Mng (1368-1644) and Qng (1644-1911) Drama

Xwn, Chunq, and Knq 

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|||| As drama moved into the 14th century, the dramatic center shifts south to Hngzhu.

|||| Zj do continue to develop in the north and are also influential in the south, especially in the early period.

• For example, Zhng Gungz ¾G ¥ú ¯ª ¡] ¼w ½÷ ¡^  (ca. 1280-ca. 1330), was a well known playwright who served for a time as a censor in Hngzhu.
• Zhng has at least 8 zj plays attributed to him.
• A Mng prince, Zh Yudn (1379-1349), also wrote over 30 zj.
• Zh's plays were performed both at the palace and at public theaters.
• The plays of these writers, usually conform to the zj conventions: 4-5 acts, one singing part per act, etc.

|||| The early form is known as xwn À¸ ¤å , a term still used in the Hngzhu dialect to refer to traditional Chinese opera.

• Three complete versions of early xwn are preserved in a Mng Dynasty Encyclopedic Compendium ¥Ã ¼Ö ¤j ¨å , including:
• "Little Butcher Sn"
• "Top Graduate Zhng Xi"
• These plays were composed by "Writing Societies" ¥j ªC ®Ñ ·| .

• They had no explicit internal division into scenes.
• Division into scenes had to be made on the basis of the structure of the story.
• They had arias alternating with prose and stage directions.
• But singing was not limited to single charcters--there are duets and choruses in addition to solos.
• Both singers and rhymes could change at random within a scene or act.
• All roles can sing.
• Shng male lead or hero.
• M supporting/older male role.
• Dn serious female lead.
• Jng "troublesome male" role.
• Chu a clown.  {back to chuanqi}
• The opening scene is called jimn ®a ªù .
• Scene 2 introduces the Shng.
• Scene 3 introduces the Dn.

• Author from near Wnzhu in Zhjing.
• Go Mng held office in Hngzhu.
• He is said to have isolated himself for three years to write the play.
• "The Lute" is an historical play on a theme of filiality.

• A refined highly literary dramatic form that slowly evolved out of the xwn tradition.
• Note: The name chunq was originally applied to genre of the Tng classical tale--many of which were later adapted to the dramatic form.
• The form reached its apex of refinement and popularity in the late Ming and into the early Qing (from about 1550 to 1700).
• Writing and enjoying chunq plays was the favorite pastime of the educated elite during this time.
• The plays of this period were tightly crafted.
• The arias the playwrights of this time wrote were highly refined and lyrical.
• Cyril Birch has said that "chunq romances brought text, music, and stage technique into a harmonious balance." {Indiana Companion, p. 355}

• From the vulgar popular to the refined elite.
• Both Northern and Southern.

• All role types can sing.
• There is solo, duet, trio, & chorus singing.
• Musical modes and the rhymes of arias may change even in mid scene.

• Three-stringed lute
• Flute
• Drums and clappers
• Gongs and cymbals

• There is a clear division of scenes--in contrast to xwn.
• Each scene has a subtitle.
• Each scene presents any number of characters--one to a group--at a specific location.
• The locations are indicated by the words of the performers--there are no sets.
• Scenes usually contain a mix of spoken dialogue and musical arias.
• The first scene is called jimn, and is a prologue of a couple of poems.
• The dramatic action begins in the second scene.
• The last scene is often a "happy ending," of reconciliation or renunion--tunyun  ¹Î ¶ê ).

• costume
• makeup
• gestures and movement--mime

|||| The chunq genre waned following the chaos brought to its heartland by the Tipng Rebellion in the middle of the 19th century.

|||| Knq 'The singing of Kun'

• Refers to chunq operas that primarily use the Knshn ©ø¤s style of music.
• Kunshan is near Suzhou.
• The Kunshan style blends musical forms from various regions in north and south China.
• Ling Chny's ±ç ¨° ³½  (ca. 1521-1595) "Girl Washing Silk" ÒF ¯½ °O first adopted the style and thus incited its popularity.

