Hongniang Inquiring After Scholar Zhang’s Illness
倩红问病
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This is Scene Four of Act Three of The Romance of the Western Chamber (Xixiang Ji 西厢记), a popular Chinese drama written by playwright Wang Shifu 王实甫 (1250–1336) in Yuan dynasty.
Zhang Junrui (张君瑞, also called Scholar Zhang 张生) had taken ill from anger the previous night, prompting Madame Cui to send a doctor to visit him. Deeply worried, Miss Cui Yingying 崔莺莺 entrusted Hongniang 红娘 with a letter, disguising it as a prescription. Upon seeing Scholar Zhang, Hongniang joked about his lovesick state and handed him the letter from Yingying. Though weak and weary, Scholar Zhang’s face lit up with delight the moment he heard it was from her. ‘Had I known it was a poem from Yingying,’ he said with a smile, ‘I would have knelt to receive it!’ He adjusted his hat and girdle, bowed courteously, and took the letter with both hands—only to discover it was an invitation to meet her that very evening!
story scene description by Rachel Ma
Other figural stories on Chinese artworks:
The dream by the Qiantang River 钱塘梦
Fig 1: rouleau vase with underglaze blue decoration, Kangxi period (1662–1722), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Photograph by Mr JP Kim
Fig 2: rouleau vase with underglaze blue decoration, Kangxi period (1662–1722), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Fig 3: porcelain dish with underglaze blue decoration, Kangxi period (1662–1722), Qing dynasty, courtesy of The Burrell Collection, Glasgow, the UK
Fig 4-5: famille verte porcelain charger, Kangxi period (1662–1722), Qing dynasty, courtesy of Munich Residence Museum; Photograph by Mr Jason Ooi
Fig 6-7: porcelain bowl with overglaze enamelled decoration, Kangxi period (1662–1722), Qing dynasty, courtesy of Groninger Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands
Fig 8: porcelain bowl with underglaze blue decoration, Kangxi period (1662–1722), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Fig 9: porcelain dish with underglaze cobalt-blue and copper-red decoration, 1672, Kangxi period (1662–1722), Qing dynasty, courtesy of Sir Michael Butler Collection
Fig 10-11: famille verte porcelain charger, Kangxi period (1662–1722), Qing dynasty, courtesy of Galerie Nicolas Fournery, Paris
Fig 12: famille verte porcelain bowl, Kangxi period (1662–1722), Qing dynasty, courtesy of Sotheby’s Auction House, New York, 23 March 2023, Lot 577