西方戲劇有兩個方面未得到國人足夠重視,一是源于希臘悲劇以排泄不潔物為前提的"凈化型戲劇"與中國文化的深刻差異,二是很多與中國戲劇相似的"同類項"——勵志陽光陶冶正面情感的"陶冶型戲劇"。始于古希臘的話劇偏愛演示惡的宣泄與凈化,中國戲曲喜歡弘揚善行陶冶性情。近百年來中西文化有所靠近,中國引進話劇改造后仍屬精英藝術;西方音樂劇快速發展,面向大眾很像傳統戲曲。中國的戲劇研究長期被凈化型話劇的精英模式主導,應加強研究百姓需要的陶冶型戲劇,包括喜劇、戲曲和音樂劇。

Two important aspects of western theatre have escaped the attention of most Chinese theatre people and scholars. One of them,originated from Greek tragedies full of familial killings,is a preference for the display and purgation of things unclean.This is largely incompatible with Chinese culture,in which theatre,especially Chinese opera,tends to showcase positive role models in uplifting stories. The other ignored aspect is reflected in a huge portion of western theatre that parallels the Chinese preference for moral cultivation and/or entertainment. In China theatre studies has been dominated by western discourse on serious drama,i. e. the theatre of purgation. It is equally important,however,to study the more popular western theatre genres,e. g. musical,comedy,and mystery,especially in terms of their similarities with Chinese opera,largely an epitome of theatre of cultivation.