The aim of dissertation is to study thematic transition in Xixiang ji (Hsi Hsiang Chi), the most celebrated love play in the history of Chinese drama. Through a new critical approach, it is intended to explore the notion of idealism in the romance, so as to ensure a great artistic value of the play. The magic-like love between a talented scholar and a beauty, which is depicted in the play, has been believed to exemplify an idealistic concept of romance. Thus, it became a symbol of the lyrical romanticism in classical Chinese literature, emphasizing a synthesis of true love and happy marriage.; In the first chapter, the sad story of Yingying zhuan by Yuan Zhen (779-831) is discussed in detail with many sentimental poems of the Tang and Song dynasties about its tragic theme. In the second, the love epic Xixiang ji zhugongdiao by Dong Jieyuan living in the twelfth century has literally been described. Wang Shifu's Xixiang ji, a masterpiece of the Yuan drama (1260-1368), is elaborated upon in the third. Historical critiques of the play, extensively cited from renowned Chinese, Japanese, English, and German scholars, are discussed in the fourth. Later adaptations, editions, and foreign translations of it are also briefly described. The conclusion explores several characteristics of the ideal romance in the love play.
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