LITERATURE+and+THEATRE

Chinese Lit. By Tyler L. What is your favorite type of book? Do you like books that make you laugh? Adventure Stories? Superhero novels? All of the books you read now are probably very new. However, these types of books are much older than the books you read today. In fact, Chinese authors were writing about the same themes more than 1000 years ago! The novels and poetry written by Chinese authors during the classical period of chinese literature (700-1895) are powerful and deep, and explores a wide range of topics.

During the classical period, poetry was very popular among the Chinese emperor and upper-class( rich lanowners and merchents). Since most poetry was being read by the emperor and his ministers, much of Chinese poetry was about the glory of the emperor or about political disptes. However, some poets wrote about common life and families, which also was a popular theme. The poets of ancient China wrote in many different styles. The oldest of these was the Fu style, developed around 100 BC. The Fu style was written in rhymed verse in a question and answer style. The Fu style remained the most common style of Chinese poetry until 700, when it was replaced by the Ci style. The Ci style was often written as lyrics to music, and thus had a beat and tone. It usually expressed feelings of desire and love, but was also applied to other topics. The Ci style gave poets "more flexibilty in terms of form, and a way to express emotion other than Fu." The Ci style would remain the most popular style of Chinese poetry throughout the rest of the classical period, although its quality declined after 1300. Despite this, the classical poetry of China has had a major impact on all poetry written in China since, and elevated itself to highs which have never been surpassed in Chinese language writing. Su Shi, a famous Ci poet The chinese writers of the period also wrote in prose(ordinary language in which novels are written). These writers produced many classical books. Of these, the most famous are the "Four Great Classical Novels", the books on which all of Chinese literature is based. Here is a table describing the Four Great Classical Novels: Novel: Romance of the Four Kingdoms A historical novel describing the civil war and political struggle during the three kingdoms period of Chinese history(220-280) Water Margin An adventure story about outlaws fighting corrupt princes during the Song Dynasty Journey to the West: A buddhist monk travels to India to obtain religous texts Dream of the Red Chamber A complex novel about love and family strife during 18th century China A scene from Journey to the West The writers of ancient China was strongly divided into two groups. For over 1000 years, most established writers worked for the emperor and his court. However, in the 14th century, many writers began to break away from the court style and began writing in the vernacualar(langauge spoken by ordinary people). Although the vernacular style was never accepted by the court poets, it "produced countless masterpieces, most noteably Dream of the Red Chamber". In conclusion, the classical period produced some of the greatest Chinese literature. The literature of the classical period has influneced Chinese authors up to the present. Works Cited Chinese Literature. Wikipedia.com [] Classical Prose Movement. famouschinese.com [] Wheeler, Kip. Classical Chinese Poetry []

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Chinese Theater. By Leena M.

 Have you ever been to a Broadway musical? What about a school play? Or maybe just the movies? What did you like about your favorite production? Is it the drama, singing, or dancing? Well you are about to learn about how ancient Chinese theater gave the producers the ideas to your favorite form of entertainment. If you like theater at all, you will wanna hear all about the traditional Chinese theater called Xiqu. “Xiqu is a combination of singing, dance, poetry, recital, and drama. The music is played on traditional Chinese instruments” (What). Not many props are used in this form of entertainment, which makes it easy to focus on the exaggerated movements and costumes. Xiqu was also known to be the drama to make China more new, and what people looked up to for change.

One type of Xiqu is Kunqu. "Kun" refers to Kunshan and "qu" means music. “It is a synthesis of drama, opera, ballet, poetry recital, and musical recital” (What). This type of regional music goes all the way back to the 14th century. That’s 700 years ago! Sometimes, a Kunqu performance would take more than a few days to put on! Then, and still now, the plays performed relate to the audience. That makes it all the more entertaining!

Kunqu Opera

Part of the reason why Chinese theater is so important to its culture is The Beijing opera. The opera is “a form of traditional Chinese theater which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance, and acrobatics. It was very popular during the Qing dynasty, though it didn’t get as much attention when the Cultural Revolution was happening. Beijing Opera The roles of Beijing Opera can be roughly divided into 4: • male role (Sheng) • female role (Dan) • painted face male (Jing) • comedy actor or clown (Chou) It's one of those places that everyone wants to see when they visit China! ||
 * Today, Kun Opera is performed professionally in seven Mainland Chinese cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Nanjing, Chenzhou, Yongjia County/Wenzhou, Hangzhou and Taipei. ||

The Cultural Revolution was led by Chairman Mao, Communist Party of China. He believed that the upper class was taking over. He felt that they should give the youth power. ||
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Overall, Chinese theater had a big impact on American and other countries' forms of entertainment. Whether it's Xiqu, a simple and traditional style, or Kunqu, a very long performance, the world is able to use China's methods for their own entertainment and drama. Bibliography Beijing Opera." __Wikipedia__ . 19 Feb. 2009. Wikimedia. 22 Feb. 2009 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_Opera#Origins>.  "Beijing Opera Page." __China__ __the Beautiful__ . 2 Apr. 1997. 22 Feb. 2009 <  [|http://www.chinapage.com/xwang/index0.html] >.

"Cultural Revolution -." __Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia__. 13 Mar. 2009 < [|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_cultural_revolution]>.

 Tschanz, Dietrich, and Rulan Chao Pian. "Session 163." Association for Asian Studies. Princeton University, Harvard University, National University of Singapore. 22 Feb. 2009 <[]>.  "What is Kunqu Theatre." Wintergreen Kunqu Society. 19 Feb. 2009 .

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