Research On Cao Xifu And His Zaju

Cao Xifu(1726-1754)who was a dramatist in the Qing Dynasty,was born in Shanghai.His writings named Yiqinggewuzhongqu which has great significance in terms of subject matter,content thought and form.The paper has five chapters.The first chapter was the study of Cao Xifu's family background,life,friends and writings.Starting with historical materials such as local chronicles,poetry collections and genealogies,we sorted out and verified Cao Xifu's relevant historical facts in different categories.Besides that,we corrected the mistakes in previous records and researches and discuss the source of Cao Xifu's drama creation based on basic historical facts.In the second chapter,we had an research on the opera named Siseshi.In terms of material selection,Cao Xifu's drama was full of literary allusions.In the aspect of characterization,Cao Xifu created many vivid characters,avoiding the appearance of typical and repetitive characters.In terms of theme,He used the words of the characters to express his depressed mood.We concentrated on the text of drama named Taohuayin in the third chapter.The dramas of "human face and peach blossom" created by different dramatists were compared with Cao Xifu's dramas to analyze the unique character image and special ideological connotation of his dramas.Cao Xifu's story of "peach blossom with human face" was quite different from others.The main reason was that he had a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between " emotion" and " reason".The characteristics of the five dramas systems were analyzed in the fourth chapter.Cao Xifu's was good at using elegant words and allusions.Taohuayin and Siseshi were both Southern dramas with flexible systems.As far as the drama system is concerned,Cao Xifu strictly observed the rules of drama creation.The content of the fifth chapter was an analysis of the historical significance of Cao Xifu's dramas.First,we judged whether the definition of " Li Changji in the drama circle" was correct or not,then compared the five dramas with works of the same theme in order to analyze the innovation and inheritance of Cao Xifu's drama.