New Essays
Wu Ge
Sichuan Drama.
2025, 0(4):
6-14.
Both Ouyang Yuqian and Wei Minglun wrote plays titled Pan Jinlian, separated by 60 years, each with distinct characteristics. Ouyang Yuqian’s play uses the image of Pan Jinlian to expose and critique the patriarchal society’s centuries-old moral order, which legitimizes and rationalizes the persecution and humiliation of women. Wei Minglun’s play, on the other hand, uses Pan Jinlian as a narrative thread to analyze and evaluate women from ancient to modern times, both in China and abroad, within the context of moral discourse. Both works reexamine the long-stigmatized figure of Pan Jinlian—who has been pinned to the pillar of moral shame and erotic infamy—from their respective cultural and intellectual perspectives. However, Ouyang Yuqian’s Pan Jinlian has not enjoyed the same “luck” as Wei Minglun's work, which emerged a full cycle later. For a long time, Ouyang's play has been misunderstood and misinterpreted, failing to be recognized for its lament over the fate of women oppressed and harmed in a patriarchal society. This lament is heavy and profound. Ouyang’s focus is on “humanity,” on “women,” and on the vibrant lives overshadowed by traditional morality and feudal culture.