戲曲荊釵記はいかに改作されているか

Abstract

The drama Ching-ch'ai-chi 荊釵記, which has enjoyed a long popularity, is believed to have been written in the early part of the Ming dynasty. All the texts in existence at present, however, were adapted in the middle or latter part of the Ming. Some of these texts are more florid in expression, while others differ in construction from what we can surmise of the original. Thus it is obvious that the texts we have at present have not preserved the exact form of the original. Though it is impossible at this time to determine who the adapters of these texts were, I am inclined to believe that Li Chingyün 李景雲, whose name is mentioned as the author of this drama in the Nan-tz'u hsü-lu 南詞敍錄, is the same man as Li Jih-hua 李日華 who adapted the drama Hsi-hsiang-chi 西廂記 from pei-ch'ü (northern style) 北曲 to nan-ch'ü (Southern style) 南曲. This leads me to conclude that Li Ching-yün was the adapter, not the original author, of this famous drama.