Zaju was a form ofChinese opera which provided entertainment through a synthesis of recitations of prose and poetry, dance, singing, and mime, with a certain emphasis oncomedy (or, happy endings). Although with diverse and earlier roots,zaju has particularly been associated with the time of theYuan dynasty (1271–1368), andzaju remains important in terms of the historical study of the theater arts as well asClassical Chinese literature andpoetry.Zaju is known to have been performed during the earlierSong (960–1279) andJin (1115–1234) dynasties. The various particulars of thezaju multimedia performance were derived from many and diverse sources of musical, dance, poetry, and theater traditions.

The Yuanzaju were poetic music dramas comprising four acts, with the "act" (齣,chu) defined as a set of songs following and completing a certain musical modal progression. Occasionally one or two "wedges" (楔子,xiezi), or short interludes in the form of anaria performed by another character might be added to either support or enhance the plot. Within the acts, lyrics were written to accompany existing tunes or set-rhythmic patterns; and, the major singing roles were restricted to one star per act.^[1] Thezaju featured particular specialized roles for performers, such asdan (female),sheng (male),hua (花,painted-face) andchou (clown). In addition to these main roles there were also a collection of side roles known as 'waijiao' (extra roles) and these consisted of: the jiatou (emperor), the beauty pining in her boudoir, the bawd, the coquettish young girl, the high official, the poor, the brigand, the government servant and those categories concerning immortals and Taoist deliverance, and family matters.^[2]

On one hand, thezaju theater is the product of a long process of Chinese art, music, and poetry; on the other hand, thezaju also appears as a phenomenon resulting from a combination of cultures of Eurasia over time.Zaju had its genesis even before theYuan dynasty (1271–1368).^[3] Zaju was verified as a variety play in North China in the course of the Northern Song dynasty.Zaju was performed during theSong dynasty (960–1279), particularly the Northern Song period (960–1127), as well as the JurchenJin dynasty (1115–1234), which succeeded it in northern China.^[4][5]

Zaju is now best known now from its high development during the Yuan dynasty, which was founded by theMongol Empire under the leadership ofKublai Khan. Significant surviving literature exists from this period, including around two-hundred written scripts forzaju performances. Although the Yuan was the first non-Han dynasty to rule over China fully, varying ethno-musico influences had already made an effect upon the culture of China, most relevantly in terms of the mix of arts that went on to coalesce as the mixedzaju ("variety theater"): this encompassed poetry, gymnastics, orchestral music, set design, along with the other arts required for this complex form of theater art. Major questions remain about the relationships between this artistic and political process in regards to how it is known in relationship to thezaju form of art. The Yuan succeeded the previous dynasties which controlled parts of China: theJurchenJin dynasty, theTangutWestern Xia (1038–1227), and theHanSong dynasty. The transitions between the various political regimes tended to involve war, death, and disorder in a large scale. However, various cultural and artistic contributions from these diverse sources melded together to help form thezaju performances: musical modes of the steppes, traditional Chineseshi andci poetry, the newly developed and embeddedqu lyrics, acrobatics, and dance, combined with the other varieties of artistic performance to contribute to the mix whichzaju represents. Accompanyingmusical notation is evidently lacking; instead, the tune to which an aria was meant to be sung is indicated in the text by the title of a popular song or aria using the same tune. Generally, information about performances derives from preserved literary texts:arias,libretti, and/or other forms of stage direction.

Much of the information on Yuan era plays (that is, "operas") and playwrights derives from a book written during this time period which is entitledRegister of Ghosts.^[6] Famous playwrights (that is, authors ofzaju) include:

• Guan Hanqing, author ofThe Injustice to Dou E
• Bo Renfu,^[7] author ofRain on the Paulownia Tree, a story onEmperor Xuanzong of Tang and his ladyYang Guifei
• Ma Zhiyuan, author ofAutumn in Han Palace and six other extantzaju plays
• Zheng Guangzu, author ofQiannü’s Soul Leaves Her Body
• Wang Shifu, who wrote the popular playRomance of the Western Chamber
• Li Qianfu, who wroteCircle of Chalk
• Yuan Zuguang, who wrote several plays, includingFrowning Landlord andThe Heavenly Music, which reflected elements of theWuxu Reform.^[8]

Zaju drama was performed by four to five actors. There were three parts in the performance of Zaju^[9] drama; first part (Yanduan) was the introduction, the second part was the stories were being told -- it is considered the main play as it carries the content of the show; the third part (Sanduan) was always a humorous ending. Each character had restricted singing roles as it will be a lot easier for the performance to flow accordingly. Acts were also given distinct rhymes but the melodies were given to those of the Beijing region.

