Springing from story cycles made familiar by professional storytellers, Yuan plays relied for their appeal on romantic or sentimental plots. During the Ming dynasty the drama utilized the plots of popular novels. Until the 19th century Chinese drama was not spoken; it was a mixture of music and declamation. It is frequently infused with sadness, Often involving the deaths of women Chinese drama was written for a popular audience, and dramatic performances took place in virtually every village.

In the West, Chinese drama has traditionally been regarded as entertainment rather than a serious art form. In Chinese drama no attempt is made at realism, props and scenery are symbolic (for instance, a flag represents an army) the property man is present on stage; characters at times directly address the audience. Often only parts of plays are performed, or scenes are performed in random sequence.

Among the masterpieces of Chinese drama are

The Injustice Suffered by Tou F - Kuan Han-hsaing,

The Western Chamber by Wang Shi-fu,

The Orphan of the House of Chao- Chi Chun-hsaing

The Peony Pavilion by Tang Hsien-tsu (16

A spectator of a Kabuki play should forget modern common sense, scientific analysis, logical reasoning, and rational examination - all for the nonce. One might as well climb a tree in quest of fish as to expect logic and rationality in a Kabuki play. In this sense the Kabuki is decidedly not to be classed with modern drama, which is entirely based on the story structure, but with music, dancing, painting, and sculpture of the classical type. The life of the present-day Japanese is only scantily represented in a Kabuki play.

The Palace of Long Life by Hung Sheng (17th cent.)

The Kabuki is a classical play for the masses and rich in artistic qualities. It naturally follows that the Kabuki is presented in large theatres, and not, as with modern plays of the West, in a small theatre intended to serve the sole purpose of art for its own sake.

The history of storytelling can be traced back to the 1500's, a period where the Japan was in a feudal state with warring groups invading and betraying each other. The warriors were wise not to sleep deeply or go to sleep to early, due to their fears of assassins. Entertainers called otogishu were hired to keep there master awake by amusing him with episodes and stories of famous warlords. By the early 17th century, Japan was in peace under Tokugawa Shoguns, when the first collection of stories told by the otogishnu, Kigenyokishu, was published and gained popularity.

Shortly afterward, male actors monopolized the drama, and features of the Noh, a classical play of music and dance, were incorporated into the Kabuki. The present stage of development has been attained through the efforts of male players alone. The earliest period of the Kabuki, when it consisted of dancing only by female players, was of short duration. After the cast came to be made up entirely by male players, the Kabuki play was designed to tell a story and it was enriched in its contents. The foundation of the present-day Kabuki was thus laid in those early days.

"Kabuki" is a type of acting based on the arts of singing and dancing. It will thus be seen that Kabuki is not acting, pure and simple; it is basically different from Western drama. In Kabuki the play, singing and dancing, occurs duri

Some common words found in the essay are:
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