Wang Zijia (Chinese: 王紫稼; pinyin: Wáng Zǐjià or Chinese: 王子嘉; pinyin: Wáng Zǐjiā, 1622–1657[1]) or Wang Zijie (Chinese: 王子玠; pinyin: Wáng Zǐjiè), born Wang Jia (Chinese: 王稼; pinyin: Wáng Jià), was a Chinese kunqu actor of the Ming–Qing transition who played dan roles (i.e. he impersonated women). He "mesmerize[d] a new generation of youths after the fall of the Ming" and befriended some of the leading scholars such as Gong Dingzi, Qian Qianyi, and Wu Weiye.[2]
Originally from Suzhou, Wang first joined the household troupe of the scholar-official Xu Qian. After the Ming government disbanded Xu's troupe, Wang joined the household troupe of Xu's nemesis Tu Guobao before heading to Beijing to try his luck.[3]
When he returned from Beijing, Wang Zijia was flogged to death on the order of the Suzhou censor Li Senxian (李森先) — who was his admirer[4] but also a "moral zealot"[3] — for allegedly corruption morality.
In fiction
editWang Zijia's rise and fall formed one of the main storylines of the Qing dynasty novel Wutong Ying (梧桐影, "The Parasol's Shade").[5]
Kunqu actor Li Gonglü (李公律) played Wang Zijia in the 2005 TV series The Romantic King of Dramas (風流戲王).[6]
References
edit- ^ Volpp, p. 134.
- ^ Volpp, p. 168.
- ^ a b Stevenson, Mark; Wu Cuncun, eds. (2013). Homoeroticism in Imperial China: A Sourcebook. Routledge. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-415-55144-1.
- ^ Volpp, p. 173.
- ^ Vitiello, Giovanni (2011). The Libertine's Friend: Homosexuality and Masculinity in Late Imperial China. University of Chicago Press. pp. 121–3. ISBN 978-0-226-85792-3.
- ^ "古装电视剧《风流戏王》演员名单" [Cast List of the Pre-Modern Costume TV Series The Romantic King of Dramas]. Sina Entertainment (in Chinese). 15 June 2004. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- Volpp, Sophie (2020). "The Literary Consumption of Actors in Seventeenth-Century China". In Zeitlin, Judith T. (ed.). Writing and Materiality in China: Essays in Honor of Patrick Hanan. Harvard-Yenching Institute.
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