Kong Shangren

Qing-dynasty Chinese dramatist and poet, best known for the historical play The Peach Blossom Fan (Taohua Shan); a descendant of Confucius.

This list of books are ONLY the books that have been ranked on the lists that are aggregated on this site. This is not a comprehensive list of all books by this author.

  1. 1. The Peach Blossom Fan

    The drama follows the ill-fated love between the courtesan Li Xiangjun and the scholar Hou Fangyu against the backdrop of the Ming dynasty’s collapse, as their personal fidelity and cultural refinement come into conflict with rising opportunism and political chaos. A small fan carried between them and other characters becomes a recurring emblem of memory and moral resolve while corruption, betrayal, and military defeat force heartbreaking choices. Through lyrical dialogue, music, and episodic scenes, the work intertwines romance and history to criticize moral decay, mourn a vanished order, and celebrate steadfastness and sacrifice amid national catastrophe.