Tang Xianzu (September 24, 1550 - July 29, 1616, {sys: (year (now) -1616) } years ago), a Chinese opera playwright and writer in the late Ming Dynasty. The word meaning is still, the name is Hairuo, Taoist in Qingyuan, and the name Ruoshi, Cocoon Weng in his later years, Linchuan (now Jiangxi) people.

Tang Xianzu (1549-1616) wrote a total of five legendary plays in his life. Among them,"The Story of the Purple Hairpin","The Story of the Soul","The Story of Nanke", and "The Story of Handan" all have dream plots, so they are collectively called the "Four Dreams of Linchuan", also known as the "Four Dreams of Yumingtang." His masterpiece "The Peony Pavilion"("Return of the Soul") is a masterpiece of romanticism in the history of Chinese opera.

Tang Xianzu was born in a scholarly family. He read poetry and books from a young age, and his personality was upright. In the fifth year of Wanli (1577), Tang Xianzu went to Beijing to take the exam, but he refused to accept the solicitation of the prime minister Zhang Juzheng. As a result, he fell twice. It was not until the eleventh year of Wanli (1583) that he was 33 years old, that is, the year after Zhang Juzheng's death, that he was admitted as a scholar. After Tang Xianzu was elected as a scholar, he still refused to be attached to the new prime minister Shen Shixing, so he could only hold an empty position in Nanjing. During his tenure, he had close contacts with Donglin party members. In the nineteenth year of Wanli (1591), he wrote "On the Auxiliary Minister Ke Chen Shu", exposing the shortcomings of current affairs, attacking the court, and impeaching the ministers, thus angering the emperor Shenzong. Afterwards, he was Later, he was transferred to Suichang County, Zhejiang Province. Tang Xianzu was an honest official in the local area, sympathetic to the people's feelings, and won the hearts of the people, but in the end, due to dissatisfaction with the corruption of the imperial government, he abandoned the official and returned to his hometown in the 26th year of Wanli (1598), and built a leisure residence in Linchuan, called "Yumingtang". From then on, he dedicated himself to drama and literary creation activities, and spent his life.

Evaluation: Tang Xianzu was in the same period as British Shakespeare, so he was also called "Shakespeare of the East" by modern people. Tang Xianzu's works represent a typical Eastern drama style.