周华斌 中国传媒大学
Zhou, Huabin, Chinese University of Communication
原文Original
戏剧观·戏曲观·戏观
当前，东西方学者有共识：人类的文化多姿多彩，是由一个个独具个性的本土文化构成的。文化的全球化不应当一体化，更不等于西方化。在现代文化的进程中，各国、各民族的本土文化不但不应该被削弱，反而应当保持甚至弘扬各自的特色。这个道理可以用来说明我国多民族的文化艺术和戏剧戏曲。
一、戏剧——讲故事与仪式
戏剧是人类文明的共生现象，随文明的进程而发展。
西方学者论及“戏剧”的起源时，将戏剧概括为两个方面：讲故事与仪式。美国戏剧家罗伯特·科恩（Robert Cohen）在《戏剧》一书中认为：在最早的史前戏剧里，讲故事和仪式已经不可分割地融合在戏剧活动之中。[1]
关于这一点，《辞海》“戏剧”一词早有界定：戏剧是“演员扮演故事”的艺术形态。
前辈在戏剧起源问题上还没有深入到“原始戏剧”和“仪式”领域，也就是表演艺术形态。如果说“拟虎”、“拟兽”体现在原始文明的仪式之中，那末它们可以说属于原始戏剧，在戏剧发生学上很有价值。
二、戏曲——歌舞演故事
众所周知，戏曲是中原汉文化系统的传统戏剧形态，它的成熟以宋元“杂剧”和“南戏”为标志，将“曲”作为重要的表演艺术元素。汉字汉语有音节、音韵、平仄、阴阳四声的特点，因此，汉文化自古以来就是诗歌的海洋，老少皆能、雅俗咸宜。自古以来，汉语有节奏、有韵律的琅琅读书声带有音乐感，民间南腔北调的“讲故事”能够“以字行腔”，可以用“声腔”区分出戏曲的“剧种”来。据中华人民共和国建国以来统计，各地的“声腔剧种”数以百计。
王国维《宋元戏曲史》的学术影响很大，渐渐地，“以歌舞演故事”的“戏曲”成为汉文化领域内传统戏剧的代名词，而且处于主流位置。戏曲“以歌舞演故事”有它的特定含义，主要指宋元以来汉文化领域内的传统戏剧形态，不宜将定义反过来，将凡是以歌舞为手段表演故事的形态一律认定为“戏曲”。
三、戏——多元的百戏形态
传统中国人的戏剧观还联系着一个十分关键的词汇——“戏”。在中国人眼里，与其说存在着当代西方式的“戏剧”观，不如说存在着中国传统的“戏”观。无论艺术家还是民众，始终存在着演“戏”、看“戏”的潜意识。
这涉及“戏”的本义和它的历史性变化。
新时期戏剧观念的变化，已走向社会价值、人性开掘、心理表现、审美追求的全方位开拓。这是现代戏剧家从人文角度对戏剧（尤其是话剧）内涵的深层次理解，已经不再局限于感官层面，这是值得嘉许的。然而，在大众娱乐层面上，“百戏”技艺的观赏和感官愉悦依然在观众心目中占有相当的位置。
四、新时期百戏的艺术组合
值得注意的是，当今在北京、上海、广州等大城市，出现了形式大于内容的、纯艺术的、唯美的、强调剧场效应的、大制作的戏剧潮流。随着旅游经济和旅游文化的拓展，各地旅游点和娱乐场所还相继出现了以文化娱乐和文化创意为宗旨的、“产业”化经营的各种艺术表演，它们以吸引高收入观众为目的，票价不菲，而且往往采用声、光、电和高科技手段强化视觉冲击力，以提高票房价值。高科技、高成本尽管可能成为剧团的包袱，但是仁者见仁，智者见智，毕竟是新时期社会文艺和社会戏剧的一道景观。大众娱乐层面的“戏”，相当于传统“百戏”、“游戏”。对于一般观众来说，娱乐层面的“戏”有符合人性的、根深蒂固的一面，具有健康审美意义的“戏”并非一味低俗，它们同样具备一定的艺术档次。
在多民族的中华大地上，比秦汉“百戏”更早一点的周代“散乐”就包涵有少数民族的“四裔乐”。新时期“万方乐奏有于阗”，当今的文化艺术元素丰富多彩。拓宽思路，突破“戏剧”、“戏曲”的专业局限，用多元的“戏”的观念实事求是地开掘本土的、民族的艺术元素，我认为具有广阔的创作途径，必将光芒四射。
注释：
[1]罗伯特·科恩，《戏剧》，麦格罗希尔国际出版公司，2007年。
译文Translation
Observations on Drama, Chinese Traditional Opera and Plays
Scholars from the East and the West have currently reached a consensus that human culture is a colourful entity comprising a variety of local cultures each with their own unique identity. Globalization of culture should not result in homogeneity, neither should it be synonymous with Westernization. During the development of modern culture, indigenous cultures from all countries and nationalities should be maintained with their own specific distinctiveness being promoted as opposed to being sidelined.
