Moromiya Cho - Shokyucho

A type of narrative entertainment popular in the Song, Jin, and Yuan dynasties of China. A short suite of songs with the same scale is sung with the same rhyming lyrics, and many such suites are strung together with narration in between to form a long piece. It is called "various suites of songs" because it is not limited to one, but includes a variety of suites of songs with different scales, and it is also called "sudanshi" because it is accompanied by string instruments such as the biwa. It is said to have been created by Kong Sanchuan, a folk entertainer from Zezhou (Jincheng, Shanxi Province) in the late 11th century, and was popular among the scholar-officials, and spread to the south after he moved south during the Song dynasty. It is thought that the long narrative style, which makes full use of a wide variety of melodies, had a great influence on the subsequent Yuan zaju. Many of the themes are common to popular literature of the time, such as love stories and historical tales, but few texts have been handed down. Apart from the surviving copy of "Liu Zhiyuan" from the Jin dynasty and the surviving compilation of "Tianbao Yishi" by Wang Bocheng of the Yuan dynasty, only one work, "Xixiang Ji" by Dong, a man from the time of Zhangzong of the Jin dynasty, has been handed down. "Dong Jieyuan Xixiang Ji" is based on the novel "Yingying Zhuan" by Yuan Zhen of the Tang dynasty, but the length of this work, which is 10 times that of the original, is skillfully structured and has a lively narrative style that mixes colloquial language, making it an interesting read. In the history of Chinese literature, this work marked the beginning of the era of narrative literature, centered on plays and novels.

[Akira Denda]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、宋(そう)・金(きん)・元(げん)代に流行した語り物演芸の一種。宮調（音階）を同じくする数曲からなる短い套数(とうすう)（組曲）を同一の押韻(おういん)の歌詞で歌い、このような套数を多数連ね、間に語りも入れて長編を構成していく。一つに限られることなく、諸種の宮調の套数を並べるようになったところから諸宮調といい、また琵琶(びわ)などの弦楽器を伴奏としたため趨弾詞(すうだんし)ともよばれた。11世紀後半に沢州(たくしゅう)（山西省晋城）出身の民間芸人孔三伝(こうさんでん)がつくりだしたものといわれ、士大夫(したいふ)の間にも流行し、宋朝南渡後には南方にも広まった。豊富な曲調を駆使する長編叙述の形式は、後続の元雑劇にも多大な影響を与えたと考えられる。題材も恋愛物語や歴史物語など当時の俗文学に共通するものが多いが、テキストの伝わるものは少ない。金代の『劉知遠(りゅうちえん)』の残本と、元の王伯成(おうはくせい)の『天宝遺事』の残編輯本(しゅうほん)のほかには、金の章宗の時代の人董(とう)某の『西廂記(せいそうき)』ただ1本が伝わるだけである。この『董解元(とうかいげん)西廂記』は、唐の元稹(げんしん)の小説『鶯鶯伝(おうおうでん)』に取材しているが、原作に10倍する長編が巧みな構成と口語を交えた生気ある語り口で読む者を飽きさせない。中国文学史上、戯曲、小説を中心とする叙事文学の時代の開幕を飾る作品となった。

［傳田　章］

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