Wu Mei Theater Aesthetics Thought

Wu Mei is a famous drama theorist and drama writer in the transformational period from traditional drama to modern one. The aesthetic thoughts of his drama, served as a link between past and future, occupy a position of academic importance and possess a particular aesthetic value in the history of aesthetic thought in modern China.The aesthetic thought of Wu Mei's drama is a significant academic legacy. Starting from the perspective of creation and performance, Wu Mei polishes traditional drama, elaborates the mystery of drama and inherits traditional study method, having grown into a great master. His contribution to Chinese traditional drama can be mainly concluded as follows: 1) His summarization and elaboration of the theories of Chinese classical drama. 2) His study and elaboration of theoretical system of repertoire in traditional drama. The study of the aesthetic thought of Wu Mei's drama can not only enable us to estimate this great drama theorist and writer for a second time, but is beneficial to our digging out the aesthetic thought embodied in Chinese traditional drama.The aesthetic thought of Wu Mei's drama is the product of dialogue and communication between traditional culture, modern culture and aesthetics. Wu Mei made great contribution to the transformational process from traditional drama to modern drama. Wu Mei, theoretically inherited the method in which classical drama composed. And he based the conclusion of traditional drama on the combing of dramatists and works as well as his good command of drama and score, which gives the development of traditional drama a whole evaluation and recollection. Thereafter, the modern drama came into being. Wu Mei adopted western whole advanced ideas and scientific method, combined Chinese traditional dramatic thought and formed his own unique dramatic viewpoint. In his opinion, drama is inevitable product of literary development. And it should deserve the same position and value as poetry and versebecause they all belong to literature. His dramatic viewpoint reveals obvious modern color. Therefore, the study of aesthetic thought of Wu Mei's drama not only enables us to estimate this great drama theorist, but is beneficial to explore the study sphere of drama of both century and widen the category of drama study. WuMei tool drama as a comprehensive art to study and combined literary study with drama performance so his drama study was more scientific and it could also reveal the marrow of drama. According to his own creation practice, Wu Mei thoroughly inherited and developed the theory originally set forth the aesthetic principles of truth, interest, and beauty and established a set of relatively thorough and detailed theoretical system. The theoretical system further deepened and widened the connotation and denotation of Chinese drama theory.The thesis, embracing four chapters altogether, which can be divided into three parts, mainly discuses the life of Wu Mei as well as the background of aesthetic thought. In the early 20th century, the Chinese people invaded by western invaders had been mature. Those who had aspirations had fully realized the necessity to rebuild Chinese new culture that could confront strong countries in the world, if they wished to restore China. Consequently various western ideas such as society, politics, philosophy, art, drama were translated and introduced to China. The progressive Chinese took the western thought as the weapon to attack feudal tradition fiercely, thus the unprecedented cultural era book shape again in Chinese history. Wu Mei kept pace with society and threw himself into the exploration of drama theories as well as the composition of legendary drama. The works he composed began to pay attention to social reality and the poverty of people. The formation of Wu Mei's aesthetic thought, which was based on classical literary criticism and dramatic view and associated his own social practice, was not only the product of development of Chinese dramatic aesthetics but the product of cultural academic environment in a special period of the late Qing Dynasty. First, aesthetic thought of Wu Mei's drama originated from Chinese profound traditional culture. Secondly, western aesthetic thought also provided the important theoreticalorigin for his thought.The third chapter is the second part, which mainly concerns the idea of essence of Wu Mei's drama, the idea of drama style, the idea of drama composition,the idea of drama temperament ,the idea of drama criticism and the concept of women in works of drama. Its ultimate goal is to deduce a more general conclusion from logical framework.The idea that Wu Mei's drama possesses the same literary position with poetry researches the dramatic essence in existing value. At the same time he pointed out that drama could compare with poetry. Thereafter, drama came into the academic sight of intellectuals in the form of play and its rank was accordingly promoted in practice.The second aspect of essential thought of Wu Mei's drama generally conveys the idea that internal soul of dramatic literature is real life. In practice Wu Mei realized that drama composition should reflect the nature and mainstream of life, express people's mental emotion and change with life. He acquired knowledge from practice and transformed knowledge into theory. What the drama reflects is the life of history and reality, and it counteracts life. That is, drama regulates customs and remedies society. Generally speaking, the drama reflects real life in the way of speaking instead of others.In this thesis, the third aspect of essential thought of Wu Mei's drama mainly conveys the idea that acting is the final goal of dramatic literature. The life of drama lies in stage acting and singing. In other words, drama script should serve the stage performance. In compositional practice, dramatists first should make the script fit drama stage performance, including the structure, plot, language, rhythm of the script, script. Secondly, composers also should make the song satisfy the need of performance. In addition, the performances of actors should be accepted by audience.As for drama style, Wu Mei describes the development and change of drama as a style in different historical period. He draws a general outline about the development of Chinese drama in brief language and makes out the panorama of ancient dramatic development. So most of his conclusions correspond to the trend of dramatic development. Of course, Wu Mei's study is not all-round and some of his remarks stillneed to be discussed further. But his study is unprecedented and his achievements are unforgettable among the study of Chinese dramatic history.Wu Mei inherits and develops Wang Jide's and