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The Injustice to Dou E
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Dou E Yuan, commonly translated as The Injustice to Dou E, and also known as Snow in Midsummer, is a Chinese zaju play written by Guan Hanqing (c. 1241–1320) during the Yuan dynasty. The full Chinese title of the play is Gan Tian Dong Di Dou E Yuan, which roughly translates to The Injustice to Dou E that Touched Heaven and Earth.
Dou E Yuan | |||||||||||
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![]() Dou E and Donkey Zhang, print from the 17th to early 18th century | |||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 竇娥冤 | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 窦娥冤 | ||||||||||
Literal meaning | The Injustice to Dou E | ||||||||||
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Gan Tian Dong Di Dou E Yuan | |||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 感天動地竇娥冤 | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 感天动地窦娥冤 | ||||||||||
Literal meaning | The Injustice to Dou E that Touched Heaven and Earth | ||||||||||
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The story follows a child bride turned widow, Dou E, who is wrongly convicted of crimes by a corrupt court official for actions perpetrated by a rejected suitor, Zhang the mule. After her execution, three prophesied phenomena occur to prove her innocence, including blood raining from the sky, snow in June and a three-year drought. After a visit from the ghost of Dou E, her father eventually brings the corrupt court official, a doctor and Mule Zhang to justice, thereby vindicating his daughter.
Today, the phrase "snowing in June" is still widely used among Chinese speakers as a metaphor for a miscarriage of justice. The story has been repeatedly used and modified by later dramatists and remains one of Guan's most popular works.[1]