Abstract
As seen in the previous chapter, the late Qing was a perfect era for political theatre: political and economic turmoil pushed theatre artists to dramatize current affairs; the rise of popular drama gave more voice and visibility to the local artists; and the presence of Westerners provided not only competition but also artistic and ideological inspiration. Late Qing political theatre indeed existed in several forms: old local opera equipped with a political message (as in certain border-crossing plays), new opera with modern stories and political themes (as performed by certain Cantonese opera troupes devoted to promoting the 1911 Nationalist Revolution), and modern theatre with political themes (such as the productions by Spring Willow). Whether it was about social reform or revolution, political theatre around this time was inevitably concerned with the performance of an ideal Chinese identity However, in certain extreme cases, theatre ceased to be political or even theatrical; theatre became the real revolution. The focus of this chapter is such kind of extreme theatre: the staging of revolution itself, which I term revolution-theatre. Revolution-theatre did not take place on stage but in real life, in the specific contact zone formed by Han Chinese, Manchus, and Westerners.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Notes
Richard Schechner, Between Theater and Anthropology (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1985), 35–37.
Joseph Roach, Cities of the Dead: Circum-Atlantic Performance (New York: Columbia University Press, 1996), 1–4.
Eugenio Barbas “Introduction,” in A Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology: The Secret Art of the Performer, by Eugenio Barba and Nicola Savarese (London and New York: Routledge, 1991), 9.
Zhang Rongzheng et al., eds., The Code of the Great QJng(Daqinglüli) (Tianjin: Guji, 1993), 569.
See Zhu Quan, (1378–1448) Taihe zhengyin pu (Taipei: Xuehai, 1991), 98.
Zhong Sicheng, Three Annotated Register of Ghosts (Jiaoding Luguibu sanzhong), ed., Wang Gang (Zhengzhou: Zhongzhou Guji, 1991).
Wang Xiaochuan, ed., Historical Materials on the Banned and Destroyed Novels and Plays of the Yuan, Ming and Qing (Yuan Ming Qing sandai jinhui xiaoshuo xiqu shiliao) (Beijing: Zuojia, 1958), 1–38.
See Zhao Erxun, ed., The Draft History of the Qing Dynasty (Qingshi gao) (Beijng: zhonghua, 1976), 13: 3480–3481.
J. Chesneaux, “The Modern Relevance of Shui-hu Chuan: Its Influence on Rebel Movements in Nineteenth-and Twentieth-Century China,” Papers on Far Eastern History, no. 3 (March 1971): 4.
Zhang Dejian, ed. The Compilation of Bandit Information (Zeiqing huizuan) (1855; rept., Taipei: Wenhai, 1968), 1:481
Barbara E. Ward, “The Red Boats of the Canton Delta: A Historical Chapter in the Sociology of Chinese Regional Drama,” in Proceedings of the International Conference on Sinology (Section on Folklore and Culture) (Taipei: Academia Sinica, 1980), 251.
Michel Foucault, Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972–1977, ed. Colin Gordon and trans. Gordon et. al. (New York: Pantheon Books, 1980), 82.
Liu Cishuang, “Cantonese Opera and the Uprising of the Red Turban Troop” (Yueju yu hongjun qiyi), Materials of Theatre Arts (Xiju yishu ziliao), vol. 13 (June 1990): 154.
Chen Feinong, Sixty Years of Cantonese Opera (Yueju liushi nian) (Hong Kong: Chen Feinong, Wuxingji shubao she, ca. 1983), 52.
Ma Chengtu, ed., The County Gazetteer of Gaoyao, Compiled in the Xuantung Period (Xuantong Gaoyao xianzhi) (Taipei: Chengwen, 1974), 26: 1498.
Jiang Biqiu, ed., The County Gazetteer of Luocheng (Luochengxianzhi) (Taipei: Chengwen, 1975), 281.
Copyright information
© 2006 Daphne Pi-Wei Lei
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lei, D.PW. (2006). Rebellion, Revolution, and Theatricality in Late Qing China. In: Operatic China. Palgrave Studies in Theatre and Performance History. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-06163-8_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-06163-8_4
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-73693-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-06163-8
eBook Packages: Palgrave Social & Cultural Studies CollectionSocial Sciences (R0)