| This study is intended to construe the poetics of a culturally conditioned genre which in many respects bears the characteristics of literary structure in general. Trying to define the aesthetic elements and the structural rules that govern these elements, I explore into the thematic, structural and textural aspects of the genre. I find that the genre enjoyed a flirtatious and conspiring relationship with its audience, since the major interest of the plays in the genre, premarital sexual relationship, clashed directly with the stringent moral rules of the time. The plot structure of the plays, on the other hand, offers us good examples for the study of plot in situational drama, which is the most popular form of drama that permeates today's TV programs. By means of figuring out the conventional pattern woven with the functional personae, we find that the balancing of the powers of the oppositions is a structural principle of the plot. The texture of the plays in the genre in general shows the heavy influence from the poetic tradition. However, we find that, at least partly due to the formal differences between Za-ju, a form that flourished in the Yuan dynasty, and Chuan-qi, a form that emerged in the Ming dynasty, the local texture of the plays in Za-ju form is more lyric-oriented, while that of the plays in Chuan-qi form is more drama-oriented. I believe the study, by describing the genre as exemplifying its cultural background, popular drama in general, and the styles of Za-ju and Chuan-qi, contributes to our understanding of these three areas. |
