On The Stylistic Characteristics Of The Yuan Dynasty

Yuan Opera took form in the mid 13th century. Based on operas in the Song, and Jing dynasties, Yuan Opera incorporates different performing arts including comic dialogue, music and dance and marks the maturity of Chinese operas. Yuan Opera plays an important part in the history of Chinese operas. It is the kind of opera that really tells the story through songs and dances. Many touching stories, with a large number of characters as representatives of the times and worthy of aesthetical studies, reveal the society of the Yuan dynasty from different perspectives. In terms of the language used, Yuan Opera can be called as "a living fossil of the Yuan society". This thesis intends to analyze the specific characteristics of the Yuan Opera from the angle of linguistic styles. Besides the Introduction and Conclusion, there are three chapters in this thesis. First, the linguistic style of the Yuan Opera is defined. The linguistic context of the Yuan Opera is studied mainly from the perspectives of style, explicit factors and implicit factors. Then, through analysis, description and comparison, the conclusion is reached that, compared with verses, ditties, and operas of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Yuan Opera is characterized by its plain and simple language, which is studied by the thesis from the following three perspectives: vocabulary, grammar and figure of speech. Also, the functions of the artistic form of the Yuan Opera are examined, which are mainly reflected in vivid description, psychological catharsis, aesthetics and entertaining education.