\tThe Quanyuanqu \u5168\u5143\u66f2 "Complete collection of Yuan period qu arias" is a collection of all surviving Yuan period (1279-1368) qu style \u66f2 arias.<\/p>\n
\tThe term qu normally includes two different types of literature, the first being "scattered arias" (sanqu \u6563\u66f2) that were written like poems or songs, and the second being arias (geju \u6b4c\u5267) as part of operas or theatre plays (zaju \u6742\u5267). The interest of Chinese scholars and literati in Yuan period songs and operas was not very deep, and even important collectors like the Ming period \u660e (1368-1644) scholar Li Kaixian \u674e\u5f00\u5148 published not more than a few songs by Qiao Ji \u4e54\u5409 and Zhang Kejiu \u5f20\u53ef\u4e45. The same authors were also the only ones regarded as worth mentioning by the authors of the eminent Qing period \u6e05 (1644-1911) collectaneumSiku quanshu \u56db\u5e93\u5168\u4e66. Wu Mei \u5434\u6885 was the first scholar studying Yuan period arias, and the first publications on this type of songs were made by Ren Zhongmin \u4efb\u4e2d\u654f (the collectaneum Sanqu congkan \u6563\u66f2\u4e1b\u520a) and Lu Qian \u5362\u524d (Yinhongyi suo kan qu \u996e\u8679\u7c03\u6240\u520a\u66f2). These publications instigated a lot of researches and collections, among these some rarities, like the sanqu collections Yangchun baixue \u9633\u6625\u767d\u96ea, Liyuan yuefu \u68a8\u56ed\u4e50\u5e9c, Taiping yuefu \u592a\u5e73\u4e50\u5e9c and Yuefu qunyu \u4e50\u5e9c\u7fa4\u7389. The earliest comprehensive collection of "scattered arias" was Sui Shusen's \u968b\u6811\u68ee Quan Yuan sanqu \u5168\u5143\u6563\u66f2 that includes 3,853 songs (xiaoling \u5c0f\u4ee4) and 457 suites (taoqu \u5957\u66f2), with a total number of 4,310 songs. This is, of course, much less than the poems included in the Quantangshi \u5168\u5510\u8bd7 and Quansongci \u5168\u5b8b\u8bcd, but the large number alone shows how productive Yuan period writers were in comparison to their collegues of earlier dynasties.
\tExcept songs, the genre of qu includes whole theatre plays. The Yuan period plays consisted of spoken passages (kebai \u79d1\u767d) carrying on the plot, and of arias expressing the thoughts and feelings of the main characters (jiaose \u89d2\u8272). Only the main female and male character sing arias – this is the main difference to European operas. According to the books Luguibu \u5f55\u9b3c\u7c3f by Zhong Sicheng \u949f\u55e3\u6210, Luguibu xubian \u5f55\u9b3c\u7c3f\u7eed\u7f16 by Jia Zhongming \u8d3e\u4ef2\u660e and Zhu Quan's \u6731\u6743 Taihe zhengyin pu \u592a\u548c\u6b63\u97f3\u8c31, there must have been some 600 theatre plays, of which only a small part has survived. In 1616, the collectors Zang Jinshu \u81e7\u664b\u53d4 and Liu Yanbo \u5218\u5ef6\u4f2f published a book including 100 selected theatre plays, the Yuanquxuan \u5143\u66f2\u9009. Zang Jinshu has much been criticized by contemporarians that he had polished the original texts of many plays and not copied the original wording. Yet he was also praised for his merit to have been the first systematically collecting, arranging and publishing a large amount of surviving Yuan period theatre plays. The great historian Wang Guowei \u738b\u56fd\u7ef4 (Song-Yuan xiqu kao \u5b8b\u5143\u620f\u66f2\u8003) and the Japanese scholar Yoshikawa K\u014djir\u014d \u5409\u5ddd\u5e78\u6b21\u90ce acknowledged Zang's efforts. His book was followed by a series of other publications, like Yuankan zaju sanshi zhong \u5143\u520a\u6742\u5267\u4e09\u5341\u79cd\u7c7b, Li Kaixian's Gaiding Yuan xian chuanqi \u6539\u5b9a\u5143\u8d24\u4f20\u5947, Zhao Qimei's \u8d75\u7426\u7f8eMaiwangtang chaojiaoben gujin zaju \u8109\u671b\u5802\u949e\u6821\u672c\u53e4\u4eca\u6742\u5267, Gujin zaju xuan \u53e4\u4eca\u6742\u5267\u9009 by Xijizi \u606f\u673a\u5b50, Chen Yujiao's \u9648\u4e0e\u90ca Gu mingjia zaju \u53e4\u540d\u5bb6\u6742\u5267, Huang Zhengwei's \u9ec4\u6b63\u4f4dYangchunzou \u9633\u6625\u594f, Gu Quzhai's \u987e\u66f2\u658b Guzaju \u53e4\u6742\u5267, or the books Liuzhiji \u67f3\u679d\u96c6 and Leijiangji \u9179\u6c5f\u96c6. Sui Shusen later enlarged his collection by the Yuanquxuan waibian \u5143\u66f2\u9009\u5916\u7f16 that includes a further 62 plays. Zhao Jingshen \u8d75\u666f\u6df1 has added a further collection of Yuan plays, the Yuanren zaju goushen \u5143\u4eba\u6742\u5267\u94a9\u6c89. These collections were the basic sources for the Quanyuanqu. A Ying \u963f\u82f1 opened a new aspect of research in Yuan operas with his book Yuanren zaju shi \u5143\u4eba\u6742\u5267\u53f2, published in 1954, by investigating the social and economical circumstances of the time, as reflected in the plays of Guan Hanqing \u5173\u6c49\u537f and other authors. The field of Yuan operas since experienced a quick development, and the books published on this topic can be divided into several categories, like bibliographies, editions, textual critique, commentaries, melodies, historical relics, commented selections, translation, collections, or history.<\/p>\n
\tThe Quanyuanqu includes all known qu arias written by Yuan period authors, those known by name as well as anonymous writings. It includes in total 162 theatre plays, including the full text, and not only the arias. In addition to the above-mentioned number of "scattered arias", 45 fragmentary arias are included. It is also the case that some of the theatre plays are not complete, especially those copied from the earliest collection Yuankan zaju sanshi zhong. The authors are the main chapters of the collection, their order is not chronological but follows the order in the Luguibu. In these books, authors mainly writing theatre plays appear first, followed by authors professing in "scattered arias" (anonymous sanqu are not included). Full texts are ranging before fragments. Arias with the same musical mode (gongdiao \u5bab\u8c03) and the same basic melody pattern (qupai \u66f2\u724c) are brought together. For all authors, short biographies are provided, and all pieces are richly commented, including a text-critique comparing different editions and versions. <\/p>\n