Women’s Participation In Drama: A Case Study Of The Jiangnan Region During The Ming Dynasty

The development of Chinese drama reached its summit in the Ming Dynasty withthe flourish of play and South Opera. The Jiangnan region, the cultural center at the time,was the cradle of voiced-tunes of South Opera. This thesis researches into women’sparticipation in drama and concentrates on the Jiangnan region during the Ming Dynasty.Firstly, I analyze the way through which women joined the activities of drama. Womenhad watched, performed, read, wrote and commented on the dramas during the MingDynasty. Secondly, I research into the causes which had resulted in the development ofwomen’s participation in drama. The causes included the promotion of women’s familyposition, the growth of commercial publishing and the change of social thinking. Thirdly,I summarize how women’s engagement in drama had changed both the life experiencesof women and the social transformation of the Jiangnan region.Drama had aroused women’s senses of self-consciousness, group-consciousness andsociality in aspects of its content, space, and interactive nature. Women in Jiangnandemonstrated new time and regional features under the influence of drama. Moreover,women’s participation in drama had influenced on the Jiangnan society as a whole. Itpromoted the development of towns, fostered the change of local customs, and eventuallyresulted in the transformation of the Jiangnan society in the Ming Dynasty.