Traditional Tibetan Drama ‘Par Sding’ Research

Tibetan dramas are of great variety, which include Lhamo drama, Rla Pa drama, Sgyid Rta Sgyid Mo drama, Par Sding drama, Bro drama and so forth. Being appreciated by the Tibetan people, the dramas have a relatively long history. In terms of the research of Tibetan historical development, it provides extremely precious evidence. So do the research of Tibetan cultural and artistic history, folk customs and Tibetan aesthetics. Therefore, Tibetan dramas are of considerable value from the perspectives of arts and social humanities.In the international and domestic academia, the reason of Tibetan dramas’ origin, its development and different styles draw a large amount of attentions. In addition, a general interest has been led to identifying what the dramas consist of, what its external features are and what its performance is.Par Sding drama is one category of those plays mentioned above, with the simple and unsophisticated characteristics. However, this type of Tibetan dramas is less popular than Lhamo drama, the consequence of which is that the region which is still presenting this play in the modern day is rare. Apart from the investigated destination--- LADONG Village, MABUJIA Township, SAJIA County, Tibet, Par Sding is likely to emerge in several villages of DINGJIE and ANGREN County as well. Nevertheless, the appearance of the plays in other areas would require some further investigation and demonstration. In the light of Par Sding in LADONG Village, the local dwellers have tremendous respect and appreciation for it. As a result, the drama would only be played in the New Year of Tibetan calendar in the past. Normally, the performers would tour in the surrounding Counties and, eventually, replay in the village on the third and fourth day of the Tibetan New Year.The content of the drama performed by the performers is the process of constructing Samye, comprising folk song and dance, the conflict between Princess Jincheng and Nepal Princess, etc. Compared with other Tibetan dramas, it is of significant distinction, being worth more investigation and analysis.The essay concentrates on Par Sding drama, which is located in MABUJIA Township, SAJIA County. This determines that it is an individual research, yet adopting various methods from multiple subjects. Mainly through oral history method of observation and discussion, attention and Par Sding drama related cultural phenomenon, pay more attention to the early myths, religion, epic, kinship, rituals, beliefs and so on cultural elements.I have gone to the SAJIA County for several times and have interviewed two performers on the 10 th, July 2015. In October, I went there again and have been in MABUJIA Township for the period from September 2015 to March 2016. During that time, I have been collecting related human society information as well as taking photos.The initial stage is the detailed records for the scripts of Par Sding, the investigation and analysis of the historical evolution about Par Sding, the comparison with other Tibetan dramas, through which the distinctive features have been demonstrated thoroughly.At last, the author tries to show a proper activity pattern and its changing situation in the cultural space of drama.This paper can be divided into four chapters. The first one introduces the research background of Par Sding, involving the appellation, related historical origin and the humanities of inspected place. The second one brings in the scripts of Par Sding, using the performers of MABUJIA Township as an example. Thirdly, an analysis has been carried out among the five different types of Par Sding, according to the dramaturgic theory in Tibetan Shi Ming Studies. The last one delivers the understanding of artistic features for Par Sding.