Xianqing ouji 閑情偶寄

Xianqing ouji 閑情偶寄 (also written 閒情偶寄) is a book on various aspects of life and entertainment compiled during the early Qing period 清 (1644-1911) by Li Yu 李漁 (1611-1680), courtesy name Lihong 笠鴻, style Liweng 笠翁, Zhefan 謫凡, Sui'an Zhuren 隨庵主人 or Xinting Qiaoke 新亭樵客. His family hailed from Lanxi 蘭溪, Zhejiang, but he grew up in Rugao 如皋, Jiangsu. He achieved the xiucai degree, but failed in higher state examinations. He is famous for his theatre collection Liweng shi zhong qu 笠翁十種曲, and wrote the story collections Shi'er lou 十二樓, Liancheng bi 連城璧 and Wushengxi 無聲戲.

The Xianqing ouji, with a length of 16 juan, includes 8 chapters on playwriting (Ciqu 詞曲), performance (Yanxi 演習), exquisite ingénues (Shengrong 聲容), residences (Jushi 居室), furnishings and fine things (Qiwan 器玩), food and drink (Yinzhuan 飲饌), horticulture (Zhongzhi 種植), and health maintenance (Yiyang 頤養).

The playwriting section contains six subsections, namely structure (jiegou 構結), writing arias (cicai 詞采), prosody (yinlü 音律), dialogue (binbai 賓白), comic elements (kehun 科諢), and dramatic structure (geju 格局). It discusses dramatic literature and proposes valuable principles such as "establishing a central theme", "reducing distractions" and "tightening narrative threads", all of which emphasise a clear theme and rigorous structure of theatre plays. The performance section has five subsections: play selection (xuanju 選劇), modulation (biandiao 變調), teaching arias (shouqu 授曲), instructing dialogue (jiaobai 教白), and departing from bad practices (tuotao 脫套). It discusses theatrical performance and emphasises the effects of stage presentation. The chapter "Exquisite ingénues" comprises four subsections, namely posture selection (xuanzi 選姿), modifying appearance (xiurong 修容), managing attire (zhifu 治服), and skill practice (xiji 習技). These parts discuss the arts of the artists' dresses and personal adornments.

The dwelling chapter has the five subsections: buildings (fangshe 房舍), windows and railings (chuanglan 窗欄), walls (qiangbi 牆壁), hanging scrolls and plaques (lianbian 聯匾), and rockeries (shanshi 山石). This part covers methods of building and arranging a home. The chapter "Furnishings and fine things" speaks about design and manufacture (zhidu 制度), and the arrangement (weizhi 位置) of tables and desks, chairs and stools, beds, cupboards, baskets and boxes, antiques, censers and vases, screens and scrolls, tea services, wine accessories, bowls and plates, lamps and candles, and stationery. The chapter on food and drink details vegetables (shushi 蔬食), grains (gushi 穀食), and meat (roushi 肉食. The chapter on horticulture explains the cultivation of trees (muben 木本), vines (tengben 藤本), herbs (caoben 草本), assorted flowers and leafy plants (zhonghui 眾卉), and bamboos and various trees (zhumu 竹木).

The final chapter on health maintenance guides the reader to "enjoy himself" (xingle 行樂), end worries (zhiyou 止懮), regulate the diet (tiao yinchuo 調飲啜), moderate sexual desires (jie seyu 節色慾), prevent illness (quebing 卻病) and treat illness (liaobing 療病). Much of the book's content is based on the author's personal experience.

The oldest surviving print was produced by the Yisheng Hall 翼聖堂 in Nanjing. A print from the Yongzheng reign-period 雍正 (1723-1735) is titled Liweng ouji 笠翁偶集 and arranged the texts into 6 juan. This edition is included in the collection Liweng yijiayan quanji 笠翁一家言全集. The two chapters on buildings and furniture were extracted and published separate as Yijiayan Jushi Quwan bu 一家言·居室器玩部. Another extract with the title Li Liweng quhua 李笠翁曲話 is part of the series Wenyi congshu 文藝叢書, published by the Liangxi Library 梁溪圖書館 and the Qizhi Press 啟智書局 in Shanghai. It includes the first two chapters, which discuss theatre. Both chapters are also published as Liweng julun 笠翁劇論, part of the series Xin quyuan 新曲苑 (1940). A third stand-alone version of the two theatre theory chapters is part of the series Zhongguo gudian xiqu lunzhu jicheng 中國古典戲曲論著集成 (1959). An annotated version was published in 2005 by the Huaxia Press 華夏出版社, as part of the series Zhongguo gudai xianqing congshu 中國古代閑情叢書.

There is an English translation of the first three chapters by Victor Zhang. 2024. Xianqing ouji, Leisure Notes: Li Yu's Drama Theory. No Place: Neotao Studio.