On Li Yu

Li Yu and his father were servants of the premier of the government Shen Shixing.Growing up in premier Shen's home,Li Yu was deeply influenced by moral principles of Shen Yongmao and his son,and Confucian culture much advocated by Shens.In addition,the family drama group which was excellent in Wu district exerted a far-reaching impact upon Li Yu.After gaining fame,as a civic playwright of the bottom society,Li Yu kept a close contact with scholar-bureaucrats,and dedicated himself into describing the civilian's living.Throughout his life,he created about 42 play scripts,forming a style imitated by contemporary playwrights.He paid much attention to promoting a civilian morality and a noble spirit,and deeply reflected upon deceasing Ming from a perspective of Confucian moral,profoundly criticizing the social degeneration and putridness because of missing moral principles of loyalty,filial piety,integrity and righteousness.Confronting new audiences,inheriting the academic outcomes of the last dynasty,Li Yu fulfilled the reform of drama structure,inaugurating the Suzhou school of Kunqu,pushing it into a whole new millennium.