Kinds of Drama in China.—The classical drama or k'un ch'ii ;11) takes its name from the K'un Shan district in the present province of Kiangsu. It is a highly refined and perfected form in which every gesture is in prescribed concordance with words and music, but the gestures and, to a certain degree, the emphasis of the singing is not written down but is handed down from teacher to teacher. The music itself includes an infinite number of tunes, each composed for a particular drama. The instruments include wind instruments (a kind of flute and oboe, and the sheng, V, a mouth organ made of small bamboo pipes), trumpets, drums, bells and plucked string instruments. Stringed instruments played with a bow are never used in the k'un The popular drama which has several different names, most of which bear a geographical significance, is best referred to as erh huang (=) and p7 huang (AI), because it originated at Huang Kang and Huang P'i, two districts in the province of Hupei. It is sometimes known as lean tiao (M) from the river Han which flows through the region. It is also called ching tiao a southern name given to it after it had become the popular form in Peking, the capital. It is a much more flexible and careless form than the classical form. Tunes are less varied and
are often used for a number of different plays, and the tunes have far less quality than those of the classical drama. The accompani ment includes largely stringed instruments played with a bow, wind instruments (exclusive of the sheng which is not used), drums, gongs and cymbals. The action is far less highly developed. A third kind of theatrical entertainment is known as the shansi pang tzii (al 11, f$13-7-) or pang tilt ch'iang (013-Vg), a rustic form of drama introduced from the province of Shansi, the out standing characteristic of which is the persistent use of the trumpet and a kind of rattle known as pang tzli (MST).