Chinese Literature Section Three

Yuan Drama: history

What circumstances led to the fall of the Song Dynasty?

The Yuan Dynasty was a Mongol Dynasty in China; what effect did this foreign presence have on Chinese literature, especially drama? This question has several facets, of which language and the social situation are two. What was the change in language and how did it affect Yuan Dynasty literature? What was the result of the Mongol mistrust of Chinese civil servants and how did that affect the rise of the drama? Why was it drama as a form that became so popular?

Xi Xiangji (Romance of the Western Chamber):

Who are the main characters in the Romance of the Western Chamber and what is the brief story?

The antecedents for this story are Yuan Chen's short story, which we read, and the Zhugongdiao ('story in many keys' literally; in practice a single narrator taking multiple parts in a long recitation) of Dong Jieyuan from which our author, Wang Shifu, took much of his play. Having read two, what are some differences?

Consider the setting of the drama, in a Buddhist temple, how does this affect the themes of the play?

We read some excerpts from the play, have you any comments on the language or writing? How do the singing parts seem to fit into the dialogue?

What role does Hongniang play and why has she become the star of the show? Why did Wang Shifu include her as such a main character?

What are some points of comparison with this play and Romeo and Juliet?

Yuan Drama: form

If we divide the study of Yuan drama into Poetry, Narrative and Performance, what can you say particularly about the first and last of these? Remember poetry embraced lu shi or regulated verse in the Tang, ci/tz'u based on song tunes after that, and finally the new qu songs from the north before and during the Yuan. What were some of the performance precursors?

Some rules for Yuan Drama, known as za ju after a type of Song Dynasty variety play, are:

• Five Acts, one movable (the wedge - sometimes a low comedy) plus
• Four main Acts with one singer per act, usually one per play. Everyone else speaks prose
• Songs of each Act in the same key and from a single taoshu i.e. they all rhyme. Other characters converse.
• Each character announces self on entry
• Roles limited, only lead male or female may sing and songs do not move the narrative only express emotion

With these in mind, how do Xi Xiangji (The Western Chamber Romance) and Li Kuei Carries Thorns, and Autumn in the Han Palace fit according to the rules?

Li Kuei/ K'uei Carries Thorns

Who are the characters of this story and how do they fit into Chinese folk legend? We will later see a novel that collects these tales but for now, what is the world described here?

How would you talk about the characters in this play? Are they types, are they believable for the comedy they inhabit? What made them worth watching?

Do you have a favorite part of this play?

Autumn in the Han Palace

What is the story here and who are the characters?

Why do you think the author chose to write about this incident from so long ago?

Although this play is very predictable in many ways and the characters not more than types, what about it has captured the interest of its audiences for so long do you think? There may be more than one answer to this.

Have you a favorite scene? Could you rewrite any of the scenes in another setting, or even give it another slant entirely, say comedy?

Yuan and Ming Drama contrast

Ming drama is nanxi or xiwen (southern drama or play script) which developed even while China was divided into north and south. It was performed during the Yuan but was not as popular and so is known for the time it flourished in the Ming. Here are some differences between it and Yuan drama:

• All characters may sing, thus duets and solos are seen
• Both have prologues and summaries of characters but
• Terms for the roles are different
• Songs are not a taoshu i.e. they need not rhyme or be in the same keys
• Flutes and cassettes are used (much more gentle) as opposed to Yuan drama lutes and robust tunes
• Not divided into Acts at all but many many scene changes

Can you see this form reflected in The Peony Pavilion? If you have seen Beijing opera some of this will be apparent here as well though Beijing opera is an amalgamation of many traditions consciously put together - and not fading in importance in China.