Bai Renfu
Quick Facts
Biography
Bai Renfu (Chinese: 白仁甫; pinyin: Bái Rénfǔ; Wade–Giles: Pai Jen-fu or Po Jen-fu, c. 1226−1306), also known as Bai Pu (Chinese: 白朴; pinyin: Bái Pǔ; Wade–Giles: Pai P'u or Po P'u), was a renowned Chinese playwright of the Yuan Dynasty.
He wrote 16 plays, three of which are extant:
Over the Wall (裴少俊牆頭馬上 Péi Shǎo Jùn Qiáng Tóu Mǎ Shàng)
Rain on the Paulownia Tree (唐明皇秋夜梧桐雨 Táng Míng Huáng Qiū Yè Wú Tóng Yǔ)
Romance of the East Wall (董秀英花月東牆記 Dǒng Xiù Yīng Huā Yuè Dōng Qiáng Jì)
He also wrote a play about Emperor Xuanzong and Lady Yang Guifei:
Tang Minghuang on an Autumn Night with Wutong Tree and Rain (唐明皇秋夜梧桐雨 Tang Minghuang Qiuye Wutong Yu).
Biography
A scion of an important Jin dynasty family, Bo Renfu's grandfather held a post at the powerful Bureau of Military Affairs, and his father was a close friend of the poet Yuan Haowen. However, the defeat of the Jin dynasty by the Mongol Empire resulted in a major upheaval in social relationships. Nevertheless, Bo Renfu achieved honorary rank and an official position in the Mongol Yuan Dynasty as Minister of Protocol.