author
Ming Gao
d. 1359
Best known for writing The Lute (Pipa ji), this Yuan-dynasty dramatist helped shape one of the great classics of Chinese theater. His work blends emotional storytelling with a sharp sense of duty, family, and social pressure.
1 Audiobook
琵琶記
by Ming Gao
About the author
Gao Ming, also known as Gao Zecheng or Kao Ming, was a Chinese poet and playwright from Wenzhou during the late Yuan dynasty. Library of Congress describes him as a Han Chinese writer from Zhejiang Province who left official service after a frustrating career and turned to drama, while other catalog records commonly place his life around 1305 or 1306 to 1359.
He is most closely associated with Pipa ji (The Lute or Tale of the Pipa), a major work of nanxi theater based on an earlier folk story. The play became a classic of Chinese drama, admired for its moving portrait of loyalty, sacrifice, and family obligation.
Some sources disagree on the exact year of his death, so that detail is not fully certain. What is clear is that Gao Ming's reputation rests on a play that remained influential for centuries and is still read as one of the landmark works of traditional Chinese literature.