Life and writings

Born in Rugao, in present-day Jiangsu province, he lived in the late-Ming and early-Qing dynasties. Although he passed the first stage of the imperial examination, he did not succeed in passing the higher levels before the political turmoil of the new dynasty, but instead turned to writing for the market. Li was an actor, producer, and director as well as a playwright, who traveled with his own troupe. His play Fēngzhēng wù (風箏誤, "Errors caused by the Kite") remains a favorite of the Chinese Kun opera stage. His biographers call him a "writer-entrepreneur" and the 「most versatile and enterprising writer of his time」.

Li is the presumed author of Ròu pútuán (肉蒲團, The Carnal Prayer Mat), a well-crafted comedy and a classic of Chinese erotic literature. He also wrote a book of short stories called Shí'èr lóu (十二樓, "Twelve Towers"). In his time he was widely read, and appreciated for his daringly innovative subject matter. He addresses the topic of same-sex love in the tale Cuìyǎ lóu (萃雅樓, "House of Gathered Refinements"). This is a theme which he revisits in the collection Wúshēng xì (無聲戲, "Silent Operas" i.e. "novels") and his play The Fragrant Companion. The painting manual Jieziyuan Huazhuan was prefaced and published by Li in Jinling.

Li was also known for his informal essays, or xiaopin (小品), and for his gastronomy and gastronomical writings. Lin Yutang championed Li and translated a number of these essays. Li's whimsical, ironic "On Having a Stomach" proposes that the mouth and the stomach "cause all the worry and trouble of mankind throughout the ages." He continues that the "plants can live without a mouth and a stomach, and the rocks and the soil have their being without any nourishment. Why, then, must we be given a mouth and a stomach and endowed with these two extra organs?" Lin also translated Li's "How to be Happy Though Rich" and "How to be Happy Though Poor", and "The Arts of Sleeping, Walking, Sitting and Standing", which illustrate his satirical approach to serious topics.

Translations

• Patrick Hanan et al. (1990). "Silent Operas (Wusheng Xi)". Hong Kong: Research Centre for Translation, Chinese University of Hong Kong.

• Patrick Hanan (1996). The Carnal Prayer Mat. Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press. .

• Patrick Hanan (1998). Tower for the Summer Heat. New York : Columbia University Press. .

• Nathan K Mao (1979). Twelve towers : short stories. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press. .

• Jacques Dars (2003). Au gré d'humeurs oisives : Les carnets secrets de Li Yu : un art du bonheur en Chine. Arles : Éditions Philippe Picquier.

• Jou-pu-tuan : Andachtsmatten aus Fleisch ; e. erot. Roman aus d. Ming-Zeit. Frankfurt am Main : Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag. . 1986.

• LI‑YU Jeou-P'ou-T'ouan, la chair comme tapis de prière, translated by Pierre Klossowski; Éditions Jean-Jacques Pauvert, Paris, 1979

• Li Yu: À mari jaloux, femme fidèle, by Pascale Frey 1998

Critiques

• Patrick Hanan (1988). The Invention of Li Yu. Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press. . Comprehensive overview of Li Yu's life and works, containing many substantial excerpts from Li Yu's essays, plays, short stories and novel.

• Andrea Stocken: Das Ästhetikkonzept des Li Yu (1610–1680) im Xianqing ouji im Zusammenhang von Leben und Werk. 2005

• HENRY, Eric: Chinese Amusement - The Lively Plays of Li Yü.Archon Books Hamden, CT 1980

• Воскресенский Д.Н. Ли Юй. Полуночник Вэйян или подстилка из плоти. (пер. с кит., предисл., коммент.) М., Гудьял-Пресс

• Воскресенский Д.Н. Ли Юй. Двенадцать башен (повести XVII в.). (пер. с кит., предисл., коммент.) М., Гудьял-Пресс

生平

明萬曆三九年(1611年)八月初七日，李漁生於南直隸雉皋（今江蘇省如皋市）。祖籍是浙江金華府蘭溪縣夏李村人。

1626年，李漁隨母親返回故鄉，以便應試及成婚。次年娶妻徐氏。18歲，補博士弟子員。1635年應童試，為五經童子。1637年入金華府學。1639年和1642年兩度赴杭州參加鄉試，第一次未中，第二次半途而歸。

1646年清軍攻占金華後，李漁開始隱居生活。次年在故鄉夏李構築伊山別業。

四十歲遷居杭州。李漁五十歲後居于南京，于康熙七年（1668年）在南京城東南營建一處園林，因占地較小，不足三畝，而精雕細琢，命名為「芥子園」，並開設書鋪，編刻圖籍，。

