World History I

Chapter 13: Religious Civilizations Interacting: Korea, Japan, and Vietnam
550-1500 CE

61: Wed, Apr 22, 2026

Please post in the forum for the day a short essay in response to this question:

Drama is one of the art forms that took deep root in the Far East. Japanese Noh is the oldest continuously preserved theater tradition and is unique to Japan. Korean and Vietnamese classical opera was adapted from Chinese opera.
Watch the following clips from Japanese Noh theater and from Chinese Kunqu opera:

• Watch the following clips from Japanese Noh theater and from Chinese Kunqu opera:
  • Clips from three different Noh plays
  • Clips from Chinese Kunqu opera
• To get a sense of the different literary tradition involved, read a sampling (no more than you have time for) from the following:
  • Atsumori, a Noh play by Zeami Motokiyo (c. 1363-1443)
  • The Peony Pavilion, a Kunqu Chinese opera by Tang Xianzu (1550-1616)
• What do you observe about Noh and about Kunqu opera?
• What are your thoughts about their similarities and differences? (They are obviously different in many ways—in nationality, language, literary tradition, production scale, and time!)
• How do they compare to other drama you've read or seen?
• What do they tell you about the cultures that produced them (try thinking as usual in terms of resources, power, and community)?

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