Overview

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.

Full Product Details

Author:   Xiaomei Chen
Publisher:   Columbia University Press
Imprint:   Columbia University Press
Edition:   abridged edition
Dimensions:   Width: 17.80cm , Height: 5.80cm , Length: 25.40cm
Weight:   2.069kg
ISBN:  

9780231145701

ISBN 10:   0231145705
Pages:   1120
Publication Date:   29 October 2010
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
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Language:   English

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Hu Shi, The Main Event in Life (1919), translated by Edward M. Gunn 2. Hong Shen, Yama Zhao (1922), translated by Carolyn T. Brown 3. Tian Han, The Night the Tiger Was Caught (1922-1923), translated by Jonathan S. Noble 4. Ouyang Yuqian, After Returning Home (1922), translated by Jonathan S. Noble 5. Ding Xilin, A Wasp (1923), translated by John B. Weinstein and Carsey Yee 6. Ding Xilin, Oppression (1925), translated by John B. Weinstein and Carsey Yee 7. Bai Wei, Breaking Out of Ghost Pagoda (1928), translated by Paul B. Foster 8. Cao Yu, Thunderstorm (1934), translated by Wang Tso-liang and A. C. Barnes, revised translation by Charles Qianzhi Wu, with a translation of prologue and epilogue 9. Li Jianwu, It's Only Spring (1934), translated by Tony Hyder 10. Xia Yan, Under Shanghai Eaves (1937), translated by George Hayden 11. Wu Zuguang, Return on a Snowy Night (1942), translated by Thomas Moran 12. Lao She, Teahouse (1958), translated by Ying Ruocheng, revised by Claire Conceison 13. Tian Han, Guan Hanqing (1958), retranslated by Amy Dooling 14. Chen Yun, The Young Generation (1965), translated by Constantine Tung and Kevin A. O'Connor 15. Weng Ouhong and A Jia, revised by the China Peking Opera Troupe, The Red Lantern (1970), translated by Brenda Austin and John B. Weinstein 16. Gao Xingjian, The Bus Stop (1983), translated by Shiao-Ling Yu 17. Li Longyun, Wilderness and Man (1988), translated by Bai Di and Nick Kaldis 18. Yang Limin, Geologists (1995), translated by Timothy C. Wong 19. Huang Jisu, Zhang Guangtian, and Shen Lin, Che Guevara (2000), translated by Jonathan S. Noble 20. Stan Lai (Lai Sheng-chuan), in collaboration with the cast, Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land (1986), translated by Stan Lai 21. Anthony Chan, Metamorphosis Under the Star (1986), translated by Grace Liu and Julia Wan 22. Joanna Chan, Crown Ourselves with Roses (1988), written and translated by Joanna Chan Glossary Contributors

Reviews

The Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Drama's excellent selection, colloquial and stage-friendly translations, and illuminating introduction undoubtedly make the volume the authoritative choice in teaching and reading modern Chinese drama for the foreseeable future. -- Siyuan Liu World Books - PRI's The World 4/20/11

<p> The Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Drama 's excellent selection, colloquial and stage-friendly translations, and illuminating introduction undoubtedly make the volume the authoritative choice in teaching and reading modern Chinese drama for the foreseeable future.--Siyuan Liu World Books - PRI's The World (01/01/0001)

Author Information

Xiaomei Chen is professor of Chinese and comparative literature at the University of California at Davis. She is the author of Occidentalism: A Theory of Counter-Discourse in Post-Mao China and Acting the Right Part: Political Theater and Popular Culture in Contemporary China; editor of Reading the Right Text: An Anthology of Contemporary Chinese Drama; and coeditor of East of West: Cross-cultural Performance and the Staging of Difference.

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