WORLD THEATRE TRADITIONS
Yuan drama
Yuan Drama were based in the
Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and
were poetic dramas set to music.
As a high-class theatrical form the
Yuan Drama is full of the
characteristics of that period and
displays unique artistic creations.
Yuan Dramas gave wide publicity
to social problems. This was
because the playwrights
themselves lived among the
people and knew all about real
life and the tribulations of the
ordinary people.
Besides historical stories, stories
about the supernatural also
often served as the material on
which the Yuan dramas were
based. One example of an early
Taoist-inspired ghost opera is PERFORMANCE VIDEO
ARTICLE
Qiannü Lihun. Asian Theatre Laboratory
YUAN DRAMA (AKA ZAJU)
1995
Yuan Zaju mainly consisted of a Each act had a single and distinct
prelude and the main story, rhyme and musical mode.
composed of four acts. Each act Melodies were those of the
featured one mode of ancient Beijing region. Beautiful poetic
Chinese music and several songs, lyrics were highly valued, while
sung by the leading male or female plot incidents were of lesser
ARTICLE
character. YUAN DYNASTY CULTURE, importance.
. THEATER AND LITERATURE
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