On The Archetype Of Modern Chinese Drama

Using a new critical visual angle, we can often get some new observations. Nowadays with numerous achievements in modern dramatic research, we can achieve something only by another way. The archetype criticism, which is based on human culturology, psychology, semiology and some other subjects, provides a new critical visual angle for us to study the modern drama as a whole after more than fifty years. The text manages to show the unique character of modern Chinese drama through the comparative analysis of the original connotation of modern Chinese dramatic archetype and also the modern replacement.Although the modern Chinese dramatists don't perform the archetype creation voluntarily, the modern Chinese drama is of distinct archetype character under the common effects of dramatic style characters, the absorbing and drawing on the experience of the archetype elements in western dramas and Chinese traditional operas and writer's consciousness of primitive melancholy. Under the influence of realistic situation, dramatists reform the cultural archetype with natural archetype, and also add some connotation of the new times in the cultural archetype, so as to make the modern Chinese dramatic archetype be of modernity, collectivity, worship of power, periodicity and Chinese characteristics with the men in the center and the epochal characters.The text explains the modern dramatic archetype in four aspects. In the process of concrete analysis it fully considers the original connotation of archetype and puts more emphasis on its particular forms in the modern historical period.First, there are tragic archetype and comic archetype in the aspect of modern dramatic types. Tragedy and comedy are the two basic forms for humans to express feelings and they show the rising process and descending process of life respectively. The archetype features of tragedy are showed in sacrificial rites and sense of fate. In modern historical period, the sacrifice to God has developed into the sacrifice for the collective interests and the original sense of fate can also expose social evils and promote social reforms. The strong social utilitarianism of dramatists restrains the exploration of modern tragic spirit. As archetype features of comedy, the reunion patterns and revelry celebrations have been refrained during the May 4th period. The enlightenment thinkers strongly object to the ancient optimistic Chinese culture and the reunion patterns, so the comic creation has been influenced from time to time. But during the national liberation movement, comedy has been revived once again. The reunion patterns are reflected clearly in the dramas in the enemy-occupied area and liberated area, and the revelry celebrations, which embody the lower-class people's banter in language and attack on action of the upper-class people, has been fully displayed as the violence of social struggle.Second, in the aspect of modern Chinese dramatic subject, there are mainly four archetype subjects: leaving home and coming back, death and revival, brotherly affection and banishment of criminals. The modern Chinese dramatists break the traditional emotional pattern of leaving home and coming back and they have a new understanding of wandering because of the living state on the way. Through voluntary and compulsive leaving home, they show the social tasks in different stages and at the same time give a new understanding of coming back. Their understanding of death and revival is transformed from primitive life circulation to the firm conviction. The modern Chinese dramas achieve the effect of revival by discovering the meaning of death, or display people's transforming process in spirit from depression to stimulation with the pattern of death and revival to show the strong epochal characters. The traditional brotherly affection has two forms of expressing the subject: consanguinity conflict and general brotherly affection. The consanguinity conflict breaks a priori knowledge of the friendliness of brothers and also reflects the sharpness of realistic...