Guan Hanqing was a famous Zaju (the Yuan Drama) playwright of the Yuan Dynasty, and one of the representative figures of ancient Chinese opera play writers as well. His best known work is Injustice to Dou E, which is one of "the four great tragedies of the Yuan Drama", the other three being Autumn in the Han Palace by Ma Zhiyuan, The Firmiana Rain by Bai Pu and The Orphan of Zhao by Ji Junxiang.

The period Guan Hanqing lived in was a time characterized by political corruption, social turbulences, and sharp class and national contradictions (mainly those between Meng and Han ethnic groups). People were living in great misery. Guan Hanqing's plays vividly reenact social reality and have a strong tinge of that period.

Injustice to Dou E exposes the dark side of the society of the Yuan Dynasty through the tragic death of a girl named Dou E. The heroine loses her mother at the age of 7 and is separated from her father at 10, when she was sold as a child bride to offset the debt. Not long after she grows up and gets married, her husband dies. Later she is subjected to the bullying and humiliation of hooligans and gangsters. As a result, she is wrongly accused of involvement in a murder case. Under the torture of the corrupt interrogating officials, she confesses to the false charge and is sentenced to death.

Being wronged, Dou E strongly condemns the corrupt officials, the heaven and the earth at the execution ground, vowing to retaliate against the injustice of real life. She makes three pledges before being executed - snowfalls in June, all her blood splitting on the 3-feet white silk sheet, and 3 years' drought in the local area. All three pledges are realized in due time. After her death, Dou E turns into a ghost and continues fighting for justice. Finally, her wrong is righted. The hooligans and corrupt officials have got what they deserve. Justice prevails.

Through the depiction of Dou E, a kindhearted and unyielding girl resisting the feudal forces, the play expresses the author's heart-felt compassion for the oppressed people and strong denouncement against the dark side of society. It is an immortal treasure shining through the history of Chinese literature.