The Injustice to Dou E

The Injustice to Dou E is a drama by Guan Hanqing during the Yuan Dynasty. This is one of Guan's most popular works, even in modern times.

The story describes the young widow Dou E from Chouzhou whose husband Cai died two years after marrying. Dou was wrongfully accused by Zhang Lür of the murder of his father, when Dou E refused to marry Zhang Lür. Before her , Dou E swore that her innocence would be proven by the upcoming abnormalities:
# dripping blood that never drops on the ground,
# snow in the midst of summer, and
# a three-year long drought in Chouzhou
And all those, including the eerie "Snow in June" did occur. After the ghost of Dou E revealed the injustice to her father - Dou Tianzhang , who eventually became a ''liangjunliefangshi'' inspector - Inspector Dou put the corrupt officials and Zhang Lür to justice at the end of the story.

The story has been repeatedly used and modified by later dramatists.

''See also'': Capital punishment