1699 · Peach Blossom Fan

The Peach Blossom Fan (Chinese: 桃花扇; pinyin: Táohuā shàn; Wade–Giles: T’ao-hua shan) is a musical play and historical drama in 44 scenes that was completed in 1699 by the early Qing dynasty playwright Kong Shangren after more than 10 years of effort. The play depicts the drama that resulted in the 1644 collapse of the Ming dynasty. The play recounts the death of the Ming dynasty through the love story of its two main characters, young scholar Hou Fangyu (侯方域) and a courtesan named Li Xiangjun. The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature has called it “China’s greatest historical drama”.