康熙十六年（1677），李漁遷回杭州，買下了吳山東北麓張侍衛的舊宅，建造了「層園」，時年六十七。

康熙十九年（1680），正月十三日大雪紛飛的清晨，李漁與世長辭，享年七十。死後安葬在杭州方家峪九曜山上，錢塘縣令梁允植為他題碣：湖上笠翁之墓。

園林建築

李漁一生，設計建造了多處園林。勝在山石、窗欄、聯匾。

• 伊山別業：浙江蘭溪縣夏李村，1648年

• 芥子園：南京城東南，周處讀書台西側，1668年

• 半畝園：北京，1673年

• 層園：杭州清波門，1677年

生活美學

李漁倡導生活美學，無論種植、營建、器玩、飲食、聲容，均頗有研究。他講究飲食之道，尤其嗜食螃蟹，每年於螃蟹未上市時即儲錢以待，自稱購蟹之錢為「買命錢」，每日餐桌上不可無蟹，人稱「蟹仙」。

著作

李漁著有《凰求鳳》、《玉搔頭》等戲劇，《肉蒲團》、《覺世名言十二樓》、《無聲戲》、《連城璧》等小說，與《閒情偶寄》等書。

《閒情偶寄》是他主要的對自己的生活所得所聞見之事物總結的書。包含有對戲曲的看法，批評。從舞台的實際出發，注重戲曲的結構、中心事件的選擇安排等，是中國戲曲批評史上，重要的著作之一。其中，還涉及到生活中的如飲食、作臥等方面的審美感受。

《笠翁傳奇十種》劇目為《奈何天》、《比目魚》、《蜃中樓》（改編自《柳毅傳書》與《張生煮海》）、《憐香伴》、《風箏誤》、《慎鸞交》、《凰求鳳》、《巧團圓》、《玉搔頭》、《意中緣》。

著名的傳統繪畫教材《芥子園畫譜》在成書階段得到李漁的大力支持，故其書以李漁居所名之。畫譜的編者之一沈心友是李漁的女婿。

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譯本

• 《肉蒲團》一書有美、德、俄、法譯本：

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　• Li Yü: Jou pu tuan, Franz Kuhn, Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag Frankfurt 1979 ISBN 978-3-596-22451-7

　• Воскресенский Д.Н. Ли Юй. Полуночник Вэйян или подстилка из плоти. (пер. с кит., предисл., коммент.) М., Гудьял-Пресс

　• LI‑YU « Jeou-P'ou-T'ouan, la chair comme tapis de prière », traduit par Pierre Klossowski;Éditions Jean-Jacques Pauvert, Paris, 1979

• 《覺世名言十二樓》 譯本：

　• Franz Kuhn: Die Dreizehnstöckige Pagode,Steiniger Verlag,1940.

　• Tower for the Summer Heat,Li Yu; Translation, preface, and notes by Patrick Hanan,Columbia University Press,1998 ISBN 978-0-231-11384-7.

　• Li Yu: Twelve Towers: Short Stories, Tr.Mao, Nathan K. Hong Kong Chinese University Press. 1979 ISBN 978-962-201-170-0

　• Воскресенский Д.Н. Ли Юй. Двенадцать башен (повести XVII в.). (пер. с кит., предисл., коммент.) М., Гудьял-Пресс

　• 法、日等譯本

• 《無聲戲》

　• Li Yu:Silent Operas (ed. by Patrick Hanan). Hong Kong: Renditions Paperbacks, 1990.

• 《閒情偶寄》

　• Les carnets secrets de Li Yu, un art du bonheur en Chine, PHILIPPE PICQUIER, Edité par Jacques Dars, 2004 ISBN 978-2-87730-664-5

• Li Yu: À mari jaloux, femme fidèle,par Pascale Frey 1998

研究書目

• Patrick Hanan（韓南）著，楊光輝譯：《創造李漁》（上海：上海教育出版社，2010）。

• Patrick Hanan: The Invention of Li Yu. Harvard edition 1988, ISBN 978-0-674-46425-4

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• 陳建華：〈凝視與窺視：李漁〈夏宜樓〉與明清視覺文化〉。

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• Andrea Stocken: Das Ästhetikkonzept des Li Yu (1610 –1680) im Xianqing ouji im Zusammenhang von Leben und Werk. 2005 ISBN 978-3-447-05120-0

• HENRY, Eric:Chinese Amusement - The Lively Plays of Li Yü.Archon Books Hamden, CT 1980

英文:

• Owen, Stephen, "Li, Yu, Silent Operas (Wu-sheng xi)," in Stephen Owen, ed. An Anthology of Chinese Literature: Beginnings to 1911. New York:, 1997. p. 915-941. (Archive).