And I’ll roll up the cuff and show arm enough, for my arm is fair to see:
Oh, if ever there were a fair round arm, that arm belongs to me!
CHINESE DRAMAS AND BURLETTAS.
In the department of plays and dramas, Chinese literature shows a long list of names, few or none of which have ever been heard of away from their native soil. Some of their pieces have been translated by Julien, Bazin, Davis, and others, most of which were selected from the Hundred Plays of Yuen. The origin of the present Chinese drama does not date back, according to M. Bazin, beyond the Tang dynasty, though many performances designed to be played and sung in pantomime had been written before that epoch. He cites the names of eighty-one persons, besides mentioning other plays of unknown authors, whose combined writings amount to five hundred and sixty-four separate plays; all of whom flourished during the Mongol dynasty. The plays that have been translated from this collection give a tolerably good idea of Chinese talent in this difficult department; and, generally speaking, whatever strictures may be made upon the management of the plot, exhibition of character, unity of action, or illustration of manners, the tendency of the play is on the side of justice and morality. Père Prémare first translated a play in 1731, under the title of the Orphan of Chau,[344] which was taken by Voltaire as the groundwork of one of his plays. The Heir in Old Age and the Sorrows of Han are the names of two translated by Sir J. F. Davis. The Circle of Chalk was translated and published in 1832 by Julien, and a volume of Bazin, ainé, containing the Intrigues of an Abigail, the Compared Tunic, the Songstress, and Resentment of Tau Ngo, appeared in 1838, at Paris. None of these pieces exhibit much intricacy of plot, nor would the simple arrangements of Chinese theatres allow much increase to the dramatis personæ without confusion. M. Bazin, moreover, translated the Pí-pa Kí, or History of a Lute, a drama in twenty-four acts, of more pretensions, partaking of the novel as well as the drama; the play is said to have been represented at Peking in 1404, under the Ming dynasty.[345]
THE MENDER OF CHINAWARE—A FARCE.
Besides plays in the higher walks of the drama, which form the principal part of the performances at theatres, there are by-plays or farces, which, being confined to two or three interlocutors, depend for their attractiveness upon the droll gesticulations, impromptu allusions to passing occurrences, and excellent pantomimic action of the performers. They are usually brought on at the conclusion of the bill, and from the freedom given in them to an exhibition of the humor or wit of the players, are much liked by the people. A single illustration will exhibit the simple range and character of these burlettas.
THE MENDER OF CRACKED CHINAWARE.
| DRAMATIS PERSONÆ. | Niu Chau | A wandering tinker. |
| Wang Niang | A young girl. |
Scene—A Street.
Niu Chau enters—across his shoulder is a bamboo, to each end of which are suspended boxes containing the various tools and implements of his trade, and a small stool. He is dressed meanly; his face and head are painted and decorated in a fantastic manner.