Tradition And Innovation:Research On The Script Of New Drama In Late Qeng Dynasty To The Early Republic Of China (1910-1918)

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century,Western drama was introduced into China,and blended with Chinese traditional opera,producing a new literary form--New Drama.It is the dramatic form of the communication between Chinese opera and Western drama,the interaction between traditional opera and the new time.New Drama,as a transitional literary works from traditional opera to modern drama,has the artistic characteristics both of Western drama and Chinese traditional opera,at the meantime we can find some non-art elements in it.The New Drama scripts,which were published in the periodicals and recounted by dramatist in China from 1910 to 1918,are the research object of this paper.This paper intends to take the structural system,stylistic characteristics,and stagecraft as the breakthrough point to analyze the new drama's inheritance and evolution of Chinese traditional opera.The first chapter discusses the structural system of New Drama.The script of New Drama using the point-and-line structure to arrange the story,which mainly inherits Chinese traditional opera.At the same time,It draw lessons from the performance method of Peking Opera,coherent plot,or make impromptu comic gestures.As far as the drama system is concerned,New Drama adopts the system of splitting the scenes of Western drama,but Chinese traditional opera's session name the heading,Self-introductions and opening method are applied.The second chapter discusses the stylistic characteristics of New Drama,including the lines,the songs and the stage cues.The Drama imitates the dialogue form of Western Drama,but retains narrators' intervention of Chinese traditional opera and the fiction-style narrative way.Under the influence of traditional opera,the Drama retains a large number of songs to cater to the psychological needs of the audience,to express the feelings of actor,or to popularized intelligence.Although the stage cues of New Drama retain the traditional symbol "++Jie",it is undeniable that the dramatist had possess new stage consciousness.The third chapter discusses the stage art of New Drama,mainly including the stage scenery,actors' costume,the lighting technology and the sound effect.The dramatists pay more attention to the stage art of the script,in order to provide the action scene for the role,set off the character's temperament,and render the dramatic atmosphere.The dramatists pay more attention to the actors' costume,keeping the actors' exterior image and disposition temperament consistent.Moreover,the dramatists use lighting technology to create dramatic situation,strengthening the psychological mood of the role,and use the sound to show the external environment and convey the mood of the characters.As a special literal style in a specific era,New Drama reflect social reality and enlighten the masses,which conform to the audiences' psychological demands and play the educational function.It is a typical product of the age of communion,reflecting the essential characteristics of the time.New Drama's inheritance of traditional drama and Peking Opera has adapted the audiences'aesthetic habits and ensured the entertainment function of the drama.