Wang Xiao the Donkey Driver
'Wang Xiao the Donkey Driver'
Zhuxianzhen, Henan
29 x 24 cm
modern reprint of early 20th century image
This episode is taken not from an opera, but from a type of folksong performance known as yangge, or ‘rice planting song’. The song consists of a dialogue between a young woman and the donkey boy she has hired to take her to her mother’s home. During the trip the two argue over the boy’s fee, and discuss the things that they see along the way. When they arrive at their destination the young woman wishes to take the boy as her adopted son, but the boy declines the offer and wanders off on his own.
