The Analysis And Cultural Interpretation Of The Differences Between Images Of Genius And Beauty In "the Romance Of The Western Chamber" And "the Peony Pavilion"

The Romance of the Western Chamber, as the representative drama of Yuan Dynasty, and The Peony Pavilion, which is the classical work in Ming legend, are both famous for the theme of love and deserving high status in the history of Chinese drama. In this kind of genius and beauty work, author displays and explains the ideological content, the social phenomenon, the cultural orientation which manifests and so on all through this specific form of "genius and beauty". They reflect the Chinese traditional culture of love and marriage, receive influence of the love literature before the naissance of drama, and also have unique impelling function to the novel of genius and beauty afterwards. These two classical dramatic works although all are the genius and beauty which eulogizes the play of love, held the count for much status in the Chinese ancient literature of love, but have huge differences between two excellent works.Firstly, this article seeks the source of the genius and beauty literature according to the Chinese novel history, from love novel of the Six Dynasties which covers by confusing smoke of strange or supernatural events, to the story of genius and beauty in love legend of the Tang Dynasty, and to the love "legend" of Speak of Song Dynasty, finds many elements which the genius and beauty literature can form, and outlines the approximate vein that the genius and beauty literature develops. Secondly, through the integrated summary of the dramas of genius and beauty in drama of Yuan Dynasty and legend of Ming Dynasty, overall cognitions of the genius and beauty literature in the age of drama are formed. At last, mainly consulting the image of typical characters which" The Romance of the Western Chamber "and" The Peony Pavilion" have molded, the author compares the remarkable differences between images of genius and beauty in this two dramas of genius and beauty: Zhang Sheng and Liu Mengmei are handsome outstandingly talented soulful and single-heart that are all common genius's characteristics, but Zhang Sheng is very different from Liu Mengmei in treating scholar honor or official rank in feudal China;Cui Yingying and Du Liniang are young beautiful and kind that are all common beauty's characteristics, but Cui Yingying and Du Liniang have great differences in recalcitrant character and treating scholar honor or official rankin feudal China. In conclusion, under the whole background of the time, through the analysis coming from three aspects of the culture of social, the culture of imperial examination, the culture of love and marriage, all sorts of cultural elements which form the differences are coordinated, leading to the interpretation of differences above.