Transforming tradition : the reform of Chinese theater in the 1950s and early 1960s / Siyuan Liu.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Liu, Siyuan.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Operas, Chinese--History and criticism.

Operas, Chinese.

Chinese drama--20th century--History and criticism.

Chinese drama.

China--History--1949-1976.

China.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (473 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Ann Arbor, Michigan : University of Michigan Press, 2021.

Summary:

Shortly after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the PRC launched a reform campaign that targeted traditional song and dance theater encompassing more than a hundred genres, collectively known as xiqu. Reformers censored or revised xiqu plays and techniques; reorganized star-based private troupes; reassigned the power to create plays from star actors to the newly created functions of playwright, director, and composer; and eliminated market-oriented functionaries such as agents. While the repertoire censorship ended in the 1980s, major reform elements have remained: many traditional scripts (or parts of them) are no longer in performance; actors whose physical memory of repertoire and acting techniques had been the center of play creation, have been superseded by directors, playwrights, and composers. The net result is significantly diminished repertoires and performance techniques, and the absence of star actors capable of creating their own performance styles through new signature plays that had traditionally been one of the hallmarks of a performance school. Transforming Tradition offers a systematic study of the effects of the comprehensive reform of traditional theater conducted in the 1950s and '60s, and is based on a decade's worth of exhaustive research of official archival documents, wide-ranging interviews, and contemporaneous publications, most of which have never previously been referenced in scholarly research.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

List of Illustrations

Introduction: Historicizing Traditional Chinese Theater

Prologue: Major Events of the Xiqu Reform

One. Censoring Content

Two. Purifying Theatricality in Performance

Three. Revision and Ideology: State Diplomatic Functions and the Theatrical Creative Process

Four. Regional Genres under the Great Traditional/Modern Divide

Five. Supremacy of the Script and the Elimination of Scenario Plays

Six. From Star-Centered Troupes to State-Owned Companies

Conclusion

Glossary

Notes

References

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 395-427) and index.

Description based on information from the publisher.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9780472128723

0472128728

OCLC:

1248747168