淸代 月令承應戱의 歲時儀禮性

Abstract

It is well known that Nuo was a national annual event that servedthe mysterious role of strengthening national unity as a calendricalapotropaic ritual in the court. It is especially meaningful in that thiscyclical ritual with folk religious characteristics was combined withdrama to be performed in court as Court Drama every year on a regularbasis. Considering that it served as a regular venue to express collectiveappreciation and to pray for wishes such as keeping away evil spirits inthe respective season, Court Drama can essentially be described as ritualdrama combined with cyclical ritual. In terms of ritual, the two elementsof periodicity – a fixed schedule and regular repetition – are of greatimportance. In this sense, Court Drama can be seen as the epitome ofritual. Combined with the formality of the royal court, Court Dramamust have fulfilled a unique purpose and held significant meaning, whichset it apart from cyclical folk ritual and ritual drama. Several studies onNuoxi, a folk ritual drama, have already been published, but the factthat Nuoxi does not include the imperial court, the place with the mostextensive archival materials on drama’s ritualistic function and structure,leaves much to be desired. While Court Drama of the Qing Dynasty is inessence another form of ritual drama which combines ritual with dramain that people pray to drive away evil spirits and receive good luck inthe respective season, agreeing with the argument that ritual serves anintegrating role of enhancing social solidarity, this study examines thesocial functions of Court Drama as distinct from cyclical folk rituals. Court Drama possesses three main traits of calendrical ritual. First, it served to strengthen social cohesion as a regular, cyclical event. It was avenue to showcase the emperor’s authority in front of an audience thatincluded court officials and foreign emissaries and to maintain thesupport of the people in the agricultural society. Second, it served anapotropaic role of warding off evil spirits while encompassing diversereligions. Last, it served as a performing art which combinedentertainment with cyclical ritual to achieve both ritualistic andrecreational goals.