“The Romance of the Western Chamber” exerted a profound influence on the romantic legend creations of Ming dynasty playwright Wang Tingne, manifested in his creative approach through “quotation and imitation” -namely, replicating plotlines, adopting literary expressions, and adapting textual elements. Furthermore, through active transformation of personal literary philosophy, Wang Tingne’s romantic legends enriched the original “Cui-Zhang” love paradigm. His revisions of the plot and illustrations demonstrated new interpretations: he critiqued Zhang Sheng’s accurate interpretation of the poem and criticized his method of jumping over the wall, while crafting character portrayals more aligned with the social context of the Ming dynasty, thereby infusing fresh meaning into the play’s dissemination during that era. Wang Tingne’s practice of “quotation and imitation” also influenced other forms of popular literature, further facilitating the spread of “The Romance of the Western Chamber”.

Wang Tingne, love legend, quotations, The Romance of the Western Chamber, reception and dissemination