Studay On Korean Masque

Masque is a traditional Korean drama, which originated from a primitive memorial service for the ancestors, developed in royal court and among common people, and came into being as a final form of an original drama in the late Korean dynasty. During the development of modernization, owing to various reasons, a number of mask dramas have been lost. After national liberation, with the increasingly demand for keeping traditional arts, a new policy for protecting immateriality culture was put forward in the 1960s, and the lost masque was resumed. At present, there exist 13 mask dramas which have been passed down as an inheritance of national immateriality culture, and which are invaluable legacy in Korean national dramas. The thesis aims to study 13 mask dramas, making main use of dramatics combined with the method of folklore, cultural theory and sociology, and to explore the unique characteristics of mask dramas in terms of history, literature, drama, reception and function.In terms of history of mask dramas, the study first surveys Korean masks, discussing the manufacturing materials, manufacturing technology, colors and emotional characteristics of masks, and then according to the ceremony, which is a former drama of Korean masque, analyses the property of simulation, communication and entertainment which a ceremony possesses, and proves masque originated from the ceremony. The study traces the development of masque in historical perspective. On the one hand, country ceremony for a tutelary deity developed to folk drama. On the other hand, court's sandae drama developed into mask drama. In the late Korean dynasty, with court in financial difficulties, a lot of refugees settled down in all parts of country, meeting and communicating with folk acrobats, going through villages and countryside to perform in humorous, funny ways, and thus the mask drama was finally being established as a form of folk drama.In terms of literature of mask dramas, the study first discusses the thought content, the theme of masque. Mask dramas are based on common and trivial things in daily life, from the perspective of common people and in a humorous and facetious way, satirize monks who appeared sanctimonious but showed hypocrisy of licentious in the rear; laugh at the Yangban, special noble class in Korean dynasty who were doing nothing and ignorant, but showing off their social status and learning, and therefore was called as Canban, meaning stupid and foolish noble class; and scorn vulgar and mean things and people. The study then investigates the structure of mask dramas, discussing the characteristic of "exhibition pattern", and how it is integrated into the theme and comedy style. At last, the study explores the space-time of masque, discussing the freeness and infinity of masque which surpass the space and time of reality.In terms of drama, the study investigates the language of masque which possess double meanings, one with sound and the other that is expressed with gesture, and further analyzes the "Leaving a blank" principle of masque. The study then investigates the music of masque as well as the connotation that music expresses, and explores the characteristic of music which leads to the emotion of masque, focusing on Korean "length of music", that is the rhythm of music. And then the study explores the dancing of masque as well as its characteristic including person dancing, posture dancing, plot dancing and ceremony dancing, and thus proves that music is an indispensable part of masque. Lastly, the study explores the means of stage modeling, including lighting, instrument, makeup and costume as essential parts of stage modeling, which function together in the creation of masque as supplementary measures of masque.In terms of reception of mask dramas, the study investigates the characteristic of masque as a medium and communicating symbol, analyzes the characteristic of immaterial stage, and further discusses the reception style of masque which wanders between "participation" and "on-looking", i.e. enjoyment and dissociation. Then the study explores "watch-perform" notion of masque, analyzes the meaning of audience, introduces the feature of "watch-perform" which has been carried out by the Sa faction, Bu faction and Mae faction, and discusses how "vertical communication" and "level communication" are integrated into "watch-perform". Finally, the study explores the aesthetic reception of masque, analyzes horizon of expectations to aesthetic entertainment, and insists that "empathy" and "separation" should be integrated together.In terms of function of mask dramas, the study discusses its function as social criticism, criticizes the nature of Yangban, Korean noble class, exposes the essence of violation of the Buddhist commandments, and criticizes corrupt absolute monarchy of Korean dynasty. Then the study discusses its function as catharsis of emotions, analyzing its feature of "neutralization" to solve conflicts as well as another way of eliminating conflicts, "Shinmyeongpuri", and its feature of "carnival" shown by language and actions, and thus strongly attacks and criticizes the irrational ethic concept of Korean dynasty. At last, the study analyzes the comic style of masque such as satire and irony.