• Achieved "Government Student"/ "Cultivated Talent" ¨q ¤~ status in the lower level exams.
• Became a professional writer after failure at the provincial exams.
• Viewed writing as a craft.
• Loved novelty and unusual twists to old themes-- for example unconventional relationships.
• Wrote 10 plays, including:
• The Companion Who Loved Fragrance ÅÊ ­» ¦ñ , about bisexual passion.
• The Mistake with the Kite ­· ºå »~ , a twist on the conventional romance using the theme of rape.
• Sole Mates ¤ñ ¥Ø ³½ , about lovers who can only express themselves through the medium of the theater.
• Also wrote:
• Silent Operas µL Án À¸ and The Twelve Towers ¤Q ¤G ¼Ó , collections of short stories.
• The Carnal Prayer Mat ¦× »Z ¹Î , a novel of sexual/erotic adventure.
• Casual Expressions of Idle Feeling ¶~ ±¡ °¸ ±H  , a collection of essays about drama and the art of living, included specimens of his plays (came out in 1671).

|||| Tng Xinz ´öÅ㯪 (1550-1617)

• From a school of dramatists that strove for literary quality over standard musical form-- may have thus initiated a nudge that moved knq to the stage of literature
• Attained a high degree-- jnsh -- at 34 and held office in Nanjing and Guangdong (the latter as a punishment for offending the emperor)
• Wrote his best plays after retirement-- a collection of four known as the "Four Dreams of Lnchun" Á{ ¤t ¥| ¹Ú , including:
• The Purple Hairpin µµ ³¦ °O
• Based on the Tng classical tale "The Story of Hu Xioy" ÀN ¤p ¥É ¶Ç by ½± ¨¾  (fl. 9th c.).
• The Peony Pavilion ¨d ¤¦ «F.
• Dream of the Southern Bough «n ¬_ ¹Ú, also based on a Tng classical tale.
• As most literati, he also wrote verse and essays.  The following is an example of one of his 4-line poems:
• Dreaming of reciting poetry, when drunk I compose for real.
• Autumn moonlight sparkles on the lake.
• Listlessly I chew on green lotus seeds.
• In order to find the people in the Hall of Fragrant Clouds.

|||| Examples of the dream metaphor are found in

• Zhung Zhu ²ø ©P (4th c. BC):  Zhungz ²ø ¤l .
• A Dream of Red Mansions or Story of the Stone (¬õ ¼Ó ¹Ú / ¥Û ÀY °O ) by Co Xuqn (1715?-1763?).

• Sometimes known as S h à o x ï n g ²Ð ¿³  Opera.
• First developed as a minor "vulgar" form, was given government support in the late 1930s.
• Normally all parts are played by women.
• "The Carp Fairy" is an example of a popular, well known Yuj.

========== Bijng Opera--Jngj ¨Ê ¼@ ==========

|||| The dominant form of Traditional dramatic performance today.

• Has had a tremendous influence on all types of Chinese theater for the last century.
• Developed in the main from the beginning of the 19th century.
• The Southern Kunqu forms were on the decline, they seemed to have grown stale and audiences were losing interest.
• Kunqu was given its last blow by the Taiping Rebellion, which laid waist to its cultural center in the Yangtze River valley.
• After that the culture of drama fully embraced Peking (Bijng) as its capital.

• The Qing dynasty was founded by Manchus, a non Han people from the north.
• The Manchu rulers forbid Manchus to enter theaters and banned theaters in Peking's Inner City and the West Wing was banned in their homeland.
• General bans were also issued, as one in 1785 and later in 1798.

• Even many members of the royal family and related aristocracy were great fans of drama and often supported their own troupes of performers.
• The Qinlng Emperor (r.1736- 1796) enjoyed various regional forms of drama during his travels in the south.
• Thus Peking Opera was still able to evolve to a high degree of sophistication and stylistic intricacy.