In contrast to Elizabethan theater where Males would cross-dress as females during plays due to only male actors being allowed on stage, in Zaju and other Yuan drama, cross-dressing was very common, the majority of performers for Zaju were actually female and they would play a variety of male roles on the stage such as the jiatou or a 'soft' male lead.

Zaju represents a period in the development of theChinese Opera. In terms of the history of theatrical performance, thezaju's contributions to Chinese theater include the received legacies from previous forms of theatrical performance, the transformations based on the influence of these, and the legacy which thezaju performances in passed on to future performers and performances. On a more purely literary level, much of thepoetry of the Yuan period is in the form of thequ poetry verse, which basically became an independent form of art, removed from its original theatrical and orchestral context: written after the model of the cadences, or set tone patterns, known from the arias of thezaju theater, the ChineseSanqu poetry eventually became a separate tradition, in the category of poetic literature, rather than in the category of the performing arts.^[10] During the Yuan dynasty the prestige of both theater and of the use of vernacular language in art and literature were probably related to the fact that the new Mongol dominated regime less understood the older, classical language and forms. Rather, the new Mongol elite appreciated the theater and the use of vernacular language. Compared to the traditional Chineseshì, orscholar-officials or emperors, the newcomers were not so literately erudite or oriented, much less were they appreciative of the ancient forms, expressions, and allusions, legacy of more than a millennium.Zaju took much of its characteristics from both this emphasis on the vernacular speech, as well as the lowered prestige of traditional scholarly literature. Also, founding emperor Kublai Khan suspended the traditionalcivil service tests, which emphasized learning of the ancient classical tradition, thus both lowering the prestige of this course of learning and also reducing the opportunities for scholar-officials to engage in traditional career paths. This resulted in opportunities for aspiring playwrights to write forzaju, both for those playwrights relatively new to literature and for those members of the traditionalshi class who could no longer succeed as poets and essayists, and were willing to embrace thezaju.^[11] During the Ming era a subset of zaju were coined as 'jiatou zaju' which were any zaju play that contained the waijiao; jiatou or jia which referred to the emperor role, which during these times the jiatou zaju were outlawed and any impersonation of the emperor on stage was prohibited. This prohibition of the jiatou zaju extended beyond just the role of the emperor but also king, empress, concubine or even a loyal minister, anyone who violated this mandate of the Ming era was to be caned one hundred times, not only that but any official or household that allowed these roles to be performed receive the same disciplinary action. The long-term legacy of thezaju theater was thus not only regarding the development of Chinese opera over subsequent centuries into the present day; but, also, despite the ensuing Ming dynasty restoration of prestige to legacy literary forms, thezaju form contributed to the increased prestige and popularity of vernacular forms such as the novel which ensued in theMing dynasty literature.

• Crump, J. I. (1990).Chinese Theater in the Days of Kublai Khan (Reprint ed.). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies.ISBN 0-89264-093-6.
• Min Tian. “Stage Directions in the Performance of Yuan Drama,”Comparative Drama 39.3/4 (Fall 2005-06): 397-443.
• Rossabi, Morris (1988).Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times. Berkeley: University of California Press.ISBN 0-520-05913-1
• Sieber, Patricia (2003).Theaters of Desire: Authors, Readers, and the Reproduction of Early Chinese Song-Drama, 1300-2000. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.ISBN 978-1-4039-6194-5.
• Yip, Wai-lim (1997).Chinese Poetry: An Anthology of Major Modes and Genres. Durham: Duke University Press.ISBN 0-8223-1946-2.
•  Tian, Min. “Stage Directions in the Performance of Yuan Drama.” Comparative drama 39, no. 3/4 (2005): 397–443.
• Tian Yuan Tan (2004) PROHIBITION OF JIATOU ZAJU IN THE MING DYNASTY AND THE PORTRAYAL OF THE EMPEROR ON STAGE, Ming Studies, 2004:1, 82-111, DOI: 10.1179/014703704788762826

• Dolby, William (1976).A History of Chinese Drama. London: Elek.ISBN 023630903X.
• Mackerras, Colin (1990).Chinese Drama: A Historical Survey. Beijing: New World Press.ISBN 7800050963.

• Chinese opera
• Yuan dynasty plays
• Theatre of China

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