试谈曲

A Preliminary Study of the Dramatic Songs

曲 ,世称元曲 ,是元代文学主要样式。包括杂剧和散曲。散曲有小令、带过曲和套数之分。元曲一般指北曲。曲牌之前有宫调 ,用以表达不同的声情。元曲讲究格律 ,主要指仄分上去 ,平别阴阳和字有正衬 ,以求音节之美。

The Dramatic Songs, also known as Yuan Drama were the main form of literature in the Yuan Dynasty. It included poetic dramas (consisting of four acts or song sequences) and non-dramatic songs, which were categorized into a single sanqu song (i.e. not in a sequence, corresponding to one area in the drama), daiguoqu and divertimento. The Yuan Drama, generally speaking, referred to the dramatic songs in the northern part of China. Modes of ancient Chinese music was placed before the qupai ( the names of the tunes to which qu are composed), expressing different sound and feeling. The Yuan Drama emphases on the metrical pattern, in which the oblique tone had the falling-rising tone and the falling tone; the level tone had the high and level tone and the rising tone; and the Chinese characters had the positive set off. All these attempted to achieve the beauty of syllables.