Author Description

"Famous for plays centering around dreams, such as The Peony Pevilion, The Dream on the Handan Road, and The Anecdote of the Purple Hairpin, Tang Xianzu, a playwright of the Ming Dynasty, was adept at finding human truths in fantastic settings. Available for the first time in English, this play completes the socalled ""four dreams,"" by vividly describing a life lived among the smallest of creatures: ants. In the play, discharged army officer Chunyu Fen dreams that he enters an ant hole and ends up marrying the daughter of the king of the ants. The king appoints Chunyu Fen to a high position in his administration. Delightful in its suggestion that men and ants are not so different after all, A Dream also provides a valuable insight into the social problems of the late Ming Dynasty. This is truly a worthy addition to any drama library."