Illustrations from Selected Yuan Dramas, 1 juan

Ming dynasty (1368�1644), Wanli period (1573�1619)

Compiled and edited by Zang Maoxun (1550�1620; jinshi of 1580); engraved by Huang Yingguang (b. 1593), Huang Liqing, Huang Duanfu, et al.

Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province: Diaochong guan, 1616

White folding margin at center of folio, with black �fishtail�; single-line borders; overall dimensions of volume: 25.7 x 16.2 cm; block sizes of illustrations: approx. 20.3 x 13.7 cm; stitched binding

Inventory number: 16215

This is a collection of 100 zajus (dramas), 94 of which belong to the Yuan and six to the early Ming period.� Compiled and edited by Zang Maoxun, this most commonly used edition of plays from the Yuan dynasty is extremely significant because it documents two-thirds of all this period's extant dramatic compositions.

This work originally was printed in a handsome edition, which may have accounted for its popularity.� The 100 volumes of the complete set were printed in two batches.� The first, issued in 1615, contained the first through fifth series in 50 volumes, while the second batch, containing the sixth through tenth series, was published in 1616.� The 224 illustrations in the full set are all of a very fine quality and constitute the single highest concentration of images in any extant collection of Chinese dramatic works.� Each drama is accompanied by at least two illustrations, some by as many as four. Evidently there was a market for special editions containing only the separately paginated illustrated folios like the present example.