China Reinterpreted by Shingchi Yip Leo;

Author:Shingchi Yip, Leo;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: undefined
Publisher: Lexington Books
Published: 2012-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

The Sympathized Other and the Distanced Self

The stories of Wang Zhaojun and Yang Guifei have ample earlier renditions written by well-known Japanese literati, therefore Shōkun and Yōkihi conjure up various traditional referenences to the Muromachi audience. In China, authors were inevitably held up to the sociopolitical analysis of their interpretations of Wang Zhaojun’s and Yang Guifei’s stories and therefore might have been more inclined to justify the meaning of their interpretations. In Japan, authors were of course not susceptible to the same constraints, though they were likely responsive to the Japanese reception of their interpretations. The playwrights of Shōkun and Yōkihi retold the Chinese stories in the light of Muromachi Japanese social, cultural, and political ideologies that underscore different aspects in contrast to the various interpretations in earlier Chinese renditions. Both plays depoliticized the Chinese stories to suit domestic tastes. Unlike the Chinese, who focused on the moral of the stories by scrutinizing the misbehavior of various human figures and charged the stories with didactic intent, the two plays are more concerned with constructing the Chinese characters as someone the Japanese audience would sympathize with. Shōkun disregards the political implications such as the misrepresenting portrait that exposes the corrupt system of the Chinese court, the virtuous image of Wang Zhaojun who sacrifices herself for her country, and her struggle with the barbarian custom of remarriage to her stepson. Yōkihi, similarly, avoids the condemnation of the emperor’s infatuation over Yang Guifei that led to his neglect of state affairs, her quality as a femme fatale that brought the demise of the country, and her relatives’ gaining and abusing political power that ignited the An Lushan Rebellion.

By undermining the political implications and moral teachings, the playwrights Konparu Gon no Kami and Zenchiku were able to allocate depiction of the universal sentiment that the domestic audience might find it easier to identify with. It is evident that both playwrights were more interested in empathizing and appeasing the Chinese characters. In Shōkun, the spirit of Wang Zhaojun appears in the mirror to communicate with her parents, whereas in Yōkihi, the shite Yang Guifei reveals her love attachment and sorrow. Such depictions allow the audience to sympathize with the Chinese characters, and somehow construct their own interpretations. Gon no Kami and Zenchiku made such participation possible by exploring the rationales for the characters’ misfortune as the manifestation of the Buddhist idea of the impermanence of all things, especially the unavoidable parting that all living things must confront. Such interpretations of the Chinese stories should have engaged the medieval Japanese audience, not only because the Buddhist teachings of impermanence had been ingrained for centuries in Japanese culture, but also because they are in accordance with earlier Japanese perceptions of the Chinese stories.

Indeed, both playwrights encouraged the audience to embrace the Chinese Other by imbuing their plays with well-known Japanese literary works. Arguably the two Chinese plays with the richest Japanese literary precedents, Shōkun and Yōkihi clearly demonstrate how earlier Japanese interpretations are utilized in the retelling

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.