History of Song and Yuan Drama - Selected Works of National School Masters

Author: Wang Guowei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: From the research in this book, it can be seen that Chinese drama, since the Han and Wei dynasties, was combined with various performances. By the Tang Dynasty, it was divided into two types: song-and-dance drama and slapstick drama. During the Song Dynasty, slapstick drama was particularly popular, and it gradually used song and dance to embellish stories. As a result, the former song-and-dance drama shifted its focus from song and dance to storytelling. With the emergence of Yuan Dynasty opera, its form was established. The emergence of Nanxi brought even more changes, and thus China began to have pure theater. However, its relationship with various performances and slapstick drama was not entirely severed.