An Oxford Anthology Of Contemporary Chinese Drama

This anthology of fifteen plays introduces Western readers to some of the finest Chinese drama of the last twenty years. Representing writers from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, the plays offer a wide selection of living Chinese theater, from socialist-realist, to comedic, to the experimental and avant-garde.

The first of its kind in English, this anthology translates twenty-two popular Chinese plays published between 1919 and 2000, accompanied by a critical introduction to the historical, cultural, and aesthetic evolution of twentieth-century Chinese spoken drama. Primarily comprising works from the People's Republic of China, though including representative plays from Hong Kong and Taiwan, this collection not only showcases the revolutionary rethinking of Chinese theater and performance that began in the late Qing dynasty. It also highlights the formation of Chinese national and gender identities during a period of tremendous social and political change, along with the genesis of contemporary attitudes toward the West. Early twentieth-century Chinese drama embodies the uncertainty and anxiety brought on by modernism, socialism, political conflict, and war. After 1949, PRC theater painted a complex portrait of the rise of communism in China, with the ideals of Chinese socialism juxtaposed against the sacrifices made for a new society. The Cultural Revolution promoted a "model theater" cultivated from the achievements of earlier, leftist spoken drama, even though this theater arose from the destruction of old culture. Post-Mao drama addresses the socialist legacy and the attempts of a wounded nation to reexamine its cultural roots. Taiwan's spoken drama synthesizes regional and foreign traditions, and Hong Kong's spoken drama sparkles as a hybrid of Chinese and Western influences. Immensely valuable for cross-disciplinary, comparative, and performance study, this anthology provides essential perspective on China's theatricality and representation of political life.

This condensed anthology reproduces close to a dozen plays from Xiaomei ChenÕs well-received original collection, along with her critical introduction to the historical, cultural, and aesthetic evolution of twentieth-century Chinese spoken drama. Comprising representative works from the PeopleÕs Republic of China, the collection encapsulates the revolutionary rethinking of Chinese theater and performance that began in the late Qing dynasty and vividly portrays the uncertainty and anxiety brought on by modernism, socialism, political conflict, and war. Chosen works from 1919 to 1990 also highlight the formation of Chinese national and gender identities during a period of tremendous social, cultural, and political change and the genesis of contemporary attitudes toward the West. PRC theater tracks the rise of communism in China, juxtaposing ideals of Chinese socialism against the sacrifices made for a new society. Post-Mao drama addresses the nationÕs socialist legacy, its attempt to reexamine its cultural roots, and postsocialist reflections on critical issues such as nation, class, gender, and collective memories. An essential, portable guide for easy reference and classroom use, this abridgement provides a concise yet well-rounded survey of China's theatricality and representation of political life. This work has not only established a canon of modern Chinese drama but also made it available for the first time in English in a single volume.

Chinese spoken drama flourished in the 1980s when it generated a series of national controversies. In important respects, this was the golden age of drama in the People's Republic, as the stage became a most effective arena for exploring long suppressed cultural and political issues, constituting an indispensable dimension of the reform that has been altering the landscape of contemporary Chinese culture and society. The plays in this volume are among the most influential and controversial, having engendered intense cultural debate and political confrontations. They include the only complete English language translation of Bus Stop by Nobel Prize-winning author Gao Xingjian. The film script was chosen from among the most acclaimed contemporary Chinese films for its high significance in the history of Chinese film and its international influence in the cinematic world. For general readers with diverse cultural and artistic interests, this anthology introduces a new world of performing culture that enriches, delights, and challenges. For students and scholars of modern Chinese culture and society, it provides insights into China's profound social, political, and cultural transformation. For students and scholars in theatre and film studies who are increasingly interested in dramatic creations beyond the boundaries of the European tradition, it offers much needed materials for broadening cultural horizons. Yan Haiping, who holds advanced degrees in theater arts from Cornell University, was awarded the First Prize for Excellence in Drama 1980-81 by the Society of Chinese Dramatists and the Ministry of Culture of the PRC for her ten-act historical play Li Shimin, Prince of Qin. contents Plays: WM, by Wang Peigong, playscript revised for performance by Wang Gui, translated by Thomas Moran; Pan Jinlian:The History of a Fallen Woman, by Wei Minglun, translated by Dave Williams with Xiaoxia Williams; Shanshuping Chronicles, by Chen Zidu, Yang Jian, Zhu Xiaoping, translated by Rong Cai; The Bus Stop by Gao Xingjian, translated by Kimberly Besio. Film: ld Well, by Zheng Yi, directed by Wu Tianming, translated by Shiaoling Yu.

