| The heroic image in the operas of the Ming and Qing Dynasties has a profound literary and cultural accumulation,which is gradually finalized and becomes an important character type in the opera.The accumulation of literature in the past dynasties not only promoted the process of opera,but also provided a rich source of themes for the heroic images in the Ming and Qing operas.The heroic stories were greatly influenced by literature such as previous historical records,novels,operas,and poems.There are adaptations satirizing the present based on the old as well as the rewriting of the past.That makes the image of heroes not only have the cultural heritage of history but also imprinted by the Ming and Qing dynasties.According to the origin,the heroic group can be divided into two types: the heroes of officialdom and the heroes of commoners;according to the places where the commoners live,the heroes can be divided into three categories: the heroes of the market,the heroes of the rivers and lakes,and the heroes of avoiding the world.Heroes have the characteristics of being open and upright,helping the weak,emphasizing righteousness,being courageous and strategic,and understanding righteousness.Having a strong sense of justice and ready to help the weak is an important manifestation of the heroic spirit.Generally,there are three kinds of motives of the heroism: voicing discontents,revenging for benefactors and are gaining fame and fortune.At the end of the drama,once the heroes complete the heroism,the playwrights usually arrange three destinations for the heroes: the officialdom,the Taoism and the Buddha,and Stay away from social life.Both dramas and novels have heroic images and there are differences.First of all,as to the way of implementing heroism,the heroes in the opera mostly fight alone to maintain their independence.Secondly,in terms of the story design,the story of the heroes in the opera is relatively short,developing faster,having clear clues and bright images.Third,in the aspect of functions and missions,the heroes mainly undertake the mission of maintaining orthodoxy and propaganda and enlightenment in operas,while reflecting the awakening of human nature in novels.Fourth,operas mainly adopt Sing and play,psychological description and linguistic description of both elegance and popular appreciation to create the image of the characters with respect to the character creation methods.The formation of heroic image groups in opera is not only influenced by the traditional values of Confucianism,Buddhism,and Taoism,but also a concentrated reflection of the audience’s needs.In addition,heroic stories are closely related to social reality and are a manifestation of social contradictions.The image of heroes is of great significance in the Ming and Qing operas.They enrich the types of opera characters,reflect the sense of justice of the playwrights by exposing social issues and are able to play an enlightenment function.Therefore,the image of heroes in the Ming and Qing operas is very important to the development of both literature and society. |
