Two young gentry women meet by chance at a nunnery in Yangzhou, where
they fall in love at first sight. After they exchange poetry and
recognize each other's literary talents, their emotional bond deepens.
They conduct a mock wedding ceremony at the nunnery and hatch a plan to
spend the rest of their lives together. Their schemes are stymied by a
series of obstacles, but in the end the two women find an unlikely
resolution-a ménage-à-trois marriage.
The Fragrant Companions is the most significant work of literature that
portrays female same-sex love in the entire premodern Chinese tradition.
Written in 1651 by Li Yu, one of the most inventive and irreverent
literary figures of seventeenth-century China, this play is at once an
unconventional romantic comedy, a barbed satire, and a sympathetic
portrayal of love between women. It offers a sensitive portrait of the
two women's passion for each other, depicts their intellectual pursuits
and resourcefulness, and celebrates their partial triumph over social
convention. At the same time, Li caustically mocks the imperial
examination system and deflates the idealized image of the male scholar.
The Fragrant Companions is both an indispensable source for students and
scholars of gender and sexuality in premodern China and a compelling
work of literature for all readers interested in China's rich theatrical
traditions.
