A Study On The Image Of Father In Yuan Zaju

Father is an important role in the family.Many father images were created in Yuan Northern Drama.Among 162 plays,there are 82 plays including father images.The amount of father roles is 122 in total.So it is of great significance to study father images in Yuan Northern Drama.Chapter one of this paper introduces the generated background of father images in Yuan Northern Drama.Firstly,dark politics divided people into different classes and some fathers persecuted such as being killed,their wives or daughters being robbed,etc.Fathers struggled hard but often achieved little facing such tragedies.Secondly,the economic development made the society malformed prosperity.Because of pursuing their interests,people used some extreme means.Fathers were busy in business,neglecting the family so that father's love was absent and family members lacked affection.Even more,some members struggled for family property,framing relatives up,and some relationship between father and son was indifferent.Lastly,ethnic integration had diversified the forms of marriage,so that fathers had new choices in their children's marriage,gradually accepting the son-in-law,marrying widowed sister-in-law and the daughter's remarriage.Chapter two divides father images into emperor type,official type and civilian type according to the difference of fathers' social status.For example,father images of emperor type in reality were alienated to his children,and those of fictional Dragon King were understanding and reasonable.Father images of high-ranking official set an example for his children,and those of low-ranking official were oppressed by power.Among father images of civilian type,Confucian scholar fathers valued official career more than kinship.Most of the merchant fathers were benevolent,and they were willing to help others.Chapter three analyzes the attitudes of father images to children in Yuan Northern Drama on the basis of the first two chapters,including the relationship model between fathers and children,the education wisdom of children and the attitude of children's marriage.Chapter four shows the shaping art of father images in Yuan Northern Drama by analyzing the role system in Yuan Northern Drama,and listing the playwrights' description methods,rhetorical devices,and typical plot settings.