Ouyang Yuqian - Ouyang Yuqian

Chinese playwright, actor, and director. Born in Liuyang County, Hunan Province. Studied at Seijo Middle School, Waseda University, and other institutions. In 1907 (Meiji 40), he joined the Shunryu-sha theater troupe, a group of Chinese students in Japan, and continued to be active in theater throughout his life. He was also a female actor in Peking Opera, and was praised as being on par with "Ouyang of the South and Mei Lanfang of the North." He wrote nearly 60 works, including "The Woman Who Loved Women" (1922), "The House of the Rickshaw Man" (1929), which rejected feudal morality and asserted the dignity of women, "The Black Slave's Regret" (1959), an adaptation of Mrs. Storr's "Uncle Tom's Cabin," the Peking opera "Peach Blossoms with a Human Face" (1920), and the screenplay "Mokulan's Advocacy" (1938), which incorporated lyrics about resistance against Japan. The themes and subjects are wide-ranging, and he sharply satirizes old morality and the gap between rich and poor. He also played a major role in improving Peking opera and local theater and educating theater people.

[Junko Nakano]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国の劇作家、俳優、演出家。湖南(こなん／フーナン)省瀏陽(りゅうよう)県出身。成城中学、早稲田(わせだ)大学等に留学。1907年（明治40）在日中国留学生の劇団春柳社に参加、演劇活動は以後生涯にわたった。「南の欧陽(オウヤン)、北の梅蘭芳(メイランファン)」と並び称される京劇女方でもあった。封建的道徳を否定し女性の尊厳を主張した『溌婦(じりつ)』（1922）、『車夫の家』（1929）、ストー夫人『アンクル・トムの小屋』の脚色『黒奴恨(こくどこん)』（1959）、京劇『人面桃花(はなのかんばせ)』（1920）、日本へのレジスタンスを歌詞に折り込んだシナリオ『木蘭従軍(もくらんじゅうぐん)』（1938）など、作品は60編に近い。テーマ、題材ともに幅広く、旧道徳、貧富の差などを鋭く風刺している。京劇、地方劇の改良や演劇人教育で果たした役割も大きい。

［中野淳子］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例