董每戡《五大名剧论》平议

Comments on Dong Meikan s The Theory of Five Famous Plays

当代著名戏曲学家董每戡将《西厢记》《琵琶记》《牡丹亭》《长生殿》《桃花扇》并列为我国古代“五大名剧”,这是他继金圣叹、毛声山之后,对我国古典优秀戏曲作品的专门审视和独立观照,认为它们不仅反映了戏曲创作的最高境界,而且体现了舞台演出的最高水平。“五大名剧”说的提出,凸显了中国戏曲的一流作品,给中国戏曲确定了高度。由于董每戡的倡导,“五大名剧”的概念逐渐被认同并固定下来,20世纪末出现的《五大名剧评述》《中国十大古典喜剧集》等戏曲著作、选集的命名和编纂,在一定程度就是接受了他的“五大名剧”说的影响。

Dong Meikan,a famous contemporary opera scholar,listed The Romance of Western Chamber,The Romance of Pipa,The Peony Pavilion,The Palace of Eternal Life and Peach Blossom Fan as the“five famous plays”in ancient China.Following Jin Shengtan and Mao Shengshan,he made his special examination and independent observation of the excellent classical works in traditional opera.He held that they not only reflected the highest level of opera creation,but also embodied the highest level of stage performance.The proposal of the theory of“five famousplays”highlights the first-class works in traditional Chinese opera and determines the height of Chinese opera.Thanks to Dong Meikan s initiative,the concept of the“five famous plays”was gradually recognized and fixed.At the end of the 20th century,the naming and compilation of opera works and anthologies such as A Review of the Five Famous Plays and Collection of Ten Classical Comedies in China were,to a certain extent,influenced by his theory of“five famous plays”.