Background
Gao was born and grew up in Wenzhou.
高 明
Gao was born and grew up in Wenzhou.
In this capacity he served under the writer Su Tianjue, and helped edit some of Su"s work. From 1348 to 1351, Gao was involved in suppressing the Red Turban Rebellion, taking military action against the early Han rebel Fang Guozhen. After Fang"s defeat, Gao was given a post as assesor of Shaoxing.
Fang later attempted to employ Gao as a teacher, an offer which Gao politely declined.
Dissatisfied with the civil service, he retired in 1356 and moved to Ningbo (Yinxian) to write for the theatre, focussing on the nanxi genre. Gao"s most famous work, and the only one of his plays still extant, is (Pipa ji 琵琶记.
Also translated as The Story of the Lute or The Lute). A complete English language translation appeared in 1980.
In 1946 an adaptation of, entitled Lute Song, was produced on Broadway.
lieutenant starred Yul Brenner and Mary Martin.