元雜劇の開場について

Abstract

It is indispensable that any research dealing with the dramatic genre should begin with a fundamental study of the actual performantes on stage. The study of this aspect in Yüan Tsa-chü, however, is severely hindered by the lack of relevant materials. A lot of the extant scripts of Yüan Tsa-chü are incomplete, thus making it difficult for us to understand from them details about their performances on stage. But since it is generally agreed that the stage of Yüan Tsa-chü belongs to the group of "Open Stage", we may reckon that the actural opening of these Tsa-chü were not identical to what we can find in the extant scripts. Here we must keep our eyes on the role of the Ch'ung-mo 冲末, a unique creation in the Yüan Tsa-chü which appears only in the opening scene of the play. In the Nei-fu-pen 内府本 texts which are written exclusively for performances in the emperor's palace, the Ch'ung-mo in a lot of cases also adds other Chüe-se 脚色. This reveals the fact that the Ch'ung-mo and the other Chüe-se are different in nature. Examining the classification of the Ch'ung-mo, we may notice that the greater part of them belongs either to the Wai 外 (the senior or the governor) or the Ching 淨 (the clown). We may therefore logically assume that the former suggests the existence of a prologue recited by the senior or the governor while the latter suggests a prologue or a farcical introduction by the clown. This may result from the fact that the original scripts for Yüan Tsa-chü were written prior to the performances and that they were subjected to alterations during actual performances in the theatre. The inclusion of the Ch'ung-mo appears in the Nei-fu-pen which are intended as basic scripts for stage performances, though this still remains at the level of conjecture. Since there are two different texts, on the one hand the 'original' text which follows faithfully the author's own intentions, and on the other hand, the Nei-fu-pen which contains the later additions, by comparison of the two, we may have better understanding of the way in which these alterations evolved. Two of the works of the early Ming writer Chou-hwien-wang Chu Yu-tun 周憲王朱有燉 exist in both these forms.