The Theory Of Traditional Chinese Opera In The Context Of Textual Criticism In The Qing Dynasty

The textology of the Qing dynasty, which was based on the methodology of textual research and focused on the study of Confucianism and history but also was relevant to linguistics, astronomy and geography, etc., was an overarching and concluding trend of Chinese traditional academy. Its penetration into the field of opera studies made significant impact on opera theorists as well as their research objects, methods and styles, displaying specific academic characteristics of the era. Therefore, investigation into the changes of opera theories of the Qing dynasty from the perspective of the textology is able to thoroughly and deeply understand this academic trend and its characteristics.This dissertation includes an introduction, five main chapters and the conclusion. The introduction explains the relation between Confucianism and Operas, reveals the historical fact of the penetration of the textology into opera theories, reviews the existing literatures, and illustrates the relevant concepts.Chapter 1 elaborates the original relation between the textology and opera theories of the Qing dynasty. Specifically, section one summarizes the evolution history of the textology in the Qing dynasty and its characteristics, especially discusses two controversy issues about the relations between textual research and principle arguments in the textology and their applications. Section two analyzes the historical and theoretical reasons of the penetration of the textology into opera studies in the Qing dynasty. Section three summarizes the application of textual research in opera studies before the Ming dynasty and during the Ming dynasty, and their impact on opera studies in the Qing Dynasty.Chapter 2 analyzes and summarizes the characteristics of opera theories in the context of the textology in the Qing dynasty. From the perspectives of the classics of Poetry, Music, Chunqiu and Yi, Section one illuminates the Qing scholars’ understandings of the relations between the Six Classics and operas. Section two discusses the Qing Scholars’ understanding on the relation between history and operas, including the idea of drama being history, the idea about fact and fiction, and the idea about the intersection between opera and history. Section three explains the impact of the key notions of Confucianism, such as Ritual, Reason and Emotion, on the ideas of opera studies.Chapters 3, 4, 5 focus on typical opera theorists and their works in different periods, so as to identify the relation between the textology and opera theories of individual bases. In the early period of the Qing dynasty, Mao Xianshu was a pioneer of opera textual research, who connected the study of the opera rhyme and the ancient phonology. Another typical scholar was Kong Shangren, who studied opera as history. Moreover, the Book Textual Research of Chuanqi Opera concluded the works of textual research of operas. All of them displayed the influence of the textology on opera studies. In the middle period of the Qing Dynasty, the opera works of Shen Chenlin, Xu Dachun and Ling Yankan typically illuminated the impact of the phonology and musicology on drama temperament and singing theories. Li Diaoyuan’s Yucun’s Notes on Traditional Opera and Yucun’s Notes on Dramas also typically displayed the historical change of the writing style of notes on traditional opera. The opera works of Jiao Xun, a great master of the textology, was also specially discussed.In the late period of the Qing dynasty, Liang Zhangju and Ping Buqing’s notes of dramas indicated their ideas of opera textual research, and Liang Tingnan, Yao Xie, Yang Enshou’s opera works concluded the trend of traditional opera studies and summarized their limitation. This limitation was broke through by Wang Guowei, who brought Western ideas to make up the shortage of the textology of the Qing dynasty and pave the way for the transition from traditional opera studies to modern opera studies.The concluding chapter summarizes the characteristics of opera theories and disc usses their advantages and disadvantages in the context of the textology of the Qing d ynasty. Moreover, it extends to the continuation and innovation of the textology in ope ra studies of the Republic of China, and points out that the contextual change also as ked scholars to properly apply the traditional academic methods in the new era.