Opera Theory In The Preface And Postscript Of Opera In Ming Dynasty

There are a lot of prefaces and postscripts in the treatises,anthologies and scripts of Chinese operas in Ming Dynasty.These historical records help us a lot on the study of opera aesthetics,opera works and opera theory in Ming Dynasty.Existing study on prefaces and postscripts of operas mainly focuses on culturology,ontology and criticism in itself.There is no special study on the opera theory in the preface and postscript.This article aims to analyze the opera theory in the prefaces and postscripts of operas in the Ming Dynasty,which includes four aspects:opera ontology,narrative theory,performance theory,and critical appreciation theory.1.Understanding of opera itself.The authors’understanding of the prefaces and postscripts of operas in the Ming Dynasty can be divided into three types:one is to find the theoretical basis for opera writing from the "Theory of Music" in the pre-Qin period;one is the creation of opera under the influence of poetic concepts;the other is to reflect the author’s cognition of opera’s attribute as "drama",which contains the attributes of endorsement and stage.2.The narrative theory in the prefaces and postscripts of Ming Dynasty operas.The study mainly includes four aspects:Theory of Prototype and Trait of Work,Structure Theory,Theory of Abstraction and Object and Characterization.Among them,Theory of Prototype refer to the language style of the opera,and Theory of Trait of Work refers to the music of the opera.Structure Theory are absorbed by the prefaces and postscripts of operas and used in the criticism of specific works.In the aspect of character shaping which is weak in opera theory,opera prefaces and postscripts are one step ahead of opera theory.With the help of specific opera works,prefaces and postscripts propose to create real and civilized characters and typed character aesthetic.3.The performance theory in the prefaces and postscripts of Ming Dynasty operas.The research is mainly divided into:actor theory,performance theory and directing theory.In the middle and late Ming dynasty,remarks about the status of actors appeared in the prefaces and postscripts of operas.However,the prefaces and postscripts of opera rarely mentioned actor literacy due to space limitations,except for several opera works on Buddhism and Taoism.In terms of performance,the performance mechanism of Chinese opera is divided according to the profession,which includes the arrangement of primary and secondary characters and the judgement of the characters’ beauty and ugliness.Additionally,the ideal realm of performance pursues "Alike in spirit" and correspondingly puts forward the realization of true feelings" method training.In terms of directing,the theme of opera education should be strengthened,and specific adjustments should be made in terms of "reducing clues","adjusting the cold and hot","front and back reference" and"dense front".4.Criticism and appreciation in the prefaces and postscripts of Ming Dynasty operas.In the theoretical criticism of the prefaces and postscripts of the Ming Dynasty operas,there are three obvious tendencies:"Romance" theory、"zhiqi" theory and "Fengshi"theory."Romance" theory demonstrates that the opera authors at that time are influenced by Yangming’s psychology and they used "love" to reinterpret Confucianism."Zhi Qi" Theory is the influence of the aesthetic interest of "Shang Qi"formed in the drama in the context of the Ming Dynasty society."Fengshi" theory reflects the influence of Confucianism on literati who cannot enter the off-icial circle.They use operas to educate the public to realize their social responsibility to the lower class.