Wang Shifu

Wang Shifu (1250-1337?), courtesy name of Wang Dexin, was a Chinese dramatist and playwright of the Yuan dynasty. He is a representative of “Wencaipai” in Chinese opera literature. He was born in Dadu, the capital of the Yuan dynasty. His ancestral home was in Hebei province, Baoding city. Wang was born into a noble family. His father was a general who worked for Genghis Khan. Under the impact of his elder generation, Wang started his officialdom career as a county official. He was then promoted to the investigating censor of Shanxi Province due to his brilliant talent and achievement. However, due to his characters and dispositions, he finally chose to escape from the officialdom and devoted himself to literature creation.