Xu Wei Opera And Drama On The Study

Xu Wei(1521-1593), one of the best writers in the history of China, was a playwriter in the Ming dynasty. His works and critical essays on plays exerted influential power during the middle and late Ming dynasty, when the classical plays flourished for the second time in the history of Chinese literature. Moreover, the extraordinary episodes of his eccentric life have been passed among the people until now. Known as the founder of the Qingteng style, he also devoted himself to the painting as well as his plays and critiques, which has been highly appreciated until these days.The purpose of the thesis is to criticize his plays and critiques, reviewing and classifying the papers and studies on his works with the future prospects in the field in chapter 1. His works have been studied among the scholars in China, Korea, the U.S., and Japan, the results being found in the studies on life, on the'FOUR CRIES OF A GIBBON'for plays, on the'GEDAIXIAO', and on the'NAN-TZ'U HSU-LU', a theoretical writing for plays. In addition, his acquaintances and the later editions are studied; he associated with Tang Xianzu and Wang Jide, the two famous playwriters of the time and the people from Tansong or Yuezhong group as well. The study on the later editions of his works is promising since it has not been brisk.In chapter 2, the study on each of the four works in the FOUR CRIES OF A GIBBON is elaborated. The study begins with the investigation of the roots of each work. Arguably, Xu Wei's ideology is shown in the characters of Ts'ao Ts'ao and Mi heng in'Kuanggushi'and the Chinese people's perception as well as the drama-in-drama technique is noticed in the play. In'Yuchanshi', the Buddhists'thoughts of karma or constant mutation and carnal desire are found in the story, which can be classified as a sort of melodrama. In'Cimulan'and'Nüuzhuangyuan', the meaning of the disguise of the two main characters, Mulan and Chuntao can be observed. The past-oriented values between Mulan and her parents, Chuntao's desire for social upgrading, and the change in the economic concepts of the era can also be noticed.'GEDAIXIAO', which is sometimes claimed to be a forgery, is reviewed in chapter 3. The secularization of the Buddhism reflected in carnal desire and wealth can be found in the play, the focus being mainly on the satire, the character description and the plot.The chapter 4 is devoted to the study of'NAN-TZ'U HSU-LU', which is his own theoretical writings on plays. The Bense theory, his core argument, with his own view on language, is analyzed with the example writers.In chapter 5, the influence of Xu Wei for the following generation is surveyed. The followers can be grouped in two; one, those imitations of the collection of plays like the'FOUR CRIES OF A GIBBON'with the result of the popular collective editions of the time, the other, those adaptations of the basic plots from the'FOUR CRIES OF A GIBBON'. None of the adaptations have been passed on except the three modern works: a Kunju,"Blaming Ts'ao Ts'ao"which is an adaptation of'Kuanggushi',"A Bonze and a Chinese Geisha"which is a modern adaptation of'Yuchanshi', and"A Man, A Thing"which is adapted for an absurd comedy of'Gedaixiao'. The above three works are briefly analyzed and compared with the original works before the paper is concluded.