Theatre In Ancient China And The Yaun And Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty is an important aspect of Chinese history.  Lasting from 618 AD to 907 AD, it received the nickname “The Golden Age of Ancient China” because it was a very prosperous time.  This powerful empire came into control when the reign of the Sui Dynasty before it ended.

The Tang and Song dynasties in China existed between 618 to 1279 CE. Throughout this period, there were many developments in art, poetry, and technology. China was highly influential all around the world. It became known as the Golden Age of China. With advances in technology and ideas that could improve the everyday life, a unified government, and a strong economic system, the Tang and Song dynasties became the Golden Age of China.

The theatre has been a part of entertainment since ancient Greece, around 4th century BC or thereabouts. The theatre grew out of festivals in honor of the god Dionysus. Aeschylus created the first play in her honor. The first Greek plays were all tragedies but eventually comedy made its way and these plays were performed at festivals all over Greece. Through the centuries theater played the main role of entertainment from noble and royalty to the common person in any city or village, and as we move into the twenties

For centuries classical Chinese dance was passed down mostly among the common people. After 1919, however, dedicated artists believed that they had a responsibility to systematically document Chinese dance—that was the beginning of the formal teaching of classical Chinese dance. To develop and rejuvenate folk dance, the artists learned from dance elements of folk operas, and incorporated techniques in ballet training and Chinese martial art forms, creating a unique system of classical Chinese dance.

The definition of a Golden Age is a time of economic, political, technological, and social improvement and advance at a great level. The Tang and Song Dynasties are very important to the history of Chinese civilization. The Tang Era is the most well-known dynasty in Chinese history, mainly because the empire was the largest, richest and most sophisticated state in the world at the time. The Song Era had far-reaching impacts economically, culturally, and socially. During the Song Era, there was major development in urbanization. The Tang and Song Eras are commonly referred to as being the basis of a Golden Age of Chinese civilization because they were two major time periods in which stunning development in China took place.

Following the collapse of the Han Dynasty in 220, China declined into an elongated term of division. China was divided and in a time of war, with a lack of leadership. It was only in the Sui Dynasty (589-618) reunited North and South China as one. The Tang (618-906) and Song (960 - 1279) Dynasties that followed created the “Golden Ages of China”. Although the Tang and Song Dynasties existed in a similar time and had a similar economy, there are also many differences between the influential dynasties such as certain aspects of their society and politics.

China has changed in certain ways and remained the same in others from the early Golden Ages to the late 1900s. China has experienced a series of cultural and political transformations, shaping the lives of many Chinese citizens. Culturally, the country’s art and literature hardly changed for almost eight hundred years. Along with their culture, China remained politically the same from the beginning of the Golden Ages all the way until the 1800s. On the other hand, China’s government and society were restructured after new leaders took over. From a monarch to total communism, China’s society had a multitude of new ideas and policies they had to adapt to.

It ran along the eastern shore of China and it controlled most of central Asia. The Tang had many tributary states surrounding it that gave tribute to them every certain amount of time. These states weren’t under the rule of the Tang but they followed what the Tang leaders told them to do. The Tang, like many other civilizations, farmed for their food and used the flooding of their rivers to grow crops. Their geographic location helped them be able to do this because if they didn’t have a food surplus, they wouldn’t be able to make major accomplishments. The Tang dynasty was created because of many reasons. Once the Han dynasty fell, many of the people didn’t think that China could ever be unified again. This belief was proved wrong after the Sui dynasty came to power in 589, not too long after the Han fell. The Sui dynasty did not last long and ended in 618, because they taxed everyone too much and the leader was ruthless. Although it was very short, the Sui dynasty set up the Tang dynasty for success. The Tang came to power because of a bad leader in a previous dynasty. The rise of the Tang was exactly the same as the rise of the Han and many historians use this example to show that history repeats itself. The Tang went on to last from 618 to 907 and made many accomplishments throughout this time

The Tang Dynasty was a period characterized by thriving prosperity and flourishing arts. Unlike previous periods fluxing between unity and disunion, the Tang established a reunification of China that lasted over three centuries and made China renowned as the most advanced civilization in the world at that time. Many of its achievements, including its unique art styles such as sancai art, provided inspiration for proceeding dynasties thereafter.

China has a long and mysterious history of almost five thousand years. China can trace her culture back to a blend of small original tribes which have expanded until they became the great country we have today. Each rise and fall of a dynasty created new leaders, new laws, new rules, and usually new expansion. Chinese history is that of alternating periods of political unity and disunity. The rise and fall of many dynasties created a rocky path in Chinas

Theatre today as in ancient Greek times is a popular form of entertainment. Today’s theatres share many similarities with the Greek predecessors however they are also very different. There are in fact many differences for example; layout, special effects, seating arrangement, the importance of drama and religion, setting, location and architectural features.

The Peony Pavilion is a Chinese play written by Tang Xianzu and first performed as Kunqu in 1598. Tang Xianzu was one of the greatest poet-playwright that lived in Ming dynasty of China. The Peony Pavilion was a very popular play at that time, and it was also a very long play that had total fifty-five scenes. The Peony Pavilion is not only telling a story of love but also proved true love can beat everything including feudal society and death.

Rhoads Murphey describes the history of China history is on the succession of dynasties that ruled it over a period of time until around 1912 when Republic of china was formed before rising to the current People’s Republic of China was formed in 1949. In China, a dynasty was made up of Kings or emperors that came from the same family. They ruled in succession where a king could be inherited by his son or his immediate relatives. Although china’s history is majorly regarded on the basis of dynastic ruling, other small kingdoms were established that ruled different part of china. For example, in 200AD, the fall of great Han dynasty triggered formation of smaller kingdoms all over the china which were later united by a short lived Sui Dynasty that reigned between 580 and 618 AD.

Dramatic arts became an essential and esteemed form of entertainment during the Song Dynasty. The Chinese theater ran the gamut of all possible kinds of play or composition. A testament to the Song’s work toward variety in entertainment “the drama made quite a feature of short farcical scenes, acrobatic turns and satirical

Theatre is an art that transcends time and builds a new world for the audience atop the stage. A play is defined as “a dramatic composition” or “the stage representation of an action or story” (The Merriam-Webster Dictionary). This refers to drama being performed live by actors on a stage. Ancient Greece is accredited to inventing theatre and drama. In Greece during that time, at the height of popularity, were the stories of the well known flawed heroes and their journeys.