Apocalyptic Wind And Moon

Nandan is a rising burgeoning group after Song and Yuan Dynasty.To disguise in female attire and to play female roles in ancient opera is their primary mission.In the late Ming Dynasty,along with the operatic innovation and the moral restraint exerted by the Neo-Confucianism mainly on women,Nandan started to gain superiority and domination overwhelmingly on the stage of the ancient Chinese theater.And since they became more skillful than female performers,they gained much more attention in society.At that time the number of Nandan increased enormously and many of them formed into professional groups to give city-ranged and even trans-regined performances for a living.The different types of tunes they sang,like Yiyang,Haiyan,Kunshan,Qingyang etc,absorbed unique qualities from each other,which made great contribution to the further improvement and perfection of all during the coming Qing Dynasty.On the other hand,Nandan,acquired an extraordinarily tolerant soil,grew familiar and even intimate with the scholar-officials during the performances,which made this kind of relationship a romantic topic in the late Ming's poems,novels and personal journals.The popularizing of Nandan is a distinctive art phenomenon in the late Ming Dynasty.This peculiar appearance was closely linked to a relatively relaxed social environment,such as a high level of socialization and social mobility and the rising of professional bands it brought with,the awakening of humanism and the rebel of some Chinese traditional doctrines,the highly development of opera and literature,the tastes of Ming's emperors etc.All these mixed elements accelerated the class-crossed spreading of this atmosphere in Ming society.As for the reason of Nandn's springing up,we have to acknowledge that it has significant meaning for not only the ancient history but that of modem times.Since the primary study has been mainly concluded in a certain chapter of books on Chinese opera or Chinese history,we must peal it out among the books to get the relevant information.The special study of Nandan can hardly be found so far.It remains our task to make collect and edit of dependent materials,take penetrate consideration and make objective and creative conclusions to draw more attention on this matter.Focusing on the social background of the middle and late Ming Dynasty till the early Qing Dynasty,this paper target at Nandan's component members,their status,their training mode and performing characteristics,their relationships with other social members,the social background or causes of its popularity,etc.The aim is to grasp and understand the unique social and cultural phenomenon that appeared in the bud state of capitalism and to throw away a brick for further research.