Discussion On Li Yu's Style Of Merchant And Creation Of Chinese Traditional Opera

Rare traditional opera writer was so complicated like Li Yu in early period ofQing Dynasty in ancient Chinese literature history. He was not only a writer, but also a merchant with many products. He was famous in his life time and almost could not find his name in historic books after his death. In recent years, with penetration of literature research, research on Li Yu appears a flouring situation. Li Yu's value on traditional opera, novel, poetry, gardening, diet, health and etc has been excavated and a fair evaluation has been given to Li Yu. Generally speaking, researchers have given very high opinions on Li Yu's theory of traditional opera, i. e, word and music part and practice part in "Xianqingouji" and thought it was an outstanding writing in Chinese theory history of traditional opera. But his traditional opera "Liweng Shizhongqu" is valuated as a second-class writing and be looked down upon, therefore some persons comment that Li Yu was a giant in theory and a dwarf in writing.Based on such unbalance between theory and writing, this paper try to evaluate Li Yu and his opera from angle of development history of Chinese traditional opera. Because of strong restriction of poem tradition, almost all art styles transformed from poem would turn to poem again at last and situation of traditional opera is also like this. Chinese traditional opera experienced a process from inelegant to elegant and from stage to book. In fact, such transformation made Chinese traditional opera gradually loss its typical characteristics of "opera" and show more music tendency. But Li Yu's "Shizhongqu" tried to correct such tendency with its obvious characteristics and reawaked the consciousness of "traditional opera" which had been lost for a long time, which is special contribution of Li Yu's "Shizhongqu" to the development of Chinese traditional opera.