中國戲曲的表演場合為宗教祭祀,宗教儀式與戲曲表演中存在不可分割的鎖鍊,它們不僅同
時並進,更互相滲透,戲劇與儀式已經融為一體,不可分辨.故儀式為研究戲曲時不可忽略的
要素.因此本論文選擇以處在儀式與戲劇間的儺為研究主題,首先討論儺的意涵,儺的起源,
以及儺的核心人物方相氏,以釐清儺戲的形成與發展,其次,以儀式戲劇理論為基礎,分析桃
花女鬥周公一劇中的儀式因子,然後就儺的兩大面向社儺與願儺分別討論之,結尾並討論儺
戲與目連戲的區別,指出儀式戲劇的特質.

Ritual is the main performance context of Chinese darma. Ritual is closely co
nnected with drama. They are two sides of one body and are inseperable. Theref
ore ritual is an indispensible element in the study of drama. This thesisis co
ncentrated on the syudy of Nuo, which is a form of performance combinedof ritu
al and drama. In it I discuss the origin and developement, as well asthe meani
ng, of Nuo. I also discuss the two aspects of Nuo--"She-Nuo" and "Yuan-Nuo", a
nd try to point out the characteristics of ritual drama.