The Construction of the Classic Status of Yuan Zaju by Literati in Ming Dynasty
Yuan Zaju is not only the representative of Yuan Dynasty literature,but also a classical part of Chinese drama.In the canonization process of Yuan Zaju,literati in Ming Dynasty have played a crucial role.Firstly,they promoted and perfected immature Yuan Zaju in five ways,included improving the system,fixing the flaws,enriching the plots,filling in the dialogue,and refining the writing.These efforts comprehensively enhanced the text quality.Secondly,the selected anthologies of traditional Chinese opera compiled by them enabled a good dissemination of Yuan Zaju.Throughout these anthologies,they have set up the consciousness of venerating Yuan Zaju("zong Yuan").In particular,the selection of court tunes acquiesced the canonization of Yuan Zaju.This process was quite necessary as Yuan Zaju has once been regarded as an folk art.Thirdly,literati in Ming Dynasty idolized Yuan Zaju writers,compared the writers with great litterateurs such as Zhuangzi,Qu Yuan,Li Bai,and Su Shi.Moreover,they established the concept"Yuan Literati"as a symbol of classical writers,and regarded these writers as a collective entity.Fourthly,they set up the idea that Yuanqu was the representative literary form of the Yuan Dynasty.By placing Yuanqu alongside with other classic literary forms such as Tang poetry,the classic status of Yuan Zaju,as a component of Yuanqu,was also confirmed.
Literati in Ming DynastyYuan ZajuConstruction"the Representative Literature of One Dynasty"Canonization
万方数据
维普
