On the Art Figure of Lao Furen

In order to emphasize laofuren's feudal thoughts, to meet the requirements of stylistic rules as well as to meet the restrictions of roles in the drama playing, When writing the West Chamber, Wang Shifu changed the merely more than fortyyearold widow of zheng's family written in Hui Zhen Ji into a sixtyyearold prime minister's wife. On purpose, he described her as an old indifferent and foolish woman without her own ideas, which can be forcefully proved by following facts, such as bringing her husband's coffin home alone from thousands Lis away without any servant's company, permitting Zhangsheng to hold a memorial rite for his parents in the same temple with them, having no ideas when besieged by Sun feihu and being refuted when interrogating the match-maker. Therefore, the love between Cui and Zhang came true. The two representative comments, either considering the old lady was incomparably sinister and vicious or thinking she intended to bring Cui and Zhang together, are all incorrect.