A Literal Review on Oppression: A One-Act Comedy by Xilin Ding
A Literal Review on Oppression: An One-act Comedy by Xilin Ding
After having read the excellent one-act drama by Xilin Ding, I was amused by the humorous dialogue and plots. At the same time, I feel that there are some pent-up feelings I must talk about. This play uses a humorous way to express the agony of the playwright about the bitter experience of his friend who later died a nasty death. The topic of oppression and anti-oppression is supposed to be serious, but in this play, the playwright made good use of the tricks of comedy, and wittily satirized the unfair social reality in a humorous way. However, I can see there is still hope cherished in the playwright’s heart, because the protagonists cooperated and won in the end, even though his friend didn’t have the luck of “[meeting] someone as full of compassion as the woman in this play (Xilin Ding, 48)” and resist the oppression together. The miserable ending of his friend is changed in this play. That’s where I see hope.
I Introduction
The play Oppression is dedicated to Ding’s friend Shuhe Liu. The story is originated from an anecdote that happened to him, but with a better ending, though. This is a story about renting a house. The male tenant is searching for a place to live in. The mistress accepted his deposit but the madam wouldn’t agree, because he is single. The two argue and fail to settle, so the madam goes for a police officer. A woman arrived to find shelter before the officer. The two tenants sympathized with each other, and decided to pretend to be a couple and get the house rented. Thus the oppressed won the dispute. i An introduction of the playwright and his opinion on comedy
Xilin Ding is an outstanding playwright who is specialized in comedy in the first few decades of the 20th century. Distinguished himself from the vulgar farces that prevails in those days, Ding has created his own unique style thus made more reasonable interpretation about the way comedy should be like. In his
After having read the excellent one-act drama by Xilin Ding, I was amused by the humorous dialogue and plots. At the same time, I feel that there are some pent-up feelings I must talk about. This play uses a humorous way to express the agony of the playwright about the bitter experience of his friend who later died a nasty death. The topic of oppression and anti-oppression is supposed to be serious, but in this play, the playwright made good use of the tricks of comedy, and wittily satirized the unfair social reality in a humorous way. However, I can see there is still hope cherished in the playwright’s heart, because the protagonists cooperated and won in the end, even though his friend didn’t have the luck of “[meeting] someone as full of compassion as the woman in this play (Xilin Ding, 48)” and resist the oppression together. The miserable ending of his friend is changed in this play. That’s where I see hope.
I Introduction
The play Oppression is dedicated to Ding’s friend Shuhe Liu. The story is originated from an anecdote that happened to him, but with a better ending, though. This is a story about renting a house. The male tenant is searching for a place to live in. The mistress accepted his deposit but the madam wouldn’t agree, because he is single. The two argue and fail to settle, so the madam goes for a police officer. A woman arrived to find shelter before the officer. The two tenants sympathized with each other, and decided to pretend to be a couple and get the house rented. Thus the oppressed won the dispute. i An introduction of the playwright and his opinion on comedy
Xilin Ding is an outstanding playwright who is specialized in comedy in the first few decades of the 20th century. Distinguished himself from the vulgar farces that prevails in those days, Ding has created his own unique style thus made more reasonable interpretation about the way comedy should be like. In his
References: 1 Xilin Ding. Oppression. Shanghai, Beixin Bookstore. (1948):47-54 2 Xing Xu. A Brief Review on Oppression by DingXilin. Journal of Nantong Teachers College (Social Science) Vol.13 (1997):21 3 Shen Hong. A preface to China’s New Drama Selections. Shanghai Liangyou Printing Company. (1935):89 4 Liang Pei. A General Review on Chinese Modern Drama. Chinese Drama Publishing House. (1986):114-115