The other type of drama, known. as the wen or "civil," is cha terized by many soli of the quiet sort and accompanied by the iw'ehin, the rythmie beating of wooden clappers, and sometimes the additional notes of flutes. The ching-sheng and ching-i, the types for the leading male and female roles respectively, which appear in these dramas, com-
To the European eye, some of the most popular of dramas are viously slow in action. An instance is "The Strategy of the Empty City (Kung Ch'eng Chi), a rare exception lof the Three Kingdoms Plays, which is composed of little military display and almost entirely vocal. To the auslander, it seems that a very complacent gentlemen, who is perpetually waving a feather fa mounts to a cloth representation of 2 city wall to sit above it ang dandle the feeble strings of an ancient instrument! He sings several long arias. Two clowns, supposed to be old citizens, sweep the space before the gate; some generals arrive on the scene, stare at the enigmatical smile of the nian with the fan, and after singing a few robust lines, depart—and the play is over.
To the Chinese spectator, however, in the situation is an extremely exciting one. The story has to do with the supreme strategist, Chu Ko-liang, who on discovering that he cannot defend the city against the overwhelming numbers of the enemy, decides to leave the gate wide open. When the enemy arrives he sends out two citizens to sweep the ground if nothing unusual were in the air and he himself, beaming with his cunning smile, takes a seat on the wall, fingering the musical inst ment. The opposing generals arrive and are certain that the scheming Chu Ko-ting has laid for them an ambush and depart in great hast Thus, by means of an empty city; the wily strategist again saved the eay. This subtle manner of out-wilting the enemy is, in the Chinese mind, much more, praiseworthy than the achievements of the battlefield.
The Tearful Hero Another. perennially popular drama of the "civil" type is "Szalong Calling on his Mother," which averages at least two or three performances a week in Shanghai, This is one of the standard tests of leading male vocalists. In the opening scene, the- hero, a Chinese general, who' had been captureq by the barbarians and forced to wed the cess, sits in the palace grieving. for his' native land. He usually wears red imperial robes and in his head-dress are the pair of long phear sant plumes, the-sign of a barbarian. Sitting very close to the footlights and facing the audience, he tells, in the character manner, Jjust who he is and his troubles, finally breaking into the renowned aria, explaining that he is "like a bird which, though it has wings, cannot fly from its cage....like a fierce tiger away from its native mountain Later, his wife, dresseq in dainty 'Manchu' costume, enters with their baby. After the has extracted from him the reason for his downhearted. ness, she promises to obtain from her queen mother the imperial symbol, which will make it possible for bim {to pass the barriers and finally reach home. However, husband kneel to Heaven and Earth in order to make sure that the man will return. The delightful manner in which the wife teases her sullen hue. band, the delicate facial expression, and the interchange of confidences make the scene altogether! pleasing. Bidding his wife a tearful adieu, the hero takes his whip and out of barbarian territory, ly arriving at the borders of hi ind, which is the occasion for singing another beautiful aria. When mother and son meet, there' ere tears of joy, then, tears of separation, for the latter' must keep kis promise to his barbarian wife,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.