5 options
Chinese shadow theatre : history, popular religion, and women warriors / Fan Pen Chen.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Chen, Fan-Pen Li, 1953-
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Chinese drama--Translations into English.
- Chinese drama.
- Puppet plays, Chinese--History.
- Puppet plays, Chinese.
- Religion in literature--China--History.
- Religion in literature.
- Shadow shows--China--History.
- Shadow shows.
- Women in popular culture--China--History.
- Women in popular culture.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (366 p.)
- Edition:
- 1st ed.
- Place of Publication:
- Montreal ; Ithaca : McGill-Queen's University Press, c2007.
- Language Note:
- English
- Summary:
- In her study of Chinese shadow theatre Fan Pen Li Chen documents and corrects misconceptions about this once-popular art form. Drawing on extensive research and fieldwork, she argues that these plays served a mainly religious function during the Qing dynasty and that the appeal of women warrior characters reflected the lower classes' high tolerance for the unorthodox and subversive.Chinese Shadow Theatre includes several rare transcriptions of oral performances, including a didactic play on the eighteen levels of Hell, and Investiture of the Gods, a sacred saga, and translations of three rare, hand-copied shadow plays featuring religious themes and women warrior characters.Chen examines the relationship between historical and fictional women warriors and those in military romances and shadow plays to demonstrate the significance of both printed works and oral transmission in the diffusion of popular culture. She also shows that traditional folk theatre is a subject for serious academic study by linking it to recent scholarship on drama, popular religion, and popular culture.
- Contents:
- Pt. 1. The history and culture of Chinese shadow theatre
- 1. An introduction to shadow theatre
- 2. History and myths
- 3. The role of religion
- 4. Women warriors in shadow plays
- Pt. 2. Three Chinese shadow scripts
- "Three opening blessings"
- The eighteen levels of hell
- The Yellow River magic formation
- App 1. Suzi : non-standard orthography
- App 2. Collections of shadow playscripts
- App 3. Main plays of the various Chinese shadow traditions
- App 4. Shadow plays featuring women warriors.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- ISBN:
- 1-282-86646-X
- 9786612866463
- 0-7735-7599-5
- OCLC:
- 759157120
The Penn Libraries is committed to describing library materials using current, accurate, and responsible language. If you discover outdated or inaccurate language, please fill out this feedback form to report it and suggest alternative language.