~(Index of Site)~
--modern drama ('hua ju')is no longer operatic but an imitation of Western theatre
a)Initial stage:
--dramatists include Ouyang Yu Qian,Tian Han,Ding Xilin,Hong Shen
b)stage 2 (1928 onwards)
--includes anti-Japanese dramas.short plays with only 1 scene
--some prominent dramatists: Tsao Yu (1910-1996),Hsia Yan,Chen Bai-chen,Kuo Mo-jo
1.Tsao Yu
--most famous work: 'Thunderstorm' ('Lei Yu'){literally translated as Thunder & Rain}
--moral corruption of Confucianist upper class is the prominet theme here,seen through a complicated plot of lust & incest (elder son-stepmother,elder son- sister,younger son's unrequited love with the same sister; except that the 3 youths do not know the truth of their births)
--summary of its content :An illicit love affair between their father,Chou Chou-ting & a maid whom he ravished & abandoned is the cause of the tragedy.After she gave birth to elder son Chou Ping,she was forced to leave her son behind with him,remarry a boorish man called Lu & had another son Lu Dahai (Big Sea) & a daughter,the half-sister of Ping,Lu Sifeng (Phoneix),their maid, who united with Ping in secret.But Ping's half-brother,Chou Jie,the son of his stepmother Fan Yi,is also in love with Sifeng who dislikes him alot.Ping's affair with his stepmother is discovered & the woman becomes mad,the victim of a forced marriage with Ping's father & Ping's lust.The truth about Ping & Sifeng's parentage is known & a pregnant Sifeng runs away during a storm in shame & is killed by lightning,together with Ping.Jie leaves China & the Lu family is once again the victim of the Chou family.Old master Chou is alone in agony for his sins & the once-rich Chou family falls.
--2 other excellent plays: 'Sunrise' ('Ri-chu') that depicts the dark side of urban society,of sex,crime & drugs.
-- 'Land'/'The Prairie' ('Yuan Ye') is a revenge tragedy of the lower class protagonist Chou Hu (Tiger)against the evil upper class Jiao family who killed his whole family over some land which the Jiaos coverted.His wife-to-be, Jing-zhi (Little Gold) is forced to marry the kind Young master Jiao Daxing (Big Star) who is himself the victim of the conservatism of his demanding parents,after Tiger is framed & jailed.The 2 youths who used to be buddies turned into enemies when Little Gold's love affair with Tiger is known.In a fight,Big Star accidentally kills himself with the blow intended for Tiger.Tiger & Little Gold then eloped to the prairie,where it is thought to be more peaceful.However,they are shot to death by the police & the play ends in lamentation of the star-crossed lovers,victims of the upper classed conservatives' greed & lust,& the corruption of the local government which conspired with the Jiaos.
--Check out The Modern Drama Site to know more of such plays in performance recently in China.
2.Hsia Yan
--wrote 'Fascist Bacteria' during World War 2,which obliquely commented on the evils of Fascism
3.Kuo Mo-jo
--the use of history as background materials to reflect on modern society
--example: 'Ch'u Yuan': a play on the patriot-poet Ch'u Yuan who inspired us with the Dragonboat Festival to evoke the nationalistic feelings of the Chinese during the Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937-45, to be anti-Japanese.
--example: 'Empress Wu': a play on the Tang dynasty's Empress,presenting her from a perspective different from that of historians to show us the mixed reviews about her character & to reassess history which can be discussed from many angles.
4.Chen Bai-chen
--wrote black comedies full of sacarsm (satire)
--examples include: 'Rise to Officialdom' ('Sheng Gong Tu') to scoff at the inability of officials & their corruption, & 'The Dancing of Devils' ('Qun Mo Ruan Wu'),also known as 'The Devil's Den' ('Mo Ku') about the scumbags among the war refugees after the Massacre of Nanking by the Japanese during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
