Chinese dramatist and bibliophile Li Kaixian’s (1502-1568) short farce Yi Xiao San (Everything dispels with a laugh) included originally six acts, of which only two survive today, titled Da Yachan (Mute meditation) and Yuanlin wumeng (Noontime dream in the garden grove), respectively. Although when put together, these two scenes amount to barely 4500 characters, they can serve as an ideal research object for a study in the pragmatics of Ming-era drama. Each part of this study concentrates on a single scene. The first part of this paper analyses Da Yachan and the pragmatics of verbal and non-verbal communication, informed by the way these characters speak and behave, as well as their egocentrism. In the second part, this paper analyses Yuanlin wumeng and the question of intertextual parody, where Li Wa and Cui Yingying, two characters coming from two famous tales of the Tang dynasty, are employed for comical purposes. The study concentrates also on how the play was received and evaluated by its author’s contemporaries. In the conclusion, this paper reflects on the function of communication without words and meaning beyond words.
The pragmatics of verbal and non-verbal humour in Li Kaixian’s Yixiaosan
A. Leggieri
2024-01-01
Abstract
Chinese dramatist and bibliophile Li Kaixian’s (1502-1568) short farce Yi Xiao San (Everything dispels with a laugh) included originally six acts, of which only two survive today, titled Da Yachan (Mute meditation) and Yuanlin wumeng (Noontime dream in the garden grove), respectively. Although when put together, these two scenes amount to barely 4500 characters, they can serve as an ideal research object for a study in the pragmatics of Ming-era drama. Each part of this study concentrates on a single scene. The first part of this paper analyses Da Yachan and the pragmatics of verbal and non-verbal communication, informed by the way these characters speak and behave, as well as their egocentrism. In the second part, this paper analyses Yuanlin wumeng and the question of intertextual parody, where Li Wa and Cui Yingying, two characters coming from two famous tales of the Tang dynasty, are employed for comical purposes. The study concentrates also on how the play was received and evaluated by its author’s contemporaries. In the conclusion, this paper reflects on the function of communication without words and meaning beyond words.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
