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At the beginning of the 20th century, churches brought the western religious culture toChina, together with the literary works and dramas.

The Christian culture, in the spiritual term, provided an important source for some of the Chinese dramatists and therefore influenced the development of Chinese dramas in many ways:

First, the first western dramas performed inChinawere the oratorios in the Mission Schools, which shared some basic elements of dramas. Like dramas, the oratorio also took the worldly life as the main subject, with a strong sense of sarcasm, and influenced early Chinese dramas in mainly two aspects: the form of drama -- figures speak instead of singing; the notion of drama -- they pursue the realistic and life-like performance in stead of the traditional symbolic and fictitious way.

Second, the connection between Christian culture and Chinese modern drama mainly lies in the translation, adaptation and performance of the interpreted and adopted plays. The interpreters and adapters at that time turned their focus from scripts related to the Christian culture to plays that tookthe Bibleas the theme, but the purpose was not to missionize: first, they intended to break away from the scriptures though the themes were from them; and second, they intended to denounce the oriental ghosts in virtue to western gods.

And third, modern playwrights shifted their focus from play scripts of Christian culture to the connotations of Christian culture. The combination of Chinese drama and Christian culture was an important condition for the transformation and development of Chinese drama, and made Chinese drama more colorful and diversified.