Research on the Different Endings of Chinese and Western Tragic Drama

肖芷玥

Abstract： Hamlet bravely stabbed Claudius and at the same time， he was poisoned and sacrificed his life. Thats the ending of classic western tragedy Hamlet. However， in the tragic drama Snow in Midsummer， after Dou E was guilatined， Dou's father became a senior official， and he redressed this case to clear Dou E. Therefore， Chinese tragic dramas end with hope and relative happiness， while western tragic dramas do not. As for the reason for such differences， I will explain from two aspects： religious doctrine and philosophical background.

Key words： Drama， Tragic ending， Culture difference

Among all the forms of literature in the world， tragic drama is one of the most moving form. With its plots going up and down， it shows the destruction of justice， and fading of beauty， which makes the reader feel pitiful， sorrowful and indignant， thus arouses people's expectation for beautiful persuits. However， there are many differences between Chinese and Western tragedies.Precisely speaking， there are obvious differences in the ending of the tragedies.

I. The ways two tragedies differ--the extent of destruction

1. The tragedy of the West always ends with absolute death or destruction

Tragedies in the West often end badly： the righteous hero or the beautiful love is destroyed in the white-hot struggle.

Shakespeare is one of the greatest dramatists in the West. His tragic works are all have death or devastation as the final act. Take Hamlet， a tragic drama about revenge for example.The protagonist Hamlet is a heroic tragic figure， who hesitated to revenge and asked the question of "to be or not to be" when he first knew his uncles crime from the ghost of his father， but finally became resolute to make his uncle pay the price. In the end， he revenged for his father， but also died for justice. For another examle， Romeo and Juliet is a tragic love story. Romeo and Juliet came from two feud families. They were stubbornly in love with each other， but their love was firmly opposed by the two families. In the end they committed suicide.The love story could only end with regret and remorse.

2. Chinese tragic drama usually have a satisfactory ending

In Chinese tragedy， after the author "destroys beautiful things and presents it to people" as Lu Xun said， a satisfactory ending will be added， which will make the audience breathe a sigh of relief after tears.

For example， Guan Hanqing wrote the drama Snow in Midsummer， in which Dou'e lived with her mother-in-law after her husband died when she was young. The wicked man Zhang Luer poisoned his father and reduced Dou to be his scapegoat. The fatuous county magistrate executed Dou. If it were a western tragedy， that would be the end of the story. But that's not the tragedy in China. This is how it ends： Dou's father becomes a high-ranking official， returns to his hometown to reinvestigate the case， and vindicated Dou.

What can further embody this characteristic of Chinese tragedies are 2 examples of love tragedies： the Longevity Palace and Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. The protagonists of both works have to be killed or committed suicide. According to real life， it will never have a happy ending. However， the author cleverly created a virtual world of happiness for the protagonist， where they live a happy life： Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan met in a dream and stayed each other forever; Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai became butterflies and fly around the flowers inseparably.

Just as the scholor Zhu Guangqian said， "Any script you open， no matter how miserable the main characters are， you can rest assured that the ending will be a happy one."

II. Such difference reflects the cultural psychological differences

1.Religious doctrine

Firstly， in the west， the Bible says all men have "original sin theory"， even the ancestors of human beings--Adam and Eve rebelled against the God. So it is understandable that， good is destroyed by evil， because people are born with sin. Therefore， to end with the destruction of beautiful things is the real tragedy.

While in Cina， Chinese Buddhism emphasizes "karma". Nu Wa created human beings in order to make the originally desolate land more lively. Therefore， human should also be as kind as the gods. In this reason， after the destruction of beautiful things， neither the audience nor the author can accept it， another ending must added.

2.Philosophical background

Secondly， it is a tradition for the West to pursues freedom. The western society has been commercialized， and has formed the mentality of taking risks and "to betting to bear" in the process of long-term military and commercial competitions. Therefore， as long as the plot is nail-biting， either a tragedy or a comedy will be accepted. On the contrary， if a tragic work is forced to have a comic ending， they will find it unreasonable.

As the counterpart， Chinese people stress "golden mean"（中庸）. It has been an agricultural society for over 5000 years， so people likes good weather and the balance of forces when it comes to dealing with things， rather than fierce conflicts. Therefore， even a tragic drama should have a satisfactory ending.

Conclusion

Both the Western and Chinese tragic drama motivates humanity to reconsider dysfunctional relationship and the society to forge ahead， with regard to value， there is no better one. This tragedy reflects the differences and similarities between Eastern and Western cultures， which make the world's literature colorful.

References

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Author's introduction：Xiao Zhiyue，Born December 2002 College of foreign languages， Northeastern University Class： English Class 1901 ， Student number： 20190414