On Li Yu's Audience Theory

Li Yu, a playwright and Opera theoretician of the Qing Dynasty,lived in a prosperity period of Kun opera. Special experiences of livingand creation make him an epitomist in Chinese lyrical theory, and hisaudience theory is an outstanding achievement. Starts from the erabackground of Li Yu' audience theory, this paper analyses the audiencesituation in that time and the cause that the theory can be produced. Li Yu'audience theory reaches to many fields, such as the audience'sclassification, the aesthetic psychology, the impact of audience. Thepurpose to talk about this theory is to summarize the creation theory,therefore the two theories, manifested differently in the first, second andthe third stage, are a close union. That is why Li Yu's audience theory isunique in mode of thinking and theoretical form. Li Yu's audience theoryhas filled the blank of reception theory of Chinese drama. Although thehistory of drama development has been proving some limitations in LiYu's some viewpoints with the time vicissitude, the valuable spirit oftaking audience seriously and many theories are of great value these daysyet. Mr. Bai Xianyong's youth version "Peony Pavilion", which tookaudience's acceptance as the beginning and the ending points and carriedon resolute reform on the bases of inheriting the esthetics of Kun opera,has achieved great success all over the country. The creative thoughts andadaptation methods in youth version "Peony Pavilion" have verified thepractical significance of Li Yu's audience theory.