1. Drama – storytelling and ritual
Drama is the symbiosis of human civilization as developed alongside the progress of civilization. When looking at the roots of the term ‘drama’, Western scholars have broken down its origin into two parts: storytelling and ritual.
The American dramatist Robert Cohen commented in his work Theatre:
Even in the earliest, prehistoric dramas, storytelling and religious rituals became inextricably integrated in the dramatic action.[1]
Looking at the origins of the term drama, the Ci Hai (a Chinese encyclopedic dictionary) defines it as being an art form where “actors perform stories”. In this regard our forerunners who have explored the origins of the theatre and the performing arts, failed to spot any connection with ‘primitive drama’ and ‘ritual’. If we were to suggest that images of people ‘imitating tigers’ and ‘imitating beasts’ were some kind of ritual from primitive society, then we could interpret this as some early form of primitive drama, a concept which could prove very valuable to those studying the roots of drama.
II. Chinese traditional opera (Xiqu)- stories performed through songs and dance
It is well known that Chinese traditional opera (Xiqu) is the central theatrical form of the Chinese cultural system. Opera matured in the Song and Yuan dynasties with the “Yuanqu Opera” and the “Southern Opera”, with the “Qu” (melody) forming a fundamental part of the performance.
Chinese language and characters are characterized by syllables, phonology, level and oblique tonal patterns (used in classical poetry) and tone types (used in the spoken language). As such Chinese culture has, since ancient times, been regarded as an ocean of poetry, suitable for the young and the old, and for those with both refined and popular tastes.
Chinese language has always had a rhythmic form with recitation of the language taking on a musical form, and with regional accents providing a melodious backdrop to “story telling”. These melodies and tonal patterns give a distinctive local flavor to traditional Chinese opera which take place in a variety of local settings. According to official statistics, hundreds of local operas each one with their own melodies and tonal patterns have been held since the since the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Of these operas, Wang Guowei’s History of Song and Yuan Operas is the one which has had the most profound academic influence. Over time, traditional Chinese opera (Xiqu) has become synonymous within the field of Chinese culture with the term “stories performed through song and dance”. This term “stories performed through song and dance” has its own specific meaning, and the term is usually used in reference to the traditional form which has emerged since the Song and Yuan dynasties. It is important to note that definition can not be turned on its head, ie one should not infer that all performance arts which tell stories through songs and dance are forms of opera.
III. The play – pluralistic forms of Bai Xi (‘One Hundred Play’ – an archaic term for Chinese acrobatics)
The traditional Chinese concept of drama is inextricably linked with one critical piece of vocabulary, namely the word ‘play’. For the Chinese, the word ‘play’ holds a lot more meaning than the western term ‘drama’. For both the artists and the general public, there is a conscious difference between the terms, with the term ‘play’ evoking both the original meaning and its historical changes.
Recently, the concept of drama has changed to fall in line with the all-round development and changes in social values, the cultivation of human nature, psychological outlooks and aesthetic pursuits. The modern dramatist has a deep-seated understanding of the implications of drama (especially modern drama) drawn from a human perspective, all of which is important in the breaking down of barriers to sensory experiences. However, it must be said, that from the standpoint of a form of public entertainment, the enjoyment and sensory delight fostered by the Bai Xi (Chinese acrobatics) still remains influential.
IV. The modern day artistic portfolio of Bai Xi (Chinese acrobatics)
It is worth noting that there is a theatrical trend today which tends towards the purely artistic and aesthetic, and which emphasizes form over content, stressing theatrical effects. Huge investment in theatres has emerged in large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. With the development of the tourist industry, various artistic performances have been put on, which themselves have been run in an industrial manner. Focused on entertainment and generating an emerging form of culture, these performances have been put on in various local tourist spots and entertainment venues, with the purpose of attracting high-paying audiences. Use of hi-tech visual and sound effects turn these performances into box office hits.
The use of hi-tech effects and the cost attributed to them is becoming a burden for many theatrical troupes. However, not everyone sees things from the same perspective. This form of theatre is a new landscape of social literature, art and theatre. The essence of these plays, which are put on to entertain the general public is very close to the traditional concept of the Bai Xi (One Hundred Play or Chinese acrobatics). For the general public, plays which are put on for entertainment are rooted deeply in human nature, have significant aesthetic value and are quality pieces.
In the huge land which is China, there are numerous ethnic groups. Historically, the San Yue of the Zhou dynasty, a period slightly earlier than the Qin and Han dynasties which produced the Bai Xi, produced the Si Yi Yue (music of four ethnic groups). Music and arts are also blooming in the new era, with rich and varied cultural and artistic contributions being made. All ethnic groups are contributing, and I think that there will be increased contributions made once the boundary between ‘drama’, ‘opera’ and ‘play’ can be broken down as a result of a new way of thinking. As the local and ethnic artistic elements become increasingly well developed in the Chinese theatre in a realistic and a pluralistic way, there is a bright future ahead for the field of Chinese theatre studies.
Notes:
[1]Robert Cohen, Theatre, McGraw Hill, 2007.