Chapter I From Street Entertainment to Theatric Art: A Brief History of Chinese Dramas _ 1 1. Song Zaju and Jin Yuanben—Precursors of Yuan Drama _ 1 2. The Development of Yuan Zaju _ 7 Chapter II Stories about Guan Hanqing—the Original _ 18 1. Guan Hanqing—the Playwright _ 18 2. The Story of Injustice to Dou E _ 23 Chapter III Inspirations for the Story of Injustice to Dou E _ 29 1. Origins of the Story _ 30 2. Character Input of Dou E _ 33 Chapter IV About the Characters in Injustice to Dou E _ 40 1. The Character of Dou E _ 41 2. The Character of Dou Tianzhang _ 46 3. The Character of Tao Wu _ 47 4. The Character of Donkey Zhang _ 48 5. The Character of Sai Luyi _ 49 6. The Character of Madam Cai _ 50 Chapter V How to Put the Story Together _ 51 1. Connecting the Past and Present _ 51 2. Being Real and Romantic _ 53 3. Enriching the Plot of a Short Story _ 58 4. Making the Characters Talk to One Another _ 70 Chapter VI From Injustice to Dou E to Snow in June _ 76 1. Earlier Editions of Injustice to Dou E _ 78 2. Adaptations in Beijing Opera Snow in June _ 81 3. Some Thoughts about the Beijing Opera Adaptation _ 108 Chapter VII Cultural Messages from Injustice to Dou E _ 111 1. About Filial Obedience _ 112 2. On Marriage and Fidelity _ 115 3. Personal Ambitions, Family Honor, and Family Tragedy _ 117 4. Beliefs, Choices, and Destinies _ 119 5. What if …? Is There a Different Path for Life? _ 124 Chapter VIII English Translation of Injustice to Dou E from Beijing Opera _ 128 Beijing opera ABC _ 165 Works Consulted and Cited _ 217 Bibliography _ 218