On the Establishment of the Dramatic Historiography Tradition in Chinese Opera

In the historical evolution and era-specific transformations of Chinese traditional opera, a dramatic historiography tradition has gradually taken shape and persisted. This tradition originated in the Southern Opera (Nanxi) of the Song and Yuan dynasties and the Zaju(杂剧) of the Yuan dynasty, and was further consolidated in the Chuanqi and Zaju (传奇杂剧) of the Ming dynasty. The emergence of The Peach Blossom Fan (桃花扇Tao Hua Shan) in the early Qing dynasty marked the formal establishment of the dramatic historiography tradition, which was sustained and inherited in the subsequent Chuanqi and Zaju works, and further strengthened and highlighted in the Chuanqi and Zaju of the late Qing dynasty and the Republic of China period. In contrast, Peking Opera, other regional operas of the "Huabu" (花部), and the early modern drama introduced from the West and Japan took distinct developmental paths during the same period.The dramatic historiography tradition is not only a crucial ideological and artistic tradition of Chinese traditional opera culture, as well as a concentrated manifestation of the ideological traditions and spiritual pursuits of Chinese literature in the field of traditional opera, but also a product nurtured by the core spirit, value orientation, and fundamental character of traditional Chinese ideology and culture. It reflects the pragmatic spirit embedded in traditional Chinese academic thought—an emphasis on history and reality, a focus on historical events, and a commitment to addressing the practical concerns of the times—within the domain of opera.In current researches on Chinese traditional opera, excessive emphasis on so-called "lyricism" and "rebelliousness" should be avoided, as this has led to a noticeable neglect or overshadowing of the long-standing dramatic historiography tradition. The dramatic historiography tradition of Chinese traditional opera not only deserves explicit recognition and appropriate evaluation in Chinese traditional opera studies, but also retains valuable ideological and cultural significance for inheritance and reference, as well as enlightening and cautionary implications in the contemporary era.