古优名考

Nomenclature of Old Players

古优包括优、俳、倡、伶四类,其最初之命名及各自擅长之伎艺多有不同。伴随其伎艺之发展与表演之需要,优、俳、倡、伶的使用渐趋混杂。古优诸名的混杂趋同是优、俳、倡、伶等各种古优伎艺相互综合的必然产物,而这也开启了从古优向传统戏曲演员的转变之门,以及古剧向古典戏曲的演进之门。

This paper is a study of the nomenclature of Chinese players in ancient times. ＂You＂ in ancient times can be classified under these following categories： ＂you＂, ＂pal＂, ＂chang＂ and ＂ling＂. In the beginning these different names were assigned to different kinds of actors according to their respective histrionic specializations. Later, these names were to be used indiscriminately as different acting trades were absorbed into organic and comprehensive forms of performances.