A Genealogical Study On Thomas Chuan Chen’s Dramaturgy

Around the turn of the 19th to the 20th century,Chinese drama has undergone historical changes in the collision and fusion of Chinese and Western culture.Some intellectuals with new-style education,out of the need for political reform,launched a massive literary improvement movement,which involved many fields,drama naturally included it.Thomas Chuan Chen,a writer and scholar from Sichuan Province who was born in the early 20th century,combined his special experience after studying abroad and returning to China,and put forward new insights on the creation of drama for reference in literary improvement.However,the research on this scholar who has made a lot of achievements in the history of modern literature and academic thought has been fruitless.Therefore,carrying out a case study of Thomas Chuan Chen’s dramaturgy,combing and analyzing the production,formation and development of his dramaturgy under the combined effect of Chinese and Western thought resources,which can not only make up for the lack of predecessors,but also promote the theoretical research system of TC Chen’s thoughts.With the help of historical perspective,we can look at the process of cultural thought in the transition period,increase the depth of the theoretical research of modern Chinese drama,and consider the spiritual tradition and development direction of modern Chinese drama.The thesis has four chapters:The first chapter introduces TC Chen’s life,works and academic career to assist in understanding the evolution of his overall thought.Based on the difference in value orientation between TC Chen and the Critical Review School,and the main activities of TC Chen as a representative figure of the Warring-States Strategy School,this article defines TC Chen as an "anomalous writer of the Critical Review School "and "the Nietzsche preacher of the Warring-States Strategy School ",which demonstrates the particularity of Thomas Chuan Chen’s ability to be a case study.The second chapter summarizes the four main points of TC Chen’s dramaturgy:creation theory,work theory,function theory and criticism.It reveals that TC Chen’s goal has always been the effectiveness of the dissemination of drama forms and the function of drama in social education.Based on the interpretation of TC Chen’s dramaturgy,it triggered a tracing of its origin.Both Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 are the core of this thesis.The third chapter focuses on exploring the origin of Thomas Chuan Chen’s drama thoughts in the two perspectives of local and foreign countries,and the study of TC Chen’s drama activities and the teacher-inherit relationship of his drama learning.It can be found that the process can be roughly divided into three parts:the preparatory stage of studying abroad,the formation stage of studying abroad,and the practice stage after returning to China.It is concluded that the production of TC Chen’s dramaturgy is the result of the combined effect of the ideological resources of China and the West.The fourth chapter continues the thinking of the previous article and explores the understanding and application of German voluntarism philosophy in TC Chen’s dramaturgy.It can be found that TC Chen’s theory of tragedy is mainly derived from Hebbel’s zeitgeist,and his tragic heroes are made by combining Goethe’s Faust and Nietzsche’s superman doctrine.TC Chen’s ability to mirror the German hurricane spirit smoothly is based on an acceptance model centered on a "national common emotion".In summary,Thomas Chuan Chen has constructed a drama pedigree guided by the belief in national salvation,centered on the common national emotions,supported by the inheritance of teachers and students,and supported by the spirit of the Sturm und Drang.