Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 7.djvu/422

402 402 DRAMA [JAPANESE. ciation of the lyric passages, which do not appear to be altogether restricted to the singing of the principal personage, for other characters frequently &quot; recite verses.&quot; In these lyrical or didactic passages are to be sought those flowers of diction which, as Julien has shown, consist partly in the vse of a metaphorical phraseology of infinite nicety in its variations such as a long series of phrases com pounded with the word signifying jet and expressing severally the ideas of rarity, distinction, beauty, &c., or as others derived from the names of colours, birds, beasts, precious metals, elements, constellations, &c., or alluding to favourite legends or anecdotes. These features constitute the literary element par excellence of Chinese dramatic composition. At the same time, though it is impossible for the untrained reader to be alive to the charms of so unfamiliar a phraseology, it may be questioned whether even in its diction the Chinese drama can claim to be regarded as really poetic. It may abound in poetic ornament ; it is not, like the Indian, bathed in poetry. erits of On the other hand, the merits of this dramatic literature e Chinese are by no means restricted to ingenuity of construction ama. q.Qjj variety of character merits, in themselves important, which no candid criticism will deny to it. Its master-piece is not only truly pathetic in the conception and the main situations of its action, but includes scenes of singular grace and delicacy of treatment such as that where the re-married husband of the deserted heroine in vain essays in the presence of his second wife to sing to his new lute, now that he has cast aside the old. 1 In ths last act of a tragedy appealing at once to patriotism and to pity, there is true imaginative power in the picture of the emperor, vli9n aware of the departure but not of the death of 1m beloved, sitting in solitude broken only by tin ominous shriek of the wild fowl. 2 Nor is the Chinese drama devoid of humour. The lively abigail who has to persuade her mistress into confessing herself in love by arguing (almost like Beatrice) that &quot; humanity bids us love men ; &quot; 3 the corrupt judge (a standing type of the Chinese plays) who falls on his knees before the prosecuting parties to a suit as before &quot; the father and mother who give him sustenance,&quot; 4 may serve as examples ; and in Pi-Pa-Ki there is a scene of admirable burlesque on the still more characteristic theme of the humours of a competitive examination. 5 If such illustrations could not easily be multiplied, they are at least worth citing in order to deprecate a perfunctory criticism on the qualities of a dramatic literature as to which our materials for judgment are still scanty. mery and While in the north of China houses are temporarily set stume. apart for dramatic performances, in the south these are usually conGned to theatres erected in the streets (Hi-TJidi). Thus scenic decorations of any importance must always have been out of question in the Chinese theatre. The costumes, on the other hand, are described as magnificent ; they are traditionally those worn before the 17th century, in accordance with the historical colouring of most of the ctors. plays. The actor s profession is not a respectable one in China, the managers being in the habit of buying children of slaves and bringing them up as slaves of their own. Women may not appear on the stage, since the emperor Khien-Long admitted an actress among his concubines ; female parts are therefore played by lads, occasionally by eunuchs. The JAPAKESE drama, as all evidence seems to agree in showing, still remains what in substance it has always 1 Pi-Pa,- Ki, sc. 14. s Tchao-Mel-Kiang, net ii. t Pi-1 frKi, cc. 5. 2 Sorrows of Han. been an amusement passionately loved by the lower orders, but dignified by no literature deserving the name. Apart from its native elements of music, dance, and song, and legendary or historical narrative and pantomime, it is clearly to be regarded as a Chinese importation ; nor has it in its more advanced forms apparently even attempted to emancipate itself from the reproduction of the conven tional Chinese types. As early as the close of the 6th century Hada Kawatsu, a man of Chinese extraction, but born in Japan, is said to have been ordered to arrange entertainments for the benefit of the country, and to have written as many as thirty-three plays. The Japanese, however, ascribe the origin of their drama to the introduc tion of the dance called Sambdso as a charm against a volcanic depression of the earth which occurred in 80f&amp;gt; ; and this dance appears still to be used as a prelude to theatrical exhibitions. In 1108 lived a woman called IEO no Zenji, who is looked upon as &quot; the mother of the Japanese drama.&quot; But her performances seem to have been confined to dancing or posturing in male attire (otoko- mai) ; and the introduction of the drama proper is univer sally attributed to Saniwaka Kanzaburo, who in 1G24 opened the first theatre (siiaia) at Yeddo. Not long after wards (1G51) the play-houses were removed to their present, site in the capital ; and both here and in the pro vincial towns, especially of the north, the drama has since continued to flourish. Persons of rank are never seen at these theatres ; but actors are occasionally engaged to play in privates at the houses of the nobles, who appear for merly themselves to have taken part in performances of a species of opera affected by them, always treating patriotic legends and called no. The Mikado only has a court theatre. Tim subjects of the popular plays are to a large extent chiut-1 historical, though the names of the characters are changed, gura. An example is to be found in the jutnri, or musical romance, in which the universally popular tale of C himhingura (The Loyal League] has been amplified and adapted for theatrical representation. This famous narra tive of the feudal fidelity of the forty-seven ronins, who about the year 1699 revenged their chief s judicial suicide upon the arrogant official to whom it was due, is stirring rather than touching in its incidents, and contains much bloodshed, together with a tea-house scene which suffices as a specimen of the Japanese comedy of manners. One of the books of this dramatic romance consists of a metrical description, mainly in dialogue, of a journey which (after the fashion of Indian plays) has to be performed on the stage. Other popular plays are mentioned dealing with similar themes, besides which there are domestic dramas of a very realistic kind, and often highly improper, though all intrigues against married women are excluded. Fairy and demon operas and ballets, and farces and intermezzos form an easy transition to the interludes of tumblers and jugglers. As a specimen of nearly every class is required to make up a Japanese theatrical entertainment which lasts from sunrise to sunset and as the lower houses appropriate and mutilate the plays of the higher, it is clear that the condition of the Japanese theatre cannot be regarded as promising. In respect, however, of its movable scenery and properties, it is stated to be in advance of its Chinese prototype. The performers are, except in the ballet, males only. Though the leading actors enjoy great popularity and very respectable calaries, the class is held in contempt, and the companies were formerly recruited from the lowest sources. The disabilities under which they lay have, however, been removed ; nor is it impossible that the reign of progress in Japan may revolutionize an agency of civilization which it seems for the present to have regarded ai beneath its notice.
 * Tecu-Ngo-Yuen, act ii. ; cf. IIoel-Lan-Ki,