关键词: 悲剧, 苦戏, 中国戏曲, 欧洲戏剧, 诗的正义

Abstract: Chinese theatre had seen little direct influence from the West before the 20^th century, yet from mid-13^th to the mid-14^th century, the “Middle Kingdom” witnessed a sizable surge of tragedy of its own accord. Many dramas of woe were produced in this historical period, including The Injustice Done to Dou E, Autumn in Han Palace, The Orphan of Zhao, and The Story of Pipa. Nevertheless, the “tragic” status of these plays has been repeatedly questioned mostly because of the happy endings contained therein. In fact, happy ending is not a dramatic phenomenon unique to Chinese culture and there are numerous happy endings in the theatres of ancient Greece and the 16^th and 17^th century Europe as well. More important to keep in mind is that a happy ending to a tragedy does not necessarily affect the overall mood of the work in question, hence its common occurrence.

Key words: tragedy, drama of woe, Chinese theatre, European drama, poetic justice