Qing Dynasty Peking Opera Literary History

Author: Yan Quanyi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Literature can be divided into two types: one is sung and spoken literature, and the other is written literature. When writing the history of literature, people tend to focus on written literature while ignoring sung and spoken forms. —Qian Mu, The Literature of Qing Dynasty Peking Opera Extends the historical course of Chinese drama literature, highlighting the important value of vernacular literature and sung literature that evolves with the times —Xie Baoliang said that Peking Opera has deviated from the realm of literature, which is a misunderstanding and confusion of the meaning of literature itself. —Yan Quanyi, The Literature of Qing Dynasty Peking Opera is a systematic and comprehensive academic work on the literature of Qing Dynasty Peking Opera. The book organizes the dramatic works, literary styles, characteristics, achievements, and changes of Peking Opera during its origins, formation, and development. It analyzes the unique literary and aesthetic value of Peking Opera literature as a branch of traditional Chinese theater literature, while also studying the textual changes during the special era when Peking Opera transformed from classical theater to modern theater. It reveals the uniqueness, richness, and comprehensive nature of Peking Opera literature compared to previous theater literature, and traces the clues and excavates historical materials from different developmental periods, sorting out a relatively clear and relatively complete early history of Peking Opera literature in a field that was relatively unfamiliar, easily confusing, and even led to many misunderstandings. Overall, it presents the rich academic value of Peking Opera critical materials that are not widely known. Currently, research in this field is still in a blank stage in academia, so this book carries an original and pioneering spirit, filling the gap in academic research. The Literature of Qing Dynasty Peking Opera is a 400,000-word work divided into three parts: the origins and integration of Qing Dynasty Peking Opera literature, its formation, development, prosperity, and flourishing periods. The author summarizes and organizes the dramatic works and literary achievements, characteristics of Peking Opera in each period, and provides specific and innovative explanations on early literary Peking Opera works such as Mistaken in Confusion, Guanjiedao’s Joyful World, Yu Zhi’s Jiwei Tang Jin Yue, Lu Shengkui’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu San’s works, as well as Shanghai-style Peking Opera literature, Peking Opera reform literature, and the literary characteristics of Qing court Peking Opera. The Literature of Qing Dynasty Peking Opera is written in fluent prose with rich historical materials, making it a valuable work for Peking Opera enthusiasts, researchers, and readers in the field of literature.