Six Yuan Plays

Description

Although their Mongol overlords (beginning with the founding of the Yuan dynasty by Kublai Khan in 1280) tyrannized the Chinese in nearly every area of life, the arts enjoyed a new-found freedom. On the one hand oppressed, on the other released from the straight-jacket of Confucianism, the Chinese made the most of recent developments in poetry and drama. Yuan plays were a tonic, an amazing spectacle—colorful outbursts of singing, dancing, music, acting and mime. They poured new life into old stories—oppressors were ridiculed, servants became masters, scenes changed, day followed night in the twinkling of an eye—and audiences flocked to enjoy what must have been complete entertainment.

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Bibilography
Note on the Illustrations

The Orphan of Chao
Chi Chün-hsiang
The Soul of Ch’ien-Nü Leaves Her Body
Chêng Teh-hui
The Injustice Done to Tou Ngo
Kuan Han-ch’ing
Change Boils the Sea
Li Hao-ku
Autumn in Han Palace
Ma Chih-yüan
A Strategem of Interlocking Rings
Anonymous

Musical Instruments Used in Yüan Drama
Notes

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