Li Yu's drama theories In his representative work Guquzhutan, he originally puts forward the principles of truth, interest, and beauty which becomes the nucleus of aesthetic thought of his drama.Wu Mei summarizes forefathers' experience about the law of the drama sings,and probes into "Gongdiao", modes of ancient Chinese music and harmonious sounds during the process of practising in art, having formed traditional aesthstic principle , artistic law and method skill about writing music of vocal music .Wu Mei, starting form objective reality, makes an all-round artistic analysis about drama's background, style, school, person, idea as well as rhythm by profound theories. And the analysis contains creative viewpoints. Thus. Thus the dramatic critical system that is objective, comprehensive and idealistic comes into being. Wu Mei's dramatic criticism also pays special attention to the two nucleuses plot structure and language of drama. He always judges dramatic works according to the width of plot origin, the reality of the plot and the properness of plot arrangement. On the basis of learning from precedent masters, he sets forth a fairly systematic and detailed language criticism view which is either elegant or vulgar.Wu Mei's concept of marriage and women is one of important contents of asthetic thought of his drama. It has dual character on concept of women. One hand, he sympathizes with the women who fight for marriage freedom at that time, criticizes severely feudalism marriage system which ask female person to scrupulously abide by "parents' orders and match maker's opinions" and inquires into the question about women right , which give expression to his progressive ideas. The other hand he believes that germinated freedom love leads to women's misfortune , which embodies his limitations on concept of women .The fourth chapter is the third part, which discussed the modern essence of aesthetic thought of Wu Mei's drama from four respects. Wu Mei's stylistic viewimplies the spirit of epoch; His dramatic view is deeply influenced by the idea of western evolution. Therefore, in his opinion, drama is the inevitable product of literature; in the course of the drama study, he adopts new methods of abstraction, classification, integration and induction and forms audience-centered new theoretical system.Wu Mei believed that the creation of drama should reflect the spirit of time, which showed his evolutionary literary conception. His consciousness of tragedy derived from the need of time. He claimed that drama should reveal the actual situation of social life and tragedy was inevitable. Therefore, the root function of drama is to reflect the final ending of human life. He opposed the sham reunion in the drama. His opinion represented his developing ideology of drama, which was quite practical at that time. It also broke the limit of old drama and gave more freedom to new ones. Though his opinion was not flawless, it should be approved to a large extent.Wu Mei accepted the principle of "survival of the fittest". He believed that dramas of different dynasties took on particular features in accordance with the development of history. Having had keen observation and painstaking research, be delineated the laws of drama in its development and evolution, as well as its various features.Wu Mei lived in to end of Qing Dynasty. His living atmosphere provided him good chance for the reforming of his aesthetic thought. He made the proposal that drama should be as important as poem, advancing that drama took on the same value as poem did. In addition, in terms of the history of drama he turned the emphasis from "tone" to "content". Therefore, the drama entered the academic vision of scholars and its position was thus improved.The audience-centered conception of Wu Mei is the further development based on the investigation of predecessors. It is the positive development of Chinese ancient theory of dramatic theories. This thesis discusses Wu Mei's audience-centered conception in three aspects: the composition of dramas should be audience-centered; the performance of actors should be understandable, and according to the music score; the performance should be suitable to audience's appreciation.The conclusion believes that Wu Mei's drama aesthetics occupies an important position in Chinese classical drama aesthetics. For the first time, he puts for ward the problem about the unity of truth, interest and beauty, which enriches and develops the conceptual categories of classical drama aesthetics. His fruitful achievements he made in creation and performance theories push the dramatic literary composition and stage performance more prosperous. His elaboration upon the particularly aesthetic characteristics of dramatic art, in the angle of theory building and drama criticism, enjoys important realistic meaning. The aesthetic thought of modem drama is greatly influenced by Wu Mei's, especially the influence upon dramatic thought and the prospect of drama aesthetics. Wu Mei's cultivates and moulds drama theorists of new generation.The thesis thinks that the aesthetic thought of Wu Mei's drama is an indispensable reference to restore the traditional drama. In the late Qing Dynasty, Chinese traditional drama faced the duty of the transition to modern. In this special age produced such great drama masters as Wang Guowei; Wu Mei who laid solid foundation for the completion of traditional drama transition, development as well as prosperity and left us a precious academic legacy. At the present we are also facing how to enable the drama to serve the modernization and how to display the modern life and consciousness in the Chinese aesthetic standard or way. It is not denied that the study concerning aesthetic thought of Wu Mei's drama undoubtedly supplies as the important reference. Finally the objectives of the thesis can be mainly concluded as follows: 1) To look at the aesthetic thought and consciousness embodied in Wu Mei's drama theories and works by new method and angle for a second time 2) To reveal the close relations between Chinese classical drama and modern drama in the respects of aesthetic potential and realm. 3) To summarize the experience and lesson of Chinese dramatic aesthetic development 4) To accelerate the prosperity and development of dramatic theoretical study, inherit and develop Chinese traditional culture.This thesis is aimed at reviewing Wu Mei's dramatic theory as well as the aestheticideology and conception of his work with new methods and angles in a new field. Its purpose is to make a conclusion of great achievements in the development of Chinese dramatic aesthetics, to flourish and improve the research of current dramatic theory, to carry forward the traditional Culture of China.