Nanxi
Encyclopedia
Nanxi is an early form of Chinese
drama
, developed from ancient traditions of mime
, singing, and dancing during the Song Dynasty
in the 12th century AD. The name means literally "Southern drama", and the form originated in the area around Wenzhou
in Southern China.
Nanxi started as combinations of Song plays and local folk songs and ballad
s, using colloquial language and large numbers of scenes. As with Western operetta
, spoken passages alternated with verses (qu) set to popular music. Professional companies of actors performed nanxi in theatres that could hold thousands of spectators. Nanxi developed into the later and more complex dramatic form known as chuanqi
, and later still into kunqu
.
Nanxi had seven role types, many of which were seen in later Chinese opera forms. Sheng were heroic male character and Dan heroines. Mo, Jing, Chou, Wai, and Hou (also called Tie) were less defined roles, and actors in these role types portrayed a variety of characters in the same play. The role types of later forms of Chinese opera were made more strict, but can be seen to have their roots in Nanxi.
Due to its coarse language, rough prosody, and unsophisticated literary style, nanxi was not mentioned in contemporary historiography and had been virtually forgotten by scholars after the mid-16th century. Of the large numbers of Nanxi originally written, only 283 titles and 20 play texts survive.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, developed from ancient traditions of mime
Mime artist
A mime artist is someone who uses mime as a theatrical medium or as a performance art, involving miming, or the acting out a story through body motions, without use of speech. In earlier times, in English, such a performer was referred to as a mummer...
, singing, and dancing during the Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
in the 12th century AD. The name means literally "Southern drama", and the form originated in the area around Wenzhou
Wenzhou
Wenzhou is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. The area under its jurisdiction, which includes two satellite cities and six counties, had a population of 9,122,100 as of 2010....
in Southern China.
Nanxi started as combinations of Song plays and local folk songs and ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
s, using colloquial language and large numbers of scenes. As with Western operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
, spoken passages alternated with verses (qu) set to popular music. Professional companies of actors performed nanxi in theatres that could hold thousands of spectators. Nanxi developed into the later and more complex dramatic form known as chuanqi
Chuanqi
Chuanqi is a classical Chinese literary form of the Tang and Song dynasties, consisting of short stories involving mystical, fantastical or legendary elements. It is distinct from the dramatic form of chuanqi, but is written with the same characters...
, and later still into kunqu
Kunqu
Kunqu , also known as Kunju , Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The style originated in the Wu cultural area...
.
Nanxi had seven role types, many of which were seen in later Chinese opera forms. Sheng were heroic male character and Dan heroines. Mo, Jing, Chou, Wai, and Hou (also called Tie) were less defined roles, and actors in these role types portrayed a variety of characters in the same play. The role types of later forms of Chinese opera were made more strict, but can be seen to have their roots in Nanxi.
Due to its coarse language, rough prosody, and unsophisticated literary style, nanxi was not mentioned in contemporary historiography and had been virtually forgotten by scholars after the mid-16th century. Of the large numbers of Nanxi originally written, only 283 titles and 20 play texts survive.
Sources
- Encyclopædia Britannica 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. 19 January 2006 nan-hsi
- Cultures & Literatures of Asia — Cora Agatucci