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Chapter 40 220 "The Injustice of Dou E" Moves the Heavens and Earth

Because Yuan Shizu adopted many measures to develop production, the social economy in the early Yuan Dynasty was very prosperous.But this prosperity only benefited Mongolian princes, nobles and landlord bureaucrats.In order to meet the extravagant life and military needs of the Mongolian nobles, Yuan Shizu also appointed a group of ministers in charge of finance to help him search for wealth.These ministers colluded with local officials, corrupted the law, and did everything. The Yuan Dynasty also implemented a policy of ethnic oppression, dividing the people of the whole country into four classes: the first class is the Mongols; The Han, Khitan, Jurchen and other ethnic groups under the rule of the dynasty; the fourth class is called the Nanren, which is the people of various ethnic groups in the Southern Song Dynasty.The political status and treatment of people in the four classes are different, and Han Chinese and Southern Chinese are discriminated against in various ways.

Under the cruel class oppression and national oppression, the working people of all nationalities are living a miserable life.Corruption is rampant, and there are countless unjust cases. After the death of Yuan Shizu, his grandson Tie Mu'er came to the throne, which was Yuan Chengzong.During Yuan Chengzong's period, this kind of corruption and perverting the law became more and more serious.On one occasion, more than 18,000 officials were found guilty of corruption, and more than 5,000 unjust cases were filed. At that time, a kind of drama called Zaju was popular in Dadu.Some scholars with a sense of justice are dissatisfied with the dark rule of the government, and use the form of drama to expose the crimes of the officialdom and the injustice of society.

There is a scholar named Guan Hanqing in most of them. He loved music and drama since he was a child. He could play the flute, play the piano, sing and dance.Guan Hanqing used to be an official in the Imperial Hospital in Beijing, but he was not interested in medical skills, but was particularly enthusiastic about writing scripts.At that time, the social status of actors was very low, but Guan Hanqing got along well with them; sometimes he himself would perform on stage and play a role.Because he has a lot of research on music and drama, the plays he made up are particularly brilliant. In Dadu, a group of aristocrats and ordinary people like to watch operas. Guan Hanqing's dramas are not just for the entertainment of the aristocrats, but often to help the common people speak.He wrote the tragic experiences of the people he saw and heard into his scripts. "Moving the Heaven and Earth Dou E's Injustice" (also known as Dou E's Injustice) is his outstanding representative work.

The main character is Dou E, a poor woman in Chuzhou.Dou E's mother died since she was a child, and her father, Dou Tianzhang, couldn't pay the debts, and because he went to Beijing to rush for the exam and lacked expenses, he sold her to the lonely mother-in-law Cai's family as a child bride.Within two years of arriving at Cai's house, her husband fell ill and died, leaving only Dou E and her mother-in-law to live their lives dependent on each other. There was a gangster in Chuzhou named Zhang Lver, who bullied Cai's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law and had no one to rely on. Together with his father, Zhang Laoer, he stayed at Cai's house and forced Cai's mother-in-law to marry Zhang Laoer.Granny Cai was weak and timid, so she reluctantly agreed.Zhang Lv'er threatened Dou E to marry him again, but Dou E resolutely refused and scolded Zhang Lv'er severely.

Zhang Lv'er held a grudge.A few days later, Grandma Cai fell ill and asked Dou E to make sheep tripe soup for her.Zhang Lv'er secretly put poison in the soup, intending to poison Granny Cai to death first, and then force Dou E to get married.Dou E served the sheep tripe soup to Granny Cai.Granny Cai took the bowl and suddenly wanted to vomit. She didn't want to drink, so she gave it to Old Zhang.Mr. Zhang was poisoned, rolled on the ground a few times, and then swallowed his breath. Zhang Lv'er poisoned his father to death, put the murder charge on Dou E, and sued the Chuzhou Yamen.

Taowu (sound wu), the prefect of Chuzhou, is a corrupt official who broke the law and was bribed by Zhang Luer secretly with money. He took Dou E to the court for interrogation and forced her to confess that she had poisoned her.Dou E was tortured in every possible way, and she was in so much pain that she still refused to admit it. Taozhu knew that Dou E was very filial to her mother-in-law, so she wanted to torture Granny Cai in front of Dou E.Dou E thought that her mother-in-law was old and couldn't bear the torture, so she confessed wrongly. The corrupt official Taozhu beat Dou E into a trick, sentenced her to death, and took her to the execution ground to be executed.Seeing that there was no room for redress, Dou E cursed heaven and earth with grief and indignation: "Earth, you don't distinguish between good and evil, what is it? Three vows: one is to let the knife fall too far, and all the hot blood will be splashed on Bai Lian; the other is to let heavy snow fall from the sky to cover her body;Dou E's vow actually moved the world.At that time, it was the great weather in June. After Dou E was killed, it was dark and snowy for a moment. Then, there was a severe drought in Chuzhou for three years.Later, Dou E's father, Dou Tianzhang, was an official in the capital, and Dou E's unjust case was vindicated.

What is written in this drama may not be real people and real events, and June Feixue is a kind of mythical imagination.But it reflects the strong desire of countless wronged and suffering people to seek revenge under the feudal rule.Therefore, for thousands of years, this play has been loved and appreciated by people, and Guan Hanqing has also become a dramatist praised by the people.
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