Research On Sunwukong Drama In The Late Qing Dynasty And The Republic Of China

"Sunwukong drama" refers to the drama form in which the material of the script is mainly based on the story of monkey in Journey to the west,and the action performance is mainly characterized by imitating the ape.It is a unique performance of Westward Journey drama in the late Qing Dynasty,which has achieved great success in modern drama stage.This is not only due to the popularity of the "national myth" provided by the wide spread of the Journey to the west story,but also closely related to the changes in the form and concept of modern opera performance.From the "monkey drama" in the form of ancient drama to the opera performance in which people play the role of monkey in the Nanxi and Zaju,and then to the popular "Sunwukong drama" in modern times,its evolution and inheritance can be seen all the time.With the vigorous development and wide acceptance of Westward Journey drama such as An Tian Hui and Sheng Ping Bao Fa,"Sunwukong drama" was formally proposed and recognized in the late Qing Dynasty,and reached its peak in the period of the Republic of China.Its gradual independence,formation,maturity and prosperity are quite distinct.Through the notes of the late Qing Dynasty and the newspapers and periodicals of the Republic of China,we can completely restore the inheritance track of its representative schools and actors.Sunwukong drama became popular with the development of modern commodity economy under the background that the lower aesthetic taste became the mainstream,the traditional opera "role system" led by the formation of "star system" performance system,and the Huabu martial arts opera flourished.The popularity of this form of opera is closely related to the popularity of the story community of the role play.The combination of Monkey King stories gradually breaks through the restriction of the novel Journey to the west,and promotes the development of Sunwukong drama in inheriting the traditional Westward Journey Stories.In particular,the "sequel stories" and "extra chapter" gives a different "work-on" role or even the villain role.The difference of Monkey King’s image also reflects the further extension of the story in terms of its popularity,and its pursuit of meaning has changed from "relying on gods and demons to preach" to entertainment.In the performance of Sunwukong drama,Kunqu Opera,pihuang opera and Bangzi opera interact frequently,and finally become the "battle between Beijing school and the Shanghai school " of Beijing opera.With the invasion of Shanghai school,the interaction between refined and popular culture seems to end in the victory of popular culture,which also leads to criticism.After the founding of the People’s Republic of China,the drama improvement bureau realized the modern transformation of Sunwukong drama in the drama reform movement,excavating its "people’s character" and endowing it with "fighting character",so as to separate it from commercial performance and push its ideological significance to the peak.So far,Sunwukong drama has completed a "spiral rise" in history.