When discussing the historical origin of the overall development of ancient literature in China, it is very important to grasp the historical transformation from elegance to vulgarity in order to solve many theoretical problems in the development of ancient literature in China. The existing works of southern opera are the earliest and relatively complete works in the history of traditional opera, which can represent the style of "vulgar" literature in the early stage of development. Therefore, a correct understanding and evaluation of the value and significance of the early Southern Opera is one of the key issues to solve the law of the development of literary history.
Due to the lack of data, it is difficult to sort out many contexts in the study of China ancient operas, especially the Southern Opera. For a long time, the study of southern opera has been regarded as the "missing link" in the study of ancient literary history [1], which makes sense. During the three years from 19 12 to 19 13, Wang Guowei's Textual Research on Song and Yuan Opera was serialized in Shanghai Oriental Magazine. 1920, Ye Gongchuo bought Yongle dadian (volume 1399 1) from a small antique shop in London, England. The third kind of drama, Zhang Xie's champion, is included in it, which is an early southern opera that has been lost. In 1930s, a group of scholars realized the significance of ancient opera research to the development of China literature. They are not afraid of difficulties and devote themselves to the study of Southern Opera with a serious attitude. During this period, Mr. Feng, Zheng Zhenduo, Zhao, Qian Nanyang, etc. sorted out the lost songs of South Opera in the Song and Yuan Dynasties according to the materials such as New Poems of South Jiugong, Old Poems of South Jiugong, Yong Xi Yuefu, Poems of South and North Jiugong and Early Jiugong. Zheng Zhenduo's Illustrated History of China Literature, Zhao's Opera Skills in Song and Yuan Dynasties, Qian Nanyang's Hundred Records of Southern Opera in Song and Yuan Dynasties, and Lu Kanru and Feng's Supplement to Southern Opera have been published successively. In the 1950s, Qian Nanyang's Collection of Southern Opera in Song and Yuan Dynasties was also officially published. At this point, the true face of the early southern opera was revealed. These research results, which have condensed the painstaking efforts of many experts, are really hard-won. However, there are still some limitations in the study of Southern Opera. This paper only talks about some superficial views on the unearthed works of southern operas in Song and Yuan Dynasties, and does not involve controversial topics for the time being.
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The impact of "vulgar" literature on orthodox "elegant" literature mainly lies in the freshness, vividness and militancy of its works and its huge readership and audience. The appearance of Southern Opera in Song and Yuan Dynasties embodies the significance of "vulgar" literature.
The term "old pieces from Song and Yuan Dynasties" can be found in Xu Wei's book "Narration of Southern Ci" in Ming Dynasty, which mainly refers to the southern opera works that once produced between Song and Yuan Dynasties. Most of these works have been lost. Xu Wei lived in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, and it has been a long time from the perspective of Ming people, so it is called "Song and Yuan Old Articles".
"Vulgar" literature did not appear until the Song and Yuan Dynasties, and its embryonic form can be traced back to a longer time. But because it has always been a vassal of "elegant" literature, it has always been despised by the ruling class and literati, and has never been elegant. As far as China's traditional operas are concerned, there were budding ancient operas in China before the appearance of Southern Opera. You Meng Yi Guan [2], Dong Hai Huang Gong [3], Da Mian [4], Guo Gaitou [5], stepping on a girl [6] and joining the army [7] are all ancient drama forms in different historical periods before the Tang Dynasty. During the Song, Jin and Yuan Dynasties, Southern Opera developed simultaneously with Song Zaju and Jin Harmony. According to "Old Wulin Stories", Tao's "Dropping out of Farming" and other books, there are more than 280 kinds of zaju works in the Song Dynasty and more than 690 kinds of books in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties. Unfortunately, only one or two titles survived, and all the works were lost.