Exploring one of the most dynamic and contested regions of the world, this series includes works on political, economic, cultural, and social changes in modern and contemporary Asia and the Pacific.

Reading the Right Text introduces six new plays from contemporary China, five of which are translated here into English for the first time. Chosen from a wide variety of well-received dramas of the period, each play represents the traditions and changes in a particular subgenre: regional theater, proletarian theater, women's theater, history plays, and experimental theater. Xiaomei Chen's wide-ranging and perceptive introduction locates the plays in the political and cultural history of modern China to demonstrate the interrelationship between theater, history, society, and everyday experience. She highlights the origin and development of the different sub-genres and outlines critical approaches from numerous fields, including gender studies, performance studies, subaltern studies, and comparative cultural studies. Quite apart from their importance as theater, these plays are crucial for a fully rounded understanding of the cultural dynamics involved in the transition from Maoist to post-Mao China, from socialist realist drama to the post-socialist response to a market economy and a society in flux.

Translation has a long history in China. Down the centuries translators, interpreters, Buddhist monks, Jesuit priests, Protestant missionaries, writers, historians, linguists, and even ministers and emperors have all written about translation, and from an amazing array of perspectives. Such an exciting diversity of views, reflections and theoretical thinking about the art and business of translating is now brought together in a two-volume anthology. The first volume covers a time-frame from roughly the 5th century BCE to the twelfth century CE. It deals with translation in the civil and government context, and with the monumental project of Buddhist sutra translation. The second volume spans the 13th century CE to the Revolution of 1911, which brought an end to feudal China. It deals with the transmission of Western learning to China - a translation venture that changed the epistemological horizon and even the mindset of Chinese people. Comprising over 250 passages, most of which are translated into English for the first time here, the anthology is the first major source book to appear in English. It carries valuable primary material, allowing access into the minds of translators working in a time and space markedly different from ours, and in ways foreign or even inconceivable to us. The topics these writers discussed are familiar. But rather than a comfortable trip on well-trodden ground, the anthology invites us on an exciting journey of the imagination.

Translation has a long history in China. Down the centuries translators, interpreters, Buddhist monks, Jesuit priests, Protestant missionaries, writers, historians, linguists, and even ministers and emperors have all written about translation, and from an amazing array of perspectives. This second volume of the seminal two-volume anthology spans the 13th century CE to the very beginning of the nineteenth century with an entry dated circa 1800. It deals mainly with the transmission of Western learning to China – a translation venture that changed the epistemological horizon and even the mindset of Chinese people. Also included are texts that address translation between Chinese and the languages of China's Central Asian neighbours, such as Manchu, which was to become of crucial importance in the Qing Dynasty. Comprising 28 passages, most of which are translated into English for the first time here, the anthology is the first major source book of its kind to appear in English. It features valuable primary material, and is essential reading for postgraduate students and researchers working in the areas of Translation, Translation Studies and Asian Studies.

Acting the Right Part is a cultural history of huaju (modern Chinese drama) from 1966 to 1996. Xiaomei Chen situates her study both in the context of Chinese literary and cultural history and in the context of comparative drama and theater, cultural studies, and critical issues relevant to national theater worldwide. Following a discussion of the marginality of modern Chinese drama in relation to other genres, periods, and cultures, early chapters focus on the dynamic relationship between theater and revolution. Chosen during the Cultural Revolution as the exclusive artistic vehicle to promote proletariat art, "model theater" raises important questions about the complex relationships between women, memory, nation/state, revolution, and visual culture. Throughout this study, Chen argues that dramatic norms inform both theatrical performance and everyday political behavior in contemporary China.