Abstract
At the beginning of the 20th century an immense library of medieval manuscripts was discovered in the caves of Dunhuang in northwest China. Among these manuscripts there is a relatively small body of vernacular texts that shed new light on the opaque history of literature written by the Chinese non-elite. This article presents an emended edition and a German translation of the five remaining manuscripts of “Han Peng fu”, arguably one of the most moving and heart-warming vernacular texts recovered at Dunhuang. Set in the period of the Warring States, “Han Peng fu” tells the romantic and tragic story of the young Zhenfu and her husband Han Peng, whose fate is to unite only in death to which they are driven by the malicious schemes of the King of Song and his cunning advisor Liang Bo. Comparing “Han Peng fu” with other existing versions of the legend of Han Peng found on Bamboo strips from the late Western Han Dynasty and included in some later works such as Lieyi zhuan, Yuejue shu and Soushen ji, this article further studies the tradition of this narrative and identifies possible connections to other famous lores such as Meng Jiang nü, Kongque dongnan fei, Liang Shanbo yu Zhu Yingtai, and the legend of Xishi.
Schwizgebel, Marc