What kind of innovation did Wang Shifu make in the form and theme of The Legend of the West Chamber

Mondo Culture Updated on 2024-01-30

As a drama, the composition and expression of the miscellaneous drama of "The Legend of the West Chamber" are of course different from the lyrics of "The Legend of the West Chamber" that are played and sung by rap artists from beginning to end. At the same time, it is also different from other meta-human miscellaneous dramas. Yuanren miscellaneous dramas generally use four folds to express a complete story, while Wang Shifu's "The Legend of the West Chamber" has five books and twenty folds, which is like a series of scripts connected by several miscellaneous dramas to perform a story. At the end of the fourth fold of each book, there is a "title correct", marking a turning point in the storyline;There is also a very special song of "Luo Si Niang Tail", which plays the role of the two books before and after the communication between the upper and lower links. In some folds, "The Legend of the West Chamber" also broke through the general practice of one-person lead singers in Yuan miscellaneous dramas. This shows that Wang Shifu was creating "The Legend of the West Chamber".broke through the rules of miscellaneous opera, and absorbed and borrowed the performance forms of theater and southern opera。The innovation in the system has enriched the ability of artistic expression and provided favorable conditions for shaping the character of the characters more delicately and arranging the dramatic conflicts more perfectly.

In order to be suitable for the performance of the drama, Wang Shifu readjusted the story of the warbler adapted by Dong Jieyuan. The most important of these is:The theme of the story has been reinvented

In Wang Shifu's writing, Zhang Sheng and Yingying are certainly talented and beautiful, but talent and appearance are not the only link that unites them. Wang Shifu emphasized that this pair of young people fell in love at first sight, "the love is difficult to collect", and they were hindered by the feudal parents, so they made a move to break through the barriers of etiquette and religion. For sincere love, Wang Shifu gave full affirmationIt is considered pure and innocent, and it does not need to be painted with protective colors such as "Heli" and "Repay Gratitude". He believed that love was the foundation of marriage, and that as long as men and women were "affectionate" to each other, they should be allowed to be togetherAnd all acts and systems that prevent lovers from becoming dependents should be whipped.

Wang Shifu's attention to "love" is further than that of Guan Hanqing and Bai Pu. Because Guan and Bai's good wishes are still for married couples, and the "lovers" that Wang Shifu wishes include those young people who fall in love and engage in private marriages without the approval of their parents. He hopes that all lovers can get their wish, which is equivalent to not taking "the life of their parents and the words of the matchmaker" in their eyes, which isA bold challenge to feudal etiquette and the feudal marriage system

Before Wang Shifu, no one had put forward as loudly and clearly as he did, "May all lovers in the world become dependents". The story of Cui and Zhang he wrote implements this theme, so that the theme has been circulated for hundreds of years since "Huizhen Ji".Take on a new look。It can be said that the miscellaneous drama of "The Legend of the West Chamber" appeared in the Yuan Dynasty, like a warbler suddenly appearing in the Buddha hall, its brilliance made people dizzy, and also illuminated the dark night sky of the feudal era.

[Li Fan keywords:Breaking through the rules of miscellaneous opera, the performance form of Yuanben Nanju Sincere love boldly challenged

[Li Fan said:The innovation of Wang Shifu's "Tale of the West Chamber" is in terms of form, on the basis of miscellaneous operas, absorbing some characteristics of the courtyard and southern opera;In terms of theme, it mainly expresses the praise of sincere love and the challenge of feudal etiquette and feudal marriage system.

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