In the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD),
Baixi(Variety Show) came into being.
Baixiis a collective name of folk dances, acrobatics, Wuxu (martial art) and magic of the Han Dynasty. In the reign of Emperor Wudi,
Yuefu(music bureau) was set up and folk songs popular among the ordinary people were collected, pushing forward the development of music and dancing. The Silk Road promoted cultural exchange between central plains and the western regions. As a result, variety show experienced unprecedented development and royal courts also began to launch large-scale variety show performances.
Among all the programs of variety show, a program that featured comic feats wasJiaodi(an ancient wrestling skill).Jiaodiwas originally a feat between two persons to show their wrestle strength and both sumo and wrestling aftertime originated fromJiaodi. It was performed by athletes wearing ox horns and wrestling with each other imitating wild oxen.
Jiaodiperformance was enjoyable and amusing. At that time, actors and actresses tried to display stories of life through theirJiaodifeat soJiaodicontests transformed into a kind of dramaJiaodiand, as a result,Jiaodidrama came into being. DramaMr. Huang in the East Seatells a story that at the end of the Qin Dynasty (221-206BC), Mr. Huang, a man capable of theurgy, went to the East Sea to subdue a white tiger. Unfortunately, his theurgy failed and he was killed by the tiger. In the drama, there are performances of man and the tiger fighting fiercely and the tiger killing the man.
The dramatis personae, the plots, conflicts, and ending are all preset in the drama, so it is obviously no longer theJiaodithat tries to find out the stronger contestant. It is no wonder that drama historians regardMr. Huang in the East Seaas the rudiment, and collective performances of Variety Show as the cradle, of Chinese drama.
Email to Friends
Print
Save