• Troupes from Anhui first began to perform in Peking in the 1790's-- they in fact first came to the city by royal invitation.
• By 1810 a group of four Anhui ¦w À²  troupes- ¥| ¤j À² ¯Z  -dominated Peking theater.
• The Four Delights Troupe-- famous for its skills at performing Knq (Mi Lnfng's grandfather was manager of this troop in the 1850-60's).
• Gentle Spring Troupe-- specializing in acrobatics, weapon choreography, and military plays.
• The Spring Stage Troupe-- most famous for its boy actors between the ages of 11 and 17.
• The Three Celebrations Troupe-- would perform whole plays, though the performance of selected single acts had become the normal performace mode.

• United two styles of music:
• E`rhung-dio and Xp-dio.
• Thus the alternate name for Peking opera-- Phung j ¥Ö ¶À ¼@.
• E`rhung-dio ¤G ¶À ½Õ   (or ~ ~ qing µÄ  ) was brought to Peking by the troupes from Anhui.
• Centered on the horizontal flute--d ²Ã.
• Adopted the hqn ­J µ^ 'Chinese fiddle' after coming to Peking.
• Melodies of this style suited to the expression of tragic emotions.
• Xp-dio ¦è ¥Ö ½Õ \ µÄ  developed in Hbi ´ò ¥_   sometime in the 1820s based on Qin-qiang music.
• The melodies of this form are happier.
• Qin-qiang ¯³ µÄ  music
• Originated in Shaanxi province.
• Used chiefly the hqn, the yuqn ¤ë µ^  (a three or four stringed lute), and a clapper bngzi ±õ ¤l  .
• These styles use the bnqing ªO µÄ  principle: tempo and rhythm variations generate large numbers of melodies.
• Also of less restricted meter structure which allows longer lines (usually 7-10 syllables).
• This principle puts the performer in charge.
• Thus Peking Opera is known more for the skill of its actors and singers and not for playwrights.
• The most famous performer of this century, Mi Lnfng ±ö Äõ ªÚ  would adopt single scenes for his performances from earlier plays and stories.
• Many Knq actors also came to perform in Peking in the 1800's, eventually infusing the musical finess of that form into the capital's dramatic form.
• But Peking Opera music is more dominated by percussion.
• A typical Peking Opera orchestra has 6-8 musicians.

|||| The music and acting is taught by personal instruction, not through texts.

|||| The use of Painted faces inherited from Knq.

|||| Role types

• loshng ¦Ñ ¥Í 'older male roles' dominate.
• their rise to importance comes as the the Peking form reached maturity in the mid 19th century.
• Reveal a stronger taste for marshal themes.
• Other role type sub-distinctions are extremely numerous

• A form of chantefable performance popular in Peking in this century.
• Its "Plum blossom style" ±ö ªá ¤j ¹ª  used five instruments to accompany the singer.
• Petite Gem Flower ªá ¤p Ä_ ( Sh Wnxi ¥v ¤å ¨q ) was a famous practitioner of the style in the 1940s.

• The exam system was initiated in the Su (581-618).
• It was designed to recuit men for the task of governing on the basis of merit and not blood or upbringing.
• Subsequent dynasties instituted reforms to strengthen that goal.
• The Palace Exam was established in 975 in the Sng, which also established a school system to educate men for service in the government.
• The exam system was abolished in 1904.

• Preliminary "Youth" Examinations
• 1. District Examination
• 2. Prefectural Examination
• 3. Qualifying Examination-- held in the prefectural capital & granted status as Shngyun ¥Í ­û  'Government Student'.
• Four Books & Five Classics

• A) Provincial Exam-- passage grants status as Jrn Á| ¤H  'Recommendee' and qualification for
• B) Metropolitan Exam-- this and the Provincial Exam lasted three days
• C) Palace Exam-- granted Jnsh ¶i ¤h  'Presented Scholar' degree & first place was called Zhungyun ª¬ ¤¸  'Principal Graduate'.

• The Scholars ¾§ ªL ¥~ ¥v  by W Jngz §d ·q ±ê  (1701-54)
• "The Seven Transformations of a Candidate" by P Snglng ®ú ªQ ÄÖ ¡G ²á ÂN §Ó ²§ (1640-1715)
• The Tower of Myraid Mirrors ¦è ¹C ¸É  by Dng Yu ¸³ »¡  (1620-1686)