Judging from the works handed down to this day, the Southern Opera in the Song and Yuan Dynasties and the Zaju in the Yuan Dynasty are undoubtedly the first golden age in the history of China opera development. Although Southern Opera and Yuan Zaju have the same status, their fates are totally different. There are more than 65,438+000 complete works of Yuan Zaju handed down from ancient times, such as Selected Works of Yuan Qu and Thirty Kinds of Yuan Zaju, as well as monographs such as Ghost Record by Zhong Sicheng, Yin Zhengpu by Zhu Quan and Central Plains Rhyme by Zhou Deqing, as well as many records and comments of music theorists in Ming and Qing Dynasties. In contrast, the handed down works and research materials of Nanxi Opera are much less. Xu Wei's "Narration of Southern Ci" said: "There is no anthology of Southern Opera, and there is no one who expresses its name." During his illness in Fujian, he only "recorded all kinds of drama titles" and did not choose Selected Works of Southern Opera like Uncle Zang Jin. The lack of existing South Opera works and research materials may be related to some prejudices of scholars in Yuan and Ming Dynasties. The monograph of the Yuan Dynasty mentioned that the drama of the Southern Song Dynasty was "the voice of national subjugation" [9], and the works of the Ming Dynasty also held this attitude.
Listen, the Northern Song Dynasty makes people proud, and their hair is spilled, which is enough to make people brave ..., while the Southern Song Dynasty makes people feel ashamed of what they keep and unconsciously believe in the gentleness of the South. The so-called "voice of national subjugation" is already ... "[10]
Haiyan in Jiaxing, Yuyao in Shaoxing, Cixi in Ningbo, Huangyan in Taizhou and Yongjia in Wenzhou are all called actors. It plays a legend. Without women, there is nothing. Without crying, there is nothing, which makes people feel sad and covers up the voice of national subjugation in the Southern Song Dynasty. [1 1] The lack of understanding of Southern Opera by the literati in the Yuan Dynasty may also be related to the suppression of southerners by the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty. The legal ethnic classes in the Yuan Dynasty were four-class, namely, Mongolian, Semu, Han and Nanren. Southerners have the lowest status, and southern opera may be affected.
Scholars in Ming Dynasty have to pay attention to the value and influence of Southern Opera, but they also hold certain prejudices. Therefore, many music theorists have left records about Southern Opera, some of which are correct, some of which are confirmed by later scholars, which are not necessarily in line with the reality of the development of Southern Opera, and some are even wrong. For example, when the South Opera and the Yuan Zaju appeared, which came first, such as "The West Chamber in the north and the Zaju in the south" [12], "Ming Xing, caught by the wind, turned north to south" [13], "Zaju in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties became famous, and the legend of the beginning of the country" [6544]. It should be said that in the works of Ming people, Xu Wei and his Narrative of Nanci really understand Nanci and can give a fair evaluation.
Southern Opera began in Song Guangzong Dynasty, and Yongjia people produced Zhao Zhennv and Wang Kui, the first two. Therefore, in Liu Hou village, there is a saying, "Who is responsible after death? The whole village has heard about Cai Zhonglang "[16]. Or Yun Xuanhe has its origin, but its popularity is from Du Nan, nicknamed Yongjia Zaju.
-Xu Wei's "Narration of Nanci"
After the declaration of peace, the Southern Opera was called Wenzhou Zaju when it crossed the South.
-Zhu Yunming, "Talking about Accusations"
The above statement can provide us with the initial situation of southern opera. The time difference between Xuanhe in the Northern Song Dynasty and Guangzong in the Southern Song Dynasty is about 70 years. If mature Southern Opera works such as Zhao Zhennv and Wang Kui began in Guangzong Dynasty, there should be a process of germination and gradual evolution before mature works appear, so it makes sense to say that "Xuanhe has developed". This just shows that the time when the Southern Opera came into being was much earlier than that of the Northern Opera in the Yuan Dynasty. Since Southern Opera represents the earliest development achievements of ancient operas, the existing works of Southern Opera in Song and Yuan Dynasties are of great significance for investigating and discussing the early style and development track of ancient literature from "elegance" to "vulgarity" in a specific historical period.