The New York Clipper (December 1916)

December 20, 1916 THE NEW YORK CLIPPER 57 SAM HOWE Wishing a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Playing to big success with his Sam Howe Big Show over the Columbia Amusement Company Circuit. LUNA PARK CONEY ISLAND OSCAR C. JURNEY General Manager" SID WINTERS Principal Irish Comedian Thoroughbred Show, wishing a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my friends. Welba Lestina Leading Woman E. V. PHELAN'S Lonergan Players Lynn, Mass. LIONEL GILES TELLS INTERESTING STORY OF CHINESE THEATRE In view of the great interest aroused by the performance of "The Yellow Jacket" at the Cort Theatre the following account of the Chinese theatre by Lionel Giles of the British Museum is timely: It seems probable that the drama in China, like that of Greece, had its origin in the sacrificial ceremonies of religion. We know that in the time of Confucius, 500 B. C, it was customary for solemn dances to be performed in the ancestral temples, at which feathered wands, battle axes and other objects were brandished in unison by the dancers. We also hear of pantomimic displays and representa- tions of ancient historical events divided into a number of scenes. Certain cere- monies for the expulsion of evil spirits, in which a house to house visitation was made by villagers dressed in fantastic garb, may also have some connection with the beginnings of dramatic art. Others are inclined to derive the drama- from the puppet shows which from time immemo- rial have been a feature of the life of the people, and they point to the fact that in many parts of China a theatrical perform- ance is still preceded by a display of marionettes. However that may be, it is certain that for the immense period of 1,200 years after the time of Confucius no great development of the drama can have taken place, if indeed it can be said to have existed at all. No record of any- thing in the nature of a modern stage play can be traced until the reign of the Emperor Ming Huang of the T'ang dy- nasty, in the first half of the eighth cen- tury, A. D. Being exceptionally fond of song and dance, this emperor is said to have founded a sort of academy, known as the "Pear Tree Garden," where a company of 300 persons was personally trained by him for the production of what, for Want of a better name, may be described as operas. Music must have constituted the basis of these performances, but it seems that the slender thread of a story was also introduced between the choral songs, and to this day actors in China are often called "apprentices of the Pear Tree Garden." During another long interval of 500 years there is no evidence that theatricals spread further than the imperial court or became part of the recognized amusements of the people. It was not until the close of the Sung dynasty, in the middle of the thirteenth century, that the dramatic in- stincts of the Chinese were really awakened. The impulse seems to have come from without, for it is precisely in the period when the all-conquering Mon- gols were engaged in adding the Celestial empire to their vast domains that Chinese dramatic literature begins. The earliest stage play that has come down to as, "The Story of the Western Pavilion," is also one of the most exquisite from a literary point of view, though more lyrical in char- acter and less vigorous in action than many that were to follow. A marvellous creative period now set in, almost comparable in fertility of genius to our own Elizabethan era. The names are recorded of no fewer than 584 plays and of eighty-five playwrights who lived under this dynasty, and a collection of the hundred best pieces has been preserved {Continued on page 59.) Teddy and Edna May Adams extend to all PURVEYORS OF PLEASURE their hearty wishes for A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR