Tang Xianzu

Tang Xianzu, born September 24, 1550, in Linchuan, Jiangxi, and who died July 29, 1616, the same year as William Shakespeare, was a Chinese dramatist of the Ming dynasty. He served in official government posts before retiring in 1598 to devote himself to writing, and is credited with shifting Chinese theatre from pure entertainment toward philosophical exploration. His four best-known plays, together called the Four Dreams of Linchuan, are The Peony Pavilion, widely regarded as his masterpiece and translated into English several times, The Purple Hairpin, Record of Handan, and Record of the Southern Bough; his works use dreams as a narrative device and prize love over rigid reason.