The Legend of Wenlong

In 16th century Ming dynasty the famous painter, poet, writer and dramatist Xu Wei mentions "The Legend of Wenlong" in a list of 65 12th century Song dynasty Nanxi operas [2] under the title 刘文龙菱花镜 (Liu Wenlong and the Water-chestnut Mirror). However, all copies of this opera have been lost. The earlier 15th century Yongle Encyclopedia, the largest known encyclopedia at the time, mentions the opera-play Liu Wenlong.[3]

Although the original version has been lost, the general content of Liu Wenlong and the Water-chestnut Mirror is still known to a degree. A comparison of the roles and plot make it clear that the Zhuang version is adapted from this lost opera-play.[4] Since there is no record of when its transition from Chinese took place, it is assumed to have happened from the Song dynasty onwards, most likely during the Ming dynasty. It has been preserved in written form using the traditional Zhuang writing system, Sawndip since the Ming or Qing dynasties. Although their lengths vary, most of the Sawndip manuscripts are about 500 lines long. Some versions have five characters per line and others seven characters per line.

Whilst sometimes maligned by academia for not being based on Liu Wenlong and the Water-chestnut Mirror, various forms of modern Chinese opera have stories of Wenlong. One such is 刘文龙上京 (Liu Wenlong goes to the Capital), in Huangmei opera. Another is Zheng Chaoyang's 1999 opera 洗马桥 (literally "wash horse bridge"), her own adaptation of the tradition, in which Wenlong comes from Wenzhou.[5]

A Dong version 门龙 (Chinese: Menlong) belongs to the same tradition as Liu Wenlong and the Water-chestnut Mirror and the Zhuang versions.[6]

The relationship between Liu Wenlong and the Water-chestnut Mirror and other operas with extant manuscripts is the subject of ongoing debate.[7] Whilst the Nanxi opera is still considered lost, copies of later Chinese operas which have similar stories have been found. For example, the Ming dynasty work 刘希必金钗记 (lit. "Liu Xibi Golden Hairpin story"), a copy of which was discovered in 1975 in Guangdong, may have a common source with Liu Wenlong and the Water-chestnut Mirror, though some argue it is an adaptation. Other versions include the 100-year-old late Qing dynasty manuscript of 刘文龙赶考 ("Liu Wenlong goes to take the civil service examination"), discovered in 1952 in Anhui. In 1960 in Fuijan, among a discovery of a dozen Nanxi manuscripts there was a partial manuscript simply entitled "Liu Wenlong". These discoveries provide fuel for academic research and progress.[8]

In 1987, a Chinese translation of the Zhuang song by Lan Hong'en was published under the title "文龙与肖尼" ("Wenlong and Xiaoni"), by which it is sometimes better known.[9]

In 1998, the Guangxi Minorities Ancient Literature Bureau printed a Youjiang Zhuang version called "唱文隆" ("The Song of Wenlong"). It is 488 lines long with seven Sawndip characters on each line and a Chinese translation on the opposite side of the page.[10]

In 2006, a Pingguo version, also in Sawndip, arranged by 潘润环, is also 488 lines long in stanzas of four lines but with only five characters per line. The Chinese title is "唱文隆", the Zhuang title "Fwen Vwnzlungz" and the Sawndip title "𠯘文隆".[11]

The names of characters in the story and the characters used to write them vary in different versions. For readability the same English renderings of names are usually used throughout this article.