The members of the Chinese writers' guilds were those who not only provided scripts for plays, but participated in the creation of a great many kinds of entertainment. The first members of the writers' guilds were actor-playwrights, but with the invasion of the Mongols and the disruption of the Imperial examination system, some men of letters became members of the writers' guilds. The combination of artistic talents of the actor-playwrights and the scholar-playwrights directly affected the literary merit of Yuan drama. Moreover, as an entertainment art based in competitive economics, the writers' guilds were of primary importance to the drama of the Yuan period.

The birth, flourishing, and decline of Yuan tsa-chu, a form of Chinese musical poetic drama, occurred in the Mongol dynasty of Yuan (1206-1367). Many factors contributed to this phenomenon, not the least of which was the creative genius of the scholar-playwrights, natives of North China and active during the early years of that dynasty. Among the great masters of Yuan drama who contributed to the perfection of this new literary form is Ma Chih-yuan (1250-1322?). His contributions went beyond merely the pioneering of form. He also expanded its thematic scope and exerted a profound influence on later dramatists and poets who cultivated the dramatic and san-ch'u (non-dramatic lyrics) verse types. Unlike the great poets of previous dynasties who were respected and studied, the playwrights of Yuan times were largely ignored by native literary historians until this century because of the traditional contempt for such "frivolous" skills as the writing of plays. We therefore know very little about their personal or creative lives. Fortunately, in the case of Ma Chih-yuan, over one hundred san-ch'u and seven of his plays have survived. Chapter I contains a chronology of his life based on the scanty data available. Some of his non-dramatic songs are also translated and interpreted to provide additional insight into his sentiments, ambitions, and general philosophical outlook. The main body of my dissertation examines and evaluates the extant plays, concentrating on the poetic passages which represent the essence of Yuan drama. Plot, plot origins, and the themes of each play are also explored to supplement the discussions of the language. In Chapter II, Ma's most critically acclaimed work, The Autumnal Palace of Han, is examined in detail. In Chapter III, I discuss Tears on the Blue Gown, the only surviving play which has a female protagonist. In Chapter IV, the similarities and dissimilarities of the three Taoist conversion plays--The Yellow Millet Dream, The Yueh-yang Tower, and Jen Feng Tzu--and their relationship to the Ch'uan-chen sect of Taoism are explored. Chapter V deals with Lightning Smashes the Tablet of Chien-fu, a play about the misfortunes of a scholar and his complaints against an unsympathetic government. In the last chapter, the structurally flawed play Ch'en T'uan Stays Aloof, depicting the life of a Taoist recluse, is examined.

白薇（1894-1987）被譽為最優秀的中國現代女劇作家，她的劇作除對五四風潮內的核心議題有深刻反思，亦有不少超前於同代作家的創作嘗試。但可惜的是，她的劇作因其晦澀而狂放的風格而未有在當世的社會急務中獲得理解，藝術上又與旗幟鮮明的現實主義相頡頏，而少數關注她的研究者亦對其劇作的獨異之處存有不少誤解，故她真正的創作貢獻暫時仍隱沒於文學史背後。 / 「愛情」和「革命」是白薇文學創作的兩大面向，也是歷來研究其生平與文學轉向關係的焦點，但「倫理」亦同是她所著力書寫的議題，在回應自身家庭與社會問題之餘，同時叩問愛情與革命的應然性。本論文以此三項為座標，選取《琳麗》、〈打出幽靈塔〉和〈革命神的受難〉為主要研究對象，輔以其他相同題材的作品，揭示當中罕見的愛情哲學、倫理羈絆和革命諷諭。通過再探白薇之戲劇創作的熱情與理性、現實與想像，重新審視劇作蘊涵的細密思辯、藝術創新與人文關懷，為已有定評的白薇戲劇藝術提出新的分析和見解。二十年代少數作家對現代戲劇宣傳功能的突破，以及個人浪漫追求在社會現實主義洪流中的掙扎和消隱的問題，在白薇戲劇再探中可開展新的方向。 / Bai Wei (1894-1987) is known as the most outstanding Chinese modern female playwright. Her plays have embedded profound reflections upon core values of the May Fourth Era, and have displayed a variety of creative attempts which are way beyond the reach of other playwrights from the same generation. Regrettably, the obscure and wild style of her plays have precluded them to be understood by peers of the same epoch, as these plays were presumptuous and prematurely considered irrelevant to the social imperatives. And while compared to the clear-cut stance of realism, Bai Wei’s plays had antagonistically overshadowed. Moreover, misconceptions upon characteristics of Bai Wai’s drama have also been made by the few researchers who had paid attention to her. As a result, the distinguished achievements of Bai Wei are still temporarily buried in the literary history. / ‘Revolution’ and ‘Love’ are the two major aspects of Bai Wei’s literary writing, and they have long been focus of research on her life and on the shifting of direction in her literary career. However, ‘Ethics’ has also been a major concern of Bai Wei, for apart from responding to ethical issues regarding family and society, she had also provoked meditations on the suitability of love and revolution. Based on the three themes mentioned, this present study will conduct in-depth analysis on her three prominent plays, including Linli, Dachu Youlingta (Breaking out of the Ghost Tower) and Gemingshen de Shounan (The Suffering of the The Revolutionary God), complemented by investigations on works of the same motifs, with aims to reveal the philosophy of love, ethical restraints and revolutionary allegory rarely found in other plays. / By clarifying the correlation of passion and rationality, as well as the cluster of reality and imagination encompassed in Bai Wei’s drama, this study strives to re-examine the fine speculations, artistic innovations and humanistic care captured in her dramatic vision. This study sought to provide new insights on interpretations of Bai Wei’s plays, and to reiterate the significance of her endeavors, on top of the fixed impressions created by previous critics. Through the re-examination of Bai Wei’s drama, this study will also contribute to the enrichment and extension of the researches on the breakthroughs of theatrical conventions for drama to be served as tools of enlightenment and political manifestation which were facilitated by a minority group of playwrights in the 1920s, as well as on the struggles and termination of personal romantic pursuits under the overidding trend of realism across the Chinese society during the early Republican period. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / 姜曉敏. / Parallel title from English abstract. / Thesis (M.Phil.) Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2014. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 211-226). / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Jiang Xiaomin.