui’s nocturnal music-making"
Plate. The Romance of the Western Chamber. The heroine is shown in contemplation, playing her zither. From China, Qing Dynasty, 18th century CE. National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh