Modernization of Asian Theatres 2019

Yasushi
Nagata · Ravi Chaturvedi
Editors
Modernization
of Asian
Theatres
Process and Tradition
Modernization of Asian Theatres
Yasushi Nagata • Ravi Chaturvedi
Editors
Modernization of Asian
Theatres
Process and Tradition
Editors
Yasushi Nagata Ravi Chaturvedi
Graduate School of Letters School of Media and Communication
Osaka University Manipal University Jaipur
Osaka, Japan Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
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Foreword
The present volume deals specifically with traditional Asian theatre forms and looks
at their historical interconnectedness with western theatre forms.
What we have here specifically is more than a dozen new essays on Asian the-
atre. Each focuses in its own way on the relationship between the modern and the
traditional theatre, and they cover such countries as China (three essays); Taiwan
(two); Hong Kong; Okinawa, Japan (two); Korea (two); Malaysia (two); and
Singapore. There is also an essay on India.
It is a very rich collection which looks perceptively at and points scholars towards
many new areas for future research. In China, for example, we learn much that is
new about Uyghur drama and about the reception of the French well-made play
tradition in the country. We also learn about the evolution of Chinese Kunqu. In
other essays by an impressive gathering of new and established scholars, we learn
about Okinawan Shibai, about the rich ethnic tapestry that is modern Singaporean
theatre and about the influence of both Japanese Shingeki and the western Little
Theatre Movement on Taiwanese theatre.
There is useful material here as well on both modern and traditional theatre in
Japan with a fascinating essay on how Japanese theatre actually assimilated tradi-
tional forms into the daring experimental work of directorial masters like Tadashi
Suzuki and playwrights such as Sato Makoto.
In still another essay – this one on Korea – it is argued that to understand modern
Korean theatre, one must go back to the eighteenth century and take into account the
influence of the French Revolution. Also here is a short history of the National
Theater of Korea from 1950 which gives insight into the relationship between mod-
ern western stylistic approaches in production and the more traditional Asian ways
of doing things.
Two other essays of import on Malaysian theatre trace the history of modern
text-based theatre there in relation to traditional Bangsawan and Mak Yong styles.
v
vi Foreword
Essay on Indian theatre insightfully looks at the evolving relationships between

modern Indian theatre and the country’s “obsession” with traditional forms.
This special project provides a valuable material.
General Editor, World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre, Don Rubin

Professor Emeritus and Former Chair, Department of Theatre
York University
Toronto, Canada
Contents
1 Introduction: Modernization of Asian Theatres �� 1

Yasushi NAGATA and Ravi CHATURVEDI
Part I Process of Asian Theatre Modernization

2 Relevant Figures at the Early Stage of the Modernization
of Japanese Theatre �� 9
Mitsuya MORI
3 The Modernization of Korean Theatre Through the Reception
of Western Realism�� 23
Meewon LEE
4 Movement of the Western Modern Drama in Taiwan and Its
Modernity �� 41
Kun-Liang CHIU
5 Staging Reality: Premodern Drama in China at the Turn
of the Twentieth Century�� 63
Gilbert FONG and Shelby K. Y. CHAN
6 The Modernization of Malay Theatre: From the Makeshift
Stages of the Bangsal to the Proscenium Stage �� 87
Solehah ISHAK
7 Metamorphosis: “Modernity” on Stage – The Formation
of the Chinese Spoken Drama in Singapore (1913–1937)�� 101
YU Weijie
8 Modernization Re(ad)dressed in Indian Theatre�� 115
Ravi CHATURVEDI
vii
viii Contents
Part II Problematics of Asian Theatre Tradition

9 Representation of Chinese and Western Classics: 108 Heroes
and Measure for Measure in Taiwan�� 129
Iris Hsin-chun TUAN
10 The Translation and Reception of Eugene Labiche’s
Plays in Modern China�� 145
LO Shih-Lung
11 The Modernization of Chinese Xiqu with a Case Study
of Major Kunqu Productions in Mainland China, 2001–2013�� 165
YANG Ming
12 On the Modernity of Chinese Drama Through the Perspective
of Perception from Gao Xingjian’s Dramas�� 187
Yingying XIAO
13 From Traditional to Contemporary: Genealogy of Kumiodori
in Modern Okinawan Theatre Called “Okinawa shibai” �� 205
Shoko YONAHA
14 Bangsawan (1870–1940): An Analysis of Modern Performance
Elements and Its Role as Transitional Link Between
Traditional Malay Theatre and Modern Malaysian Drama�� 229
Zainal Abd LATIFF and Gan Eng CHENG
15 Assimilation of Asia: On Okawa’s Revenge and Nayotake�� 241
Yasushi NAGATA
Index�� 257
About the Editors and Contributors
Ravi CHATURVEDI is Professor and Director of the School of Media and

Communication at Manipal University, Jaipur, and Founder Head of the Department
of Culture and Media Studies in Central University of Rajasthan; Department of
Theatre and Film Studies, Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University; and
Department of Dramatics in the University of Rajasthan. He has authored several
publications and has been the Founder President of the Indian Society for Theater
Research since 2004 to 2015.
Shelby K. Y. CHAN is an Associate Professor at the School of Translation, The

Hang Seng University of Hong Kong. She is the author of Identity and Theatre
Translation in Hong Kong (2015, Springer). Her research interests include interpret-
ing, Chinese-language theatres, Gao Xingjian, cinematic adaptation, gastronomy
and translation, as well as postcolonial studies. She has also translated four plays
from English to Cantonese for stage performances in Hong Kong. Currently she is
translating Gao Xingjian’s monograph on drama into English.
Gan Eng CHENG is currently pursuing Master of Performing Arts in Malaysian

Theatre studies at the Cultural Centre, University of Malaya under Bright Sparks
Programme of University of Malaya. He graduated with a First Class Honors Degree
in Performing Arts (Drama) from the University of Malaya. He was a production
manager of The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPAC) and co-founder of
ACX Productions, a nonprofit theatre organization specializing in arts, culture, and
experimental productions.
Kun-Liang CHIU was Professor of Taipei National University of the Arts, Taipei,

Taiwan. He completed his Doctoral course on the Ritual Aspect in Chinese Drama
at the Seventh University of Paris in 1991. He was President of the university from
1997 to 2006. And, he served as Chairman of the Board, National Chiang Kai-Shek
Cultural Center, National Theatre and National Concert Hall, 2004 to 2006, and
Minister of the Council for Cultural Affairs, 2006 to 2007. He specialized in
modern Taiwan theatre history and published numerous articles and books such as
ix
x About the Editors and Contributors
Performance Space and Sacred Space, Audience and Believers: Anthology of

Theatre and Ritual in Taiwan (2013); “Ist das Volk unfehlbar?” Roar China!
Tretyakov and Meyerhold, Taipei (2013); Drifting Stage: The Period of Taiwan’s
Popular Theater, Taipei (2008); Chen-Shan and Gon-La Club: A Case Study of the
History of Taiwanese Drama (2002); A Study of Taiwanese Drama in the Age of
Japanese Rule (1993); and others.
Gilbert FONG is the Provost of Hang Seng Management College. He graduated

from The Chinese University of Hong Kong and received his MAs and PhD from
York University (Canada) and the University of Toronto. Afterward, he taught at the
University of Toronto and York University in Canada and was Professor-Reader and
Chairman of the Department of Translation at The Chinese University of Hong
Kong. He has written many articles on modern and contemporary Chinese literature
and translation. An acclaimed translator, Professor Fong translated into English
many plays by Gao Xingjian, winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Literature. They
were published in The Other Shore, Snow in August, Cold Literature: Selected
Works by Gao Xingjian (with Mabel Lee), Escape and the Man Who Questions
Death and Of Mountains and Seas. He also translated Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for
Godot, Jean Genet’s Haute Surveillance, Dale Wasserman’s Man of La Mancha,
Antonio Skármeta’s Burning Patience and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman into
Chinese, all for stage performances in Hong Kong. He was Editor and Author of
several books, including Dubbing and Subtitling in a World Context, On Drama,
History of Hong Kong Drama, Studies on Hong Kong Drama, Plays from Hong
Kong and others.
Solehah ISHAK is Professor of Theatre Arts at the Faculty of Film, Theatre and

Animation, University Technology MARA. She has a PhD in Theatre Arts from
Cornell University (USA), a Master’s Degree in Comparative Literature from
Pennsylvania State University (USA) and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Degree in
English Literature from the University of Malaya. Her areas of specialization are
traditional and modern Malay plays. Her field of study also includes Western plays.
She has presented numerous papers on Malay theatre, culture and the performing
arts, at both national and international levels. These papers have been published as
proceedings or chapters in books. Single-handedly, she has translated more than 35
Malay plays into English in an attempt to internationalize and put the Malay theatre
scene on a global stage. She has also translated German, Japanese and American
plays into the Malay language. A recipient of the Japan Foundation Fellowship and
also the Sumitomo Award, she has also translated Noh plays into the Malay lan-
guage and has researched on the Ohanashi Caravan Group, a professional children’s
theatre company in Tokyo. She has also received a DAAD Fellowship from the
German government for her work on Hermann Hesse and has received an award
from the French Ministry of Culture to work at the Bagnolet Theatre on the outskirts
of Paris and the Chaillot National Theatre. She is the Secretary of the Social
Development and Well Being Cluster of the Malaysian National Council of
Professors. She has done extensive research on Malay traditional and modern
About the Editors and Contributors xi
theatres seeing them within the socio-economic-political-cultural spectrums which

she has analysed within various theoretical trajectories. Currently, she is research-
ing on Malay healing performances.
Zainal Abd LATIFF is a former Associate Professor of Drama and Theatre, at the

School of Arts at the University of Science Malaysia in Penang (1979–2005). Zainal
graduated from USM with a BA Hons in Performing Arts (1974), MA in Drama and
Theatre (University of Hawaii, 1979) and an MSc and PhD in Educational
Technology (Indiana University, 1988). He has been teaching Acting and Directing
for more than 35 years at USM, UPSI, UNIMAS, UMS and ASWARA. Zainal has
presented several papers and conducted workshops on theatre, nationally and inter-
nationally, including Hawaii, London, Italy, Latvia, Tokyo, Tehran, Taipei, Jakarta,
Osaka and Brisbane. His interests vary from drama and theatre to culture, including
education. He created the ZAL Acting Method for the training of actors using
Pencak Silat, the Malay art of self-defence. Besides using theatre for educational
purposes, Zainal utilizes the Malay Silat in the training of actors. Zainal has given
several talks on Silat nationally and internationally, including Hawaii, London,
Italy, Latvia, Tokyo, Tehran, Taipei, Jakarta, Osaka and Brisbane. He was attached
to the Cultural Centre at University of Malaya as Deputy Director cum Senior
Research Fellow in the Drama Department, from 2010 to 2015.
Meewon LEE is Professor of Korea National University of Arts in Seoul, Korea.

She received her PhD at the University of Pittsburgh in the USA in 1983. Since then,
she has been a Professor and Critic in Korea. She served as the President of Korean
Theatre Research Association and Korean Theatre Critics Association; these two
groups are the biggest organizations for theatre in South Korea. She was also the
Director of the Folklore Institute at Kyung Hee University, where she had been a
Professor between 1986 and 2002, and the Director of the Korean National Research
Center for Arts. She is now an Executive Member of the International Federation for
Theatre Research. She published ten books such as Korean Modern Drama,
Globalization and Deconstruction in Contemporary Korea Theatre, Korea Mask-
Dance Theatre and Contemporary Korean Playwrights. Her English works are
“Kamyonguk: The Mask-Dance Theatre of Korea” (PhD dissertation), “Shamanistic
Elements of Korean Folk Theatre, Kamyonguk,” “Tradition and Esthetics of Korean
Drama,” “The Roots and Transmission of Korean Performing Arts” and many oth-
ers. She is interested in the aesthetics of Korean theatre in relation to its traditions
and the worldwide theatrical conventions and theories.
LO Shih-Lung is Assistant Professor in the Department of Chinese Literature at

Tsinghua University of Taiwan. He holds a BA from National Taiwan University in
Taipei, Taiwan, and an MA in Theatre Studies from Sorbonne Nouvelle University
in Paris, France. In 2012, he received his PhD in Theatre Studies from Sorbonne
Nouvelle University. From 2012 to 2017, he gave courses of Chinese Modern
Literature and Translation Studies in Paris Diderot University (Lecturer) and Paul
Valéry University in Montpellier (Project Assistant Professor). He was often invited
xii About the Editors and Contributors
by his colleagues in China, France and Taiwan to give talks on Chinese theatre, as
well as the translation and reception of modern Chinese literature. He was co-
founder of the International Center for Exchanges and Research of Performing Arts
(CIRRAS) based in Paris, where he was main organizer of activities related to
Chinese-speaking theatre. In 2015, he obtained the grant of the Chiang Ching-kuo
Foundation for International Scholar Exchange for the publication of his book
China on the French Stage in the Nineteenth Century (Rennes University Press). He
has translated several plays of French writers such as Michel Vinaver, Jean-Luc
Lagarce and Eugène Scribe. He is now working on his project about the Chinese
historiography and the modern literature. He also prepares the translation of French
writings of Song Chunfang.
Mitsuya MORI is Professor Emeritus at Seijo University, Tokyo. He was the

President of the Japanese Society for Theatre Research from 1996 to 2006. Mitsuya
Mori’s research works are categorized mainly into three fields: aesthetics of theatre,
Ibsen and Scandinavian drama and comparative theatre history focused on the mod-
ernizing process of theatre in Japan. His published books include Scandinavian
Theatre (1981), Ibsen’s Realism (1984), Comparative Theatre of the East and the
West (ed. 1994), Ibsen’s fin de siècle (1995), The Poetics of Theatre: Structural
Analysis of Theatre Performance (2007) and Changing Aspects of Theatre Studies
(ed. 2007). Mitsuya Mori has translated a number of Ibsen’s and Strindberg’s plays
and directed some of them with professional theatre companies. His production of
Double Nora, a modern Noh play based on A Doll’s House, was invited to the
International Ibsen Festival in Oslo in 2006.
Yasushi NAGATA is Professor of Theatre Studies, Graduate School of Letters,

Osaka University. He served as President of the Japanese Society for Theatre
Research. He specialized the Russian avant-garde theatre and finished doctoral
course in Theatre Studies of Meiji University in 1988. He was Executive Committee
Member of IFTR from 2004 to 2012, Organizer of IFTR annual conference in
Osaka 2011 and a Convenor of Asian Theatre Working Group. He published many
articles on theatre historiography, intercultural theatre, acting method and produc-
tion analysis on modern and contemporary Russian and Japanese theatres in many
anthologies such as Adapting Chekhov: The Text and Its Mutations, The Local Meets
the Global in Performance and Theatre and Democracy in English, and also The
Age of the Avant-Garde, The Theory of Japanese Arts and Performance in
Postmodern Culture in Japanese. He edited a book, Kabuki and Russia in Revolution,
with Shinwa Sha in Tokyo 2017. His recent interest is contemporary inter-Asian
theatre movement, aesthetics, performances and its historiography. He is also
Director of the Museum of Osaka University and Executive Producer of the
International Arts Festival and its Cultural Program Series there from 2013.
Iris Hsin-chun TUAN is Professor in the Department of Humanities and Social

Sciences at National Chiao Tung University (NCTU). Iris H. Tuan was a Visiting
Scholar chosen by the Top University Strategic Alliance (TUSA) to do 1-year
About the Editors and Contributors xiii
research (2012–2013) in the Department of English and Fairbank Center at Harvard

University. Tuan’s selected publications include the papers published by Asian
Theatre Journal (A&HCI) published by the University of Hawaii Press and Theatre
Topics by Johns Hopkins University Press among other excellent journals and
books, such as Intercultural Theatre: Adaptation and Representation. Tuan’s book
chapter “Taiwan” on Taiwanese Women Playwrights is accepted to represent Taiwan
to be published in the book entitled International Women Stage Directors by the
University of Illinois. Tuan was Supervisor of Taiwan Shakespeare Association
(2017~), Director of the Chinese Theater Association (2011–2012) and a Recipient
of the 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2013 NCTU Outstanding Research Award.
Tuan’s book, Taiwan Contemporary Theater, was awarded NCTU’s Scholarly Book
Award (2009). Iris H. Tuan received her PhD in Theater in 2005 from UCLA. She
writes on issues of culture, gender and representation in theatre, film, opera, litera-
ture and arts. Tuan’s current research is on transnational Asian and Asian American
performance studies. She also teaches the courses on Theatre Performing Arts;
Broadway Musicals; Visual Culture; Cultural Creative Industry; Film Studies,
Drama Genre; etc.
Yingying XIAO born in China, December 18, 1977, Bachelor of Chinese Literature
(China, 1996–2000), Bachelor of French Literature (France, 2003–2004), Master in
French Literature (France, 2004–2006) and Doctor of Asian Studies at the University
of Paris VII (France, 2007–2014), is currently Associate Professor of Comparative
Literature at Nanjing Normal University (2015 to present). Her fields of research are
Franco-Chinese contemporary literature and philosophy, transcultural theories and
transcultural theatre. She is also Visiting Professor of labex TransfertS at ENS
(École normale supérieure of Paris, 2017), Member of the Editorial Board of
Transcultural Dialogue (Beijing, 2015 to present) and Lecturer in Chinese at
University Cergy-Pontoise (France, 2013–2015). She published articles in Chinese,
French and English; her last publication is a monograph, A Fluid Subjectivity (in
French), Paris, Demopolis, 2017.
YANG Ming is a PhD candidate of Asian Theatre at the University of Hawaii at

Manoa. He came from Beijing, China. Having taken English Language and
Literature as his undergraduate major at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU),
he went on to graduate studies and got his Master’s Degree in Theory and Practice
of Translation and Interpretation from Sichuan International Studies University in
Chongqing, China. He taught at BFSU and Peking University for 7 years before
leaving for Hawaii to pursue his doctoral research. Yang is currently working on his
dissertation focusing on the aesthetics of Kunqu, a classical Chinese theatre form
that originated in the mid-sixteenth century. It is a production-based analysis of 12
major plays staged between 2000 and 2013 which seeks to examine the process of
those productions; identify the features of beauty being created in performance;
compare those characteristics with the traditions from the Ming and Qing Dynasties
and with the development in the twentieth century, specifically after the founding of
the People’s Republic of China in 1949; and communicate the contemporary
xiv About the Editors and Contributors
aesthetics of Kunqu as embodied in these practical works of theatre. His research

interests include the aspects of playwriting, directing, acting and designs in Kunqu
and other major forms of Xiqu (Chinese indigenous theatre), modern Chinese the-
atre and its course of modernization, comparative studies of Chinese and western
theatre and intangible cultural heritage preservation and development, approached
from the cultural studies perspectives such as nationalism and ethnicity, globaliza-
tion, commodification and gender studies.
Shoko YONAHA is a Drama Critic and Researcher in Okinawa. She has completed

her dissertation “A Study of Modern Okinawan Performing Arts History seen in
Tsuji Pleasure Quarter- Pleasure Quarter, Juri, and Performing Arts” in 2016. Her
recent article is “From Traditional to Contemporary: Genealogy of Kumiodori in
Modern Okinawan Plays Called ‘Okinawa Shibai’”, “Okinawan Drama; Its
Ethnicity and Identity Under Assimilation To Japan” and “War, Women, and
Memory in the play ‘Cafe Rycom’”. She is now supporting a handicapped female
dancer and singer Sachiko Oshiro’s performance and writing her life history.
YU Weijie An academia of theatre studies (MA, Shanghai Theatre Academy, China,

Ph D, Universitaet Bayreuth, Germany), Dr. Yu Weijie was also trained at Eugenio
Barba’s International School of Theatre Anthropology at DAMS, Universita di
Bologna, Italy, in 1990 (Fourth Edition). In addition to his practical work as Actor,
Director, Stage Manager and Producer with various companies in Germany like Wu
Wei Theater Frankfurt, Das Jugend Theater Nuerenberg, Theater an der Ruhr
(Muelheim an der Ruhr) (as the assistant for Roberto Ciulli), Opera Mundi
(Hamburg), Teatro di Filippini (Verona) in Italy, etc. in the 1990s, he also taught at
different theatre faculties of the universities in Germany, Austria, Italy, Czech
Republic, Hungary, China, etc. With the papers appeared in the core theatre research
journals since the 1980s in the languages of Chinese, English, German, Italian and
Czech, he has also published the books Traditione e realta del teatrocinese (as the
sole author) and TeatroCinese (as the co-author) in Milan in 1995. During the recent
years, Dr. Yu Weijie has been frequently invited to provide professional consultancy
on higher education of theatre to the university higher authorities in the UK,
Australia and China as well as to his own school of Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts,
Singapore, where he has built up a unique theatre programme (2001–2016). A mem-
ber of the International Theatre Institute (ITI), UNESCO, since 1984, Dr. Yu Weijie
also worked as a Residence-Research-Fellow at Prof. Fischer-Lichte’s International
Research Center of Interweaving Cultures in Performance in 2009–2010 at Freie
Universitaet Berlin, Germany, on a project commissioned by the German’s Federal
Ministry of Science and Education. In 2016, Dr. Yu Weijie received his National
Day (Public Service) Award (PBM) from the President of the Republic of Singapore
and, in 2017, his second Long-Year Service Award from Nanyang Academy of Fine
Arts, Singapore.
Chapter 1
Introduction: Modernization of Asian
Theatres
Yasushi NAGATA and Ravi CHATURVEDI
Asian theatre is one of the primary interests within theatre scholarship in the world
today. The number of papers on various aspects of Asian theatre presented at IFTR
conferences has greatly increased in the past 10–15 years. Since 2009, IFTR Asian
Theatre Working Group has held a biannual study meeting in order to explore com-
mon interests of Asian theatre, to discuss the differences in theatre among Asian
countries, and to learn from one another. The group consists of over 100 researchers
from Asian countries and regions—including Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan,
Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and India—as well as research-
ers who live in Western countries. Six themes have been central to our discussions:
training, translation, the cultural exchange among Asian countries, the role of the
female, tradition, and modernization.
Theatre scholars in general seem to be interested more in individual theatre pro-
ductions—modern or traditional—or theatrical events in Asia than in the historical
process of theatre modernization in Asian countries. In fact, our knowledge of Asian
theatre history is very limited and often surprisingly incorrect. We do not know
much about theatre history of other Asian countries outside our own, and this is why
we have chosen the theme of theatre modernization in Asia for the anthology to be
edited by Asian Theatre Working Group. At a study meeting held in Osaka in March
2014, our working group examined and edited papers about the modernization of
theatre to be submitted for publication. Nineteen members from overseas partici-
pated in this year’s meeting, and the papers in this anthology are mostly based on
this meeting and the discussion that took place there.
By modernization in theatre, we mean the movement of bringing certain theatri-
cal styles or attitudes from premodern or traditional theatre into the modern theatre.
Y. NAGATA
Graduate School of Letters, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
R. CHATURVEDI (*)
School of Media and Communication, Manipal University Jaipur, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
e-mail: [email protected]
© The Editor(s) and, if applicable, The Author(s) 2019 1

Y. Nagata, R. Chaturvedi (eds.), Modernization of Asian Theatres,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6046-6_1
2 Y. NAGATA and R. CHATURVEDI
To better understand this phenomenon, we first have to separately investigate the

concepts of “modern” and “theatre”. In the OED, the first definition of “modern” is
“being at this time; now existing”, and the second definition is “of or pertaining to
the present and recent times, as distinguished from the remote past; pertaining to or
originating in the current age or period”. The word “modern” is derived from the
Latin word modernus, which, according to Ernst R. Curtius (European Literature
and Lain Middle Ages), was first used around the beginning of the sixth century (a
fact also endorsed by the OED). However, Matei Calinescu says in his Five Faces of
Modernity that the word was already being used at the end of the fifth century.
Modernus had derived from an adverb, modo, which signified “just now”.
The history of the European world is usually divided into three periods: ancient,
mediaeval, and modern. The modern era—the period that we regard as our own—
began around the sixteenth century with the onset of the Renaissance. The peri-
odization of history as ancient, mediaeval, and modern is a system that has been
adopted by most countries in the world, undoubtedly including those in Asia, but the
dividing years are not necessarily the same in each country. In Japan, for example,
the modern period, called kindai, is usually considered to have begun in 1868, but
kinsei, the Japanese term for the previous period—the Edo era (1603–1868)—liter-
ally means “modern times” in English. Kinsei, the Edo era, was thus only partially
modern in the Western definition of the word. Therefore, the Western periodization
of history is not a suitable model to apply to the Japanese version of history. But
because the science of history was one of the modernized fields, the Western peri-
odization was adopted. This is therefore the problem of defining the word “modern”
in the history of Asian countries.
The concept of the “modern” has been further confused since the 1970s, because
anew term—“postmodern”—has been in fashion in Asia, as well as in the West.
Furthermore, there has been a sort of backlash against the term “postmodern” on the
part of some sociologists since the 1990s who argue that contemporary society still
maintains many important aspects of the period of modernity that began in the West
in the late eighteenth century. Anthony Giddens, one of the most prominent critics
taking part in this discussion, has argued that for each of the founders of sociology
in the nineteenth century, a single overriding dynamic force shaped their under-
standing of modernity—capitalism for Marx, industrialism for Durkheim, and ratio-
nalism for Weber. Giddens thinks, however, that modernity is closely connected
with the idea of the nation-state, which inevitably becomes conscious of the clear
border surrounding its dominant territories (Anthony Giddens, The Consequences
of Modernity, Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 1990, pp. 11–13). This tendency, in
turn—and also inevitably—leads to the expansion of the country’s territories. Asia
faced the overwhelmingly aggressive military powers of Western states beginning in
the middle of the nineteenth century, and while some Asian countries succumbed to
these outside forces, others hastily attempted to militarily modernize themselves to
cope with this new aggression. Japan followed the latter course of action, acquiring
the status of nation-state late in the nineteenth century, and began to take the aggres-
sive military approach towards other Asian countries, following the Western model.
The Western concept of “modern” is thus a sword of Damocles, so to speak.
1 Introduction: Modernization of Asian Theatres 3
However, this is not the place for further discussion on the issue of modernity.
We only need to make it clear that we are discussing the modernization, not the
post-modernization, of theatre in Asia. However, since the period of modernity dif-
fers between different countries in Asia, modernization is currently in place in some
countries, while post-modernization is occurring in others, and it is often difficult to
make a clear distinction between the two.
Japanese sociologist Ken’ichi Tominaga has offered a theory of modernization—
influenced by Talcott Parsons—that suggests that the modernization process of any
society transpires in four subsystems, namely, the social, cultural, political, and
economic systems (Ken’ichi Tominaga, Nihon no kindaika to shakaihendo
[Modernization of Japan and the Social Change], Tokyo, 1990). Needless to say,
some societies arrive at the modern stage earlier than others, and even in the most
advanced countries, not all of the characteristics of modernity appeared at the same
time. In the West, the social system was modernized with the disappearance of the
feudalistic family system and the emergence of self-governing cities towards the
end of the Middle Ages. In Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft (1887), Ferdinand
Tönnies characterized this process as the transformation from the Gemeinschaft of
the closed village society to the Gesellschaft of the open society of cities in which
the spirit of freedom and equality emerged. The cultural system further modernized
with the Renaissance and Reformation, under the dominant idea of rationalism.
Following this, the modernization of the political system was achieved with bour-
geois revolutions, a typical manifestation of which was the Great Revolution in
France in 1789, which promoted the tendency towards democracy. In the nineteenth
century, the industrial revolution modernized the economic system—a phenomenon
which first took place in England—and thus established the modern form of capital-
ism. Therefore, as was previously stated, Western society as a whole did not acquire
its genuinely modern characteristics until the mid-nineteenth century.
However, we should distinguish between two forms of modernization—a dis-
tinction that Tominaga seems to be ignoring. The first is to make a field or an aspect
of society modern, and the other is to become modern within a field or aspect of
society. This is another way to say that the verb “modernize” holds both transitive
and intransitive meanings. In his Gesammelte Aufsätzezur Religionssoziologie
(1920–1921), Max Weber says that all aspects of modernity were originally prod-
ucts of the West, which is to say that Western society became modern without adopt-
ing anything from non-Western countries. Non-Western countries, on the other
hand, had to import everything from the West in order to modernize. This is why
modernization inevitably refers to Westernization as well. However, modernization
was not realized in all four subsystems at the same time in non-Western countries,
either. On the contrary, the four subsystems did not modernize evenly because of
conflicts. Therefore, it is possible that a country could be in the modern era and yet
only be partially modernized.
Theatre itself is also a contested concept. The first definition of “theatre” in the
OED is “Gr. And Rom. Antiq. A place constructed in the open air, for viewing dra-
matic plays or other spectacles. An amphitheatre”. The second definition is “in mod-
ern use, an edifice specially adapted to dramatic representations; a playhouse”.
Therefore, a theatre is—before anything else—a site constructed for the viewing of
plays. This is only natural, for the word “theatre” has its origin in the Greek word
theatron, which is derived from theasthai, meaning “to behold”. Theatron was the
location for viewing in a Greek theatre. For a long time in Europe, theatre had been
the name for a place that had a construction similar to the Greek theatre, as the OED
says, such as “a temporary platform, dais, or other raised stage, for any public cer-
emony”, or “a room or hall fitted with tiers of rising seats facing the platform, lec-
turer’s table, or president’s seat, for lectures, scientific demonstrations, etc.”. The
meaning of “dramatic works collectively” comes into the definition of “theatre”
later; the first example of this usage noted in the OED is from 1640. However, the
modern form of theatre art—that is, an illusionistic performance of a drama enacted
by actors on the proscenium stage appreciated by collective spectators—did not
prevail in Europe until around the turn of the nineteenth century, precisely at the
time when the features of modernity were emerging in Europe.
Here we have to note two important points. The first is that drama and theatre
tend to be used interchangeably in the modern era. Drama has a long tradition of
scholarly analysis dating all the way back to Aristotle, while theatre does not, for its
meaning had been—as stated above—ambiguous until the modern era. This means
that it had previously been considered appropriate to apply the tools of criticism to
the text of the drama, but not necessarily to the performance. It was only in the
eighteenth century that dramatic criticism began to be written about the perfor-
mance of the work. Lessing was the pioneering critic in this respect. In other words,
theatre was eventually considered to have drama as its core only in modern Western
countries. The modern theatre was not only intended to amuse the audience with an
outward performing style. It eliminated a particular stylization of performance,
which had been its primary aspect for centuries, and tried to express the particular
problems of the modern era. It was naturally realistic. In this vein, the most promi-
nent modern playwright was Ibsen.
The second point is that the Western concept of theatre, which arrived in Asian
countries in the middle of the nineteenth or early twentieth century, was not only
new for Asians. Rather, it was a recently developed idea for Westerners as well,
especially in developing countries in Europe. Nevertheless, this conception of the-
atre was developed on the continuous line of history in Europe, while in Asia, the
Western concept of theatre caused a break in the trajectory of theatre history. Japan,
for example, had had no equivalent word to the European “theatre”, so a new word,
engeki, had to be coined. Engeki was not just any theatre, but rather a particular
form of theatre akin to that of the West—that is, realistic drama. Initially, therefore,
engeki did not include noh theatre.
It was certainly not easy to incorporate this type of dramatic feature into the
traditional Asian theatre, of which stylized theatre had been a main characteristic.
Was this modernization forced upon the theatre by external powers, or was it brought
about on its own volition? Of course, it was impossible to entirely modernize theatre
in such a short period of time. The context of theatre modernization naturally differs
in different countries and also depends on the different processes of modernization
in these societies. As Tominaga argues, a cultural system faces its most difficult
1 Introduction: Modernization of Asian Theatres 5
conflict between the new and the traditional. Theatre’s transition towards modern-
ization is perhaps the most difficult in the whole field of art. It would be interesting
to examine, from a comparative perspective, which aspects or elements of theatre
were first modernized, and what sorts of theatrical conflicts occurred during this
process in different countries or regions in Asia. Some countries experienced mod-
ernization at the beginning of the twentieth century, while it occurred in others dur-
ing the second half of the twentieth century. The experience also lasted only a short
time in some countries, while other countries continue to experience the transition
to this day. Historical and political situations also differ according to each country.
Ironically, the experience of accepting modern European theatre can unify theatres
in Asian countries as Asian theatre. Some countries have supported this theory,
while some deny it.
A number of items related to modern theatre can be classified into the following
categories: structures of theatre buildings, performance forms and presentation
manners, theatrical organizations and their training and education systems, the
structure of works and dramas, the perception of performers, the attitude of the
audience to the theatrical experience, and, finally, governmental policies. Each
country has experienced modernization in these ways. During the process, some
countries clearly accept modernization, while some countries strenuously oppose it.
For example, many contemporary theatres in Asia incorporate the Italianate stage in
their performances. Constantin Stanislavski’s system exhibits versatility, having
been amended and accepted by each country, and coexists with each country’s train-
ing system for performers. A country’s focus and priority can be observed in the
way Stanislavski’s system is amended and adopted. For example, the English ver-
sion of Stanislavski’s An Actor Prepares was published in 1936, and the translation
into Japanese began only a year later in 1937, becoming the core text of perfor-
mance theory in Japanese theatre after World War II. In China, conservatories estab-
lished after the revolution of 1949 were influenced by conservatories in the Soviet
Union, and Stanislavski’s system was introduced. The system has been said to affect
even Chinese traditional theatre, including the Beijing opera.
Another complicating factor was that modernization was not only introduced
from Europe but also generated by neighbouring Asian countries. This is still up for
debate and remains as such in this postcolonial era. Many countries throughout Asia
have experienced the effects of Japanese colonialism, for example, and its traces
continue to be seen in their respective cities. Japanese colonialism has been repeat-
edly expressed in the modern theatre of these countries, and it forms the frame-
work—or at least a core part—of their dramatic works. The Japanese perspective on
its own colonialism differs from that of other Asian countries. In the era of Japanese
colonialism prior to World War II, the cultures of other Asian countries were
absorbed into many Japanese dramas and reimagined into the Japanese style. These
kinds of absorption and altering have occurred repeatedly in modern Japanese the-
atre, both innocently and unintentionally. Wars fought in Asia, such as the Korean
War and the Vietnam War, were commonly experienced by Asian people, and the
Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union was actually fought in
Asia. This experience can be observed in modern Asian theatre as well.
The papers in this anthology suggest the identity of Asian theatre in each of their
topics. Many of these papers focus on the conflict between tradition and modernity
in theatre, suggesting that the problems of modernity closely related to the idea of
tradition. Although Asian countries preserved the traditional form and values of
their respective theatres—intentionally or not—they had to also confront the newly
introduced values or mechanisms of European modernity as well. As the papers
suggest, each theatre history experienced a kind of Asian dilemma based on the
acknowledgement of modernity. The following papers will satisfy, if only partially,
the curiosity about this development.
The papers in the Part I are critical surveys of the history of theatre moderniza-
tion in Asian countries or regions—Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malay,
Singapore, and Uyghur. Introducing the history of modernization in the theatre,
these papers describe and explore the problems associated with modernization in
particular places. Part II focuses on case studies of the history of modernization.
These are on contemporary Taiwanese performances, translations of modern French
comedy into Chinese, the modernization of Chinese Xiqu, modern Okinawa plays,
Malaysian traditional performance, Korean National theatre, and Japanese plays
during the war.
These papers describe how each country in Asia has accepted modernization
(which is to say, Westernization) during a certain point during the twentieth century.
During the process of acceptance, each country’s traditional theatre first conflicted
with—but then reached an understanding with—modern theatre.
References
Calinescu, Matei. 1987. Five faces of modernity: Modernism, avant-garde, decadence, kitsch,
postmodernism. Durham: Duke University Press.
Curtius, Ernst Robert. 1953. European literature and the Latin Middle Ages. Translated from the
German by Willard R. Trask. New York: Pantheon Books
Giddens, Anthony. 1990. The consequences of modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Stanislavski, Konstantin. 1936. An actor prepares. Trans. Elizabeth Reynolds Happgood. New
York: Theatre Arts Books.
Tominaga, Ken’ichi. 1990. Nihon no kindaika to shakaihendo [Modernization of Japan and the
Social Change]. Tokyo: Kodansha.
Tonnies, Ferdinand. 1920. Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft: Grundbegriffe der reinen Soziologie. 3
durchgesheneAufl. Berlin: Karl Curtius.
Weber, Max. 1920–1921. Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Religionssoziologie. Tubingen: J.C.B. Mohr.
Part I
Process of Asian Theatre Modernization
Chapter 2
Relevant Figures at the Early Stage
of the Modernization of Japanese Theatre
Mitsuya MORI
Introduction
In Japanese history, the modern times era is regarded to have started from the Meiji
Restoration in 1868. It is true that the previous period, Tokugawa or Edo era (1603–
1868), had a number of characteristics of modernity, such as the dominance of the
central government, under which regional lords maintained a certain degree of self-
government and ruled people in their territories, but many aspects of society
remained at the stage of the feudal system; people’s freedom to change professions
or residence was strictly limited, and the Edo government took the seclusion policy
not to allow the Japanese to travel abroad or foreigners to come to Japan freely.
As for the seclusion policy, however, Japan had been informed to some extent
about the Western world even under the seclusion policy in the Edo era, especially
in the nineteenth century. Western introduction was mostly through the Dutch, who
were allowed to reside at Dejima in Nagasaki. The news of the victory of Britain
over China in the Opium War (1840–1842) greatly shocked the Edo government, as
China had been Japan’s model and ideal in every aspect throughout its history.
When American Commodore Matthew Perry and his fleet appeared at the port of
Uraga, near Yokosuka, in 1853, and demanded the Edo government to accept diplo-
matic and commercial treaties, which were greatly disadvantageous to Japan, the
Edo government had enough knowledge about Western powers to understand what
dangerous situation might befall Japan if the American demand for an open Japan
should be refused. Thus, the government had to abolish the seclusion policy and
accept the unequal treaties. Those who were critical of the Edo government’s atti-
tude towards Western countries declared to fight against the government, raising up
the banner of sonno joi, which translates to “revere the emperor, expel the barbar-
ians”, and toppled the Edo government. They restored the Emperor’s sovereignty
M. MORI (*)
Seijo University, Tokyo, Japan

10 M. MORI
over the nation in 1868, in a historic even called the Meiji Restoration. However, the
new government quickly changed its attitude towards Western nations and openly
accepted them. The new banner was bunmei kaika, “civilization and enlighten-
ment”. At this time, the Meiji government was anxious to achieve the revision of the
unequal treaties the Edo government had concluded with Western powers. However,
when the government mission led by then Minister of Foreign Affairs Iwakura
Tomomi visited the United States and European countries in 1871 to negotiate with
them for the revision of the treaties, Japan immediately realized that Western pow-
ers would not seriously consider negotiating unless Japan possessed the economic
and military power equal to theirs. Lord Iwakura, therefore, changed his mission
from the negotiation of the treaties with Western countries to the observation and
investigation of the Western world in every field. The Embassy travelled throughout
America and Europe until 1873. The Meiji government set up the motto fukoku-
kyohei, or “enrich the country, strengthen the military”, and sought to be western-
ized in the economic and military fields, importing Western technologies and
techniques to modernize its industries. Indeed, industrial fields were the easiest to
modernize. Western technologies and techniques were all new for the Japanese, and
they could easily replace traditional technologies. Thus, the last phase of the West’s
modernization came first in Japan. The political system of advanced Western coun-
tries, that is, democracy, was only partially and incompletely adopted by the Meji
government. Obviously, the social and cultural systems were the most difficult to
change. In the field of art, the years predating modernization as it is defined at pres-
ent saw the efforts of various pioneers, who have been relegated to minor status
amid continuous progress.
Many studies have analysed the established greats in Japanese theatre, whereas
their precedents’ motivations have rarely been discussed in details. The present
work aims to bridge such a gap in the academic literature on modern Japanese
theatre.
The First Attempt at the Modernization of the Arts
Thus, westernization in the field of art meant the adaptation of new techniques of
Western arts. Meanwhile, technical achievements in art could serve the nation’s
military enforcement. For example, the first Western musical instrument for the
Japanese to have to learn was the Western drum. It is different from traditional
Japanese drums, as is the drumming technique. Western drumming serves to train
various movements of the infantry as a military group. Izawa Shuji (1851–1917),
who would be the principal of the first state-run school of music in 1887, started his
career as a drum player at the end of the Edo era. As a high official of the Meiji
government, Izawa was interested more in musical education for children than in
training professional musicians.
2 Relevant Figures at the Early Stage of the Modernization of Japanese Theatre 11
A similar case can be observed in the field of fine arts. The Western painting
technique was already introduced to Japan in the late Edo era, and the Meiji govern-
ment founded the first school of fine arts in 1876.
The school had been petitioned for in the previous year by Ito Hirobumi (1841–
1909), industry minister at the time, and so was under the management of the
Ministry of Industry. Three Italian art teachers were employed with the recommen-
dation of the Italian government to teach at the art school. One of them, Antonio
Fontanesi (1818–1882), was a prominent Italian painter, and his contract with the
school indicated that he “should teach the techniques of landscape painting, oil
painting, watercolor painting and figures, and also how to mix colors, to render
perspective, and to arrange pigment and others”.1 One of the first students of the art
school, Koyama Shotaro (1857–1916), stated later that he had a dream to be a
painter good enough to raise Japan’s artistic status by drawing pictures that would
overwhelm Western masters.2 The revamp in art education clearly corresponded
with the motto, “enrich and strengthen the country”.
In contrast, the theatre, that is, kabuki, was of much less interest for the Meiji
government. Obviously, a reason for this was the fact that in the Edo era, the ruling
class and intellectuals looked down on kabuki as merchant class entertainment. A
structural reason might have played a heavier role, however, as theatre techniques
were not possible to import and adopt as in the case of painting or music. The the-
atre’s basic element is the actor, and acting technique cannot stand by itself, com-
pared with the playing technique of the piano or painting technique that can be
taught by Western teachers. Acting is not separate from an actor’s body, and realistic
acting of a Japanese body almost inevitably turns out to be similar to kabuki acting.
The same applied to drama. Unless the Japanese language is replaced by a European
language, European dramaturgy could not wholly be transplanted in Japanese play-
writing. What a Japanese playwright could learn was a method of composition at
most. Even the best plays by Japanese proletarian playwrights in the 1930s, who as
communists were supposed to be more West-orientated than the other writers, are
structured similar to kabuki plays.
As such, what the Meiji government first wished for kabuki was only that it
would be sophisticated and refined enough to be enjoyed by foreign guests. (Another
traditional theatre, noh, was considered to be too unique to be westernized. It was,
and still is, keeping its own extremely high level of acting techniques.)
As late as 1878, Secretary of the Ministry of Interior Matsuda Michiyuki (1839–
1882), who would later become the governor of Tokyo, invited kabuki producer
Morita Kan’ya (1846–1897) and kabuki actors Ichikzwa Danjuro IX (1838–1903),
Onoe Kikugoro V (1844–1903), Nakamura Sojuro (1835–1889), and Nakamura
Nakazo III (1809–1886) to his house. Matsuda also asked Ito Hirobumi and Yoda
Gakkai (1833–1909), a literary critic, to be present at the meeting. This gathering is
1
Kaneko Kazuo, Kindai nihon bijutu-kyoiku no kenkyu—Meiji, Taisho-jidai [A study of art educa-
tion in modern Japan: the Meiji and Taisho eras], Tokyo, 1999, p. 47–48.
2
Ibid, p. 300.
12 M. MORI
known as practically the first attempt from the official side to advice kabuki
professionals to reform kabuki in accord with the motto, “civilization and

enlightenment”.
Ito, who petitioned for setting up the first state-run school of art 2 years earlier,
shared with the kabuki staff his experiences related to Western theatre, which he had
seen as a member of the Iwakura Embassy. Ito Hirobumi might have advised Kan’ya
to refine his theatre house and productions for it to be appointed a national theatre.
Ito was a lover of traditional geinoh (performance arts) and would become the first
patron of the geisha Yakko, later Sada-yakko (1872–1946). Kan’ya partly western-
ized his theatre, Shintomiza, when it was rebuilt in 1878 after a fire burned its origi-
nal headquarters, by including special seats for foreign audiences. At the opening
ceremony of the rebuilt Shintomiza, all of the kabuki actors appeared on stage in
Western-style clothes. The following year, Kan’ya invited the former US president
Ulysses Grant to Shintomiza and, 2 months later, produced Hyoryu kidan seiyo
kabuki (A Western kabuki play of a strange story of a drifting man). Select scenes of
the play were set in the United States and Europe, and a Western theatre troupe that
happened to be on tour in Yokohama, near Tokyo, appeared as guest performers in
the play as well. However, Kan’ya’s expectation of having Shintomiza recognized
as a national theatre never materialized. Ito Hirobumi was involved in a political
struggle and had no time to help reform kabuki. At any rate, theatre was not consid-
ered to contribute to the national campaign of “enrich the country, strengthen the
military”. A report of the Iwakura Embassy, compiled by Kume Kunitake (1839–
1931), a secretary of Lord Iwakura, did not contain any substantial description on
Western theatre. This omission was in sharp contrast with the pages given to exposi-
tions and analyses of art exhibitions and music concerts in various Western coun-
tries visited.
Katsureki Performances by Ichikawa Danjuro IX
Danjuro determined to make his kabuki performance more rational and logical. He
attempted, with Kan’ya’s approval, to make historical plays more faithful to his-
tory, abolishing traditional performing conventions such as mie (a pause between
movements), or stopping at the shichi-san (seven-three) on the hanamichi (flower
way) when entering the stage from the rear of the auditorium. Critic Kanagaki
Robun has dubbed Danjuro’s kabuki “katsureki-mono”, or a play of living history.
Danjuro’s attempts certainly could be called a modernization of kabuki. However,
his katsureki was not appreciated by the public and consequently disappeared from
the repertories. Nevertheless, his acting was admired by theatre critics and intel-
lectuals at the time, and recently katsureki-mono has been re-evaluated by kabuki
historians, who see a certain modernity in Danjuro’s performance. They consider
Danjuro’s style as being in accord with a modern way of theatre thinking. Theatre
critic Ozasa Yoshio, for example, says, “Danjuro tried to expel falseness from the
stage by empathizing with the character. [….] In other words, he was creating a
human creature. That was the essence of his kabuki reform, which no one else
could have made”.3 Likewise, kabuki historian Kamiyama Akira argues that
although Danjuro’s katsureki is criticized and his classical kabuki admired, his
logical and realistic style of katsureki had crept into his traditional kabuki perfor-
mances, which construct the modern concept of classical kabuki.4
Despite these arguments by kabuki scholars, the katsureki plays of Danjuro were
undoubtedly within the kabuki’s framework. Most of them were written by Kawatake
Mokuami (1816–1893), who was the greatest kabuki playwright at the close of the
Edo period and the early period of Meiji. He also wrote contemporary plays of
kabuki in modern times, zangiri-mono (crop-haired play). Kabuki critic Watanabe
Tamotsu regards a number of Mokuami’s plays as definitely heading towards mod-
ern drama. Watanabe thinks that Mokuami’s modern tendency was hindered by the
oppression of the reactionary Meiji government.5 In the late 1880s and 1890s,
nationalistic reaction against westernization began to prevail in Japan. Japan’s vic-
tories in the Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905)
misled the Japanese people to think of Japan as among the great world powers.
Indeed, throughout the modern history of Japan, the tendency of nationalism and
internationalism alternately gained ground.
These tendencies shifted yet again in 1886, and in this context, the semi-
governmental Engeki-kairyo-kai (Theatre Reform Society) was founded. Ito
Hirobumi, who had become the prime minister by this time, supported it from
behind. The manifesto of the Society declared that it had three distinct ends in mind:
(1) to produce good theatre in Japan, (2) to make the profession of playwriting hon-
ourable and respectable, and (3) to build good playhouses suitable not only for
theatre performances but also for music concerts and recitals. The leading figure of
the Society, Suematsu Kencho (1855–1920), made his opinions clear in a public
lecture. He suggested, for example, abandoning the hanamichi and eliminating
onnagata (male kabuki actors specializing in female roles) because they were unac-
customed conventions in Western theatre. Another member of the Society, Tokyo
Imperial University professor Toyama Masakazu (1848–1900), also published simi-
lar opinions. Their views elicited a backlash. Tsubouchi Shoyo (1859–1935) and
Mori Ogai (1862–1922) were at the forefront of the attack on the Society. Shoyo
was a professor of English Literature at Waseda University and would later translate
all of Shakespeare’s plays into Japanese. Ogai, a high-ranking medical officer in the
army and also a poet, novelist, and critic, had shortly returned to Japan from his
4-year study in Germany. They insisted that what modern Japanese theatre needed
most was good drama before anything else. Although Suematsu and Toyama did ask
3
Ozasa Yoshio, “Kindai kabuki no <seiyo> juyo” [Reception of “The Occident” in modern kabuki],
from Preprints: The 20th International Symposium on the Conservation and Restoration of
Cultural Property, Tokyo, Nov.12–14, 1996, p. 104.
4
Kamiyama Akira, “Katsureki no ryobun”[Territory of katsureki] Kindai-engeki no raireki
[Sources of the modern theatre], Tokyo: Shinwa-sha, 2006, p. 65.
5
See Watanabe Tamotsu, Mokuami no Meiji Ishin [Mokuami’s Meiji Restoration], Tokyo: Shincho-
sha, 1997.
14 M. MORI
for good drama as well, their much publicized call was for a theatre building similar
to the Paris Opera House, for, as was mentioned before, the easiest way of western-
ization would be the imitation of Western technologies and techniques, which in the
case of theatre, would be to construct a theatre house in the Western style.
Shoyo and Ogai represented Euro-phile literary men in early modern times in
Japan. It is paradoxical, therefore, that they supported the traditional kabuki conven-
tions, such as onnagata or hanamichi, opposing the proposal of a Western-style
theatre by the Theatre Reform Society. Perhaps the dispute between them should be
interpreted as a type of twisted manifestation of westernizing tendency on both
sides. What the Society was aiming at was, without doubt, the demonstration of
high-level theatre art for the foreign guests and high-class people in Japan, similar
to Rokumeikan. Rokumeikan was a Western-style mansion that opened in 1883 for
holding gorgeous balls to entertain Western diplomats and their ladies. It was for the
purpose of showing them how Japan had been westernized. In 1887, a year after the
foundation of Theatre Reform Society, tenrangeki (kabuki for the Emperor) was
held. The kabuki performance was programmed as an attraction for the opening
ceremony of the garden pavilion in the house of Foreign Minister Inoue Kaoru
(1835–1915), to which the Emperor was invited. The repertories consisted of clas-
sical plays, presented by Danjuro, Kikugoro, Ichikawa Sadanji (1842–1904), and
others. The tenrangeki was perhaps the only notable achievement of the Theatre
Reform Society. However, the Society would soon produce Yoda Gakkai, a member
who would play an important role in the early stage of theatre modernization.
Yoda Gakkai and Soshi Theatre
Gakkai was born in Edo in 1833 as the second son of a fairly high-ranking samurai
from Sakura-han, modern-day Chiba Prefecture. Gakkai received education in
Chinese classical literature and in his 20s was appointed to an important position in
local government before the Meiji Restoration. After the Restoration, he became
responsible for maintaining the Edo residence of the Lord of Sakura-han. Under the
new Meiji government, he was appointed to various positions, including as a secre-
tary of the Assembly of Metropolitan Tokyo and secretary of the first assembly of
local high officials. As such, Gakkai made the acquaintance of Fukuchi Ochi and a
number of high-ranking government officials, including Ito Hirobumi, who would
be one of the most influential politicians in the Meiji era. Thus, Gakkai flourished in
the political world before he came to be engaged with theatre. He was in his 40s
when he began to be closely invested in theatre reform and theatre professionals.
Gakkai became a member of the Theatre Reform Society. Subsequently, he
responded to the Society’s request of good drama and submitted a new play, Yoshino
shui meika no homare (An Honorable Poem as Yoshino Extra-story). The play was,
however, no more than a katsureki play. Thus, Gakkai might have thought of Danjuro
as the actor for the main character of the play. To Gakkai’s disappointment, how-
ever, the play was not performed in any kabuki theatre but only read in public at the
gathering of Society members. In the next 2 years, the Theatre Reform Society was
reformed to Engei kyofu-kai (Performing Arts Reform Society). Meanwhile, Gakkai
provided another play, Mongaku-shonin kanjincho (Holy Priest Mongaku and
Subscription List). This time, Danjuro staged the play but without Gakkai’s permis-
sion. There occurred a rift between Gakkai and Danjuro, and subsequently, Danjuro
chose to perform the works of Fukuchi Ochi (1841–1906) instead. Fukuchi was a
prominent journalist, as later described in this essay, but turned into playwriting,
and at the time had built Kabuki-za, a stronghold of kabuki theatre, in 1889. Gakkai,
for his part, approached newly founded theatre groups, such as soshi-shibai
companies.
As kabuki could not be westernized, a new modernized theatre enterprise had to
come from outside the kabuki world. This was soshi-shibai, or agitators’ theatre,
which started as a political theatre that criticized the government. Soshi was a pejo-
rative for the guards of a political speaker out in public. These political speakers
severely criticized the government and so were often physically attacked by
government-employed gangsters. Therefore, the speakers employed guards, called
soshi, who also occasionally served as speakers as well. Although the power of the
anti-government movement simmered after the government promised in 1881 to
issue a constitution and open the Diet in 10 years, the oppression of anti-government
speakers continued. Thus, soshi personnel decided to vent their anti-government
agitations to the public from the theatre stage. The first soshi-shibai was attempted
by soshi Sudo Sadanori (1867–1907) in Osaka in 1888. Although soshi actors were
no more than amateurs, their performances were much appreciated by the public
because of their realistic fighting scenes, only possible for amateurs. Soshi
Kawakami Otojiro (1864–1911) followed Sudo’s path and began his soshi-shibai in
Sakai, near Osaka. He brought his production to Tokyo as the first soshi-shibai in
the capital. The production included two plays: one based on an actual story of the
failed assassination of the well-known anti-government politician Itagaki Taisuke
(1837–1919) and the other an adaptation of a Western political story. The produc-
tion was a big hit. Soon, many other soshi companies emerged in major cities.
Gakkai’s first contemporary play, Seito-bidan shukujo-no misao (A Lady’s
Chastity as a Political Good Story), was first performed in Osaka in September
1891 by the soshi company of Sudo Sadanori. Gakkai’s second katsureki play,
Yoshino shui gonichi renshi no kusunoki (Twin Branches of Camphor Tree in the
Later Days of Yoshino-shui), had been produced by Kawakami Company in the
previous month of the same year. Gakkai associated with Sudo and Kawakami
because he saw the future of theatre in soshi actors, who were at the time in high
spirits for creating a new political theatre. They were all critical of the performing
style of kabuki. Gakkai also approached Ii Yoho (1871–1932), who aspired to start
a new theatre under Kawakami’s influence. Ii and his newly founded company,
Seibi-kan, produced Gakkai’s Seito bidan in 1891 as the opening production of their
activities. Ii was not as politically minded as Kawakami, however, leaning more
towards melodrama and subsequently establishing another track of soshi-shibai.
This new track would eventually become the mainstream of this genre, to be
renamed shinpa. Gakkai took the position of the advisor of Ii’s company and
16 M. MORI
explained his ideas to the company members. In his speech, which was printed in
Waseda Bungaku (Waseda Literature, Vol. 3, 1891), Gakkai said that he had been
impressed by soshi-shibai and thus so wanted to encourage the members of Seibi-
kan to pursue a more daring path, that is, the gender-mixed performance.
The appearance of a female performer on stage together with a male performer
was banned by the Edo government in 1629. Thus, kabuki became the theatre of
male actors and continued to be such until the end of the Edo era. After the Meiji
Restoration, this ban was supposedly lifted, but no one attempted a gender-mixed
performance before Seibi-kan’s production, because female impersonation had
been practised for a long time as an established unique acting style. Even innovative
soshi actors Sudo and Kawakami never thought of using female actors in their pro-
ductions at this time. The convention of female impersonation continued even in
performances of modern dramas until the 1920s. Thus, Chitose Beiha (1855–1918),
a former geisha, who played the heroine of Seito bidan in the Seibi-kan production,
can be regarded as the first female actor in modern Japan. To be sure, she was not
the first woman who appeared on stage in the Meiji era. Before her, for example,
Ichikawa Kumehachi (1846–1913) performed in public. However, Ichikawa was
one of the so-called onna-yakusha (professional female kabuki actor). The profes-
sion of onna-yakusha had a long tradition of performing kabuki plays in all-female
companies. Practically, they were not considered as actresses in the true meaning of
the word.
Despite Ii’s claim of being apolitical, the Seibi-kan production of Gakkai’s Seito
bidan, can be considered the first political drama in modern Japan, according to
critic Akiba Taro.6 The play depicts the behind-the-scenes political artifice of a
seemingly respected politician. Although it adopts a typical pattern of the later
shinpa higeki (shinpa Trauerspiel), in which a heroine dies, this play has a better
quality as a political play compared with those Kawakami produced. Nonetheless,
from the dramaturgical perspective, Gakkai’s plays would stand below those by
Fukuchi Ochi, the aforementioned playwright of Kabuki-za.
Fukuchi Ochi and New Kabuki
Fukuchi Ochi was born in Nagasaki in 1841 as the youngest son of a doctor of
Chinese medicine. Already as a young boy, Ochi was called a genius. Educated in
Chinese and Dutch, he later learned English as well. At 21 years old, he served as
an interpreter for the months-long Europe mission of the Edo government, visiting
six countries in his first time outside Japan. Then, in 1865, Ochi had the second
experience of going abroad, again as an interpreter for the governmental mission to
negotiate with Britain and France regarding the building plan of a steel manufactur-
ing factory in Yokosuka. The trip lasted 10 months, and Ochi was said to have
6
Meiji kindaigeki-shu [Modern plays in the Meiji era], Vol. 86 of Meiji bungaku- zenshu [Collected
literature of the Meiji era], Chikuma shobo, 1969.
acquired a working knowledge of Western theatre and literature during this trip.
From 1870 to 1871, which was after the Meiji Restoration, Ochi accompanied Ito
Hirobumi, a high-ranking officer of the Ministry of Finance, on an official half-year
trip to the United States to investigate American monetary and banking system. In
the latter half of 1871, Ochi again went abroad as the first secretary of the Iwakura
Embassy, which travelled throughout America and Europe for about 1 year and
9 months. As an embassy delegate, he joined invitations to theatre shows as a
national guest. His colleagues, however, were only bored because they could not
grasp the story of the play at all. Thus, Ochi read in advance on the play they would
see in the evening and then shared the plot to the other members of the delegation.
In such manner, Ochi himself became drawn to theatre. After his return to Japan, he
read several hundreds of plays of kabuki and joruri (bunraku plays). He often gave
kabuki playwright Mokuami a summary of the plot of a Western play to be adapted
in the Japanese setting. Ochi was hired as the editorial writer of the newspaper
Tokyo nichinichi shinbun (Daily Tokyo) in 1874 at the age of 34. He is said to have
been energetically engaged with writing editorial articles every day on sundry top-
ics from current affairs to political, economic, social, and cultural issues. When the
Theatre Reform Society was founded, Ochi was one of the members. He joined the
reformed Performing Arts Reform Society as well. Unlike Gakkai, however, Ochi
did nothing particular for both these societies. Instead, he wrote an editorial for
Daily Tokyo dated March 31, 1888, on the issue of theatre reform and said as
follows:
To reform theatrical art forms is more difficult than anything else. It is easy to advocate their
reform but quite hard to actually do it. If we replace our own theatre form with those in the
West, it is the revolution, not reform, of theatre. […] The main meaning of reform is to
intend to gradually change our own to a better status and finally to reach the goal of com-
plete improvement. What I expect is not revolution but reform.
Ochi wanted to take his position apparently in between the progressives and the
conservatives. This was true in his attitude to politics and economics as well. This
may be the reason Ochi has not been highly regarded in the modern history of social
ideas. Nonetheless, he was undoubtedly the most influential journalist in the first
half of the Meiji era. Tokutomi Soho, a leading journalist in the second half of Meiji
era, has said in his memory of Ochi that he used to eagerly copy Ochi’s editorials in
Tokyo Daily every day to learn the journalistic style to express his own ideas.7 Yano
Ryukei, Ochi’s rival editor of the newspaper Hochi shinbun also comments on Ochi
as follows:
You were at the highest of power for about ten years from the mid-1870s to the mid-80s.
Your power was as such as if everything in this world would be controlled by your opinions
in Tokyo Daily articles. […] I tried to […] compete against him. I may have had a good
chance to compete in the discussion of political systems, but about economic systems, such
as a stock exchange or a rice exchange in particular, I always had to follow him. Everyone,
“Tokutomi Soho talks”, Waseda Bungaku[Waseda Literature], 1906, No. 2, p. 61.

7
18 M. MORI
both inside and outside of the government, was in a way brainwashed to believe that one
had to read Mr. Fukuchi’s articles if one wanted to learn from the West.8
Tsuchiya Takao, economics professor at Tokyo University, has re-evaluated

Ochi’s ideas of the economical policies at the time, which were influenced by his
abundant knowledge of Western economic systems from investigative trips to
America and Europe. Tsuchiya argues that Ochi’s economic ideas were formed by
the British school of orthodox economics in addition to the economic ideas of
American protectionism or the historical school. He concludes as follows:
Ochi’s way of argument was not formulism but enforcement of positivistic theory on the
base of historical analysis and understanding of current situations. His basic position pro-
moted economic democracy, so that he objected intervention or oppression, but approved
reasonable protectionism. He could give broad and not one-sided observation because he
was well acquainted with economic systems, situations, and ideas, both Western and
Japanese.9
No scholar of economics has hitherto followed Tsuchiya’s evaluation of Ochi, who

is primarily considered to be a man of theatre.
In 1889, the Theatre Reform Society was, for the third time, reorganized and
called Nihon engei kyokai (Japan Performing Arts Society). Tsubouchi Shoyo and
Mori Ogai joined this society. According to Shoyo’s later memoir, the first one,
Engeki kairyokai, was too progressive; the second, Engei kyofukai, was too conser-
vative; and the third, Nihon engei kyokai, was in between.10 Therefore, this Society
must have been in accord with Ochi’s idea of theatre reform, but he was not active
in this third society, either, for it was mostly young intellectuals who managed this
society. Ochi was already too old to be one of them. This third society did not pro-
duce any significant results, either. In the previous year, Ochi retired from Daily
Tokyo, for which he had been the president for some time. In 1889, the year of the
start of Nihon engei kyokai, Ochi established Kabuki-za with the financial support
of a traditional theatre investor, Chiba Katsugoro (1833–1903). Kabuki-za was
managed under the double ownership of Ochi and Chiba, but the following year,
Ochi lost this position and became a mere playwright-in-residence of the theatre. At
Kabuki-za, Ochi enjoyed a close relationship with Danjuro. The best known among
Ochi’s plays for Danjuro are Kasuga-no-tsubone (Lady Kasuga the Nurse, 1891)
and Omori Hikoshichi (1897). His sewa-mono, or play for ordinary people, Kyokaku
harusame-gasa (A chivalrous person’s umbrella for spring rain, 1897), also remains
in the repertories of kabuki. These plays by Ochi are called shin kabuki (new kabuki).
New kabuki is regarded to have started with Tsubouchi Shoyo’s Kiri-hitoha (A leave
of paulownia, 1894). However, whereas Shoyo’s A leave of paulownia had not been
8
Quoted in Otawara Arifumi, Judai senkakukisha den [Ten frontrunners of journalists] Osaka-
Mainichi & Tokyo Daily, 1926.
9
Takao Tsuchiya, “The Economic Theory of Fukuchi Ochi, a Leading Spirit in the Cultural Field
of the Opening Country”, The Opening Japan Centenary Essays on Cultural History in the Meiji
Era, ed. Association of Opening Japan Centenary, Tokyo: Kangen-sha, 1952, pp. 764–5.
10
Tsubouchi Shoyo, “Kaioku-mandan [Trivial memoirs] No. 2”, Waseda Bungaku [Waseda
Literature], Nov. 1925.
performed until 1904, 10 years after its publication, Ochi’s plays were immediately
staged by Danjuro at Kabuki-za. Theatre critic Toita Yasuji argues that Lady Kasuga
the Nurse was, despite resembling a new kabuki play, no more than a katsureki play
that maintained the traditional kabuki dramaturgy.11 Ochi’s plays are undeniably
more enjoyable even for today’s audiences than Gakkai’s works, such as Yoshino
shui or Mongaku shonin. Ochi’s plays are more easily understood, as his plots are
simple and the dialogues prosaic.
Ochi, 8 years junior to Gakkai, may have been less intimately bound to the old
Edo taste, which had an attitude of taking a certain psychological distance towards
an object of appreciation even if such an object appeals to the mind and the heart.
Gakkai was more radical towards the reform of contemporary theatre, but he never
considered attending practical training inside a theatre company. Ochi, in contrast,
committed himself into the actual theatre world, as a playwright-in-residence at
Kabuki-za. This difference between Gakkai and Ochi rendered a significant impact
on their respective output. Nevertheless, neither Gakkai nor Ochi produced plays
that could be considered as decidedly genuine modern drama, shingeki.
Meanwhile, the soshi-shibai developed significantly, without Gakkai’s influence,
and came to be called shinpa, or new school. Japanese scholars of modern theatre
have been debating whether shinpa, especially Kawakami Otojiro’s performances,
should be considered the first stage of shingeki. Shingeki is usually regarded to have
started with the first Ibsen production, John Gabriel Borkman by Jiyu-gekijo (The
Free Theatre) in 1909, and also with the second Ibsen production, A Doll’s House
by Bungei Kyokai (Literary Society) in 1911. Although Kawakami had produced
several Western plays, all of them were adaptations to Japanese settings. When
Kawakami produced Shakespeare’s Othello in 1903, for example, Cyprus was
transformed to Taiwan and Othello to a Japanese admiral. Theatre critic Ozasa
Yoshio is one of those who would re-evaluate Kawakami’s shin-engeki, or new the-
atre, as Kawakami called his own productions, and regard Kawakami as a definite
forerunner of shingeki. Ozasa also points out reforms in theatre management
Kawakami attempted for his own productions.12 Likewise, the American and
European tour of the Kawakami Company with Sada-Yakko (1872–1946) at the
turn of the twentieth century has recently been re-evaluated as a catalyst to the
European avant-garde theatre emerging at the time. Prominent figures, such as
André Gide, André Antoine, and Pablo Picasso, reportedly appreciated the perfor-
mance of Kawakami and Sada-Yakko at the Paris World Fair in 1900. Shortly before
his death, Kawakami attempted to put Ibsen’s Enemy of the People on stage at his
newly built theatre in Osaka, Teikokuza, adapting it to employ Japanese settings.
Such an adaptation, staged 2 years after the Ibsen production of John Gabriel
Borkman (translated), implies that Kawakami did not hold a definite image of how
11
Toita Yasuji, “Introduction”, Kabuki meisakushu [Best kabuki plays], Vol. 13, Tokyo: Sogen-sha,
1957, p. 273.
12
Ozasa Yoshio, Nihon gendai engekishi [The history of modern Japanese theatre], Vol. I, Tokyo:
Hakusuisha, 1985, pp. 479ff.
20 M. MORI
modern theatre should be. In other words, his shin-engeki would not possibly have
developed to shingeki, even if he had not died in 1911 at the age of 47.
Indeed, the first person in the theatre world to attempt to render his image of a
modern theatre may be Hanabusa Ryugai, albeit unsuccessfully.
Hanabusa Ryugai’s Theatre Activities
Hanabusa Ryugai (1872–1906) is primarily remembered for his shinpa plays and
adaptations. He is briefly mentioned in theatre history books as having adapted and
produced Ibsen in 1902. Ryugai’s detailed career had not been known even to the-
atre scholars until the late professor of modern Japanese theatre history, Fujiki
Hiroyuki, published an article on Ryugai’s life and theatre activities.13
According to Fujiki’s article, Hanabusa Ryugai was born to a farmer in Okayama
Prefecture, in the southern part of the main island of Japan, in November 1872. He
became interested in literature and theatre in his boyhood and could not resist an
ambition to become a major literary figure by reforming contemporary theatre. He
moved to Tokyo and managed to become an apprentice writer of a kabuki theatre
company. Impressed by Shoyo’s first new kabuki, Kiri hitoha (A Paulownia Leaf,
1894), Ryugai recommended this play to be produced by the company, but it was
refused. Indeed, Shoyo’s play was not performed for 10 years because its new dra-
maturgy was beyond kabuki actors’ comprehension. Ryugai, disappointed with the
kabuki world, moved to shinpa, subsequently writing plays and adaptations of pop-
ular novels for shinpa companies. He provided Kawakami Company with adapted
plays and, according to Fujiki, became a writer attached to Kawakami Company
around 1901. The play Kawakami produced after the tour in America and Europe, A
Tragedy on the Foreign Tour, was written by Ryugai. This play was based on
Kawakami’s own story of his and the company’s misfortunes during the tour. Still,
Ryugai was not satisfied with the shinpa actors, who seemed to him to be outra-
geously immoral. He was eager to go beyond shinpa’s already established conven-
tions of commercial theatre entertainment and often debated with other theatre
critics and playwrights on how a modern drama should be. He wished to see a
publicly supported theatre, in which practitioners could pursue an ideal theatre
without worries about money. He was more farsighted than others in the Japanese
theatre world at the time and yet realistic enough to say that as a national theatre
would be difficult to establish amid the political situation at the time, a municipal
theatre would be preferable.14 As such, despite being in deep poverty, he organized
his own company, Yoshiki engeki-sha (Western-style Theatre Company), with ama-
13
Fujiki Hiroyuki,“Hanabusa Ryugai to Yoshiki-Engeki [Hanabusa Ryugai and Western-style the-
atre]”, Journal, Kyoritsu Women’s College, Faculty of Letters, Vol. 19, 1972.
14
Hanabusa Ryugai, “Shiritsu gekijo wo kensetsu seyo! [Establish municipal theatres!]”, Yomiuri
shinbun, November 29, 1903.
teurs, and then, as mentioned above, staged an adapted version of Ibsen’s An Enemy
of the People in 1902.
The text of Ryugai’s adaptation of Ibsen’s play has no extant copy, but judging
from the detailed story of the play printed in a newspaper after the performance, it
was based on the current antipollution movement of farmers, who were suffering
from a great pollution problem caused by a copper mine industry in Ashio in central
Japan. In other words, the plot of the adaptation had little to do with Ibsen’s original
play. A slightly parallel element to Ibsen’s play is the brotherhood of the hero, who
is the leader of the revolting farmers, and his conservative older brother, who per-
suades the hero not to be too radical. The hero’s wife, who is faithful to her husband,
resembles Katrin in An Enemy of the People, who shows her faithfulness to her
husband when he is kicked out by everyone in town. Fujiki assumes that the hero’s
utterance of the importance of independence was taken from the last line of
Stockmann, the hero of An Enemy of the People, who says, “The strongest person in
the world is the most independent person”. This wording in Japanese is found in the
translation of the play published a year prior.15 Further, the hero’s complaint, “The
present law judges everything from the result, not from the cause”, may have been
taken from Krogstad’s line to Nora in the first act of A Doll’s House. The translation
of A Doll’s House appeared in the same book in which the translation of An Enemy
of the People was printed. Nonetheless, Ryugai’s adaptation remained within the
shinpa dramaturgy. Fujiki poorly estimates Ryugai’s understanding of Ibsen.
Ryugai’s primal idea might have been to encourage the antipollution movement
against the copper mine industry rather than to introduce Ibsen’s play itself. Ryugai
used Ibsen’s name because it was already big enough in Japan to draw intellectual
viewers. Ryugai contributed the production’s profit to the anti-Ashio-pollution
movement.
A hot-tempered and yet idealistic man, Ryugai was always searching for a the-
atre style that would be effective in modern society. At the early stage of his career,
Ryugai preferred realistic and socially minded drama, such as Ibsen’s. Ryugai had
advocated seigeki even before Kawakami Otojiro used the term for his adaptations
of Shakespeare. Indeed, this word was coined by Mori Ogai as a Japanese transla-
tion of “drama” in opposition to gakugeki for “opera”. Seigeki literally means “legit-
imate play”. However, according to Fujiki, Ryugai turned out to be more interested
in gakugeki late in his life. Although Ryugai was already suffering from tuberculo-
sis, he sought to learn how to play the Japanese musical instrument shamisen and
wrote an opera script, which he hoped to put on stage with kabuki actor Ichikawa
Komazo. It was not realized, but this plan was formed even before Shoyo’s influen-
tial essay “Shin gakugeki-ron (A new theory of gakugeki)” was published in 1904.
In his last years, Ryugai retired to his home village in Okayama because of his
illness and died at the age of 34, without realizing many of his future plans and
almost forgotten by theatre historians. Fujiki has the following words on him in the
concluding part of his article:
Takayasu Gekko, trans, Ibsensaku Shakaigeki[Ibsen’s social dramas], Tokyo: Tokyo Senmon-
15
Gakko, 1901.
22 M. MORI
Without doubt, the limitation of his activities is apparent, starting as an apprentice of a

kabuki company writer and then becoming a shinpa playwright till the end of his life. His
understanding of Ibsen and his original or adapted plays may not be worthy of discussion
from today’s perspective. But after his death, the shingeki movement emerged with a truly
modern mind, and many of Ryugai’s ideas and plans came to be realized, and genuine the-
atre reform was done. Hanabusa Ryugai was, with all his limitation as a shinpa playwright,
a hidden promoter of shingeki indeed, and I would call him a forerunner of [the] shingeki
movement.16
Ryugai’s case showed the real difficulty of creating a new theatre, having been part
of the old theatre world. He wished to change shinpa from within. He had a strong
grasp of European theatre. However, his image of a new theatre was too ideal and
abstract. Compared with Osanai Kaoru (1881–1928), who also started his career as
theatre practitioner in a shinpa company before becoming the most important figure
in shingeki history, Hanabusa Ryugai somehow lacked an ability to break the firmly
established tradition. It was perhaps a limitation of his generation. Osanai Kaoru
belonged to the generation next to Ryugai’s. As such, the different generations of
theatre reformers must be taken into consideration to see the complexities involved
in the process of theatre modernization in Japan. However, such an endeavour will
require another paper.
References
Fujiki Hiroyuki. 1972. Hanabusa Ryugai to Yoshiki-Engeki [Hanabusa Ryugai and Western-Style
Theatre]. Journal, Kyoritsu Women’s College, Faculty of Letters. 19.
Hanabusa Ryugai. 1903. Shiritsu gekijo wo kensetsu seyo! [Establish Municipal Theatres!].
Yomiuri shinbun, November 29.
Kamiyama Akira. 2006 Katsureki no ryobun [Territory of katsureki] Kindai-engeki no raireki
[Sources of the Modern Theatre], 65. Tokyo: Shinwa-sha.
Kaneko Kazuo. 1999. Kindai nihon bijutu-kyoiku no kenkyu—Meiji, Taisho-jidai [A Study of Art
Education in Modern Japan: The Meiji and Taisho Eras] Tokyo.
Ozasa Yoshio. 1985. Nihon gendai engekishi [The History of Modern Japanese Theatre], vol. I.
Tokyo: Hakusuisha.
———. 1996. Kindai kabuki no <seiyo> juyo [Reception of “The Occident” in Modern kabuki],
from Preprints: The 20th International Symposium on the Conservation and Restoration of
Cultural Property, Tokyo, November 12–14, p. 104.
Takao Tsuchiya. 1952. The Opening Japan Centenary Essays on Cultural history in the Meiji Era.
Tokyo: Kangen-sha.
Takayasu Gekko (trans). 1901. Ibsensaku Shakaigeki [Ibsen’s Social Dramas]. Tokyo: Tokyo
Senmon-Gakko.
Toita Yasuji. 1957. Introduction. In Kabuki meisakushu [Best kabuki plays], vol. 13. Tokyo:
Sogen-sha.
Tsubouchi Shoyo. 1925. Kaioku-mandan [Trivial Memoirs] No. 2, Waseda Bungaku [Waseda
Literature], November.
Watanabe Tamotsu. 1997. Mokuami no Meiji Ishin [Mokuami’s Meiji Restoration]. Tokyo:
Shincho-sha.
16
Fujiki, op.cit. pp. 104~5.
Chapter 3
The Modernization of Korean Theatre
Through the Reception of Western Realism
Meewon LEE
What Is the Modernization in Korea?
What is the modernization? Modern is one of the three big periods in the western
history, i.e. ancient, mediaeval, and modern. To most Asian countries including
Korea, the modern means mostly westernization, but the beginning of the modern
differed in each country according to the impact of the western imperialism.
Modernization in western countries came into being after the French Revolution
and Industrial Revolution; in other words, it happened after the achievement of
equal society and the accumulation of capitals. Strong nations were politically built,
and reasoning and scientific thoughts prevailed in culture. Western imperialism was
expanding, and accumulations of capitals were accelerated as the modernization
ensued.
Modernization began with the western imperialism in Asia. Japan, after learning
of western power, tried to imitate the imperialism of the west. After the mid-
nineteenth century of ‘Joson’, the last royal dynasty of Korea, it was a period of
multiple rapid social and political changes. Daewongun, a major political figure and
the father of King Gojong, banned all foreign trade and cultural interaction in the
nineteenth century. However, after losing battle of Ganghwa Island with Japan,
compulsory trade treaty with Japan was ratified in 1876. This was an unequal treaty
that paved a path towards the colonized ‘Joson’. After this trade agreement, many
western powers such as England, the USA, and Russia sought the same benefits
from Korea. After these treaties, the westernization rapidly spread.
Korean society at that time soon realized the need for westernization of political,
social, and economic systems, and the modernization of Korea began. The biggest
reformation of Joson government was ‘Gabogeongjang’ (The Joson’s Modern
Reformation) in 1894. It declared the abolishment of social classes and slavery, new
M. LEE (*)
Korea National University of Arts, Seoul, South Korea

24 M. LEE
hiring scheme based on individual talent, prohibition of early marriages, allowing

the widow to remarry, tax payments in cash, standardizing weights and measures,
foundation of banks and companies, and many others. Although nowadays there are
conflicting views on the success of this reformation, ‘Gabogeongjang’ at least
served as a momentum for Korean modernization. In other words, it was the official
beginning of Korean modernization.
There are three opinions on the beginning of the Korean modernization. The
prevailing opinion is that the beginning of Korean modernization is considered as
the beginning of westernization. As mentioned above, ‘Gabogeongjang’ was con-
sidered to be the first step to the modernization. However, after the postcolonial
thought in the 1970s, many other opinions came into being. Among them, two are
dominant; one is seeking the beginning of the modernization around the eighteenth
century and the other is seeking it after 1945, when Korea was liberated from Japan.
The first opinion seeks the modernization with the beginning of the accumulation of
capitals and the shaking of caste system. After the two invasions of Japan (1592–
1598) and China (1636–1637), Joson dynasty began to change; the peddler class
became rich (the signs of capital accumulations), and the caste system of Yangban
wobbled after the eighteenth century. Although the official letters were still Chinese
characters, vernacular Korean letters were widely used and prose style prevailed
over poetic style in writing. Furthermore, this opinion considers Korean moderniza-
tion to be independent of the west; the economic, social, and cultural signs them-
selves were indicating the modernization of Korea. Those who believe Korean
modernization after the independence consider civic consciousness essential to true
modernization. There were no civic consciousness, freedom, and equality under the
colonial Korea, and there were limitations on capital accumulations. Therefore, true
modernization could not proceed under the colonial society, and the independence
is an important factor for modernization. In other words, the self-developed mod-
ernization is important for the people who have the postcolonial thoughts. Thus, the
new beginning of Korean modernization casted back to around eighteenth century
or extended after the Korean independence.
However, these two ideas of modernization are two extremes, and in general, the
reception of westernization in Joson is believed to be the beginning of moderniza-
tion in Korea. Imitating rational and scientific western thoughts, systems based on
reason such as abolition of caste system were opted to mark the beginning of mod-
ernization. The intelligentsia of the time was very eager to be westernized since the
west had the military power based on rational science. In order to overcome the west
and the imperial interferences in domestic affairs, they believed it was important to
learn and imitate the western powers of that time.
When we think of Korean modernization, the cultural aspect of westernization is
very strong, while economic and political aspects are very weak; it is hard to accu-
mulate capitals economically under political colonial ruling. Only social cast ended
following the western free thoughts. Whether the various conditions of the modern-
ization are achieved or not, the modernization also in the middle of time flowing; it
came and went as time went by. Therefore, the modernization of Korea achieved at
least by early twentieth century.
3 The Modernization of Korean Theatre Through the Reception of Western Realism 25
The Modernization of Korean Theatre
The modernization of Korean theatre began at the turn of the twentieth century with
the reception and incorporation of western realistic theatre. The reformation of
Korean theatre started amidst the larger social reformation. The reception of west-
ern culture and modernization were controversial in Korea at that time. The society
understood the advantages of westernization but felt threatened by the loss of tradi-
tion and imperialism.
Since Japanese colonial government discouraged the traditions while encour-
aged the western, existing traditional actors called ‘Gwangdae’ were reluctant to
perform the western-style acting. However, all aspects of society began to change
rapidly, and so did the theatre. New intellectual actors came into being after the
1910s, and the western realism was achieved in the 1930s.
The Western-Style Indoor Theatre
The first western-style indoor theatre called Heopyeulsa (協律社)1 opened in 1902
at the royal court as the official royal theatre. Korean diplomats who had been in
western countries suggested building of western-style theatre to entertain and foster
interaction among foreign diplomatic envoys. Thus, the first indoor theatre came
into being at the outskirts of royal palaces. However, Heopyeulsa’s official opening
ceremony never took place due to national difficulties such as severe drought, a seri-
ous illness of King’s son, and poor harvest. Since there was no the official opening,
Heopyeulsa did not receive any royal subsidy. Meanwhile traditional performances
including P’ansori and traditional dances were performed, and a new genre called
Changguk was developed at Heopyeulsa. Changguk is a role-divided P’ansori,
where each actor plays a role with a main narrator. Compared to P’ansori, where a
single narrator presents the whole story, Changguk shows western theatrical influ-
ences for its dividing roles.
Social atmosphere of 1900 was serious because of the threat of imperialism and
encouraged learning. According to the eyes of reformers, the content of the perfor-
mances of Heopyeulsa was considered obscene, lewd, and filthy in the age of
enlightenment. Instead of expressing new ideas of modernization, the contents were
mainly from the old P’ansori and acrobatics, aiming only for entertainment.
Furthermore, the audiences of Heopyeulsa were mainly the richest and geishas
rather than diplomatic envoys. Many officials who were Confucian scholars and
believers of social betterment appealed to the court to close down Heopyeulsa due to
its offences against public morals. Thus the court decided to close down Heopyeulsa,
even before its formal opening ceremony. The performances at Heopyeulsa remained
traditional, and the realistic productions were still many years off.
1
Sa (社) means a company or an organization. Though there were temporary stages or modified
indoor stages as a part of building, there was no indoor permanent theatre before Heopyeulsa.
26 M. LEE
After Heopyeulsa closed in 1906, the first private theatre Wongaksa (圓覺社)
opened at the same place in 1908. Lee Injik (李人稙: 1862–1916)2, a major sup-
porter of the theatre, was a high official at the court and studied in Japan at the turn
of the century. With his influence and interest, he rented the first indoor theatre,
which was unused, and opened it with a new name, Wongaksa. This opening cere-
mony initiated the modernization of Korean theatre. He tried a new theatre with his
western-style play of The Silver World (銀世界: 1908), which was based on a cor-
rupted local governor at that time.3 Along with the accusation against the governor,
Lee Injik included new ideas of modernization regarding social progressivism. It is
interesting to know that he borrowed the title of The Silver World from Japanese
Sinpa theatre. However, since there were no Korean actors trained in the new style,
the acting style remained similar to that of P’ansori. Thus, the production showed
many characteristics of the transitional theatre between the traditional and the west-
ern. Because of its transitional characteristics, minority opinion considers the pro-
duction style of The Silver World to be similar to Changguk rather than the new
Sinpa theatre. However, due to Lee Injik’s revolutionary and western tendencies,
The Silver World is commonly credited as a new theatre in lines with Sinpa.
Korea was colonized by Japan in 1910, which accelerated modernization despite
strong resistances. Western culture and science were encouraged by Japanese
governor- general; so-called scientific reformations of traditional custom were
imposed in order to oppress Korean traditions, and new literary forms came into
being. Theatre was not an exception. Traditional performances such as mask-dance
theatres and shaman performances were oppressed, and new western-style enter-
tainments were encouraged. Since the modernization of Korean theatre underwent
with colonization, it had some distortions; it could never discuss independence,
imperialism, and total freedom. The modernization was mainly limited to scientific
reformations and efficient western social systems. In other words, the moderniza-
tion was achieved not in its spirit but only in techniques.
The New Sinpa Theatre of the 1910s
The New Sinpa theatre (新派劇) flourished in the 1910s, while traditional perfor-
mances were rapidly decreased. Compulsory modernization by Japanese imperial
government affected all aspects of society, and theatre was not an exception. Ihm
Sunggu (1887–1921) opened a new era of Sinpa theatre in the 1910s. He made the
2
He is the pioneer in modernization of Korean theatre but was the secretary of Lee Ywanyoung,
who played a major role in signing of the treaty of Japanese annexation of Korea. Plus, The Silver
World was the only theatrical production. Thus, his role in Korean theatrical modernization was
often depreciated.
3
The novel, The Silver World, was published almost at the same time as its performance. It is west-
ern style in the following aspects; it tries to keep the causality of plot, to pick up the issues of
society, and employs everyday language. Since the story promoted pro-Japanese attitudes, its insis-
tence for modern reforms is devalued nowadays.
Theatre Group ‘Renovation (Hyuksindan:革新團)’ and produced a play titled

Undutiful must be Punished (不孝天罰) in 1911 according to the new Japanese
Sinpa theatre, which was the first imitation of western theatre. However, the content
itself emphasized the filial duty, which is very traditional. Korean Sinpa Theatre was
an imitation of Japanese Sinpa of that time, but a little different from it because
Korea did not have Japanese traditional theatre such as kabuki.4 Therefore, the style
such as pronunciation and movement was different from Japanese Sinpa even though
it tried to imitate it. But many repertories of Japanese Sinpa were adapted into
Korean Sinpa. Undutiful must be Punished was not an exception; it adapted Japanese
Obsessiveness of the Snake (蛇之執念). This new Sinpa was not successful; it was
closed after only one night due to the lack of audience. However, subsequent perfor-
mances such as A Robber with a six-chambered Revolver were very successful after
Ihm Sunggu advertised its performances on newspapers. A Robber with a six-cham-
bered Revolver, also an adaptation of Japanese Pistol Robber Shimizu Sadakichi (凊
水定吉), is a story of a policeman who risks his life to arrest a robber with a revolver
in order to keep social orders despite being fatally shot. Ihm Sunggu was so popular
that he wore silk clothes even when he played the role of bagger. From this, we can
tell his production was based on the star system and not fully realistic. Although he
was not a theatre major or studied abroad, he gained more popularity than anybody
else. His tendency to appeal to the emotion seemed was in line with Sinpa theatre.
In addition to Ihm Sunggu, Yoon Paeknam (尹白南:1888–1954), and Lee Gisae
(李基世:1890?–1930?) were the representative directors of Sinpa theatre. They both
studied theatre in Japanese Universities and knew Japanese Sinpa better than Ihm
Sunggu, but their efforts to be close to Japanese Sinpa made them unpopular. In the
face of Japanese imperialism, Sinpa theatre similar to Japanese Kabugi style made
the Korean public audience uncomfortable.
Korean Sinpa Theatre had many characteristics of western melodrama. It appealed
to the emotion, often allowing for sensual exaggerations, and was focused on the pro-
motion of virtue and the reproof of vice. In addition, Korean Sinpa theatre pursued ideas
of Korean wealth and armament at the beginning, but it soon became theatre of domes-
tic affairs due to the colonization, which forbid any imposition of social ideas. The act-
ing style was based on the everyday language (though exaggerated), star system, and
improvisations from story outline. Detailed scripts were not written, and actors had to
improvise after learning the outline of the story similar to commedia dell’arte.
Under the excuse of modernization, Sinpa theatre was encouraged by Japanese
governor-general in order to suppress Korean traditional performances. Although
Sinpa theatre’s style was totally different from the traditional ones, its repertories
often borrowed the stories from traditional novels. In other words, Sinpa theatre
tried to adjust to Korean culture and audience. Although Sinpa theatre failed to
become the modern realistic theatre, it popularized the concept of ‘language-theatre’
in contrast to the traditional performances.
4
Suh Yon-Ho’s The History of Korean Theatre (韓国演劇全史), recently translated into Japanese,
calls Korean shinpa ‘shinpa-cho theatre’ (新派調劇) rather than ‘Shinpa theatre’ (新派劇) which
is commonly called in Korea.
28 M. LEE
The Students’ Groups and ‘Towolhoe’ of the 1920s
After the Samil Independence Revolution in 1919, where not only Korean intelli-
gentsia but also the general Korean public protested against Japanese imperialism,
Japanese governor-general switched policies from oppression to appeasement.
Newspapers such as Donga and Chosun came into being, and many other journals
were allowed to be published. This cultural atmosphere allowed students to give
‘enlightenment lectures’ to the public. Along with these lectures, many new theatres
and new music were performed. Realistic renovation of theatre came along with
these students’ productions.
More realistic productions came into being by university students in the 1920s.
The Association of Theatre Arts (Keugyesul Hyophoe: 劇藝術協會 1920–1923),
the Association of Earth and Moon (Towolhoe: 土月會 1923–1932), and many other
students’ groups produced modern western plays as well as their original realistic
works. The students’ groups performed mainly to enlighten the public during sum-
mer vacations. Their performances often included lectures, western music and songs,
and theatrical events. Thus, mainly realistic one-act western plays such as Chekhov’s
The Bear, Lord Dunsany’s The Glittering Gate, and Bernard Shaw’s How He Lied to
Her Husband were produced. While representative playwrights of realism were cho-
sen, their representative plays were not performed since the groups were amateurs
and lacked the capability to produce full-length plays. They also produced their
original plays such as The death of Kim Youngil (Kim Younil-ue Sa), which portrayed
the milieu of working students in a realistic manner and introduced various western
modern philosophies such as Christian humanism, communism, dandyism, and
Nietzscheanism. All these productions were pioneers of the realistic theatre; actors
tried not to exaggerate their speeches and acting, realistic backdrops were provided,
first women actress such as Lee Wolhwa (1904(?)–1933) and Bok Hesuk (1904–
1982) stood on stage, and the main taboo or issues of the society such as sexuality
and the early marriage custom were described in their original plays. Although their
members were amateur, these students’ groups firmly established the foundation for
realistic theatre. The members were elites of the time and had full knowledge of
western realistic theatre. In fact, their theatre movements could be compared to the
independent theatre movements in Europe. Kim Wujin (金祐鎭:1897–1926) and
Park Seung Hee (朴勝喜:1901–1964) were the representative leaders and were sons
of aristocrat unlike the traditional actors who were from the lower or outcast class.
As the status of theatre people rose, so did the role of theatre in Korean society.
Theatre was no longer a mere entertainment but became a medium for social reforms.
Influenced by Romain Rolland’s people’s theatre, they tried to enlighten the public.
The modernization of the Korean theatre by the reception of western realism was
nearly complete. The plays of Kim Wujin and Park Seung Hee were realistic, and
their new productions heavily incorporated western realism and were proficient in
the realistic style.
Among these students groups, the Association of Earth and Mood became a lead-
ing professional theatre company of the 1920s. After the success of students’ pro-
ductions, Park Seung Hee, a leading member of the group, rented a theatre in 1923
and showed a new repertory for every 3 days for a year. By himself, he had to pro-
vide the scripts, direct, promote, and financially support the company. Thus, the
active performances would not last long, and their effects were limited. However,
owing to these performances, the realistic productions of the students’ groups could
take hold, and the commercial theatre began to change.
Modern realistic original plays also came into being in the 1920s. Like western
realistic plays, they focused on social problems such as sexual taboos, early mar-
riages, and patriarchal tyrannies. They used everyday language and detailed descrip-
tion of environments following the footsteps of western realism. Some of the
representative plays are The death of Kim Youngil (1921) by Jo Myonghi (1894–
1938), Lee Youngyeo (1925) by Kim Wujin, and When the steam whistle blows
(1924) by Kim Yunjung (1886–1940?). Although their main characters were differ-
ent from one another (i.e. self-supporting students, a common woman, a labourer’s
family, etc.), they all represented poverty at that time. The issues of society, their
milieu, and taboos were well described in a realistic manner.
The first academy for actors also came into being in 1920 by Hyun Chul
(玄哲: 1891–1965), who was attending the theatre school in Japan. He made use of
his student experience and ran the academy for about a year. But the academy was
closed when the realistic performance was planned; the student had complaints
about their roles. However, it was the first western educational system for actors,
and it produced actors who became important later on. Hyun Chul attempted the
second academy for actors in 1925. Although it also lasted only a year, it produced
famous actresses such as Bok Hesuk (1904–1982). These schools aimed to teach
theories and practices for actors and actresses. They founded the educational ground
for acting and theatre. Hyun Chul also wrote many introductions about modern
western theatre and introduced many western realistic theories and directors.
The groundwork for the western realistic theatre was set up in the 1920s.
Although realistic productions were rare compared to the commercial Sinpa theatre,
the main direction for realistic theatre was fixed. Even the commercial Sinpa theatre
was inspired by these productions and tried to be more realistic, and this new Sinpa
even made the trend called ‘Improved Sinpa’ (改良新派). Most importantly, the
realistic theatre movement took hold by the Association of Earth and Moon. Above
all, the realistic theatre movement was settled, and the company of the Association
of Earth and Moon led this movement. However, further incorporation of western
realistic style into Korean theatre followed in the next decade.
Theatre of Social Realism
In the later part of the 1920s, social realism also came into being, and so did a few
social realistic plays. KAPF (Korea Artista Proleta Federatio in Esperanto) was
organized in 1925 and existed until 1935. It was basically a social realistic literary
30 M. LEE
organization, which made many famous literary debates on modern literature, but it
also expanded its area to theatre due to its intimacy with the public.
The social realistic literary works were few in number, but they evoked many
debates on social and literary issues and marked the first era of literary debates. The
social realistic theatre was rare compared with other areas of arts due to Japanese
censorship. Although some plays were written and published, they hardly passed
the censorship and were not performed. However, Kim Youngpal (1904–?) and
Sung Young (1903–1978) were the representative social realistic playwrights; their
Hear of Mother’s Death (Buuem, 1927) and Self-Defense Martial Art (Hosinsul,
1931) were famous. The former deals with a hero who participates in communist
fights in spite of hearing his mother’s death, and the latter is a satirical drama where
the hero makes his whole family learn self-defence because of the fear for the pro-
letariat workers of his company.
Sung Young, a founding member of KAPF, led the social realistic theatre move-
ments and is the only social realistic playwright whose plays were performed more
than once. The social realistic artists believed they worked for proletariats, but the
attending audiences were only the intellectuals of the time. Thus, Sung Young tried
to spread ‘SoInguk theatre’, a kind of amateur theatricals that employed small num-
ber of actors, limited set and props, and short running time around 1 hour. He also
established the travelling theatre (Edongsik theatre) in order to reach the working-
class audience. In fact, the ideas of ‘SoInguk theatre’ and ‘Edongsik theatre’ seemed
to be the way out for the social realistic theatre. Despite these theatres, the attempts
to reach the intended audience were unsuccessful due to lack of the talented and
money.
KAPF’s activity decreased after 1931 when Japanese governor-general put its
leaders in jail for communist ideas. Although KAPF raised many cultural issues and
led to organization of structured theatre companies, the social realistic performances
themselves were not many due to the censorship of the Japanese governor-general.
However, it was the first time that theatre companies were organized both locally
and nationally. Following KAPF’s activity, many theatre companies were started
regionally, and theatre aimed for the public rather than for the intellectuals for the
first time.
he Achievement of Realistic Theatre by ‘Theatre Arts Studies

T
(Keugyeul Yeonguhoe)’ in the 1930s
The western modernization was overall settled in the 30s since many people edu-
cated in western style returned to Korea after their studies in Japan by the time. But
Japanese governor-general began to prepare for wartime since the Manchurian
Incident in 1931. As time went on, society suffered greatly from censorship and
heavy taxation. However, during these difficult times, modernism began to sprite,
partly because social realism got heavily oppressed and partly because the liberal
intelligentsia got familiar with the western avant–garde of the time. But modernism
was mainly prevailed in poems and novels with the exception of a few plays. Kim
Wujin, the leader of 1920s’ realistic theatre, was also the pioneer of modernism. His
expressionistic play of Shipwreck (1926) is still evaluated as one of the best Korean
expressionistic plays. In the 1930s, Kim Girim, who is better known for poetry,
wrote several modernistic plays such as Mr. Bulldog and A Man from Heaven.
However, modernistic plays were never performed at that time. In other words,
although modernism was taking hold in literature, theatre productions remained
realistic. Because theatre is more open to the public than literature, unrealistic pro-
duction would be difficult to be well received.
Hong Haesong (洪海星: 1893–1957) formed the most important theatre group
for the modernization of Korean theatre in 1931. This group’s performances were
realistic, but its philosophy emphasized art of art’s sake. This attitude was reflecting
the influence of modernism in contrast to the former theatre intellectuals who
emphasized the social and educational contributions of theatre. However, theatre’s
messages were still important in the age of high illiteracy, and this group also never
thought lightly of its messages. Hong Haesong, after studying and working at the
Tsukiji Little Theatre (築地小劇場) in Japan, organized a company called Theatre
Arts Studies (Keugyeul Yeonguhoe: 劇藝術硏究會) in 1931, which led the 1930s
theatrical innovations. The company introduced many western realistic plays and
original Korean realistic plays with realistic productions. Since the company had
membership system like most independent theatres in Europe, it could avoid the
financial bankruptcy and could last throughout the 1930s. It is said that this com-
pany finally achieved the full functions of western independent theatre.
Theatre Arts Studies’ works were divided into three periods: the period of west-
ern realistic plays, the period of original realistic plays, and the final period of war
propaganda plays from the pressures by the Japanese governor-general. Since the
third period was totally controlled by the Japanese governor-general due to the
Second World War, only the works of the first two periods are important and will be
discussed.
The first period of the company was led by Hong Haesong. He made the best of
his experience at the Tsukiji Little Theatre and produced repertories similar to the
Tsukiji Little Theatre. Thus, many western realistic plays were introduced through
Japanese interpretation. But unlike the 1920s when scripts were translated from
Japanese, most scripts of the 1930s were directly translated from their original
languages. Starting with Gogol’s Inspector, plays of Lady Gregory, Chekhov, Shaw,
Ibsen, and others were produced. Twenty-five plays including The Cherry Orchard,
Arms and the Man, and the Power of Darkness were performed. Three-dimensional
settings were fully accomplished in their productions, and there were no more male
actresses in contrast to the 1920s. In other words, western realism was fully achieved
compared to the productions of the 1920s. Unlike the case of the Association of
Earth and Mood, many literate intelligentsia of the time joined the Theatre Arts
32 M. LEE
Studies as a member or a supporter. In other words, the company was first operated
by membership system. By operating under membership system, financial pressure
was lessened compared to the company of the Association of Earth and Mood. Plus,
the productions and lectures were well publicized in the newspapers and influenced
the general public. The performances of the Theatre Arts Studies were new and
fresh to the public, and very popular among the intellectuals. For example, accord-
ing to the newspapers of the time, The Doll’s House was full house for all of five
performances.
Yoo Chijin (柳致眞: 1905–1974) took over the company after Hong’s resigna-
tion and emphasized production of original realistic plays. An accomplished play-
wright himself, Yoo Chijin discovered many representative playwrights of Korean
modern theatre such as Lee Kwangrae (李光來: 1908–1968), Kim Jinsoo (金鎭壽:
1909–1966), and Ham Seduk (咸世德: 1915–1950). With works of these play-
wrights, Korean modern realistic theatre became truly established. Their works cre-
ated realistic milieu of the time with everyday language and raised awareness of
social issues. As a representative example, Yoo’s play of A Mud-and-Dung Hut (土
幕) (1931–1932) well expressed the everyday reality of farmers’ families and the
patriotic spirit of the time under Japanese colonization. It not only reflected the real-
ity but also expressed the spirit of the society. Yoo’s plays were also strongly influ-
enced by the Irish Theatre Movement. Since Ireland was colonized like Korea, the
intelligentsia of the 1930s showed strong interests in the cultural theatrical move-
ments of Abbey Theatre. For example, the protagonist of A Mud-and-Dung Hut,
who never appeared on the stage, is a technique obviously influenced by Sean
0’Casey. The protagonist went to Japan in order to support poor family, but he was
doing something related to independence of Korea and was killed in jail and returned
to the family as a box of ashes. His wailing mother’s monologue is also similar to
that of Synge’s Rider to the Sea. The preference for Irish theatre movement reflected
the spirit of that time, seeking for the independence of Korea.
Lee Kwangrae’s A Scholar in a Village (1936) reflected the enthusiasm for farm-
ers’ enlightenment in the 1930s. The protagonist after his education in Seoul
returned to his countryside hometown to begin the enlightenment movements. But
his reformations were far from the reality of farmers. After the scolding of his father,
a scholar in a village, he goes back to Seoul. This play raised the importance of
farmers’ enlightenment but also raised the question of ‘how to reform’.
Another playwright, Ham Saeduk, focused on the psychological realism.
Psychological realism is believed to be the last development in the realism before
the transition to the modernism. Like Schnitzler’s works, his plays’ causalities were
based on psychology, which indicated the beginning of modernism. In A Young
Buddhist Monk (Dongseong, 1939), all the happenings came from the young hero’s
yearning for his mother. The psychology of the hero was well described.
All these writers solidified the realism and the status of western-style play-
wrights. These writers fortified the foundation of western playwriting and led the
theatrical world after the independence. In other words, Theatre Arts Studies Group
played the most important role for establishment of realistic theatre and for encour-
aging the western-style Korean playwrights.
The repertories of Theatre Arts Studies mostly reflected the works by western
realistic playwrights.5 Plays by classic playwrights such as Shakespeare, Greek play-
wrights, or Racine are rare, and there are only a few modernist plays. But even when
5
The following table is a list of repertories of the Theatre Arts Studies. This list allows us to evalu-
ate the advancement of Korean Theatre’s modernization.
Number Author Play Director Period Act

(translator)
1. Nikolai Gogol Inspector Hong 1932 May 4–6 5
(Ham Haesong
Daehoon)
2. Irving (Jang The Generous Hong 1932 June 1
Gijae) Lover Haesong 28–30
Lady Gregory The Gaol 1
(Choi Gate
Jongwu)
Reinhard Seeschlacht 1
Göring (Jo
Heesun)
3. Anton The Hong 1933 Feb. 1
Chekhov Anniversary Haesong 9–10
(Ham
Daehoon)
George Kaiser Friendship Yoo Chijin 1
(Suh
Hangsuk)
Yoo Chijin A Mud-and- Hong 2
Dung Hut Haesong
4. Bernard Shaw Arms and the Jang Gijae 1933 June 3
(Kim Man 27–28
kwangsup,
Jang Gijae,
Park
Yongchul)
5. Pirandello The Imbecile Yoo Chijin 1933 Nov. 1
(Park 28–30
Yongchul)
Shakespeare The Merchant 1
(Jung Insup) of Venice
Yoo Chijin A Scenery of 1
the village
with willow
trees.
(continued)
34 M. LEE
the group performed the plays of German expressionists, i.e. Georg Kaiser or
Reinhard Göering, the production style was realistic according to the newspapers of
the time. Indeed, the western realistic theatre was finally achieved and became

(translator)
6. Ibsen (Park Doll’s House Hong 1934 April 3
Yongchul) Haesong 18–19
Temporary Ferenc Molnar In the Train Yoo Chijin 1934 July 18 1
performances (Jo Heesoon)
Jules Renard Poil de Hong 1934 Sept. 1
(Lee Heungu) Carotte Haesong 6–7
7. Chekhov The Cherry Hong 1934 Dec. 4
(Ham Orchard Haesong 7–8
Daehoon)
8. Lee Muyoung Day Dreamer Yoo Chijin 1935 Nov. 19 1
George la Paix chez 1
Courteline soi
(Lee Hungu)
Yoo Chijin A sacrificial 1
day, (Jaesa)
9. John The first and Yoo Chijin 1936 Feb. 28 1
Galsworthy the last to March 2
(Jang Gijae)
Tostoy (Lee The Power of 3
Kwangsu) Darkness
Lee Muyoung Free 1
Treatments
10. Suhyang Lee Mother Yoo Chijin 1936 April 1
11–12
Kwangrae Lee A Scholar in a Yoo Chijin 3
village
11. Chijin Yoo Sisters Yoo Chijin 1936 May 3
29–31
田漢(Kim A Tragedy of Yoo Chijin 1
Kwangju) A Lakeshore
12. Adapted by The story of Yoo Chijin 1936 Sept. 4
Yoo Chijin Chunhyong 29–30
13. Karl Schönherr Belief and Yoo Chijin 1936 Dec. 3
(Suh Hangsuk) home 20–22
14. Mr & Mrs. Porgy Yoo Chijin 1937 Jan. 3
Heyward 21–23
(Jang Gijae)
15. Lee Muyoung Free Yoo Chijin 1937 Feb. 1
Treatments 25–28
(reproduction)
Yoo Chijin The Cow 3
16. Tolstoy (Ham Resurrection Suh Hangsuk 1937 April 5
Daehoon) 10–11
(continued)
idespread with the works of the Theatre Arts Studies Company. In other words, the
w
modernization of Korean theatre was fully achieved in the 1930s. Similar to the inde-
pendent theatre movement in the west at the turn of the twentieth century, this com-
pany introduced new western realistic plays and then discovered own playwrights.

(translator)
17. Adapted by The story of 1937 May
Yoo Chijin Chunhyong 15–16
(reproduction)
1st theatre Arthur Blind 1938 Feb. 1
competition Schnitzler Geronimo and 11–14
by Donga (Yoo Chijin) his Brother
newspaper
18. Janet Marks Cuckoo Lee Baeksan 1938 May 1
(Lee Suhyang) 28–29
Kim Jinsu The Path Lee Suhyang 4
19. Maxwell Winterset Yoo Chijin 1938. July. 3
Anderson 8-10
(Jang Gijae)
20. Clifford Odets Awake and Lee Suhyang 1938 Sept. 3
(Suh Sing!, 14–16
Hangsuk)
21. Yoo The Cow Lee Suhyang 1938 Dec. 2
(reproduction) 3–4
Chijin Charles Le Paquebot 3
Vildrac (Lee Tenacity
Hungu)
22. Tolstoy Resurrection 1939 Jan. 6–8 5
(Daehoon (reproduction)
Ham)
23. Anderson Winterset 3
(Gijae Jang) (reproduction)
Schnitzler Blind
(chijin Yoo) Geronimo and
his Brother
(reproduction)
2nd theatre Ham Saeduk A Young Yoo Chijin 1939 March 1
competition Buddhist 3–5
by Donga Monk
newspaper (Doneom)
24. Yoo Chijin The story of 1939 April 5
Anderson Chunhyong 8–9
(Jang Gijae)
Ham Saeduk Winterset 1939 May 4–7
A Young 1939 May. 3
Buddhist 8–11
Monk
(Doneom) 1939. . 8–11 1
36 M. LEE
ommercial Theatres in the 1930s and War Time Propaganda

C
Theatre in the 1940s
Commercial theatres also flourished in the 1930s. Succeeding the Sinpa theatre’s
commercial success, the Oriental Theatre (Dongyang Keukjang: 東洋劇場) was
opened in 1935. The Oriental Theatre was the first professional theatre for drama
with a revolving stage and 600 seats. Bae Guja (1905–2003), the founder of the
Oriental Theatre, was a well-known performer and adopted daughter of Japanese
high official. Her husband, Hong Soonyon (1905–1937), was the manager of the
theatre and dramatically improved the treatments of people working in theatre. The
Oriental Theatre was the first company to give salaries to its actors, directors, and
writers. Thus, many qualified and competent theatre people moved to this commer-
cial theatre including Hong Haesong, the first leader of Theatre Arts Studies
Company, and heightened the quality of commercial theatre.
Although they still had melodramatic exaggerations, the Oriental Theatre’s pro-
ductions were more realistic than any other commercial productions with realistic
settings. After the performance of this theatre, the new term ‘High Sinpa (高等新派)’
was established. This shows that the performance quality of the Oriental Theatre was
realistically heightened compared to the former commercial theatre. The Oriental
Theatre had a couple of affiliated companies: historical plays for Dongguk Company,
comic plays for Heeguk Company, and the local travelling companies of
Chongchunjwa and Howhason.
Many melodramas were produced such as The prosecutor and the death-row
convict (1936), Don’t Cry Hongdo (1936), and The Power of Mother (1937). Some
of their repertories such as Don’t Cry Hongdo are still popular nowadays. Hongdo
became a geisha to support her brother’s education, fell in love with her brother’s
friend, and married him, but owing to the sabotage of her mother-in-law, she was
discarded by her husband, killed his new lover, and was arrested by her own brother.
The audience enjoyed the twists and turns of the heroine’s life and cried for her lot
along with their own colonial sorrows.
The Oriental Theatre strengthened the basis of commercial theatre. It popular-
ized western theatre among the public and consequently contributed to the spread of
modern realistic theatre. It also demonstrated that theatre can be profitable as enter-
tainment industry and actors could live on salary. Furthermore, it discovered many
new actor, actresses, and directors, who then became founder of theatre and movie
industry after independence of Korea. In short, the Oriental Theatre was the symbol
of theatre industry that provided people working in theatre financial stability.
Because the Japanese and the colonized Koreans were under wartime in the first
half of the 1940s, all cultural activities were controlled by Japanese governor-
general. All Korean theatre companies were allowed only to produce so-called
People’s Theatre that heightened the war spirit and spread the propaganda of
Japanese government. Thus, modernization of Korean theatre regressed in this
period, and instead many full-length propaganda plays came into being under the
strict censorship of Japanese governor-general. Japanese governor-general had
three official theatre competitions in 1942, 1943, and 1945, in order to promote War
Spirit. It is a pity for dawning modern Korean theatre to be used in promoting
Japanese invasions, but much full-length plays were produced under the necessity
of war propaganda. Owing to this purpose, theatre companies continued to exist and
later played a role as a bridge between colonial theatre and post-independence
theatre.
After the Independence
Korea was liberated in 1945 after Japan lost World War II. Since the southern demo-
cratic and the northern communistic governments came into being in 1948, Korea
has been divided into two. And there was Korean War between 1950 and 1953.
During these times, intellectual theatre was under ideological fights, while commer-
cial theatre indulged in melodramas in order to escape from harsh realities. The
theatre of southern democratic Korea heightened the western realism on the subjects
of Korean War and ideology, while that of northern communistic Korea developed
into social realistic theatre.
New playwrights came into being such as Cha Bumsuk (1924–2006), Ihm Heejae
(1919–1971), Kim Jarim (1926–1994), and Park Hyunsuk (1926–present) in the
1950s. Among them, the last two were women playwrights; unlike the colonial
period with few women playwrights, Kim Jarim and Park Hyunsuk opened the era
of women playwrights. There also appeared new directors such as Lee Haerang
(1916–1989). All new playwrights and directors in the 50s deepened and expanded
the realism.
Korean National Theatre opened in 1950 and became the pivotal centre for the-
atre. Yoo Chijin, the leader of Theatre Arts Studies in the 1930s, was selected as the
first president of the Korean National Theatre, and theatres of the 1950s were mod-
elled after realistic theatre. Theatre coteries among students were also active;
Jaejakgughoe (制作劇會) developed into professional theatre group of the 1950s. It
led the experiment theatre of the time and produced many playwrights, directors,
and theatre scholars. These new talents expanded the realistic theatre and explored
the new theatre of modernism.
Mountain Fire by Cha Bumsuk, first performed in 1960, is widely accepted as
the best realistic play of its time. It described the society after the Korean War, i.e. a
village with war widows, remnants of a defeated guerilla in the mountain, and
instinctual sexual desire. The environment of secluded mountain village and the
heredity of sexual desire are the main causes of the play. It is also one of the first
plays to tell the meaninglessness of ideology. This play is thought to be the culmina-
tion of the realistic play in Korean modern theatre.
Meanwhile, theatre of absurdity and existential philosophy was introduced in
Korea owing to the experience of the war and the participating foreign soldiers in
the 1950s. Various antirealistic theatres came into being afterwards. The Drama
Centre, led by Yoo Chijin, opened in 1962 with the partial help of the Rockefeller
38 M. LEE
Foundation. This was an arena stage theatre for only theatrical performances. It
fired a flare for modernist experimental theatre and opened the new era; the new
experimental theatre came into being by the 1960s.
Summary and Conclusion
This article attempts to efficiently summarize and give full introduction on the mod-
ernization of Korean theatre. After the modernization, the western realistic theatre
settled down in Korea. Owing to this settlement, the westernized theatre is still the
mainstream of contemporary Korean theatre. As examined, the modernization of
Korean theatre began at the turn of the twentieth century. Starting with the transi-
tional theatres Wongaksa and Sinpa in the 1910s, realistic modern theatre came into
being through the works of students’ amateur groups in the 1920s. Their new pro-
ductions heavily incorporated western realism and overall achieved in the realistic
style. In addition, original realistic plays were developed in the 1920s. The Theatre
Arts Studies Company of the 1930s not only further expanded the realistic original
plays but also succeeded in producing the realistic theatres. The modernization of
Korean theatre by the reception of western realism was fully achieved by this com-
pany. The commercial theatre flourished at the Oriental Theatre in the later part of
the 1930s. The first half of the 1940s was the period of wartime, and only ‘People’s
Theatre’ that heightened and spread the war spirit and the propaganda of Japanese
government were allowed. After the independence, realistic theatre dominated
Korean theatre until the 1950s before the rise of the antirealistic experimental the-
atre in the 1960s.
Most of the modernization of Korean theatre occurred during the Japanese colo-
nial period under promotion by imperial government. Hence, there was always sub-
conscious resistance to the modernization because of the thought that modernization
was westernization and westernization was anti-Korean. Thus, Koreans tried to only
accept scientific and technical part of modernization. In short, the modernization
was compulsory in the age of imperialism. The modernization of theatre was not an
exception. Theatre people always thought of integrating Korean traditions into mod-
ernized theatre. The traditional novels were the important source for the stories of
the Sinpa theatre, while playwrights such as Park Seung Hee combined the tradi-
tional writing techniques to their western plays. Changguk, the modified traditional
P’ansori, was popular throughout the colonial period. There was hidden discrepancy
between the form and the content of Korean modernization.
The influence of the western theatre was the most important factor in the mod-
ernization of the Korean theatre. Japanese also played an important role in introduc-
ing western theatre to Korea. Japanese colonization made many Koreans view
modernization negatively, but the turbulent era passed, and with time modernization
was accomplished.
References
Lee, Duhyun. 1966. A Study on Korean Modern Theatre. Seoul: Seoul University Press.
Lee, Meewon. 1994. Korean Modern Drama and Theatre. Seoul: Hyundaemihak cop.
Seo, Yeonho. 1982. A Study on Korean Modern Drama History. Seoul: Korea Minjok Munhwa
Yeonguso.
Yoo, Minyoung. 1982. Korean Modern Drama History. Seoul: Hongsongsa.
Chapter 4
Movement of the Western Modern Drama
in Taiwan and Its Modernity
Kun-Liang CHIU
Introduction
Shingeki is a Western-style drama newly developed in modern Japan, and the shin-
geki movement in Taiwan began to become popular in the first half of the age of
Japanese rule. Before that time, theatres mainly adopted a style originated in China,
which consisted of frontstages (performers) and backstages (musicians). Because
Japan’s modernization display edits visible results in the 1894 Sino-Japanese War,
modernization was promoted positively in Taiwan, which was the first colony of
Japan. The growing popularity of shingeki in Taiwan was a by-product of this
modernization.
Japan never adopted cultural assimilation and autonomism when governing
Taiwan for 50 years, practices which were often seen in colonies of Western coun-
tries.1 Japan’s colonial government adopted policies one after another, such as
inland territorial expansionism and the kominka movement (the forced transforma-
tion of Taiwanese becoming loyal subjects of the Emperor of Japan). The aim of
these policies was to Japanize the Taiwanese, to obtain economic benefits from
Taiwan, and to make Taiwan into the base of Imperial Japan’s policy of southern
expansionism towards Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.
Under such circumstances, the advancement of the shingeki movement led by
the elite of Taiwan and the movement of kominka-related theatre could not be sepa-
rated from political power. For example, even if the elite of Taiwan criticized the
colonial government through literature, theatres, and social movements, the effect
of the criticism was limited. Although traditional theatres were said to be part of
Wu Mi-cha, The Study of Modern Taiwan History. Taipei: Dawshiang, 1985, p. 81.
1
K.-L. CHIU (*)

Taipei National University of Art, Taipei, Taiwan

42 K.-L. CHIU
ordinary people’s lives, shingeki had no continuous tradition nor special training
institution but instead existed only intermittently. There were no outstanding per-
formers nor a theatrical company practicing shingeki.
Shingeki was still performed even when Taiwan was governed by Nationalist
China in 1945. However, to make Taiwanese become de-Japanized, Nationalist
China promoted the “national language” movement, centring on Mandarin.
Immediately after moving into Taiwan in 1949, Nationalist China declared martial
law. Under these circumstances, shingeki—which had been continued since the
1920s in Taiwan—was discontinued, and theatrical companies of shingeki using
Japanese and Taiwanese languages disappeared completely.
This paper discusses the actions of culturati to connect theatres with people and
sociocultural movements in the period between the age of Japanese rule and the
early years after World War II from the perspective of colonial modernization and
modernity while examining the context of the shingeki movement in the rise and fall
of literary trends in the history of Taiwan. This paper also explores the essence of
shingeki in Taiwan and the reasons for its appearance, ups, and downs, by compar-
ing written texts to performances of those texts.
Shingeki and Its Modernity in Taiwan
During the age of Japanese rule, almost all realistic and non-realistic theatres, in
which new and old styles were mixed—other than traditional theatres (Beijing
opera and Taiwan’s traditional music opera called Nan Guan and Bei Guan)—were
called shingeki in Taiwan, so the actual definition of shingeki was vague and lacked
specificity. According to existing materials, nontraditional theatrical forms appeared
in the 1910s, and dramas with nontraditional theatrical forms were often performed
in the 1920s in Taiwan.2 Due to the influence of the Tsukiji Sho-Gekijo (Tsukiji
Little Theatre) which was established in 1924, Taiwanese and Japanese people liv-
ing in Taiwan began to participate in shingeki in the 1920s. In the 1920s, Cheung
Wai-yin and others were involved in shingeki, and dramas based on Taiwan’s cul-
ture were produced in conjunction with sociocultural movements. In the 1930s,
shingeki was performed by Japanese adults and high school students. Kominka-
related theatre was also positively performed during the period of the kominka
movement (1935–1945). The first stage of kominka-related theatre was led by civil-
ians and the elite of Taiwan, and the second stage was led by the colonial govern-
ment. Although the purpose of the first stage differed from that of the second stage,
2
The first shingeki performance in Taiwan was in 1911; Kawakami Otojiro brought the “Syosei
Shibai” to Taipei’s Asahi Theater. Later, Japanese in Taiwan established companies with Taiwanese
actors, such as Toyojiro Takamatsu’s Taiwan Seigeki Study Group, or two productions in 1919
presented by Taiwanese students Chang Shen-chieh (1904–1965) and others. Those productions
are sometimes regarded as the beginning of Taiwan shingeki but actually have only limited
influence.
4 Movement of the Western Modern Drama in Taiwan and Its Modernity 43
both stages of the movement encountered difficulties when they attempted to con-
tinue their development.
Modernization was launched in Taiwan immediately after Taiwan became a col-
ony of Japan.3 In addition to the plunder of labour and natural resources, Taiwan
was forced to adopt capitalism and modernization,4 which caused the society and
culture of Taiwan to change conspicuously, and “colonial modernity” was then
observed in Taiwan.5 Basically, “modernity” has two types of characteristics: “char-
acteristics in modern context” and “characteristics of modern Western civilization.6”
The characteristics of “modernity” can be observed in the process of industrial,
social, and cultural modernization.7 However, the meaning of modernity is extremely
complicated, and the image of “modern society” differs according to the definition
of “modern characteristics.8”.
The kind of modernity that appeared in Taiwan during the age of Japanese rule
was used to create the modern identity of the Taiwanese people. Intellectuals also
used modernity as a term to criticize modern society. Using the tenets of modernity,
intellectuals began to clarify their views on society. However, as Chen Fang-ming
pointed out, the colonial government used modernity as the definition of cultural
superiority and created an illusion by which Taiwanese conflated Japanization with
the rise of modernity. The aim of this was to create a society that would be in good
order and easy to manage, in order to further control Taiwanese.9 Literary arts in
Taiwan, including shingeki, exhibited the processes both of accepting and resisting
colonial modernity.
The effect of the New Literature Movement on shingeki in Taiwan, derived from
the May Fourth Movement that occurred in 1919 in China, is not negligible.
Information on the New Literature Movement was directly and indirectly transmit-
ted to Taiwan through Taiwanese intellectuals who studied, travelled, and lived in
China and Japan, respectively. The Taiwan People News and the Taiwan Daily News
were the main news media sources at that time. In particular, the Taiwan People
3
The beginning of modernization of Taiwan had been started before Japanese colonial period.
After the Mutan Village Incident (1874), the court of Ching Dynasty had noticed the strategic
importance of Taiwan and started to improve coastal defence. However, due to the political infight-
ing of the court, modernization of Taiwan did not last long.
4
Chen Chien-chung, Taiwanese Writers in Japanese Colonial Period: Modernization, Localization,
Colonization, Taipei: Wunan, 2004, p. 4.
5
Ku Chung-hwa, “Modernization of Taiwan: Whose modernization? What kind of moderniza-
tion?”, Contemporary, vol. 221, 2006, p. 74.
6
Raymond, Williams,Keywords–A Vocabulary of Culture and Society, Liu Chien-chi trans., Taipei:
Chuliu, 2004, pp. 248–249; see also Huang Ko-wu, “The beginning of the conception of modern
and the reflection of history study”, Contemporary, vol. 223, 2006, p. 76.
7
Huang, “The beginning of the conception of modern and the reflection of history study”,
pp. 76–77.
8
King Yeo-chi, From Traditional to Modernised. Taipei: China Times Publishing, 1997; see also
Ku, “Modernization of Taiwan: Whose modernization? What kind of modernization?”, p. 67.
9
Chen Feng-ming, Colonial Modernity: Historical and Literary Perspectives on Taiwan. Taipei:
Rye Field, 2004, pp. 9–19.
44 K.-L. CHIU
News and Taiwan Xin Min-Bao (former Taiwan People News) criticized Japan’s
control from the standpoint of the Taiwanese and published the works of modern
Chinese writers. The Taiwan Daily News was a bulletin of the governor-general of
Taiwan that published articles of debate about Chinese literature.10
In 1925, Chang Wo-chun (1902–1955) became the editor of literary arts in the
Taiwan People News and determined the direction of diffusing China’s “movement
of colloquial writing” in Taiwan. As a result, the Taiwan People News published
avant-garde poetry and novels as main genres, but did not attach importance to dra-
mas. However, the Taiwan People News published several dramas in the period
between 1923 and 1929. The writers of these dramas were both Chinese and
Taiwanese, and many of these dramas opposed traditional concepts, such as feudal-
ism, superstition, and androcracy, but still contained elements of modernity.
hingeki in Taiwan and the Relationship Between Japan

S
and China
There are various views about the exact period when shingeki appeared in Taiwan.
From the perspective of the theatrical movement, there are two acceptable view-
points. The first viewpoint was proposed by Cheung Wai-yin (1905–1977), a
Taiwanese director, producer, and writer of dramas. He wrote two reminiscences:
“A brief description of the shingeki movement in Taiwan” and “My theatrical recol-
lection”. In “A brief description of the shingeki movement in Taiwan”, which he
wrote under the pen name of Nai Shuang, he states that the shingeki movement in
Taiwan began at the end of 1923 and that the important participants in the move-
ment were the members of Xiamen Popular Education Company.11 Taiwanese who
had studied in Japan also participated in the movement, and Ding Shin She was
established in Chang Hua in December 1923. In “My theatrical recollection”,
Cheung Wai-yin mentioned that shingeki in Taiwan began from the Seng Kong
Theatrical Study Group, which was established by his friends in the Zhai Seng
Tennis Club.12 Shingeki in Taiwan was instructed by Chen Tu, who was a member
of the Xiamen Popular Education Company and had theatrical experience, and The
Greatest Event in Life, written by Tian Han (actually Hu Suh), was performed in the
house of Chen Qi-zhen in the winter of 1924. The reason for the performance of
shingeki in a private house was that his friends in the Zhai Seng Tennis Club had lost
interest in furthering the development of shingeki in Taiwan. Although the above-
10
Lo Shih-yun, Yu Da-fu in Taiwan: Process of acceptance from Japanese Colonial period to
Postwar period. Master thesis, National Chengchi University Graduate Institute of Taiwanese
Literature, Taipei, 2009, pp. 58–61, pp. 66–68.
11
Nai Shuang (Cheung Wai-yin), “Brief History of Taiwan Shingeki Movement”, Taipei Cultural
Relics, vol. 3–21, 954, pp. 83–91.
12
Cheung Wai-yin, “My theatrical recollection”, Taipei Cultural Relics, vol. 3–21, 954 Aug.,
p. 105.
mentioned story was also described in “A brief description of the shingeki move-
ment in Taiwan”, Cheung Wai-yin did not mention Ding Shin She in “My theatrical
recollection”.
Another view was proposed by Susumu Nakayama (1905–1959), a Japanese
writer born in Taiwan. He accepted that shingeki had already existed in Taiwan
before he was old enough to understand such things, but he mentioned that shingeki
remained at the amateur level.13 The establishment of the Tsukiji Sho-Gekijo greatly
affected not only culturati and high school students living in Taiwan but also
Taiwanese students studying in Japan, who wanted to perform shingeki in their
hometown of Wufeng, Taichung.14 According to Susumu Nakayama, the first theat-
rical company of shingeki was the Yan-Feng Theatrical Company,15 established by
Taiwanese in Wufeng, Taichung. However, Susumu Nakayama did not mention
Ding Shin She and the Seng Kong Theatrical Study Group. Regarding the Yan-Feng
Theatrical Company, Susumu Nakayama’s view differed from general perception.16
There was a disagreement about the origin of shingeki between Cheung Wai-yin and
Susumu Nakayama. However, both mentioned that the Conventional Drama
Training Center and its theatrical company led by Toyojiro Takamatsu in the early
years of the twentieth century, for example, were not included in shingeki activities
before the 1920s.17
Although the characteristics of the Seng Kong Theatrical Study Group differed
entirely from those of the Zhai Seng Tennis Club, there were members common to
both parties. Therefore, both parties were popular among people in the age of
Japanese rule. The popularity of Western sports is considered to be a symbol of
modernization in Japan.18 Since many Japanese government officials, teachers, and
corporate employees living in Taiwan liked to play tennis, for example, tennis was
13
Shima, Rikuhei (Atsumu Uchiyama), “The Youth and Taiwan 2: Idea and Practice of Shingeki
movement”, Taiwan News, vol. 197, 1936 Apr. 1st. Tu Cui-ha trans., Huang Ying-zhe ed., Taiwan
Literary Criticism in Japanese Colonial Period: Magazine vol. 1, pp. 468–479.
14
Ibid.
15
Ibid.
16
Yan-Feng Theatrical Study Group was established by Chang Shen-chieh in Cautun, 1925. There
are some distances between the two towns Cautun and Wufeng, although both of them belonged to
Taichung City. Since the two families Lin and Chang were having close relationship, and Lin Yun-
long (1907–1959) from the famous Lin family in Wufeng might have been chairman of the study
group, “Yan-Feng in Wufeng” was more well-known than in Cautun.
17
Chiu Kun-liang, “Concept, Assumption and Interpretation: The Chapter of Taiwanese Modern
Theatre under Japanese Rule”, Taipei Theatre Journal, vol. 13, Taipei: TNUA, 2011 Jan.,
pp. 15–16.
18
In the early years of colonial period, in order to encourage sports, police superintendent general
Kumaji Oshima established sports club (including martial arts, horsemanship, bicycle, baseball,
tennis, football, bowling, and gymnastics), holding contests and inviting local Taiwanese to join in.
Tennis players’ passion about shingeki shows that for middle class at the time, shingeki was
regarded as a part of modernization. See Lin Ting-kuo “On-the-island and Outside-the-island
Competition Performance of Tennis and Baseball of Taiwan During Japanese Colonial Period”,
Taiwan Historical Research, vol. 16–4, 2009 Dec., Taipei: Institute of Taiwan History, Academia
Sinica, pp. 37–80.
46 K.-L. CHIU
popularized in Taiwan,19 and the playing of tennis became a pleasure or a status

symbol of the middle class.20
The base of the Zhai Seng Tennis Club was located in Da Dao Cheng. The orga-
nizational structure, rules, members, and activities of the club, other than its loca-
tion, were unknown. Whether Chen Tu and Chen Kan (Chen Qi-zhen) were included
in its members in addition to Cheung Wai-yin was also unknown. Since the estab-
lishment date of the Seng Kong Theatrical Study Group is close to that of Ding Shin
She, and Chen Tu and Chen Qi-zhen were the essential members of Ding Shin She,
the members of these two organizations might have overlapped, and these two orga-
nizations might have been indivisible when they were established. Subsequently,
the relationship between the Seng Kong Theatrical Study Group and Ding Shin She
was broken off. Ding Shin She did not appear in shingeki, and the direction of Ding
Shin She was changed to educate people through movies, similar to Mei Tai Tuan,
and its name was changed to Xu Li She.21 The Seng Kong Theatrical Study Group
was also internally changed, and Cheung Wai-yin22 established the Ming Fong
Theatrical Study Group and the Ming Fong Theatrical Company.23
In the second half of the 1920s, the Japanese theatrical companies in Taiwan
included Ryoujin-za, Taiwan Koukou (Naichi Bungaku Seinen), and Kamakiri-za
and Western dramas were mainly performed at Taihoku High School, Taihoku
College of Commerce, and the Hotel and Theatre Bureau in the Taiwan Governor-
General Railway, as “entertainments.24” In 1931, Susumu Nakayama and others
established the Minami Sho-Gekijo (South Little Theatre) but closed down it shortly
after its establishment. At that time, Susumu Nakayama already began to exchange
opinions with the Taiwanese participants of the shingeki movement.
Cheung Wai-yin and Wu Kun-huang (1909–1989) were famous Taiwanese who
were affected by the Tsukiji Sho-Gekijo.25 Due to the influence of these two people,
19
“Tennis Column I”, Taiwan Daily News, 1909 Apr. 3.
20
In the 1920s, famous Taiwanese tennis players include Chang Yu-chuan, Chang Ju-ling, and
Wang Hsiu-chuan in Taipei; Yeh Yun-chang, Chang Jin-lu, and Sung Yan-ti in Taichung; and Shiu
Chiu-feng and Shiu Jin-shan in Tainan.
21
In Russian, while speaking about “walk”(idti/poidti), people usually use past tense “shli/poshli”;
therefore “walk among people”(idti/poidti v narod)would become “shil/poshli v narod”,and its
meaning can be turned into “popularize”. The name “Xu Li” may come from Russian.
22
Cheung Wai-yin, “My theatrical recollection”, p. 106.
23
Chiu Kun-liang, Kyugeki and Shingeki: Study of Taiwan Theatre in Japanese Colonial Period
(1895–1945), Taipei: Independence Evening Pose, 1992, pp. 318–319.
24
Their achievements included Eugene O’Neill’s Ile and Dunsany’s Glittering Gate, staged by
Ryoujin-za in early 1925; in November 26 and 27, 1928, at the Theatre Bureau in the Taiwan
Governor-General Railway, Taihoku High School staged their original work Train of the Steal,
Rijo Tyutei’s Hatsusyoujinn, Tamiji Okamoto’s Kyoraku Ranba, Youbunn Kaneko’s Saka, Komatsu
Kitamura’s Fang Ta-yi, Kan Kikuchi’s Jyunnbann, and Dunsany’s Gods of the Mountain.
25
Kaoru Osanai was born in Hiroshima, 1881. After he graduated from Imperial University of
Tokyo, he started to participate in theatre and begin his writing on poet and novel. In 1909, after
studying in Europe, he established the Jiyu Gekijo with Kabuki actor Sadanji Ichikawa II, imitating
Western realism drama and created the Japanese shingeki. In 1924, he established Tsukiji Sho-
Gekijyo with Yoshi Hijikata, who was rushed back to Japan after the Earthquake of Tokyo. This
theatre becomes the foothold of shingeki movement.
the shingeki and cultural societies in Taiwan highly respected the Tsukiji Sho-
Gekijo as an exemplary theatre. However, there are no materials used to examine the
roles and positions of Taiwanese writers and participants in the shingeki movement
in the Tsukiji Sho-Gekijo and the relationship between these Taiwanese people and
the important persons of the Tsukiji Sho-Gekijo.
Dramas written by Masatsune Nakamura and Hiroichiro Maedakou were mainly
performed as shingeki by Japanese people living in Taiwan.26 The Ming Fong
Theatrical Company was the only Taiwanese theatrical company which participated
in the Japanese theatre league. At that time, Taiwanese theatrical companies often
performed Chinese and Taiwanese dramas and sometimes performed Japanese dra-
mas as well.27
Dramas as Shingeki Published in the Taiwan People News
Unlike many newspaper companies which supported the colonial government, the
Taiwan People News was established by culturati, including the members of the
Taiwanese Cultural Association. Since the first issue of the newspaper was issued on
April 15, 1923, the Taiwan People News had published many examples of Chinese
literature and sometimes even published dramas. The first drama published in this
newspaper was The Greatest Event in Life, written by Hu Suh (Volume 1, Numbers
1 and 2). In this drama, the forms of contemporary dramas written by Henrik Johan
Ibsen as well as the ideas of individualism and feminism were incorporated.
Although heroine Tian Ya-mei does not resist patriarchy unlike Nora in A Doll’s
House, in this drama, she resists Chinese superstitions, auguries, and ceremonies as
a new woman pursuing the freedom of love and marriage. Due to the influence of
this drama, the ideas of individualism and feminism became major agendas of the
New Cultural Movement in China.
In the second year after the inauguration, the Taiwan People News published
Taiwanese dramas. The first Taiwanese drama published on August 1, 1924 (Volume
2, Number 14), was Qu Yuan written by Zhang Geng (Qun Shan), a Taiwanese
writer living in Japan. This drama portrays the suicide of Qu Yuan, a man who was
exiled from his country.28 Although this drama consists of long monologues and
lacks dramatic scenes, the theme of this drama is unique because almost all
26
Masatsune Nakamura (1901–1981) playwright and novelist was born in Koishikawa, Tokyo. He
was a student of Kunio Kishida and made his debut by the play Makaroni, 1929. His works were
characterized by humour and nonsense; main works included Innseki no Nedoko, Boa-kichi no
Kyuukonn, and Futari-You no Shinndai. Hiroichiro Maedako (1888–1957) was born in Sendai. He
went to Tokyo in 1905 and became one of Roka Tokutomi’s students. He went to America in 1907
by Tokutomi’s financial support. He was a diplomat, gardener, and reporter; main works included
Pray: Play Collection, Koshiraerareta Otoko, and Third-class Passenger.
27
Appendix 1.
28
Zhang Geng, “Qu Yuan”, Taiwan People News, 1924 Aug. 1st, vol. 2 no. 14.
48 K.-L. CHIU
s ubsequent dramas would address the rise of feminism. For example, the theme of
Jue Ju,29 a one-act play written by Tao Yao, is explicitly the rise of feminism.
The story of Shuo Bu Chu30(“I Cannot Tell”) published in the Taiwan People
News (Volume 3, Number 14) on May 11, 1925, begins with a demon harming an
old farmer. The son of the old farmer later resists the demon, and the old farmer and
his son finally gain freedom. There are many dramatic scenes in this drama.
The Taiwan People News had not published any dramas for 2 years since 1925
but then published seven dramas in 1927. These seven dramas are Wo Bu Zi You (“I
Have No Freedom”) written by Tao Xin, Xin Shi Dai De Nan Nu (“Men and Women
in the New Age”) written by Wang Jing-zhi, Ying Hua La (“Cherry Blossoms are
Falling”) written by Shao Nie, Jin Guo Ying Xiong (“A Brave Woman”) and Hui-lan
Can Le (“Miserable Hui-lan”) written by Qing Zhao, Ping Min De Tian Shi (“Angel
of Commoners”) written by Wu Jiang-leng, and Fan Dong (“Reaction”) written by
Feng Qiu, in that order. These dramas, aside from Ying Hua La, are monotonous and
were seldom performed.
Wo Bu Zi You is a one-act play in which when a husband, who is under his wife’s
thumb, is expelled by his wife. He says, “I have no freedom”, and then the curtain
falls.31 Xin Shi Dai De Nan Nu begins with a conflict of opinion between the hero,
Gong Yi-gu, and his father. After heroine Xu Yu-juan appears on the stage, Gong
Yi-gu and Xu Yu-juan devote themselves to a new trend of thought. This drama was
originally published in Shan Chao. The reason why this drama was reprinted in the
Taiwan People News may be because of its multilayered structure.
Shao Nie, the writer of Ying Hua La, is unknown. However, due to his dedicatory
letter, “To the members of Tokyo Koukeikai”, he is presumed to be a Chang Hua
person living in Japan. Ying Hua La handles the idea of international marriage, and
its story is that of a hero, Lin Li-sheng, who marries a Japanese woman, Sakurako
Kunimoto, and the couple goes to Taiwan to live. Since Sakurako cannot acclimate
herself to the new environment in Taiwan, she commits suicide.
In Jin Guo Ying Xiong, Qing Zhao portrays a heroine, Huang Hui-lan, who
speaks Taiwanese in her school, and subsequently her qualification as valedictorian
is revoked. This drama reflects the ideas of racial awareness. The story of Hui-lan
Can Le, another drama by Qing Zhao, tells of another heroine, Cheng Hui-lan, a
housemaid who falls in love with Liu Shao-ting, the son of a distinguished family,
but she is betrayed by him and subsequently commits suicide.
Because the Taiwan People News reprinted Chinese dramas, the Taiwanese lit-
erature society was considered to accept new dramas in China and their contents.
Taiwanese dramatists living in Japan attempted to indicate that dramas published in
the Taiwan People News contained hidden transcripts by using a technique in which
29
Tao Yao, “Jue Ju”, Taiwan People News, 1924 Sep. 21th, vol. 2 no. 18.
30
When Taiwan People News reprinted Shuo Bu Chu, they mistaken the author as Hu Suh, but it
should be Chen Da-bei. SeeMeng Shan-shan, “Thriving of ‘Amateur Drama Movement’ during
May Fourth Period”, Beijing People’s Art Theatre Magazine, 2007 vol. 3. (http://www.bjry.com/
bjry/ykzl/200703/1279.shtml).
31
Tao Xin, “Wo Bu Zi You”, Taiwan People News, 1927 Sep. 4th, no. 172, p. 8.
ancient stories were used to express the current situation.32 In other words, these
dramatists tried to show their attitudes against feudalism and colonialism through
their writings. However, these dramas—aside from The Greatest Event in Life—
were written to be read, not performed, and no performances of these dramas (except
The Greatest Event in Life) were recorded. Of these dramas, Xi Ju Yi Mu satirized
the police through a telephone conversation between Jiang Wei-shui and his brother,
and this form of using telephone conversation is extremely unique.33
hinese Contemporary Dramas Performed in Taiwan

C
During the Age of Japanese Rule
Since 1923, shingeki groups in Taiwan had performed dramas created in Japan,
China, and Taiwan. In 1924, Chang Hua Ding Shin She and the students’ union
performed Fu Huo De Qiang Wei, written by Hou Yao.34 Hou Yao was a professional
writer of dramas that were often performed at schools, and his works demonstrated
the workings of a clear critical mind. Fu Huo De Qiang Wei is a love story consist-
ing of five acts, in which characters named Yu Xiao-xing and Lin Xiu-yun are in
love with each other, but Lin Xiu-yun has been engaged to another man, Li Xin-
ling, since she was young. But after overcoming difficulties, Yu Xiao-xing and Lin
Xiu-yun fulfil their love at last.35
Xu Gong-mei (1901–?) is also a typical dramatist. In 1922, he studied at the
Beijing Theatre Academy. After that, he took an interest in movies and studied at the
Shanghai Min Xin Film Academy, which was attached to Min Xin Film Company,
and Faculty of Sociology, Nihon University. He wrote dramas in the 1920s,36 and
these are the following: Qi Tu consisting of four acts, Fu Quan Zhi Xia consisting of
one act, and Fei. The settings of these dramas were Beijing, Shanghai, and large
cities in southern China, and the characters were mostly upper-class people, highly
educated people, and their servants. These dramas were written 10 years earlier than
Lei Yu, another drama written by Cao Yu in 1934.
Ibsenism was popular in China when Xu Gong-mei was writing, and his dramas
were obviously affected by this. He expressed conflict in his dramas in the form of
32
Constructed from specific historical experience, James Scott’s concept of hidden transcripts was
to express unequal power relationship and the daily resistance of the minority. See James Scott,
Domination and the Arts of Resistance: Hidden Transcript. New Haven: Yale University Press,
1990.
33
More detail about Chinese plays on Taiwan People News, see Li Wan-ju, “Taiwan Shingeki and
elites in 1920s: Focus on Taiwan People News”, Theatre and Film Studies, 2007 vol. 1, Tokyo:
Waseda University Theatre Museum Global COE Programme.: Appendix 2.
34
Hou Yao, Fu Huo De Qiang Wei, Shanghai: Commercial Press Ltd., 1924, p. 26.
35
Ibid., p. 47.
36
He joined several film productions such as in Hypocrite as actor, Detective’s Blood (1928) as
playwright, and God of Peace (1926) as assistant director (directed by Hou Yao).
50 K.-L. CHIU
new versus old, as well as permissiveness versus constraint. For example, in Fu

Quan Zhi Xia, although heroine Zhou Ai-zhen has been engaged to a son of the
distinguished Li family, she takes a liking to Feng Jian-hou, an elementary school
teacher. Zhou Zhong-sheng, the father of Zhou Ai-zhen, is the manager of a silk mill
and the chairman of “Kong Jiao Hui”. Although Zhou Zhong-sheng superficially
regards courtesy and culture as important,37 he actually keeps company with a pros-
titute.38 The reason why he lets his daughter receive a new style of education is only
to invest in his daughter, as he actually does not accept modern values, such as
gender equality. Feng Jian-hou is a typical “new youth” in the 1920s who pursues
knowledge, love, and ideals, and he quits his job in order to go to Moscow, which
may suggest his leftish standpoint. Feng Jian-hou pursues true love and visits Zhou
Ai-zhen’s house, but he is arrested by the police, and then the curtain falls.
Fei is also a drama written by Xu Gong-mei and performed in Taiwan. The story
follows Zhang Shi-cheng’s life, who is the chairman of “Jia Ting Gai Liang Hui”
(family improvement party). There are various types of “adulteries” taking place in
his family, such as adulteries between Zhang Guo-lian, his son, and his concubine;
between the wife of his son and Zhu Zhuo-min, her former lover; and between his
daughter and Yuan Ding-san. Finally, Zhang Shi-cheng becomes aware of these
adulteries and forces his family members to leave the “house of evil.39”.
In the above-mentioned two dramas, the father determines the destinies of his
children. In Fei, since Zhang Shi-cheng finally throws away the badge of Jia Ting
Gai Liang Hui, he does not seriously support family improvement.40 Although he
symbolizes “advancement”, the conclusion contains unreasonableness.41
The unquestioning obedience of young people was a rule in the traditional soci-
ety of China. However, self-consciousness was emphasized in the trend of conquer-
ing traditional customs. The emphasis of self-consciousness was always viewed on
the stage as a characteristic of the 1920s.
Xu Gong-mei’s Fu Quan Zhi Xia and Fei were directed by Cheung Wai-yin. Fu
Quan Zhi Xia was performed by the Seng Kong Theatrical Study Group, and Fei
was performed by the Ming Fong Theatrical Company. Three dramas mentioned in
this chapter—Fu Huo De Qiang Wei, Fu Quan Zhi Xia, and Fei, and Hu Suh’s The
Greatest Event in Life—were written after the May Fourth Movement and per-
formed in Taiwan. However, regarding Cheung Wai-yin’s scripts and techniques for
direction, performers’ expressions, and stages, no materials were found other than
“My theatrical recollection”, “A brief description of the history of the shingeki
37
Xu Gong-mei, “Fu Quan Zhi Xia), Qi Tu, Shanghai: Commercial Press Ltd., 1928, p. 10.
38
Ibid., p. 11.
39
Ibid., p. 51.
40
Ibid., p. 52.
41
Xu Gong-mei’s three plays that mentioned here all took place in China’s big cities, such as
Shanghai, Beijing, or “a certain big harbor at the south”. The time background was between 1921
and 1922, just at the time of Chinese cultural transformation. In the preface of Qi Tu written by
Ouyang Yu-qian, Ouyang mentioned about how grand the “Confucian orthodoxy” is, and therefore
to destroy its constraint is necessary. Ouyang Yu-qian, “Preface I”, ibid., p. 1.
movement”, and “A brief description of the shingeki movement in Taiwan”, which

were all written by him.
Position of Cheung Wai-yin in the Shingeki History in Taiwan
In the history of shingeki in Taiwan, Cheung Wai-yin is considered to be a very

special person. He visited the Tsukiji Sho-Gekijo in the winter of 1928, and at that
time, he had already been involved in the shingeki movement for 5 years in Taiwan,
having been a leading actor, dramatist, director, and the leader of several theatrical
companies. After visiting the Tsukiji Sho-Gekijo, he decided that if the Tsukiji Sho-
Gekijo is an adult, he would be a baby in the theatrical society.42 He had studied
theatre for 2 years in Tokyo. During that time, he had collected materials on theatre
at the Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum, Waseda University.
In June, 1930, Cheung Wai-yin returned to Taiwan and established the Ming
Fong Theatrical Institute. The training method of the Tsukiji Sho-Gekijo was
adopted in the institute, a method in which applicants for actors and actresses must
attend training courses. In the institute, the actors performed not only Chinese,
Japanese, and Taiwanese dramas but also European dramas. In the autumn of 1932,
the institute performed four dramas—including The Public Enemy, written by
Ibsen—for 4 days at Yong Le Zuo. Through his experience in Japan and in directing
shingeki, Cheung Wai-yin became a theatrical person, the position of which was
equivalent to that of Japanese living in Taiwan.
In the Ming Fong Theatrical Institute, although the main theatrical language was
Japanese, courses included research on Taiwanese language, mainly instructed by
Lian Ya-tang, in addition to literature and arts. Therefore, Cheung Wai-yin knew the
importance of theatrical expression in Taiwanese language.
In the middle of the 1930s, the following three shingeki companies were estab-
lished by Japanese living in Taiwan:
1 . Taihoku Drama Group by Yasuo Niibara and Senzamuro Togen.
2. Shinjin-za, established by Masao Iwata and Susumu Jinnai.
3. Taihoku Theatre Group, established by Susumu Nakayama and others who had
been the members of the former Minami Sho-Gekijo.
These three theatrical companies, along with the Ming Fong Theatrical Company,
formed the Taihoku Theatre Arts Association. This association became an important
organization to showcase shingeki in Taiwan. On March 27 and 28, 1934, the
Taihoku Theatre Arts Association, which had led Japanese theatrical people living
in Taiwan, held the Shingeki Festival at Sakae-za in Nishimon-cho, and these four
theatrical companies performed one-act plays. The Ming Fong Theatrical Company
performed The Bridegroom (?) in Taiwanese, which was written by Hungarian dra-
matist Lajos Biro and translated by Cheung Wai-yin, and the other three theatrical
42
Cheung Wai-yin “My theatrical recollection”, p. 107.
52 K.-L. CHIU
companies performed dramas in Japanese. The Taihoku Theatrical Club performed

The Son, written by Kaoru Osanai; the Shinjin-za performed Tengai Kaikaku (?),
written by Hiroichiro Maedakou; and the Taihoku Theatrical Group performed The
Bear, written by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. Because Cheung Wai-yin judged that
performing a drama in Japanese was difficult for these actors and actresses, he used
Taiwanese. However, because the number of Japanese audiences was larger than
that of Taiwanese audiences, the effect of the dramatic performance was limited.43
Meanwhile, Cheung Wai-yin exchanged opinions with the members of the theatri-
cal society in China and the employees of the Shanghai Theatre Association.
At the beginning of 1933, Cheung Wai-yin went to Tokyo again and studied dal-
croze eurhythmics at the Tokyo Dance Academy. Six months later, he returned to
Taiwan and prepared for the establishment of the Ming Fong Theatrical Company
while also researching Yi Fu, a drama based on a work of David Pinski, as a script
for training purposes with his former students. Yi Fu was presumed to be written
based on Ku Nan (Jesurim), a one-act play written by Pinski. Although Cheung Wai-
yin consecrated his life to shingeki, formed several theatrical companies, and par-
ticipated in the Shingeki Festival and other events, materials on his dramatic
interpretation, theatrical effects, audience responses, and dramatic criticism are
lacking, still just programs with only their titles to go by.
In addition to Cheung Wai-yin, Wu Kun-huang was also a Taiwanese writer
affected by the Tsukiji Sho-Gekijo. Immediately upon graduating from Taichung
Normal School in 1928, Wu Kun-huang went to Japan in order to participate in a
student political movement, and he studied arts and literature at Nihon University
and Meiji University. In 1932, he and other students studying in Japan established a
club and issued approximately 70 volumes of Taiwan Literary Arts. Subsequently,
the club was changed to be associated with the leftist movement. At that time, Wu
Kun-huang took an interest in the theatre and literary arts. Together with Zhang
Wen-huan and others, Wu Kun-huang established the Taiwan Art Research Group
and issued Formosa.44 In 1932, he was arrested because of his involvement with the
club, his studies were discontinued, and he worked at the Tsukiji Sho-Gekijo for
2.5 years as an extra. On February 15, 1933, due to instruction from the International
Revolutionary Theatre Bund, left-wing theatrical companies in Tokyo held a memo-
rial theatre conference (the original title of the conference was in Russian45) at the
Tsukiji Sho-Gekijo and determined the 25th and 26th of February as the “night for
races in the Far East”. After obtaining support from the Sa-mil Theatre, a left-wing
theatrical company established by Kim Pa-jong, a Korean, Wu Kun-huang partici-
pated in the performances of Taiwanese folk songs and dances, such as Chu Cao
43
Nai Shuang (Cheung Wai-yin), “About Taiwan Drama: Focus on Plays that using Taiwanese”,
Taiwan New Literature, 1936 Nov., pp. 35–38.
44
Liu Shu-chin, “The Marginal Struggle in Taiwan Literature: Taiwan Writers Studying in Tokyo
in the Cross Domain Leftist Literary Movement”, NTU Studies in Taiwan Literature, vol. 3, 2007.
45
МОРТ was the contraction of Russian words “International Revolutionary Theater
Alliance”(Международное объединение революционных театров).
Zhi, Dao Chu Shou, and Wu She Zhi Yue. The performances succeeded, and the
foundation was laid for the formation of the Taiwan Art Research Group and the
Ethnic Arts Institute.46
Wu Kun-huang often exchanged opinions with young leftists in China and par-
ticipated in student dramas and literature activities. According to Wu Kun-huang, he
directed Hong Shui, Lei Yu, and Wu Kui Qiao.47 Wu Kun-huang had kept in touch
with the Tokyo branch of the League of the Left-Wing Writers formed in China, and
in 1934, the Taiwan Literature and Arts League was established. Wu Kun-huang
was in charge of the league, and he began to create dramas and avant-garde poetry.
During his studies at Meiji University from 1932 to 1935, Wu Yong-fu often visited
the Tsukiji Sho-Gekijo to see dramas as an attendant of his professor.48
No names of the Taiwanese activists of the shingeki movement and dramatists
are found in materials on dramas performed at the Tsukiji Sho-Gekijo and records
of other theatrical companies (e.g. the Shinkyo-Gekidan theatre company). However,
the Tsukiji Sho-Gekijo sometimes used its students as extras. We have no way to
know whether Taiwanese actors appeared on stage as extras.49
Conclusion
There were two stages of the shingeki movement in Taiwan. The first stage was the
shingeki movement during the age of Japanese rule, and the second stage was the
dialogue drama movement in China after World War II. In the first stage, there were
two shingeki movements; one was carried out by Taiwanese, and the other was car-
ried out by Japanese living in Taiwan. Both movements were affected by the Tsukiji
Sho-Gekijo. The second stage succeeded the tradition and history of theatre in
China, which refers to the tradition after the 1930s and does not include left-wing
directors and dialogue dramas.
Almost all dramas performed by Japanese living in Taiwan were created by
Japanese or translated from Western dramas. Shingeki in Taiwan was significantly
affected by China and Japan, and European dramas were often known by Taiwanese
through their translation into Japanese or Chinese. The above-mentioned two shin-
geki movements in Taiwan affected each other greatly.
46
Taiwan Governor General Office Department of Police, The Evolution of Taiwan Police System
III, Taipei: SMC Publishing Inc., 1995 Jun., p. 67.
47
Shie Shuang-tian, “Poet who Start Afresh: An Interview with Wu Kun-Huang”, Central Monthly
vol. 14–7, 1982 May, p. 90.
48
Wu Yong-fu, “Sz Shiang Chi”,Complete works of Wu Yong-fu vol. 6, Taipei: Chuan Shen Fu Yin,
1996 May.
49
For example, actress Chieko Takizawa who had directed the Taiwan Shadow Play Troup and
Youth Drama Troup was a member of Shinn-kyou Troup, and her name was on the list.
54 K.-L. CHIU
At the end of 1939, Cheung Wai-yin published “Theater in Taiwan—mainly the-

ater in Taiwanese”, in which he pointed out the following eight difficulties in the
development of theatre in Taiwan:
1. Persons with economic power feel the necessity for developing the theatre, but
they are not positively involved in it.
2. It is no use for persons with no economic power to be in a hurry to develop the
theatre.
3. No amateur theatrical company exists in Taiwan.
4. Ordinary people barely sympathize with and understand the theatre.
5. No people specialized in the theatre exist in Taiwan.
6. The police often interfere in the theatre.
7. The language problem (colloquial writing in Taiwanese: the argument on the
method of transcribing Taiwanese) has not yet been solved.
8. There are not many Taiwanese dramatists.50
The differences in the recognition of shingeki between Cheung Wai-yin and
Japanese living in Taiwan were exposed in attempting to define shingeki and the
purpose of the shingeki movement. Since the 1920s, the Taiwanese Cultural
Association—the main members of which were students studying Japan—had used
theatre, movies, and music as cultural tools with which to resist the colonial govern-
ment, and they made every effort to acquire the autonomy of the colony. The asso-
ciation learned these cultural practices from Japan.
Although theatrical companies in Taiwan performed The Naval Battle, The
Lower Depths, and Roar Chinese, which were the programs of the Tsukiji Sho-
Gekijo, these performances could not succeed because the theatrical environment in
Taiwan differed greatly from that in Japan, and no conditions to perform serious
Western dramas were prepared in Taiwan. For example, although Roar Chinese was
performed by the Taichung Yun Neng Feng Gong Hui, led by Yang Kui and Wu
Yong-fu, the performance was not reported, and no dramatic criticism about the
performance remains.
Shingeki during the age of Japanese rule was confined due to colonial policies,
and this confinement became even more strict during World War II. When Taiwan
was governed by Nationalist China, dramas in the “national language” (Mandarin)
were recommended in order to diffuse the national language, and the tradition of the
shingeki movement in Taiwan was discontinued. Since then, only dialogue dramas
in the national language have been primarily performed.
Regarding shingeki during the age of Japanese rule, all theatrical activities led by
Japanese directors disappeared immediately after the end of World War II. Theatrical
activities led by Taiwanese directors were judged to be politically incorrect after the
February 28 Incident and White Terror. Only dramas in which the positions are
those of anti-Japanese and Chinese nationalism have been continuously performed.
Culturati who participated in the shingeki movement in Taiwan could disclose their
Nai Shuang (Cheung Wai-yin), “About Taiwan Drama: Focus on Plays that using Taiwanese”,
50
pp. 35–38.
real intentions during the age of Japanese rule. After World War II, some reminis-
cences published in the period of the White Terror have been concealed or selec-
tively forgotten.
In conclusion, shingeki during the age of Japanese rule lacked energy, and almost
all Japanese directors involved in Taiwan were unknown. Theatrical policies pro-
moted by the colonial government during World War II may have needed another
50 years of colonialism in order to be successful, but fortunately, this did not occur.
Nationalist China has governed Taiwan and promoted policies for re-Chinalization.
The method and purpose of Nationalist China seem to be similar to those of the
movement and policies of kominka. However, the results of the former greatly differ
from those of the latter.
Taiwanese audiences should review the history of theatrical activities conducted
by Japanese living in Taiwan and the kominka-related theatre during the age of
Japanese rule from the perspective of theatre in Taiwan at present.
56 K.-L. CHIU
Appendices
Appendix 1: Productions of Taiwan Shingeki in the 1920s
Time Title Performer Note

End of 1923 Konjiki Yasha, Koyo Ozaki Taiwanese students Had been presented in recital
who had studied in of Takasago Dormitory,
Japan, including Tokyo
Chang Mu-nien,
Chang Shen-chieh,
Wu San-lien, and
others
December Love Affair with Mainly by Ding Shin Affected by Xiamen Popular
1923 Conscience (five-act) She in Changhua Education Company, Chen
Kan, Pan Lu, Sie Shu-yuan
established Ding Shin She
1924 After Going Home, Ouyang Ding Shin She in In “A brief description of the
Yu-qian Changhua with shingeki movement in
Konjiki Yasha Taiwanese Students Taiwan”, Cheung Wai-yin
Father Comes Back, League of Japan mentioned that there was
one-act, Kan Kikuchi only one-act in After Going
Home
Black-and-white Face
(one-act)
Fu Huo De Qiang Wei, Hou
Yao
November Fu Quan Zhi Xia, one-act, Ming Fong
13–14, 1924 human-interest play, Xu Theatrical Company
Gong-mei
1924 winter The Greatest Event in Life, Seng Kong Seng Kong Theatrical Study
three-act, Hu Shi Theatrical Study Group
Group
From the My Beloved, twenty-act, Ding Shin She in Ding Shin She in Changhua
end of 1924 Chen Tiao-lu from the Changhua changed its name into
to the middle Hsin-tien Popular “Changhua Shingeki She”
of 1925 Education Company and performed in Taichung,
Wufeng, Tajia, Hsinchu, and
Taipei
Early 1925 Ile, one-act, Eugene Ryoujin-za, Naichi In the Taiwan Governor-
O’Neill Bungaku Seinen General Railway as
Glittering Gate, one-act, danntai entertainments (“Youth and
Dunsany Taiwan II”)
(continued)

October The Greatest Event in Life Fraternity Performed in New Stage for
1925 Clumsy Mother and Association 3 days and was the first
Daughter, one-act comedy shingeki performance in
You Die First, one-act North Taiwan
comedy
Fu-Jung Chieh, eight-act
Lotus Flower in Fire,
eight-act)
Ching Hai Tao
November Train of the Steal, one-act, Taihoku High School In the Taiwan Governor-
26–27, 1928 high school drama club General Railway, “The Night
Hatsusyoujinn, one-act, of Theatre” (“Youth and
Irijyou Ryoutei Taiwan II”)
Kyouraku Midareba,
two-act, Minji Okamoto
Saka, one-act, Youbunn
Kaneko
Fang Ta-yi, four-act,
Komatsu Kitamura
Jyunnbann, one-act, Kann
Kikuchi
The Gods of Mountain,
three-act, Dunsany
1929 Six Gentlemen in a Row, Taihoku High School In high school’s new lecture
one-act, Jules Romains room, “The night of
Domo-Mata No Shi, Theatre” 2nd. (“Youth and
one-act, Takeo Arishima Taiwan II”)
Nightclub, three-act and
four-act, Maksim Gorky
(*should be Chinese
playwright Shi Tuo and Ke
Ling’s rewrite, adapted from
Gorky’s The Lower Depths)
Mineworker, one-act,
Marten
A Son, one-act, Youbunn
Kaneko
Ayashii Kamotsusenn,
four-act, Hisao Kitamura
December Fog, one-act, Eugene Kamakiri-za Hold their first audition in
1930 O’Neill Hinomaru Kaikann,
The Lighthouse, one-act, Akashi-cyou. (“Youth and
Matsuo Ito Taiwan II”)
The Burden of Liberty,
one-act, Tristan Bernard
(continued)
58 K.-L. CHIU

October Ile, one-act, Eugene Taihoku High School “The Night of Theatre” 4th.
1931 O’Neill (the third was cancelled due
Alt-Heidelburg, four-act, to students’ strike) (“Youth
Wilhelm Meyer-Forster and Taiwan III”)
Sanntakuya to Shijinn,
one-act, Youbunn Kaneko
The Last Masks, one-act,
Schnitzler
Shinasu, one-act, Takeo
Takahashi
June 1933 Hanneles Himmelfahrt, Taihoku College of Anniversary celebration of
Gerhart Hauptmann Commerce Taihoku College of
The Gods of Mountain, Commerce (“Youth and
Dunsany Taiwan III”)
August Fei, one-act, Xu Gong-mei Ming Fong Established in 1930
19–22, 1933 Cave Man’s Dream, Theatrical Company
nine-act, Haruo Sasa,
adapted by Cheung Wai-yin
A Dollar, one-act, David
Pinski, adapted by Cheung
Wai-yin
An Enemy of the People,
five-act, Ibsen, translated by
Cheung Wai-yin
February The Son, Kaoru Osanai Theatrical Club Theatre Festival, hold by
27–28, 1934 Taiwan Theatre Association
The Bridegroom, one-act, Ming Fong
Lajos Bíró, adapted by Theatrical Company
Cheung Wai-yin, performed
in Taiwanese
Tengai Kaikaku, one-act, Drama Study Group
Hiroichiro Maedakou, of Shinjin-za
performed in Japanese
The Bear, Anton Chekhov, Taihoku Theatre
translated by Masao Group
Yonekaw, performed in
Japanese
(continued)

April 1934 Winner and Loser, Taihoku High School 7th Anniversary celebration
three-act, John Galsworthy of Taihoku High School
Bon Suke Shinnsei’s (“Youth and Taiwan V”)
One-side Beard, one-act,
Masatsune Nakamura
Human, five-act, Walter
Hasenclever
From Morning to Midnight,
seven-act, Georg Kaiser
Siblings, one-act, Kan
Kikuchi
Karl and Anna, four-act,
Leonhard Frank
April 1935 Lightening, one-act, August Taihoku High School 8th Anniversary celebration
Strindberg of Taihoku High School
Yoru no Yado, four-act, (“Youth and Taiwan V”)
Maksim Gorky(*renamed
by Kaoru Osanai, original
title was The Lower Depth)
From Morning to Midnight
The Wolves, one-act,
Romain
Rolland
The Playboy of the Western
World, three-act, John
Millington Synge
Faith and Homeland,
three-act, Karl Schönherr
June 1935 The Dead Talks, three-act, Taihoku College of “The Night of Theatre” in
Liou Tie-jia, in Taiwanese Commerce Taihoku College of
Hamlet, two-act, Commerce(“Youth and
Shakespeare, in English Taiwan V”)
Riders to the Sea, one-act,
John Millington Synge
The Bear, one-act, Anton
Chekhov
60 K.-L. CHIU
Appendix 2 Plays Published in Taiwan People News
Publish Time Theme and main

date Title Author background idea Note
1. April 15 The Greatest Hu Shi Criticizing feudal First published
and May 1, Event in Life system and in La Jeunesse,
1923 (one-act) advocating March 1919,
(Taishou freedom of China
Era 12) choice in
marriage
2. Aug 1, Qu Yuan Zhang About 300 The confusion of Note of the
1924 Geng BC, during elites and the play: Wedding
(Taisho (Qun the Warring wisdom of the Congratulation
Era 13) Shan, States bottom people to my friends
who had periods, when Wu Hai-shui
been Chu Shiang and Liu
living in Wang was on Mei-chu, Tokyo
Japan) the throne
3. September Jue Ju, short Tao Yao The conflict
21, 1924 play, one-act) between old and
(Taisho new generations;
Era 13) get rid of
superstitions;
youth
responsibilities
of nation
4. May 1, Shuo Bu Chu Hu Shi “Any time” Weak people
1925 (“I Cannot (should should stand up
(Taisho Tell” be Chen against evil
Era 14) Da-bei) power in order to
gain freedom
5. September Wo Bu Zi You Tao Xin The relationship First published
4, 1927 (“I Have No between husband in Min Chung
(Showa Freedom” and wife News, China
Era 2)
6. December Xin Shi Dai Wang May 4, The specific First published
4, 11, 18, De Nan Nu Jing-zhi Republic Era action of in Shan Chao,
25, 1927 (“Men and 8 knowledge youth China
(Showa Women in the fighting for
Era 2) New Age” national rights;
equal rights of
men and women;
objection to blind
devotion to one’s
parents
(continued)
Publish Time Theme and main

date Title Author background idea Note
7. January Ying Hua La Shao In the day of People’s moral Note of the
22, 29, (“Cherry Nie Chun-ho, character play: to my
February Blossoms are 1928 brothers in
5, 12, 1928 Falling” Tokyo Kou Kei
(Showa Kai
Era 3)
8. June 3, 10, Jin Guo Ying Qing Freedom of Note of the
1928 Xiong (“A Zhao choice in play: to my
(Showa Brave (had marriage; friends, alumni
Era 3) Woman” been tragedy of cross of Tainan First
studied cultural Senior High
in marriage; racial School
China) consciousness
9. July 29, Ping Min De Wu Sunset time at Racial First published
August 5, Tian Shi Jiang- 1 day consciousness; in Shin Chao (
1928 (“Angel of leng challenging 《心潮》), vol.
(Showa Commoners”, patriarchy 1 no. 1,
Era 3) one-act) system Nanjing, China
(January 1923)
10. September Honeymoon Yen Hua Lunar Self- First published
9, 16, 1928 Travel calendar consciousness of in Woman
(Showa January female; love Magazine,
Era 3) tragedy China
11. November Fan Dong Feng In City S on Youths devote to
18, 1928 (“Reaction”, Qiu July, 1928 culture reform
(Showa one-act) movement
Era 3)
12. March 3, Hui-lan Can Qing Summer of Youths persist in To dear Mo, in
10, 17, 24, Le Zhao 1928 reform Nanjing Central
31,1929 (“Miserable movement University,
(Showa Hui-lan”, February 8,
Era 4) one-act 1929
tragedy)
13. March 10, One-act Shiue Phone To ridicule on
1929 Comedy Gu conversation the police system
(Showa (Chiang from 8 to 10
Era 4) Wei- pm, February
shui) 27
References
Chen Chien-chung. 2004. Taiwanese Writers in Japanese Colonial Period: Modernization,

Localization, Colonization, 4. Taipei: Wunan.
Chen Feng-ming. 2004. Colonial Modernity: Historical and Literary Perspectives on Taiwan,
9–19. Taipei: Rye Field.
Cheung Wai-yin. 1954, August. My Theatrical Recollection. Taipei Cultural Relics 3–2: 105.
Chiu Kun-liang. 1992. Kyugeki and Shingeki: Study of Taiwan Theatre in Japanese Colonial
Period (1895–1945), 318–319. Taipei: Independence Evening Pose.
62 K.-L. CHIU
———. 2011, January. Concept, Assumption and Interpretation: The Chapter of Taiwanese
Modern Theatre Under Japanese Rule. Taipei Theatre Journal 13: 15–16. Taipei: TNUA.
Hou Yao. 1924. Fu Huo De Qiang Wei, 26. Shanghai: Commercial Press Ltd.
Huang Ko-wu. 2006. The Beginning of the Conception of Modern and the Reflection of History
Study. Contemporary 223: 76.
King Yeo-chi. 1997. From Traditional to Modernised. Taipei: China Times Publishing.
Ku Chung-hwa. 2006. Modernization of Taiwan: Whose Modernization? What Kind of
Modernization? Contemporary 221: 74.
Liu Shu-chin. 2007. The Marginal Struggle in Taiwan Literature: Taiwan Writers Studying in
Tokyo in the Cross Domain Leftist Literary Movement. NTU Studies in Taiwan Literature 3.
Lo Shih-yun. 2009. Yu Da-fu in Taiwan: Process of Acceptance from Japanese Colonial period to
Postwar Period. Master thesis, National Chengchi University Graduate Institute of Taiwanese
Literature, Taipei, pp. 58–61, 66–68
Nai Shuang (Cheung Wai-yin). 1936, November. About Taiwan Drama: Focus on Plays that Using
Taiwanese. Taiwan New Literature 35–38.
———. 1954. Brief History of Taiwan Shingeki Movement. Taipei Cultural Relics 3–2: 83–91.
Raymond, Williams. 2004. Keywords–A Vocabulary of Culture and Society. Trans. Liu Chien-chi.
Taipei: Chuliu, 248–249.
Shie Shuang-tian. 1982, May. Poet Who Start Afresh: An Interview with Wu Kun-Huang. Central
Monthly 14–7: 90.
Shima, Rikuhei (Atsumu Uchiyama). 1936. The Youth and Taiwan 2: Idea and Practice of Shingeki
Movement. Taiwan News, vol. 197.
Taiwan Governor General Office Department of Police. 1995, June. The Evolution of Taiwan
Police System III, 67. Taipei: SMC Publishing Inc.
Tao Xin. 1927. Wo Bu Zi You. Taiwan People News, September 4, No. 172, p. 8.
Tao Yao. 1924. Jue Ju. Taiwan People News, September 21, vol. 2, No. 18.
Wu Mi-cha. 1985. The Study of Modern Taiwan History, 81. Taipei: Dawshiang.
Wu Yong-fu. 1996, May. Complete Works of Wu Yong-fu, vol. 6, Taipei: Chuan Shen Fu Yin.
Xu Gong-mei. 1928. Fu Quan Zhi Xia. In Qi Tu, 10. Shanghai: Commercial Press Ltd.
Zhang Geng. 1924. Qu Yuan. Taiwan People News, August 1, vol. 2, No. 14.
Chapter 5
Staging Reality:
Premodern Drama in China
at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
Gilbert FONG and Shelby K. Y. CHAN
The word “modern” means relating to the present time and thus connotes temporal-
ity. Anything which exists at the moment of reference is “modern”. Conversely, that
which existed before that moment is “nonmodern”—old, traditional, conservative,
historical, etc. If temporality is the only consideration, then “modernization”, the
process of becoming “modern”, does not need discussing, as it is automatic and
comes with the passage of time. Therefore, modernization is an active undertaking,
motivated and desirous, and in need of an agent or agents who are more or less
conscious of making changes to that which has existed before, and there are identifi-
able means and ends. In recent history, what is considered modern is synonymous
with being Western, having been conditioned by the ascendency of the West with its
imposition of imperialism and colonialism on the rest of the world. With the drive
towards modernization, developing nations, mostly coming out of a traditional soci-
ety, tend to ally themselves with globalization in integrating with the Western model.
The question is, with the overwhelming and pervasive power of Westernization,
can a traditional culture like Chinese culture develop its own features of being mod-
ern, i.e. a Chinese modern? Are innovations possible or desirable? Or could it be
that only renovations such as revamping traditions are viable, especially when the
indigenous culture is deep-rooted or strong? Modern Chinese drama is considered a
totally imported genre, and at the turn of the twentieth century, it threatened to dis-
place traditional Chinese opera, which had been performed for hundreds of years
entertaining millions of Chinese people. In our paper, we will investigate this strug-
gle for supremacy and its ramifications, the process of change and the responses to
that change.
G. FONG (*) · S. K. Y. CHAN

The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

64 G. FONG and S. K. Y. CHAN
Reform of Traditional Opera
Modern Chinese drama is called huaju, which literally means “spoken drama”, to
distinguish itself from traditional Chinese opera, which predominantly comprises
formulaic singing, movements, dialogues and martial arts. In the struggle for
supremacy between spoken drama and traditional opera at the turn of the twentieth
century, spoken words, or dialogues, became the marker of the new form of theatre.
As the famous dramatist Ouyang Yuqian (1889–1962) said, “Chinese drama is sing-
ing and dancing. We have to admit that reforming Chinese drama is tantamount to a
movement to renovating opera”.1 Our paper will discuss the importance of dialogue
in a performance as the deixis and its emergence and ramifications.2 With the change
in the medium of communication on stage, other considerations ensued, such as
acting, costumes, set design, audience reception, etc., which had to be modified to
accommodate the new demand for realness. We also find that didacticism, i.e. patri-
otism and the pursuit of national strength in the face of the encroachment of the
foreign powers, was the main motivation for the reform on drama, and this utilitar-
ian function required the presentation of reality on the stage, something traditional
opera was found lacking. Modernization was, in fact, a change in form as well as in
essence.
In 1857, the premier issue of the journal World Miscellany (Liuhe congtan) fea-
tured an article that introduced Greek theatre. This was probably the first encounter
with Western drama by the Chinese. However, the article failed to arouse much
attention.3A few years later, reports on theatres in Western countries began to trickle
in through travelogues written by Chinese diplomats stationed overseas. Bin Chun
(1804–?) was the first Chinese official sent by the Qing government to visit Europe.
At the age of 63 in 1866, he took three graduates of the School of Foreign Languages
(Tongwen guan) and went on a tour of 11 countries, including Britain, France, the
Netherlands, Denmark and others. Upon his return, he compiled his notes into a
book entitled Notes Written on a Raft (Chengcha biji). He was the first Chinese to
report on the Western stage:
There were fifty to sixty actresses. Half of them were pretty, and all were dancing half-
naked. On the stage, mountains, rivers and waterfalls could be installed. The sun and the
moon could be made to shine. Then a god-like figure appeared, and several fairies descended
from the sky as an auspicious light lit up the entire stage and shone on the people. The
whole thing was like an incredible miracle.4
1
OuyuangYuqian 歐陽予倩, “Xiju gaige zhi lilun yu shiji” 戲劇改革之理論與實際 [Theories
and practices of drama revolution], quoted in Ma Sen’s Xichaoxia de Zhongguo xiandai xiju 西潮
下的中國現代戲劇 [Modern Chinese drama under Western waves] (Taipei: Shuilin, 1994), 78.
2
All the English translations of the cited Chinese texts are our own, unless otherwise stated.
3
Tian Benxian 田本相 and Jiao Shangzhi 焦尚志, Zhongguo huajushi yanjiu gaishu 中國話劇史
研究概述 [Brief descriptions of studies of Chinese drama history] (Tianjin: Tianjin guji chuban-
she, 1993), 18.
4
Quoted in Tian Benxiang 田本相, ed. Zhongguo huaju yishu shi 中國話劇藝術史 [History of
Chinese dramatic art], vol. 1 (Nanjing: Jiangsu Educational Press, 2016), 6.
5 Staging Reality 65
At the time, one of the school’s graduates Zhang Deyi (1847–1818), who was only
18, was travelling with Bin and wrote a report on a Paris theatre. He noticed that
there was an office selling tickets and the audience was all dressed up meticulously
in fashionable clothes. He was also impressed by the thousands of gaslights installed
on the stage:
The stage could differentiate if it is day or night. It could have the sun, the moon, thunder
and lightning, and light and shadow as well. Sound and colour were made to accompany the
wind, thunder, springs and water. Mountains, seas, vehicles and boats, buildings and alley
ways, flowers, trees and gardens were put in layers and the sceneries could be changed into
marvellous sights.5
The famous reformer and newspaper publisher Wang Tao (1866–1937) also wrote
about his experience in watching a theatrical performance in Paris around 1867:
No matextter mountains, rivers, pavilions or buildings were all painted, but their myriad
changes in all shapes and sizes happened in the twinkling of an eye, very close to being real.6
The writers were also intrigued by the high social status enjoyed by the actors and
actresses and, in particular, the architectural splendour of theatre buildings and the
realism on stage, its authentic settings and costumes. (“It was like placing oneself in
real life, in a real social setting.)” The reports were accompanied by the feeling of
admiration that these “wonderful”, “miraculous” and “unimaginable” spectacles
were worthy of imitation.7
Fascinated by these versions of “occidentalism” on the marvels and effectiveness
of Western theatre, the Chinese were made vaguely aware of the differences between
the two theatrical traditions. At the same time, there was also an understated feeling
of insufficiency. The concerns were mainly about the spectacles and the wonders of
stage mechanics which attracted their eyes.8 There was no mention of or attempt to
analyze the theatre as an art form. At this stage of initial contact, it was beyond the
understanding of the Chinese people to appreciate the workings of a “realistic” play,
its intricate relations among plot structure, dialogue, characterization, content and
its philosophical underpinning based on a bourgeois world view. To the Chinese
people, Western drama was exotic, different and technologically more advanced.
Their superficial understanding actually facilitated the introduction of selected ele-
ments of Western theatre, allowing the domestic tradition to reform itself without
demolishing its own substructure.
Technical and formal features were considered only “machinery” (qi) and would
not damage Chinese “essence”. The introduction of realistic presentation and stage
technology was thus rationalized, rendering it agreeable with the spirit of “Chinese
learning as essence; Western learning for practical use” of the Self-Strengthening
5
Quoted in Tian, Huaju yishu shi, 6.
6
Wang Tao 王韜, Manyou xuilu tuji 漫遊隨錄圖記 [Roaming travelogues with illustrations].
(Jinan: Shandong huabu chubanshe, 2004), 88.
7
Tian Benxiang, ed., Zhongguo xiandai bijiao xiju shi 中國現代比較戲劇史 [Comparative history
of modern Chinese drama] (Beijing: Wenhua yishu chubanshe, 1993), 23.
8
Tian, Bijiao xiju shi, 21.
Movement (Yanwu yundong) in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Strange
enough, the ideological influence, which invariably attends cultural transfers
between societies, was not imported but imposed by indigenous sources. The year
1894 witnessed the defeat of the Qing Empire in the hands of the Japanese at the
Sino-Japanese War and the subsequent bankruptcy of the Self-Strengthening
Movement. People began to understand that “machinery” alone was not enough,
and to save China there must be a complete overhaul the old ways of thinking,
including the hitherto tabooed subject of “essence”—ways of thinking. The scholar
and translator Yan Fu (1854–1921) first introduced Darwinian evolutionism, and in
literature Liang Qichao (1873–1929), reformist and writer, and others fervently pro-
moted the didactic function of fiction and drama and elevated their status as the
highest in the literary hierarchy.
Contemporary discussions on foreign drama rarely examined it as an art form but
concentrated on its reportedly nationalistic mission. For example, novelist and critic
Tianlusheng (real name: Wang Zhongqi [1880–1913]) wrote in 1908, “Having been
defeated by the Germans, the French built a theatre in Paris and re-enacted the
scenes of disaster when German soldiers were entering Paris. The audience were
moved to tears and the French nation was later restored”.9 And Yan Fu and Xia
Zengya (1863–1924), historian and scholar, claimed that drama and fiction were
responsible for “civilizing Europe and America”.10 Here, Chinese drama was found
lacking, and another impetus was added to the urgency for the reform of the two
literary genres. In a 1904 article, Chen Duxiu (1879–1942), the revolutionary who
later turned communist, insisted that “Only drama reform can influence all mem-
bers in society, helping the blind to see and the deaf to hear. It remains the only way
to reform society”.11 An anonymous writer summed up the situation very well: “If
we want to strengthen our nation, we must put our mind and effort on drama. How
can this be accomplished? Change the scripts and change the music”.12 Chen Duxiu
put it more directly, “Adopt Western ways: speeches in a play are most enlightening,
and the various spectacles made by lighting and electricity can be lessons in the
physical sciences”.13
The first attempt to reform traditional opera was the “New Opera in Modern
Costumes” (shizhuang xinxi), also known as “New Opera on Current Affairs” ( shishi
xinxi), which was very popular around the turn of the century in Shanghai. The plots
were based on contemporary happenings; the actors dressed in modern costumes;
and the dialogues were spoken in Beijing and Suzhou dialects, not in the customary
9
Tianlusheng 天僇生, “Juchang zhi jiaoyu” 劇場之教育 [Education in theatre], 1908. In Liang
Qichao’s 梁啟超 Wanqing wenxue congchao: Xiaoshuo xiqu yanjiu juan 晚清文學叢鈔: 小說戲
曲研究卷 [Note on literature in late Qing: Novels and operas] (Taipei: Xin wenfeng chubanshe,
1989), 57.
10
11
Quoted in Chen Jinsong, “To Make People Happy, Drama Imitates Joy: The Chinese Theatrical
Concept of Mo”. Asian Theatre Journal 14, no. 1 (Spring 1997): 55.
12
Anonymous, “Guanju ji” 觀劇記 [On watching a play], 1903. In Liang, Wanqing wenxue, 72
13
Chen, “To Make People Happy”, 54.
Zhongzhou Rhyme (Zhongzhou yun, a northern dialect prevalent in Henan prov-

ince). The scripts were structured in the old style, and the stylized movements were
preserved. There were still pihuang singing, but it appeared less than in traditional
opera.14 Around 1894, the famous actor Wang Xiaonong (1858–1918) was seen per-
forming in Western clothing in a Peking opera entitled The Tragedy of the Fall of
Poland (Bolan wangguo can), which was a concealed attack on the corrupt Qing
Dynasty officials who led the country to its miseries and humiliations.15 The play
was later banned, but corruption remained a popular theme with the new opera.
The first spoken drama plays performed in China were done by expatriates and
touring Western companies in Shanghai at the Lyceum Theatre in the 1870s. A few
Chinese were among the audience, as attracted by the realistic acting and scenery.
Xu Banmei (1880–1961), who frequented the plays put on by the expatriates’ ADC
(Amateur Drama Corps), claimed that the foreigners’ productions had little impact
on the development of modern drama in China, since they were about foreign sub-
ject matters and were performed in a foreign tongue.16 However, even though few
Chinese were aware of the ADC, its performances could at least serve as inspiration
and living examples of Western theatre.
Around 1900, students in Shanghai’s missionary schools were reported to have
performed plays in the new style. Known as “modern costume drama” (shizhuang xi),
they followed the production mode of Western plays and featured contemporary
costumes and plots based on current affairs. Thespian Wang Zhongxian (1888–
1937) reported on his encounter with a St. John’s School production of Ugly History
of the Official World (Guanchang choushi):
There was no singing, nor were there any stylized movements…. The stage was located in
a huge sitting room, and the audience sat in the yard. The playing area was unfurnished
except for two curtains which served as entrance points. The actors entered in the traditional
manner, reciting a poem and announcing their names. Occasionally they would blurt out a
few lines of pihuang (Peking opera singing), but these were very rare.17
The student productions were very crude. Apart from having no music and little
singing, they were no different from traditional drama. In 1905, Wang Zhongxian,
inspired by the student productions, set up the Literary Friends Club (Wenyou hui)
and the Liberal Plays Performing Club (Kaiming yanju wui) and staged a number of
plays in the new style. To achieve realness, real objects were used as properties, but
there was no act division, no scenery backdrop, and frequently the actors still
resorted to the stylized movements of traditional drama.18
14
Xu Benmei 徐半梅. Huaju chuangshiqi huiyi lu 話劇創始期回憶錄 [Reminiscences of the pre-
liminary period of drama] (Beijing: Zhongguo xiju chubanshe, 1957), 5–6.
15
Fan Boqun 范伯群 and Zhu Donglin 朱棟霖, eds. Zhongwai wenxue bijiao shi 中外文學比較
史 [Comparative history of Chinese and foreign literature] (Nanjing: Jiangsu Educational Press,
1992), 215.
16
Xu, Huiyilu, 495.
17
Kang Baocheng 康保成, Zhongguo jindai xiju xingshi lun 中國近代戲劇形式論 [On the forms
of contemporary Chinese drama] (Guilin: Lijiang chubanshe, 1991), 225.
18
Ibid., 225–227.
At the turn of the century, Chinese drama found itself at the crossroads of tradi-
tion and modernization. There was reformed opera that had incorporated some
Western features but remained essentially traditional. And there was also the new-
style drama inspired by expatriate and student productions, the salient feature of
which was the use of dialogues. However, in many other aspects, it was still inclined
towards traditional stylization. Even though the two schools developed from differ-
ent premises, they were at times hardly distinguishable, being the same product of
the blending of Chinese and Western cultures.19 It would appear that the need for
change was genuine and urgent, coming from both domestic tradition and foreign
influence, and the time was right for the evolution of a completely new style of
Chinese drama.
Spring Willow Society
In January 1907, a group of overseas Chinese students belonging to the Spring

Willow Society (Chunliu she) put on a play based on Alexandre Dumas-fils’ Camille
in Oklahoma, Japan. The production was historically significant; as one observer
wrote, “It was the first time a modern ‘spoken play’ was performed by the Chinese
in Chinese”.20 The performance was short and small-scale, as the students only
selected one scene from Act III, where M. Duval visits Camille to persuade her to
leave Arman.21 Apparently the romantic love story mixed in with family pressure
found a sympathetic ear among the Chinese students, and the performance was also
received favourably by the Japanese among the audience.
In the wake of the success of Camille, the Spring Willow Society soon expanded
its membership and graduated into a bigger production of Uncle Tom’s Cabin
adapted from Lin Shu’s translation of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel as Black
Slave’s Cry to Heaven (Heinu yutian lu). After more than two months of rehearsing,
the play started its two-night run from 1 June 1907 in a theatre in Oklahoma. The
play was even a bigger success than the previous production of Camille; it sent
shock waves to the artistic circle in Japan and received unanimous commendation
from many newspapers and journals in Tokyo and Osaka.
There is no doubt that the production was a milestone in the development of
modern Chinese drama, being, as Xu Banmei put it, “the first new drama devoid of
19
Xu, Huiyi lu, 9.
20
Zhang Geng 張庚, “Zhongguo huaju yundong shi (diyi zhang)” 中國話劇運動史(第一章)
[History of Chinese drama movements (Chapter 1)], in Zhongguo jindai wenxue lunwen ji: Xiju,
minjian wenxue juan 1949–1979 中國近代文學論文集:戲劇、民間文學卷 1949–1979
[Collection of essays on contemporary Chinese literature: Drama and folk literature 1949–1979],
249 (Beijing: Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe, 1982).
21
Ouyang Yuqian 歐陽予倩, “Huiyi Chunliu” 回憶春柳 [Remembering Spring Willow], 1957, in
Zhongguo huaju yundong wushi nian shiliao ji 中國話劇運動五十年史料集 [Collection of his-
torical data of drama movements in China] (Reprint of the 1917 ed.), ed. Tian Han 田漢 (Hong
Kong: Wenhua ziliao gongying she, 1957), 13.
any flavour of Peking opera”.22 According to Ouyang Yuqian, who was among one
of the actors, the dialogues were set according to a complete script; the set and cos-
tumes, designed by Zeng Xiaogu (1873–1937) and Li Shutong (1880–1942), both
art school students and made by Japanese artisans, were elaborate and realistic,
though somewhat anachronistic.23 Special attention was paid to the act division and
the timing of lowering the curtain to signal the conclusion of an act. “The entire play
was performed in the dialogues of everyday conversation, and there were no recita-
tions, no additional singing, no soliloquies, and no asides—it was spoken drama in
its purest form”.24
The anti-slavery story had a special appeal because it could be read as an allegory
to arouse patriotic and anti-imperialistic feelings among the Chinese people, espe-
cially in view of contemporary reports that in the United States, the Americans
treated the Chinese workers even more harshly and oppressively than they did with
Negro slaves. The choice of material was not surprising, as it apparently answered
the call for didacticism and patriotism in drama by the Chinese intellectuals. What
remains intriguing is that the play was a cross-generic adaptation from fiction to
drama. Apparently there was no Chinese translation of Western drama until 1908,
and the choice spoke for the tremendous appeal of Lin Shu’s translation among the
Chinese readership. Because of the indirectness, the writer of the script Zeng Xiaogu
probably felt that he was given a freehand to remould the story.
There were two major alterations made on the plot of the novel: first, the play
avoids references to the Bible and Christianity; and more importantly, the play ends
with the slaves, including Tom, freeing themselves by killing their hunters. (In the
novel, Tom is beaten to death, and the story ends with the freeing of the slaves by
George Shelby, the son of the plantation owner.)25 The difference was that in the
play adaptation, the slaves themselves play an active role in gaining their own free-
dom, which of course could be a fitting allegory to mobilize the oppressed Chinese
workers in America to fight for justice and survival. And that Uncle Tom was
allowed to live was probably a concession to the traditional demand for a happy
ending, so that the audience, seeing the triumph of the good over the evil, would not
feel depressed.
The Spring Willow Society’s Black Slave’s Cry to Heaven is an interesting phe-
nomenon of translation and reception. Touted as the first complete performance of
the new Chinese drama, which admittedly was inspired by a Western model, the
play was an adaptation of a translation of an American novel, and in the process the
plot was transformed into a story with a typical Chinese ending and endowed with
a message pointing to the fate of the Chinese nation. Furthermore, the play was not
produced on Chinese soil but in the foreign country of Japan. It could very well be
argued that the Black Slave phenomenon would not have been possible in China, for
in Japan and especially when performed in front of overseas Chinese students, the
22
Xu, Huiyi lu, 13.
23
Ouyuang, “Huiyi Chunliu”, 21.
24
Ibid., 18.
25
Ibid., 17.
p roduction had in its favour the support of the Japanese theatre practitioners and an
ideal audience receptive to foreign ideas and culture. Once news of its success in
Japan was reported in China, the Chinese espoused the play as their own along with
their susceptibility of things Western and Japanese.26
In fact, the direct and important source of inspiration for the Spring Willow
Society members was the Japanese shinpa (new school of theatre); many of them
either befriended or actually learned their skills from the shinpa masters. The shinpa
first started out in the 1880s as an attempt by young activists to voice their political
messages against government policies. It was also the first attempt to modernize the
century-old kabuki, displacing some of its features of joruri (recital) and geza (side
orchestra) by new ones, such as women performers, modern costumes and Western
music, but it also retained much of the essential stylization of kabuki and promi-
nently featured female impersonators.27 All these characteristics seemed to be
equally applicable to the Spring Willow Society’s production of Black Slave, and
there is no doubt that the Chinese practitioners were affected by the shinpa style.
But to give credit to the Spring Willow Society members, they appeared to be more
willing to leave behind the shackles of traditional drama than the shinpa, and there
was an awareness of creating something completely new and according to a Western
model. For example, there is no mention of any character making a lengthy propa-
gandistic speech, which was one of the salient features of the shinpa school.
Aside from the realistic production and didacticism, which aligned the Black
Slave with the Chinese attempt to modernize drama, the most important contribu-
tion of the Spring Willow Society’s effort lies in the writing of the script. In adapting
and modifying the plot of the novel, Zeng Xiaogu actually showed the way towards
organizing a complicated story into a modern play of five acts, a feat which was
quite different from the rambling “chapter play” (zhezi xi) of traditional drama. The
original script was no longer available, but from the synopsis of the five acts, one
can still appreciate the structuring skills of the playwright. Act I is exposition of the
dramatic situation of the relationship between the slaves and their owners. Act II
and Act III present the conflict and complication that some slaves, including Tom,
are to be sold. Act IV is the crisis, which leads to the final resolution of the conflict,
the struggle and the victory of the slaves in Act V.28 The well-woven and neatly
structured plot reads like that of the European well-made play, demonstrating the
playwright’s consciousness of construction and the use of restricted time and space
in the modern theatre.
The success of Black Slave’s Cry to Heaven in Japan had direct ramifications in
China. Later in the same year, dramatist Wang Zhongsheng’s (1881–1911) Spring
Sunshine Society (Chunyang she) also produced a play of the same name at
26
27
Ted. T. Tayaka, ed. and trans., Modern Japanese Drama: An Anthology (New York: Columbia
UP, 1979), xvi–xvii. See also Armando Martins Janeira, Japanese and Western Literature: A
Comparative Study (Rutlan, VT: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1970), 116.
28
Ouyang, “Huiyi Chunliu”, 15–17.
Shanghai’s famous Lyceum Theatre, using another adaptation of Lin Shu’s

translation written by Xu Xiaotian (?–?). The production, apart from the smart
Western costumes and the beautiful set and lighting which fascinated the audience,
was reportedly a total failure. It was no different from the reformed traditional
drama, as there were pihuang singing and the use of drums and gongs, and even the
entrances of the actors were made according to the old stylized movements. One
significant feature was that, following the example of its predecessor in Oklahoma,
there were act divisions, but the audience felt extremely bored during the interval
between the acts.29 It would appear that the Chinese audience remained less open to
Westernized conventions than that of the Spring Willow Society who were largely
overseas students.
The members of the Spring Willow Society had high hopes of carrying their suc-
cess in Japan back home to China when they returned in 1912. They established the
New Drama Comrades Society (Xinju tongzhi hui), which later became the Spring
Willow Theatre (Chunliu juchang). Lu Jingruo (1885–1915), chief organizer of the
new group, claimed that “he had planned to do Shakespeare, put on some Russian
classics, and to gradually introduce modern European drama to the Chinese
audience”.30 Of the 81 plays produced by the Spring Willow Theatre, most of them
were either translations or adaptations of foreign literary works. Many in the early
years were completely scripted with set dialogues, and the actors were not allowed
to improvise their performances. At the time, they were the only theatre company
which was aware of the importance of dramatic literature to the development of
modern drama. They targeted realism and had such high demands on the actors that
their acting became almost naturalistic.31 Perhaps the most outstanding characteris-
tic was their serious purpose and their refusal to cater to the popular taste. Their
repertoire consisted mainly of tragedies but very few melodramas or comedies, and
adhering to what they considered as the orthodox form of modern drama, they never
resorted to emotional lengthy speeches or “interludes” to keep the audience occu-
pied between acts. In short, they upheld their theatre as art and were unwilling to
turn away from the goal they set for themselves. However, because they “aimed too
high”,32 the audience gradually dwindled, and despite their good reputation, they
soon found themselves suffering heavy box office losses. In the final years, even
adaptations of stories from popular fiction were not enough to save the company
from bankruptcy. With the passing of Lu Jingruo in 1915, the company soon closed
its final curtain.
29
Xu, Huiyi lu, 18–19.
30
Kang, Xing shilun, 233.
31
Ouyang Yuqian 歐陽予倩, “Tan wenmingxi” 談文明戲 [On civilized drama], in Zhongguo
huaju yundong wushi nian shiliao ji 中國話劇運動五十年史料集 [Collection of historical data of
drama movements in China] (Reprint of the 1917 ed.), ed. Tian Han 田漢 (Hong Kong: Wenhua
ziliao gongying she, 1957), 64.
32
Ibid., 65.
Acculturation and Civilized Drama
The failure of the Spring Willow Theatre was due to a misreading of the taste of the
Chinese theatre-going public. It further demonstrated that old habits in the domestic
tradition died hard and could not be changed in a short period of time. Receptivity
towards foreignness needed to be groomed so that what was foreign had to become
familiarized first. At the time, the Spring Willow Theatre was considered the “for-
eign school”; it was probably too hasty in its insistence on Westernization and dis-
regard for tradition, and the job of acculturating the Chinese audience was left to the
“local school”, the so-called Civilized Drama (Wenming xi) which flourished from
1911 to 1916.
When the new-style drama first appeared in Shanghai, the audience, mostly illit-
erate women who grew up with Peking opera, did not know what to call it. At the
time, anything that was new was labelled “civilized”, for instance, the new style of
marriage without the traditional paraphernalia such as piping and drumming was
considered a “civilized marriage”, and as the new drama was performed without
musical accompaniment, it was conveniently named “Civilized Drama”. Later on,
the label was accorded a derogatory connotation to distinguish it from the modern
drama promoted by the May Fourth generation.33 The dramatist Hong Shen (1894–
1955), for instance, found Civilized Drama guilty of regression and mercantilism,
lacking creativity, discipline and serious purpose, and above all he attacked its prac-
titioners for their immoral and degenerate lifestyle, indulging themselves in “wining
and dining, women and songs”.34 The accusations ring hollow and appear laughable
and implausible now, but they were representative of the castigation of Civilized
Drama in the 1920s and 1930s, and the same condemnation has been repeated in
later literary histories. The real cause of the May Fourth censure was that Civilized
Drama remained stubbornly traditional, retaining many elements of the old school
in performance and in operation, and thus did not measure up to the May Fourth
iconoclastic slogan of “Down with Confucius and Sons”. The struggle between the
two groups, besides competition for audience, was ideological as well as literary. It
was a contest between reform and revolution, which aimed at the complete over-
throw of the traditional and the old.
There exist a number of studies on Civilized Drama, although many of them are
apologetic for obvious ideological reasons.35 The picture that emerges is that from
1911 to 1916; immediately before the beginning of the New Literature Movement,
Chinese theatre was dominated by these “regressive elements”. In 1914, the year of
the so-called Jiayin Restoration, there were hundreds of actors and related theatre
workers belonging to dozens of flourishing professional companies and five or six
33
Xu, Huiyi lu, 124–126.
34
Hong Shen 洪深, “Daoyan” 導言 [Introduction], in Zhongguo xin wenxue daxi xiju ji 中國新文
學大系戲劇集 [Collection of plays from major schools of Chinese new literature], ed. Hong Shen,
15 (Shanghai: Shanghai wenyi chubanshe, 2003).
35
See Ouyang, “Tan Wenmingxi”; Xu, Huiyi lu; Zhang, “Yundong shi”.
theatres which regularly featured productions of Civilized Drama.36 It was a com-

mercial success unmatched in later years by the up-starting May Fourth
generation.
There were two major drama companies: the Evolution Society (Jinhua Tuan
[1910–1912]) of Ren Tianzhi (?–?) and the New People Society (Xinmin she
1913–1916) founded by Zheng Zhengqiu (1889–1935), who later became a film-
maker and was called the father of Chinese cinema. According to Wang Zhongxian,
there were three important characteristics in the Evolution Society’s productions:
“1. No gongs and drums; 2. Act divisions; and 3. Scenery”.37 While the company
was willing to incorporate some formal features of Western drama, it remained
essentially traditional in outlook. For instance, the scripts were modelled after the
chuanqi (opera in the Ming and Qing Dynasties) format with a complete story from
beginning to end. Ren Tianzhi was also famous for delivering lengthy speeches on
current affairs, capitalizing on the people’s interest in the 1911 Revolution and the
antipathy towards corruption and social inequities.
The New People Society went even further to cater to the popular taste and
bowed to the demands of the box office. Gone were the high-minded didacticism
and social and political activism, which were replaced by the sentimentalism of
tear-jerking domestic drama and voyeurism into palace intrigues, offering peeks
into the secrets of the Qing imperial courts.38
The rise of Civilized Drama in the early Republican years in fact offered an
opportunity of correction in the introduction of Western drama. Whereas the previ-
ous concerns were mainly formalistic, Civilized Drama showed the way towards
assimilation of form and content, i.e. for the form to be accepted by the target com-
munity, attention had to be paid to content which was being carried by the unfamil-
iar form. There is no denying that Civilized Drama, keeping a finger on the pulse of
the audience, was able to penetrate deeply into the masses, popularizing drama
among the people in a way no May Fourth enthusiast could ever accomplish except
during the Sino-Japanese War in the 1930s, thus gaining a foothold in the heart and
mind of the Chinese people for the development of modern drama in China.
Civilized Drama was able to familiarize the theatre-going public with Western
formal features; its history was a process of localization accompanied by flexibility
and dynamism of the box office. The method of Civilized Drama was not mechani-
cal adoption; it was assimilation through transformation, at times for the sake of a
progressive outlook and at other times to compromise itself with tradition and audi-
ence demands, to maximize the chance for continuing survival of the adopted fea-
tures on their transplanted soil. Or as Ouyang Yuqian put it: “Civilized Drama was
something that grew out of our land through adoption of the artistic form of foreign
drama”.39
36
See Xu, Huiyi lu; also Ge Yihong 葛一虹, ed. Zhongguo huaju tongshi 中國話劇通史 [Genral
history of Chinese drama] (Beijing: Wenhua yishu chubanshe), 28.
37
Kang, Xing shilun, 238.
38
Ouyang, “Tan Wenmingxi”, 68–86.
39
Ibid., 51–52.
For example, the notorious Scenario Play (mubiaoxi) was first prompted by the
need for rapid changing of programmes and for immediate re-enactment of current
affairs and happenings. It was a concession to approximate the requirement of a
written script in Western drama, and despite its obvious flaws in the hands of undis-
ciplined and irresponsible actors, it actually encouraged creativity and allowed for
improvisation in the spirit of traditional drama.40 Another example was act division.
There is no curtain on a traditional Chinese stage; the performance begins and ends
with the accompaniment of music. In the 1910s, when the “curtain” became fash-
ionable and was perceived to be modern and progressive, the audience was bored
because there was nothing to entertain them between the acts. So practitioners of
Civilized Drama devised “interludes” (muwaixi) to keep the audience occupied.
And when the limited number of acts (usually four or five) allowed in a Western
play became too restrictive, Civilized Drama greatly increased the number of acts to
20 or 30 as in the classical chuanqi to preserve the integrity of their scripts which
demanded a complete story with beginning, middle and end. This strategy made the
scripts compatible with the frequent and unrestrained shifting of time and space in
traditional drama.41 Civilized Drama consisted mostly of dialogues, but it also fea-
tured pihuang singing. The lengthy speeches characteristic of many of the Evolution
Society’s productions were probably modelled after the Japanese shinpa drama and
grew out of the misconception that “speeches” were a prerequisite of Western dra-
ma.42 They may be considered a replacement of the arias in traditional opera, where
the focus is on the performer who is often involved in direct communication with
the audience.
Civilized Drama did not offer resistance against Western forms or modes of pro-
duction; in fact, it insisted on Westernization, though with concessions for adapta-
tion purposes. Where Western drama appeared strange and alien, Civilized Drama
strove to familiarize and domesticize the peculiarities in an attempt to exorcize the
foreignness. When the pursuit for realness clashed with tradition, Civilized Drama
returned to stylized acting and dramatic construction but still dressed its actors in
modern costumes and adorned their stage with realistic properties. When didacti-
cism, a trait wrongly attributed to all Western drama, became monotonous and unin-
teresting, Civilized Drama gladly sought refuge and audience approval in maudlin
domestic shows.
Civilized Drama was defined by flexibility and adaptability. In the history of the
introduction of Western drama, it emerged as a return to tradition, but it did not
represent a step backward. Any new element introduced from the other has to
undergo the test of acceptability, and Civilized Drama took up Western drama to
40
Ding Luonan 丁羅男, Zhongguo huaju xuexi waiguo xiju de lishi jingyan 中國話劇學習外國戲
劇的歷史經驗 [Historical experience of Chinese drama learning foreign drama] (Shanghai:
Zhongguo xiju chubanshe, 1993), 99.
41
Ding, Lingshi jingyan, 99; NiuGuoling 牛國玲, Zhongwai xiju meixue bijiao jianlun 中外戲劇
美學比較簡論 [Brief comparison of the aesthetics of Chinese and foreign drama] (Beijing:
Zhongguo xiju chubanshe, 1994), 190–192.
42
explore its possibilities, always with an eye on its end-users and the box office. At
the time, the Western school, such as the Spring Willow Theatre, was in pursuit of
purism and excellence in art, and in the process, it distanced itself from the audi-
ence; the local school of Civilized Drama popularized the new form among the
people, but they still looked towards the Western school for inspiration and artistic
direction.43 Western drama did not enter China on a straight line—the two schools
made up a braiding pattern, interacting and mutually defining the way forward.
Direct Routes to Reality
Traditional Chinese art and literature emphasized emotion over reality44; the latter
serves as the medium through which emotion is reflected or expressed. The ideal is
to portray the resemblance in spirit (shensi), not the resemblance in form (xingsi).
Thus, reality has to be intimated, and the objects which make up art and literature
do not need to have a direct relationship with reality as long as they serve their emo-
tive function. Traditional opera, besides aiming at portraying the spirit, is also
dependent on arousing the audience’s emotions, dispensing with the specifics while
preferring the general. There is a Brechtian “epic” quality to its singing, move-
ments, dialogues and martial art skills, through which they invite the audience to
transcend the stage world to a fictional world of love, hate, elation, anger, sorrow
and happiness.45 Its stagecraft is evocative, not imitative, “alienating” or objectify-
ing the actions and projecting them onto a plane beyond reality but at the same time
still engaging the audience emotionally in the process. (This is where Brecht is
perhaps mistaken.) All this did not go down well with the Chinese thespians at the
turn of the twentieth century. The historian and May Forth scholar Fu Sinian (1896–
1950) claimed that “in the new theatre, there will be no singing and the acting will
imitate people’s real gestures”. And Qian Xuantong (1887–1939), new literature
linguist and activist, criticized traditional Chinese drama for “presenting characters
that do not look like human beings and using language that does not sound like
human language”.46
In 1904, the critic Jianhe commented in an article entitled “A Plan to Reform the
Theatre” (Gailiang xiju zhi jihua): “What do we have to do to make the theatre valu-
able? The answer is to depict the corruptions and evils in old society, take note of
the good and civilized things in new society and promote them”. The purpose was
to “comment on the miseries of the current situation and to warn our fellow citi-
zens” and to “mobilize the hitherto hidden wave of nationalism”. He added that
people must abandon opera for spoken drama. “From now on, drama has to be real
43
44
45
Li Zhi’s words, quoted in ibid., 43.
46
Ibid., 39.
and it has to record reality”.47 And in 1921, famous actors and scholars, including
Wang Youyou (1888–1937), Shen Yanbing (1896–1981), Zheng Zhenduo (1898–
1958) and Ouyang Yuqian issued a manifesto on the occasion of the establishment
of the People’s Drama Society: “Theatre is a wheel propelling social progress, an
x-ray to search for the roots of the diseases in society”.48
A new perception of reality appeared to have emerged, which could be accessed
directly without any intermediary. Unlike the situation in traditional opera, the stage
was meant to be the express and immediate route to reality, and the newly intro-
duced staging techniques, including realistic sets, props, lighting and costumes,
could be put in use to approach reality in a new, fast and direct way. In traditional
drama, the unreal was presented in an unreal fashion, but in the new kind of drama,
it was the unreal performed as if it were real. As Xu Banmei, who was active in the
Civilized Drama circle in Shanghai, said in his memoir on the beginnings of spoken
drama: “With spoken drama, the presentation should not resemble a performance; it
should be like reality.”49 “Modernization” of the theatre was seen as an attempt to
depict reality; for this purpose, new language and production methods were intro-
duced to change the mode of presentation to create a more active and direct relation
with the audience. In this sense, the role of the orator and the direct address to the
audience in Civilized Drama were ways to engage the audience personally. By mak-
ing them participate in the theatrical process, they became part of the reality being
portrayed on the stage if they were willing to participate in unison with the actors.
The starting point was naturally traditional drama, its use of history and old leg-
ends and stories as the subject matter, on which the costumes, dialogues, songs and
stylized movements were based. All these are “alienating” (to borrow a Brechtian
term) elements removing the performance from the here-and-now orientation and
immediate experience to the anticipated realm of aesthetic beauty. The new drama
aimed to draw the audience into the world of the stage, even though this was done
in the naïve belief that surface resemblance was able to approximate or was even
equal to reality. We have to bear in mind that to the contemporary audience, the new
drama was unprecedented experience and they willingly suspended their disbelief
especially in the face of highly emotional charged scenes of melodrama, which was
the main staple of the theatre of the time.
So what was considered “real” on the stage at the time? What was reality to the
new drama thespians? How could reality be actualized?
47
Jianhe 健鶴, “Gailiang xiju zhi jihua” 改良戲劇之計劃 [A plan to improve drama], Jingzhong
ribao 警鐘日報 [Alarm daily], 31 May 1904.
48
Wang Youyou 汪優游, Shen Yanbing 沈雁冰, Zheng Zhenduo 鄭振鐸 and Ouyang Yuqian 歐陽
予倩, “Chengli Mingzong jushe shi fabu xuanyan” 成立民眾劇社時發佈宣言 [Announcement
on the establishment of the People’s Drama Club], in Zhongguo xiandai wenxue cidian 中國現代
文學詞典 [Dictionary of modern Chinese literature], ed. Xu Naixiang 徐迺翔 (Shanghai: Shanghai
cishuchubanshe, 1990).
49
Xu, Huiyi lu, 54.
Topicality
In subject matter, topicality was aimed for, as the new drama, especially in its earlier
days, strove to remain relevant and maintain its popularity. Thus plays were staged
depicting the damage done by colonialism and imperialism to countries like Korea,
Poland, Turkey, Egypt and others which had suffered the loss (death) of their nation.
And then there were the recent happenings in China itself, such as the secrets of the
Qing palace intrigues, especially the stories of the Empress Dowager, the 1911
Revolution, the 21 Demands, as well as of the widespread corruption and despotism
of the Qing and Republican governments. In the mid-1910s, after the overthrowing
of the Manchu monarchy, there were family dramas performed by Civilized Drama
troupes, which proved to be extremely popular with the breakup of the family hier-
archy and the gradual but slow rise of individual freedom in society. In short, many
of the new dramas offered their audience a direct conduit to what were considered
real-life events.
Quotidian Speech and Dialect
Closely related to topicality was the use of language on stage. Operatic singing was
considered inappropriate and unable to portray real events. Thus, everyday speech
was adopted in the dialogue, which was highlighted as the main feature distinguish-
ing it from the old tradition. And Mandarin or local dialects were used in place of
the artificial Zhongzhou Rhyme of traditional opera. In order to heighten the emo-
tion and to compensate for the loss of the emotive force with the reduction of music
and songs, certain roles in the new drama were designated as “speech makers” (yan-
lunpai), who would deliver passionate motivational speeches to the audience on
patriotism or social causes, a feature probably imported from the feature of “Painted
Face Speech” of the sōshishibai plays of early Japanese shinpa school.50 And being
“new”, the speeches had to include fashionable neologisms to reflect and align
themselves with contemporary social and political discourses. Ren Tianzhi’s
Evolution Society was famous for making speeches in a performance during the
intervals or even in the middle of a scene. This feature enabled the effective use of
the stage and the auditorium as public space and enhanced the feeling of reality.
50
Liu Siyuan, “The Impact of Japanese Shinpa on Early Chinese Huaju” (Ph.D. diss., University of
Pittsburg, 2006), 82, 133; Fang Chang’an 方長安, Zhongguo jinxiandai wenxue zhuanxing yu
Riben wenxue guanxi 中國近現代文學轉型與日本文學關係 [Relationship between the transfor-
mation of contemporary and modern Chinese literature and Japanese literature] (Taipei: Showwe
Information, 2012), 54.
In Guangdong, there were Patriotic Troupes (zhishi ban) organized by revolu-

tionaries. They had developed close contacts with Sun Yat Sen and participated in
smuggling weapons and ammunition in the Pearl River Delta area by hiding them in
their Red Boats which travelled between Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Macau. From
1906 to 1911, there were more than 20 Patriotic Troupes. Later, the number increased
to more than 30. Not all of them were Cantonese opera companies; many of them
started out performing spoken drama and later switched to put on Civilized Drama.51
The Patriotic Troupes made an important change to Cantonese opera: singing in
“stage Mandarin” (pidgin Mandarin) was replaced with singing in Cantonese. This
bold reforming move was unexpected and quickly accepted by the audiences and
made the troupes very popular.52 The switch to singing in the local dialect had great
impact on the singing and writing of Cantonese opera. At the time, not many
Cantonese could speak or understand Mandarin, and it was natural to adopt
Cantonese on the stage to attract more audience and propagate their political ideas.
Western Costumes and Natural Acting
Topicality was also realized in the costumes used in the new drama. The basic
design of the costumes in traditional opera was loosely based on the Ming Dynasty
style supplemented by rather free artistic renditions. They were ahistorical and ape-
riodic, i.e. they could not be identified with any particular time in history and was
thus easily adaptable and flexible. With the new drama, the actors were dressed in
the clothes of the time. Before the 1911 Revolution in the early 1900s, costumes
mainly adopted the Manchu style, especially in the Contemporary Costume New
Opera. After the 1911 Revolution, everyday and Western clothing began to appear
and gradually took over the stage. Depending on the dramatic situation, national
costumes of European countries were very much sought after; at times English,
French or other Western languages were spoken to reinforce the feeling of authen-
ticity. Such ornamented displays were meant to gratify the audience’s yearning for
the strange and foreign.
As for acting, there were no rigid formulae to follow, and according to some crit-
ics, the most important principle was to act naturally as in everyday life. Zheng
Zhengqiu pointed out, “When we perform in new drama, we wear ordinary clothes,
walk in a natural gait, speak in daily language and use ordinary gestures”.53 However,
he also warned against the difficulties of acting naturally, claiming that as there
51
Li Jian 黎鍵, Xianggang yueju xulun 香港粵劇敍論 [A narrative history of Cantonese opera in
Hong Kong] (Hong Kong: Joint Publishing, 2010), 175.
52
Huang Jingming黃鏡明, “Xingai geming qiandong Guangdong yueju gailiang” 辛亥革命牽動
廣東粵劇改良 [The 1911 Revolution prompted Cantonese opera in Guangdong to improve], n.d.,
2, accessed 12 September 2018, http://newschinatown.com/2011-05-28-05-39-18/1504-2011-06-
15-00-39-43.html.
53
Zheng Zhengqiu’s words, quoted in and trans. by Liu, “Impact of Japanese Shinpa”, 162.
were no set rules to follow, the new drama was hundreds of times more difficult than
traditional opera. He also underlined the pursuit of realness: “Although drama is
fiction, acting should be real. New drama especially values verisimilitude (xiaozhen)
and follows naturalness (ziran) in every way”.54
Realistic Stage Sets
Another distinguishing feature of the new drama was the stage set. Traditional opera
characteristically avoided using sets, and the props were limited to “one table and
two chairs”. Locations were indicated by dialogues or songs, and the props were
represented symbolically through stylized and formulaic gestures and movements.
Around the turn of the twentieth century, the importance of stage setting became
more evident. As one critic put it:
The set in new drama is like adornment in writing. If it is done coarsely, the production
would become uninteresting. But with some embellishment, the set would be like clouds
accompanying the moon. Even a little extra would make the set new. Not only will it add a
lot of interest for the viewers, it will also strengthen the spirit of the performers to make
their acting more wonderful.55
When the modern costume drama was being developed to reform Peking opera,
there were productions which tried to use painted sets and real props on stage. The
practice was rigorously censured by critics, as they rightly pointed out that tradi-
tional drama should concentrate on capturing the spirit rather than presenting reality
on stage, and sets and props could become rather constricting, especially in the
frequent change of scenes.56 But with the new drama, beautifully decorated and
realistic sets were the rage, the spectacles the audience yearned to see. The famous
scholar Ma’er Xiansheng (real name Feng Shuluan [1883–?]) commented that there
were two kinds of stage sets—the indoor set such as the house, sitting room, palace
and garden and the outdoor set which included the countryside, mountain, forest,
beach, boats, vehicles, etc. These sets could be represented with oil paintings. In
order to avoid embarrassing gaffes, there were two principles which had to be
observed: first, correct entrances and exits, and, second, proper costumes designed
to match the seasons, e.g. winter clothing should not be worn in a spring garden set.
Interestingly, he also introduced the ways to accomplish special effects:
The moon could be represented by electric light; snowflakes could be created with pieces of
paper; a spring could be made to drip with piped water; the sound of waves could be pro-
duced by shaking beans; a dream could be indicated by electric light and a gauze screen; a
54
Quoted in and trans. Liu, “The Japanese Shinpa”, 163.
55
Jianyun 劍雲, “Xin juping” 新劇評 [New drama critique], Fanhua zazhi 繁華雜誌 [Prosperity
magazine], issue 6, 1915.
56
Anonymous, “Ji Yan jutan” [Drama critiques written at Ji Yan], Xin shijie [New world], 30 July
1907; Ma’er Xiansheng, “Lun jiuxi buyi yong beijing” [Backdrop is unsuitable for old drama],
Youxi zazhi [Games magazine], issue 19, 1915.
small boat could be constructed with wood with wheels underneath; a train could be painted
on a board with wheels; a fire could be made with magnesium light.57
In Guangdong, the reformed Cantonese opera was more susceptible to things new
and foreign. In many performances, the traditional bare stage was replaced by
painted “soft sets” (ruanjing) and three-dimensional “hard sets” (yinjing).58 In 1898,
in an opera called Flood of the Gold Mountain (Shui jin Jinshan) in Macau’s
Qingping Theatre, water was seen squirting out on the stage. In the Astor Theatre in
Hong Kong in the 1910s, a small locomotive was placed on the stage in a Cantonese
opera called Carnage on Pomegranate Flower Pagoda (Xuezhan Liuhuata). A real
fire was set on a house on stage in a show called Liang Tianlai in Hong Kong to
wow the audience. The show was so popular that it had a long run of three years
until it finally ended when the stage burned down. Later in the 1930s and 1940s,
many Cantonese opera companies invested huge sums of money on stage lighting to
create special effects such as a thunderstorm or a windstorm. Sometimes, the stage
was made to look like a multi-coloured kaleidoscope, and trap doors and revolving
stages were installed.59
Before Realism
The stylized formulae in traditional opera were “symbolic” and were considered
“abstract, arbitrary and unnatural”. The new drama focused on the concrete, pre-
senting easily comprehensible sights and sounds which directly corresponded with
and referred to reality. In this sense, the new drama was “natural”. However, one has
to admit that what the new drama considered “real” was but instinctive, whose
superficiality brought it close to being “naïve realism”—the belief that the senses
are able to provide the knowledge of objects as they really are. The purpose was
utilitarian; no considerations were contemplated in regard to the conceptuality of
the real or objectivity, which seemed to have eluded the Chinese thespians and crit-
ics of the time.
The term “realism” was first translated by the Japanese in the 1880s as xieshi and
was introduced to the Chinese in the early 1900s. In 1902, Liang Qichao wrote an
article entitled “On the Relationship Between Fiction and the Governing of the
People” (Lun xiaoshuo yu qunzhi zhi guanxi), in which he divided fiction into
romantic and realist fiction. And in 1906, Wang Guowei (1877–1927), the famous
57
Ma’er Xiansheng, op. cit.
58
Huang, “Yueju gailiang”, 3.
59
Liang Peijing 梁沛錦, “Yueju yu huaju de guanxi” 粵劇與話劇的關係 [Relationship between
Cantonese opera and spoken drama], in Xianggang huaju lunwenji 香港話劇論文集 [Collection
of essays on Hong Kong drama], eds. Fang Zixun 方梓勳 and Cai Xichang 錫昌 (Hong Kong:
Zhongtian zhizhuo, 1992), 71.
literary critic, wrote about the distinction between the romantic and realist schools
in literature—the former created setting and the latter depicted setting—in his Notes
on Ci Poems in the World (Renjian cihua). Chen Duxiu first mentioned the term
“realism” in 1915 in an article entitled “History of Modern European Arts” (Xiandai
Ouzhou wenyi shi tan):
At the end of the nineteenth Century, great strides were made in science to uncover the truth
of the universe and the human world. It was a period of exposure and unmasking, which
destroyed the old morality, thoughts and establishments handed down from ancient times.
Literature and the arts followed this trend and gave birth to romanticism, realism and, later,
naturalism.60
Typical of the times, Chen then confused realism and naturalism and mistakenly
claimed that in modern Europe drama was regarded more highly than poetry and
fiction, because drama could present live happenings in the theatre and be closely in
touch with life.
Interestingly, the first-time realism was mentioned in a drama context was by
none other than Zhou Enlai, who later became the charismatic Chinese premier,
when he was still a student in Nankai Middle School in Tianjin in 1916. He strongly
advocated the educational value of new drama because it was able to depict real
happenings and enlighten the people without resorting to high-sounding theories.
As for Western drama, he pointed out that there were three periods of development,
classicism, romanticism and realism, which became popular in the last 70–80 years,
and that realism was “unadorned, natural and objective”. Realism was preferred
because it could be used for didactic purposes.61
In 1917, Chen Duxiu published the seminal article entitled “On Literary
Revolution” (Wenxue geming lun), in which he proposed three ideological tenets of
the new literature. The second tenet championed his idea of realism: “Down with
stale, pompous classical literature, up with fresh, sincere realist literature!”62 Next
came Hu Shi (1891–1962), the fervent promoter of the New Literature Movement,
and his article on “Ibsenism” (Yibusheng zhuyi) and claimed that “One word sum-
marises Ibsen’s view of life: realism”. Hu also stressed that Ibsen’s aim was to make
people understand that reform and revolution were inevitable. “He [Ibsen] did not
refrain from telling the truth. He was able to describe the dirt and corruption in
60
Chen Duxiu 陳獨秀, “Xiandai Ouzhou wenyi shi tan” 現代歐洲文藝史譚 [History of European
culture and art], written in 1915; accessed 18 September 2018, https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/
%E7%8F%BE%E4%BB%A3%E6%AD%90%E6%B4%B2%E6%96%87%E8%97%9D%E5%8
F%B2%E8%AD%9A.
61
Zhou Enlai 周恩來, “Wuxiao xinju guan” 吾校新劇觀 [On our school’s view on new drama],
Nankai xiaofeng 南開校風 [Nankai school views], nos. 38–39, September 1916.
62
Chen Duxiu 陳獨秀, “Wenxue geming lun” 文學革命論 [On literary revolution], Xin qingnian
2 新青年 2 [New youth 2], no. 6 (Feb 1917), trans. Timothy Wong, in Modern Chinese Literary
Thought Writings on Literature 1893–1945, ed. Kirk A. Denton (Stanford, CA: Stanford UP,
1996), 141.
society in a truthful manner and ask people to take a careful look at them”.63 In
1918, the young Fu Sinian (1896–1950), one of the leaders of the New Literature
Movement, proclaimed:
The Chinese idea of drama is essentially in conflict with modern life. … In order for the
Chinese people to have a thorough enlightenment, we have to rely on the power of drama.
In this sense, we cannot but to overthrow old drama and to create a new one.64
The famous dramatist Tian Han (1898–1968) once pointed out the ways to modern-
ize Chinese drama:
First, use dialogue and action as the major means of expression. Second, adopt the modern
dramaturgy of act division. Third, work with realistic make-up, costuming, setting, and
lighting. Fourth, depict the realistic struggles in life and in history.65
It is clear from Tian Han’s manifesto that the New Literature generation, despite
their direct exposure to Western drama, had inherited the views of their predecessors
to a large extent, though in their own terms and in the ferocious context of a “literary
revolution”. The legacy of the premodern drama is apparent in their espousal of
many of the ideas on the new drama at the turn of the century, except that their
reform was more total in their rejection of all old elements. In fact, among all the
literary genres, drama’s revolution was the most “violent” in its rejection of almost
every facet of traditional theatre—writing, acting and production, all in the name of
realism. Drama around the turn of the twentieth century was transitional in nature,
finding itself sandwiched in between traditional opera and the new spoken drama. It
was modelled after Western drama, but it was not a clone as it conveniently retained
features of traditional opera for easier acceptance by the large number of the people
it relied on to survive. The process involved contact, appropriation, negotiation and
renegotiation.
Recent research has shown that public awareness and curiosity about Western
theatre were introduced by reports written by Chinese diplomats stationed in Europe
at the latter part of the nineteenth century, whose travelogues sang praise of Western
theatrical spectacles, but direct influence came from the Japanese shinpa through
the Chinese students studying in Japan around the turn of the century. (There were
around 8000 of them.) Later, in China, Japanese technicians and painters helped
Chinese drama troupes to prepare their realistic sets and productions. On the other
hand, there was no evidence that direct Western influences were responsible for the
63
Hu Shi 胡適, “Yibusheng zhuyi” 易卜生主義 [Ibsenism], Xin qingnian 4 新青年 4 [New Youth
4], no. 6 (15 June 1918), accessed 18 September 2018, https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%98%
93%E5%8D%9C%E7%94%9F%E4%B8%BB%E7%BE%A9.
64
Fu Sinian 傅斯年, “Xiju gailiang gemain guan” 戲劇改良各面觀 [Aspects of improvement of
drama], Xin qingnian 5 新青年 5 [New Youth 5], no. 7 (15 October 1918); quoted in Jiao Shangzhi
焦尚志, Zhongguo xiandai xiju meixue sixiang fazhan shi 中國現代戲劇美學思想發展史
[Development history of the aesthetics of Chinese modern drama], 121 (Beijing: Dongfang chu-
banshe, 1995).
65
Huang, “Xiju gailiang”, 7.
rise of the new drama, despite the fact some students in missionary school did put
on plays with spoken scenes. The Lyceum Theatre in Shanghai periodically put on
shows such as operas, musical theatre and spoken drama with local productions and
shows produced by touring companies, such as Maurice Bandmann’s (1872–1922)
troupes.66 Western realism’s introduction into China was, therefore, an indirect
transfer through contemporary Japanese rendition of their perception of the Western
model. Shinpa theatre in Japan, especially in the early period, was mainly political,
militarist and melodramatic. With China’s humiliation in the hands of foreign pow-
ers at the end of the nineteenth century, it was no accident that Chinese diplomats
underlined the political power of drama in European nations to mobilize patriotism
among the people. And the stage was set for the new drama in China to be given a
didactic mission to enlighten and mobilize the populace into social and political
actions.
For the drama troupes to sustain themselves, they had to organize into profes-
sional companies as with traditional opera companies. There were no precedents for
amateur theatre, which came later with the arrival of the New Literature Movement
and its advocacy of “amateur drama” (aimeiju). Professional companies had to
depend on the box office for survival, thus the rise of Civilized Drama and their
retainment of traditional features such as singing and stock characters to mitigate
the strangeness and foreignness. Circumstances then made the premodern drama to
be hybridized, i.e. neither Western nor Chinese and half old and half new.
At the turn of the twentieth century, just as the first reports on Western drama
were observed through the prism of traditional culture, theatre modernization was
carried out with an eye on existing art and conventions. There was a keen awareness
of the difference between what was Chinese and what was Western and of the con-
trast between the old and the new, but not to the point of destroying tradition as
ferociously or completely as with the May Fourth generation of the New Literature
Movement. Continuity was an important factor, for the deep-rootedness of the
domestic tradition and for audience acceptance. The goal was to use traditional
drama as the basis for a certain degree of renovation and innovation for the purpose
of improvement to accord with the change in social and political conditions, not to
displace the old out of existence with the Western counterpart.
66
Maurice Bandmann was based in London but managed numerous companies and a chain of 50
theatres from Gibraltar to Japan. The centre of his operations was in India, where he had his head-
quarters in Calcutta and later in Cairo. Christopher Balme, “Asian Theatre and Globalization:
Historical Perspectives”. Speech delivered at the 1st World Theatre Education Convention in
Beijing on 18 May 2014. Accessed 18 September 2018, gth.theaterwissenschaft.uni-muenchen.de.
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Chapter 6
The Modernization of Malay Theatre:
From the Makeshift Stages of the Bangsal
to the Proscenium Stage
Solehah ISHAK
Modernization and Traditional Theatres
To understand the modernization of Malay theatre and what it entailed, we have to

move back into history and look at the myriad, rich traditional theatre forms which
were found in Malaysia. In its heyday, from the 1800s, each state in the Malaysian
nation had its own form of traditional theatre forms. No matter what these tradi-
tional theatres were called, the wayang kulit (shadow puppet theatre which was
found throughout the Malay world), menora (a Thai influenced dance drama),
makyung (a dance drama traditionally performed with an all-female cast), main
peteri (a traditional Malay healing ceremony that involved trance and dramatic ele-
ments), kuda kepang (a hobby horse trance dance), dikir barat (a call-response per-
formance using verse poetry sung to music), boria (a comic sketch followed by a
call-response form of sung processional), randai (a martial arts-derived dance
drama), saba, rodat, ulek mayang, dabus and other forms of traditional theatre per-
formances, all of which were without written scripts and were performed on make-
shift stages, known as the bangsal. The stories performed were folk tales of the
masses or stories based on local epics which formed part of the oral tradition of the
Malays which had been handed down from one generation to another. In the case of
shadow plays, they were based on the Hindu Ramayana and Mahabharata epics.
Without scripts to depend on, the plot and narrative structures of traditional theatres
were simple and straightforward with the hero starting on a quest to look for a bride,
to regain his lost kingdom, to seek justice or simply trying to get home to his family
after having lost his way in the jungle. At the end of the play, the status quo was
established and all became well again.
S. ISHAK (*)
Theatre Arts at the Faculty of Film, Theatre and Animation, Universiti Teknologi MARA
(UiTM), Shah Alam, Malaysia

88 S. ISHAK
These traditional plays were performed on makeshift stages, variously called the
bangsal or balai, which were built on stilts usually made from bamboo or tree
trunks. Often, they were just performed on wide open areas, with the acting spaces
clearly marked by erecting poles or covering it with a mat, or they could also be just
spiritually marked and blessed. These acting spaces exemplified Peter Brooke’s
theory of the “empty space” whereby any empty space, theoretically and practically,
could be transformed to become a theatre space of presentation and representation.
In these traditional, all-encompassing theatre forms, the dichotomy between per-
former and audience was not rigidly adhered to and was deliberately annihilated.
Before delving into the modernization of Malay theatres, what must be stressed
in this chapter is that traditional theatres were marked by the absence of written
scripts and physical theatre buildings, but in spite of its simplicity, its script-less
forms and the lack of physical theatre buildings, it was total theatre, complete with
a full Malay orchestra, comprising mainly of percussion instruments and the pre-
dominantly aerophone and chordophone instruments. Traditional theatre exempli-
fied local knowledge, wisdom and culture. In its totality, in its all-encompassing
nature, in its breaking down of barriers between performers and audiences, acting
spaces and viewing spaces, script-less traditional theatre was contradictions and
contestations of tradition and modernity, which continued to impact modern theatre
productions as they provided interesting paradigms and discourses for the empow-
erment of modern theatre.
Caught between the traditional and modern periods was the bangsawan form
(1920s–1940s) also known as the Malay opera, which constituted the popular or
transitional stage of Malay theatre. It was considered a transitional form because it
spanned the gap between both traditional and modern theatre forms and it incorpo-
rated elements from both. Performed on a proscenium stage, with highly stylized
and improvised acting, bangsawan’s ornately costumed performers depicted the
fantasy world from Indian, Arabian, Western, Chinese and Malay tales. There were
no bangsawan scripts per se and plays were done based on synopsis of stories.
Nevertheless there were the ucaptetap, the fixed dialogues, common in all plays,
which the actors must memorize. They were also dependent on the use of readily
available traditional songs to accompany the music included in some scenes.
Bangsawan, after all, was the Malay opera of yore, where the performers not only
acted but also danced and sang. The talented prima donnas captivated audiences
primarily due to their improvisational acting, singing and dancing and their own
beauty.
Bangsawan’s repertoire of adaptations were loosely based from various plays. In
between scenes, the curtain would come down to give way to the extra-turn, an
episode performed to enable the technical crew to prepare for the next scene or act.
It was also to enable the performers to change into different costumes. These extra-
turns could be in the form of jokes, pantomimes and/or dances. Extra-turns (extra,
not part of the play, but an added bonus) which incorporated songs and dances were
also intermixed with other dialogues during the play.
Bangsawan brought with it a new concept of performance production which
necessitated the creation of a proscenium stage. As such, through bangsawan, a
6 The Modernization of Malay Theatre: From the Makeshift Stages of the Bangsal… 89
theatre structure or panggung emerged, replacing the makeshift stages or the bang-
sal within the matrix of the Malay performance and entertainment worlds. The
important characters comprising of royal personages, who spoke in noble languages,
were located within the palace milieu. These productions required and needed the
setting and aura of the “big tradition” of the palace and nobility. Generally speaking
though, the bangsawan was popularized out in the village scenario, where the big
opera companies would take the productions on tours, going from one town to
another where they would be produced in the town or school halls. Bangsawan
eventually lost its popularity due to the onslaught of the film medium.
“Modern”, Scripted Sandiwara Plays
Although sandiwara plays developed and were produced alongside bangsawan

plays, it was only after World War II that it became a common community and
group activity. Sandiwara filled in the gap created by the decline of the bangsawan
theatre forms. Historically, the 1950s was a period which marked the struggle for
independence. Sandiwara plays which proliferated in the 1950s can be divided into
three types. The first was known as history plays, so called because the stories told
were taken from Malay classical history dealing with Malay warriors, kings or prin-
cesses. The second type was known as purbawara tales which were purely creative,
imaginative pieces penned by the writers. Sometimes they included historical ele-
ments whose veracity was doubtful. The third type was known as the pre-realistic
stambul/sandiwara plays which were introduced from Indonesia.
Sandiwara plays marked the next stage of theatre development in Malaysia. It
was also a reaction to the outmoded, script-less bangsawan form. Sandiwara plays
were produced along more realistic lines due in part to the western influence on
Indonesian plays. These stambul troupes from Indonesia toured then Malaya in the
1940s. As it became more “modern” and “realistic” in its portrayal, it came to be
known as sandiwara plays. The emergence of sandiwara plays in the 1950s saw the
advent of the playwright and the resultant written script. Before this “modern”
period, scripts were not written but were transmitted orally. The written dramatic
script belonged to an individual: the dramatist/playwright for her/him alone was
responsible for the written text. The emergence of drama scripts and dramatists
changed the whole modus operandi of doing theatre.
The creation of the sandiwara play script saw the emergence of actors who were
dependent on the written text. They had to memorize dialogues before they could
act out their scenes. Improvisation not only gave way to directed acting, but there
also arose the need for a modern-style director who would oversee all aspects of the
theatre production. For Mustapha Kamil Yassin, who pioneered the realistic plays of
the modern period, the most important innovation in sandiwara plays was the elimi-
nation of the interludes, known as extra-turns commonly found in the bangsawan.
Eliminating the extra turns was important so as to avoid interrupting the plot, flow
and mood of the play.
90 S. ISHAK
Background voices were used in sandiwara plays to provide information, explain

situations or difficulties which the characters were undergoing. It was also used to
explain what could not be physically presented on stage and to empower the dra-
matic elements of the play. Appropriate music was played to enhance the mood and
the dramatic situation. Whatever songs and dances deemed necessary were incorpo-
rated into the play proper and were not used as interludes in the extra-turns. In the
plays of Kalam Hamidi, there was a pantomime at the opening to preface the actual
sandiwara play and to underscore the play’s message.
Attempts were made to introduce basic, simple props like a simple bench within
a garden setting or the placement of a chair in front of a painted backdrop. Other
realistic settings were used to show the inside of a house or the view outside the
house. Still in spite of all these, Mustapha Kamil Yassin, who later pioneered the
realistic, modern plays, did not consider the sandiwara form to be indicative of the
modernization of Malay plays, seen within the context of its historical
development.
According to Mustapha Kamil Yassin,1 the sandiwara play did not qualify to be
a modern play because “it did not put forth acting as an art form”. The words were
still dependent on the peserta—the participants [he refused to call them actors,
because he felt that acting was not posited as an art form in the sandiwara plays]
who had to provide the dialogues based on the needs of the events [i.e., the actors,
in spite of the availability of the written text presenting the dialogues, still had to
improvise as they went along]. The furniture and other props still had to be pulled,
rolled or unrolled. In short, the background was on painted backdrops as found in
bangsawan plays. Mustapha Yassin continued by stating that sandiwara could not
free itself from being a mere entertainment tool and not an effective artistic endeav-
our. What Mustapha had in mind was that plays should be more than mere vehicles
for entertainment; it should also endeavour to enhance artistic efforts.
Contrary to what Mustapha Kamil Yassin wrote, sandiwara plays could be seen
as a denominator marking the modernization of Malay plays, especially where dra-
matic texts were concerned. As I stated earlier, prior to the emergence of sandiwara
plays, there were no written texts. The written dramatic script came into existence
with the emergence of sandiwara plays. Although the mise-en-scene was basic,
elementary and done on a make do basis, during that time, they still constituted a
new form of theatre presentation. This in turn marked the new modernization pro-
cess of Malay theatre, albeit in a different, low-key manner. For Mustapha Kamil
Yassin, to dismiss them as mere entertainment was also incorrect, as would be
proven in the following two well-known sandiwara plays written by playwrights
whose names were synonymous with this genre. For this writer, sandiwara, cer-
tainly marked a modern phase in the development of Malay plays, but not to the
extent of importance played by the realistic, sitting room subgenre.
Two well-known sandiwara playwrights were Shaharom Husain (November 04,
1919–October 14, 2008) and Kalam Hamidi (October 24, 1936–). Their equally
1
Mustapha Kamil Yassin. 1974. “The Malay Bangsawan” in Traditional Drama and Music of
Southeast Asia. Edited by M. Taib Osman. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasadan Pustaka.
well-known and often produced plays were Si Bongkok Tanjung Puteri (“The
Hunchback of Tanjung Puteri”) and Anak Nazar Tujuh Keramat (“The Promised
Child of the Seven Saints”).
In Si Bongkok Tanjung Puteri, Shaharom juxtaposed the themes of justice and
freedom in a feudal society as shown by two brothers, Panglima Puteh, the good-
looking charming warrior whose loyalty and devotion to the Sultan was unques-
tioned, and Si Bongkok, the ugly, uncouth man, who fought for personal freedom
and dignity. On a simplistic level, Shaharom’s play offered a basic, un-layered con-
frontation of the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly and the law-abider and
the lawbreaker. Well versed in crafting his sandiwara plays, Shaharom made the
play’s conflict more acute because it was a confrontation between two brothers who
were bonded as family members. The playwright also offered another perspective in
the form of the character, Daing Alek who advised the Datuk Timur to look for some
good in Si Bongkok and to refrain, in fact, from focusing on the bad only. It was the
wise Daing Alek who cautioned Datuk Timur to give Si Bongkok not only a chance
to come to his senses but also an opportunity to prove his intentions. Thematically
and structurally, Daing Alek added another dimension to the play’s characterization,
when he stressed that although all seemed bad, ugly and uncouth as represented by
the deformity of Si Bongkok, as a member of the top echelon of leadership, Datuk
Timur must still try to look beyond the deformity and the evilness.
The thrust of the play was that a leader should be cautious and not judge too hast-
ily. He must also exhibit moral and legal responsibility. Advice must first be given
and warning issued before any action could be taken against those who had deviated
from the morally, legally and religiously sanctioned laws, rules and norms. This was
so because absolute, unquestioned devotion could only lead to one’s own personal
death. This was Daing Alek’s epiphany which came too late for him.
On the other hand, total, absolute freedom was also impossible for one was
bounded within the perimeters of customary, state and religious laws. This was the
trajectory within which Si Bongkok must negotiate and not ignore by simplistically
focusing on his personal choices, sense of (in)justice and individual rights. Thus it
was that Si Bongkok who went against all of these laws was finally killed or rather,
in a fight with Panglima Puteh, Si Bongkok died when he fell on his own dagger.
The playwright did not want to make Panglima Puteh to be responsible for kill-
ing his own brother for this would have raised other issues and made the play com-
plicated and complexed. Si Bongkok Tanjung Puteri exemplified a typical sandiwara
show of the feudal era where familial ties were important. Si Bongkok and Panglima
Puteh were brothers, who, although they came from opposite and opposing ends of
the social, political and ideological spectrums, were still, nevertheless, bounded by
blood ties. The playwright did not want to be responsible for making one brother
kill another brother. Had it been made to happen, the murder would have raised
familial and religious issues and concerns which the play was not equipped to han-
dle. Moreover at the end of the play, no matter what happened, it must be shown that
loyalty and devotion to the sultan was upheld and perpetuated.
In Si Bongkok Tanjung Puteri, the plot was simple and developed lineally in a
cause and effect manner. The characters were flat, devoid of nuances and individual
92 S. ISHAK
traits. They were one dimensional and simplistically portrayed. Si Bongkok, the
hunchback, was a bad and evil person. His moral depravity and evil nature were
visually symbolized in his physical deformity: he could not stand straight, his back
was hunched, and he was also not a good-looking man. Si Bongkok was in stark
contrast to his brother: the good-looking, morally righteous Panglima Puteh whose
very name denoted a good, moral person. He was the white (Puteh) warrior. In a
typical sandiwara manner, white was posited against black, evil against good and
moral uprightness against crooked depravity: Panglima Puteh against Si Bongkok.
In another renowned play, epitomizing the sandiwara genre, Kalam Hamidi’s
Anak Nazar Tujuh Keramat dealt with religious values, ideals and justice. Above all
the play dealt with hypocrisy as revealed by the main characters: the Khalifah who
so loudly proclaimed the rules of Islam and who so “justly” punished wrongdoers,
only when these did not touch him personally. Later in the play, it was shown how
he shirked his duties when he found out that his only child, the daughter that was the
fulfilment of religious prayers and requests, was actually the real “culprit” in the
recently committed crime. He must push aside his emotions as her father, for as
Khalifah, he must made the judgement and passed sentence on the criminal. The
play showed how this character must tussle between doing what was legally right
and what was personally and emotionally so wrenching to him. The Khalifah was
shown as being morally and legally righteous, prior to discovering that his own
daughter, the promised child of the seven saints, was the real culprit.
In this play, other characters were also shown to harbour evil deeds and ambi-
tions as they succumbed to their inner greed and ambitions. The play showed how
power and the need to have even more power or the opportunity to enhance their
social standing overtook their superficial good nature, moral stature and religious
values. This became more glaring since it was the leaders or those in the upper ech-
elons of power who were shown to be lacking in good judgement and who con-
sciously ignored their legal responsibilities and religious duties.
In this sandiwara play, although the characters were portrayed generally, as sim-
ple, uncomplicated and almost flat individuals, some characters like the Khalifah
were initially shown to be weak and easily swayed by their personal emotions.
Ultimately though the Khalifah underwent changes of perception, so as to highlight
his individual strengths and enhance his social status, religious authority and power
in his society. Even the Wazir (Prime Minister) was guilty for he stooped to have
Panglima Khalid murdered so that his own son could marry the Khalifah’s daughter.
The completely flawless Panglima Khalid himself was not devoid of personal weak-
nesses. He let his heart rule his mind, and in succumbing to the heart, he went
against adat (customary) laws. In fact in this play, the characters were all flawed in
one way or another. They showed no remorse or inner angst for they were all por-
trayed in a one-dimensional manner, except for the Khalifah who went through
different motives, emotions and anxieties.
The playwright took a scathing look at the personalities in his society, at the
paragons of virtue and upholders of justice. Kalam Hamidi chastised hypocrisy,
especially one embedded in the Khalifah who personified religious and political
authority, but who did not rule wisely for he was rash and he acted and condemned
too hastily without first doing some prior investigations. He imposed rules, meted
out punishment and stringently advocated religious values and laws on his subjects
but made an exception when it came to punishing his only child. The play high-
lighted the hypocrisy and insincerity of the Khalifah who was made to change at the
end of the play.
The voice of reason came not from any distinguished personage but from the
lowly caretaker of the sacred place who represented the notion of balance and fair-
ness. It was the humble caretaker who suggested that justice must be meted out
equally and investigations must be carried out thoroughly before any sentence could
be made and punishment imposed. The caretaker reminded the leaders who were
the upholders of law and justice that everybody deserved a fair hearing. And a leader
must always be upright and fair to everybody and not make any exceptions in carry-
ing out his social and religious duties. The power that was endowed on leaders must
be carefully used. Again the characters were flat, with good posited against evil in a
simplistic manner, within a one-layered theatrical representation.
The play ended on a simplistic note: the Khalifah finally punished his own
daughter by stabbing/killing her for she had committed murder and must be pun-
ished like other common murderers and criminals before her. In punishing even his
own daughter, the Khalifah now restored his tarnished reputation. He was made to
be seen as the paragon of justice and virtue. He would not shirk to ensure that justice
prevailed and punishment meted out without favours. Seemingly, in just one act, the
Khalifah regained the respect of the people, restored both his honour and tarnished
reputation and further empowered his position.
It is imperative to note especially in the age of Islamic Revivalism that even in
the 1950s and early 1960s, Kalam Hamidi’s pure creative piece censured the fanat-
ics who imposed religious justice without adhering to religious tenets and care
when exercising their power. Whatever the playwright’s misgivings about the lead-
ers of his society, he still had hope in them. Thus it was that the play ended with a
redeemed, just, wiser and surely more powerful and even more respected Khalifah.
Plot and Narrative Structures of Sandiwara Plays
Sandiwara playwrights wrote plays with fewer acts and tighter plots which were
structurally more compact with fixed and predetermined scenes. The plots as evi-
denced from the above plays were simple, straight forward and were exhibited in a
chronological order. Sandiwara plays usually contained a prologue and epilogue to
highlight the plays’ themes and to deliver a realistic, didactic message at the end of
the plays. Or, as in the plays by Kalam Hamidi, there would be a pantomime at the
opening to preface the actual sandiwara play and to underscore the play’s message.
The pantomime helped to provide the audience with a premonition of how the plot
would unfold.
The plot of sandiwara plays posited surprise endings; common, expected end-
ings; or sensational outcomes which were totally unexpected. The Promised Child
94 S. ISHAK
of the Seven Saints, with its one act plot and narrative structure, highlighted reli-
gious hypocrisy. In the dramatic final action, the Khalifah killed his own daughter
so as to uphold religious laws and, more importantly, to uphold and further empower
his own pride, dignity and honour. The above two sandiwara plays highlighted plots
with unhappy endings: in Shaharom Hussain’s play, the Hunchback died; likewise
in Kalam Hamidi’s play, Nurul Asyikin, the much loved and much wanted daughter
of the Khalifah himself, died—killed by her own, beloved father.
The tendencies for death, tragedies and unhappy endings could be traced to the
influence of Shakespearean plays and Greek tragedies. Shaharom Hussain frankly
admitted that he was greatly influenced by Shakespeare and that he devoured
Shakespeare’s plays and learned the craft of writing plays by reading Shakespeare.
Modern Drama: The Realistic, Sitting Room Plays
The modernization of modern Malay theatre did not emerge as a distinct movement
in one period, nor did it stop reinventing and rewriting itself based on its traditional
cultural heritage or the impact of westernization. From the bangsawan period which
continued into the sandiwara period, there were always elements of modernization
and innovation. But it is generally accepted by theatre scholars that the “real” mod-
ernization came with the introduction of the realistic, sitting room plays of the
1960s. This new form of Malay theatre was aptly called, in a self-explanatory man-
ner, “dramamoden” (emphasis added, to stress on the term moden/modern). This
new, modern form was in fact a reaction to the “archaic” bangsawan and sandiwara
forms. Mustapha Kamil Yassin, the playwright who pioneered this modernization,2
specified clearly that modern drama should have an uninterrupted, continuous act-
ing, unencumbered by extra turns which would spoil the mood of the plot. Curtains
depicting scenes were no longer necessary: instead settings should be realistic.
Dialogues must be short, written in everyday language, and should be memorized.
It should not be improvised and be completely dependent on the talent and ability of
the performers. The long, poetic language used in sandiwara plays was unnatural.
Ordinary people living in the everyday, ordinary world did not speak using this type
of verse language. Moreover such long, poetic language was a hindrance not only to
good acting but also to the reception of the play by the audience. Throughout his
article, Mustafa Kamil Yassin was actually making a strong reference to and refuta-
tion of the bangsawan plays, with their painted backdrops, improvisational acting
and extra-turns. He was also speaking out against the sandiwara plays, which
although scripted, still had nuances of bangsawan characteristics.
For Mustapha Kamil Yassin (July 01, 1925–November 27, 2011), better known
as Kala Dewata, a serious drama should be realistic in form. The characters’ dia-
logues should be based on realistic speech, which could be easily memorized by the
2
Mustapha KamilYassin “BeberapaPersoalan Drama dariSegiPenulisan” in ZakariaAriffin. 1981.
Drama MelayudalamEsei. Kuala Lumpur: DewanBahasadanPustaka.
performers and easily understood by the audience. The settings should also be real-
istic. If the play took place in the sitting room, as happened in most modern drama
plays, then all the details as found in a real sitting room must be emulated on stage,
from the cushioned sofas to the framed photographs. Likewise the costumes were
the ordinary, realistic clothes worn by people every day as they went about their
daily lives. They were not dressed in songkets or brocades, nor did they live in pal-
aces speaking in a noble court language or in verse, poetic language. The plays were
also called “sitting room plays” for the whole play happened in a sitting room,
presented on a proscenium stage. It was peopled by ordinary people, living ordinary
lives, speaking in simple, ordinary, everyday language as they encountered the nor-
mal problems of class, family and poverty, cocooned in their own society.
This modernization of Malay plays posited the notion that a drama was not writ-
ten or staged primarily for entertainment purposes as was concluded by Mustapha
Kamil Yassin. Playwrights should primarily write serious plays, which are realistic
plays, based on realistic dialogues, realistic settings and having with social issues
and the society at large as its theme.
Social problems as exemplified by the confrontation of town and village values,
rural-urban development or nondevelopment and generational problems between
the old and the young must be clearly exemplified and made to be believable.
These—social, psychological, emotional and financial—everyday problems were
encountered by people in their normal, daily lives going about their ordinary, hum-
drum activities. In his realistic plays, Mustafa Kamil Yassin encapsulated these
problems within a thematic framework so that they would be clearly understood and
appreciated by the audience.
The form of the realistic plays as propagated by Mustapha Kamil Yassin basi-
cally followed the realistic plays of Ibsen and Shaw. Presented within a picture
frame setting on a proscenium stage, modern Malay plays of the 1960s concentrated
on urbanizing the Malay kampungs (villages). The plays, neatly presented in a lin-
ear development, within a sitting room environment, presented plot developments
where, eventually, difficulties were overcome and problems were solved, and they
often provided happy endings.
One of Mustafa Kamil Yassin’s “injunction” for the promulgation of the drama
modern form was that thematically it should—bertemakanmaysyarakat—have soci-
ety as its theme. Not surprisingly, plays of the drama moden period dealt with
Malays of the post-independence era, who either lived in the kampungs or, even if
they lived in the towns, they wanted to return to develop the kampungs which were
considered to be backward as they lacked even the most basic of infrastructural
facilities. The kampungs must be made to progress and change in terms of their
physical-social and economic infrastructures.
More importantly, the mindsets of the kampung people themselves must also
change, progress and develop. Living in a newly independent nation, the actors act-
ing on stage and the audience viewing and receiving the theatre production in the
auditorium must be made to have new mindsets to cope with independence. Realistic
plays of this period always had contrapuntal and juxtapositional relationships with
the bandar/towns.
96 S. ISHAK
In these plays, the towns were presented as developed and progressive enclaves,
with running water and electricity. It was peopled by educated Malays who held
highly paid positions in the Malayan Civil Service, which at that time was consid-
ered to be the epitome of having a good and ideal job. It was not surprising that
mothers who lived in the towns did not want their daughters to marry men from the
villages for then, they might have to follow their husbands, and they would have to
live in the backward villages, which was seen as a regression and a rejection of the
modern bandar/town dynamics.
Two plays which showcased these thematic concerns are Atap Genting Atap
Rembia (Tiled Roof, Thatched Roof), first produced in 1963, first published in 1965,
and Serunai Malam (Flute of the Night), first published in 1966. Mustapha Kamil
Yassin’s play Atap Genting Atap Rembia (Tiled Roof, Thatched Roof), which pio-
neered the development of modern plays in the 1960s, posited a confrontation
between two Malay families, one living in the kampung (village) and the other in
the bandar (town). The confrontation occurred when the village boy, Shamsuddin,
wanted to marry the city girl, Shamsiah. His parents were rural folks who pride
themselves on upholding good manners, morals and religion. For these kampung
folks, the imam/religious leader was more important than the high-ranking govern-
ment official. As Shamsuddin’s father said, no matter how high ranking that govern-
ment officer was, when he was in the mosque, he had to stand behind the imam. It
was the imam who would be standing in front of everybody and leading them in
prayers. It was the imam who was the real leader, not the high-ranking government
officer.
Hence it was not surprising that Shamsuddin’s parents would prefer that he chose
as his bride Zainab, who not only lived in the village but was also an ustazah, a
religious teacher. From his father’s perspective, Shamsuddin could never have a bet-
ter woman, for Zainab’s father was also the village imam. In Zainab, village values,
morals and norms, empowered by her religious background and vocation, all merged
making her a much desired and almost perfect match for Shamsuddin, as perceived
by his father.
By marrying someone from the village, Shamsuddin’s ties to his family would
not be sundered, but, instead, would become stronger for he would not have to leave
the kampung at all. Moreover, Shamsuddin, and by extension his family’s social
standing, would be elevated. Shamsuddin’s family was also afraid that if Shamsuddin
were to marry Shamsiah, instead of getting a daughter (in-law), they might instead
lose a son. This would certainly happen, for they could not imagine that Shamsiah
would leave the town and come to live in the undeveloped village. Instead, if
Shamsuddin were to marry Shamsiah, he would surely leave them and make a home
in the town. This was something that they wanted to prevent.
Shamsuddin’s counter argument to all of his father’s misgivings was to point out
that he could not understand what all the fuss was about. As far as Shamsuddin was
concerned, he did not have to choose, for he was going to build his own house any-
way, as he deemed fit and one that was going to be to his own liking. As he told his
father, it might not even have a tiled or a thatched roof. He could very easily choose
another material for the roof of his own house. Shamsuddin belonged to a young
generation of Malays, and he had a different mindset from his parents. Basically he
was not afraid to state his mind and stake his stand and determinedly chose his own
life partner.
Just as Pak Salleh, Shamsuddin’s father did not like the notion of him marrying
a woman from the town; likewise, Shamsiah’s mother, Hindun, was completely
against her being friends with Shamsuddin, the man from the village. She placed
more emphasis on material wealth, status and class. She did not want her only child
to marry a mere cikgu (teacher). Hindun regarded her daughter’s wish to marry a
kampung boy and leave the bandar to live in the village as a form regression. She
knew how it was like to live in the village, for she was herself a kampung/village girl
who had made good and, through marriage, was able to leave the backward, unde-
veloped village. Hindun had also married well; her husband was a pegawaikera-
jaan/government officer. She now lived in the progressive, developed town with
electricity and water supplies. She highlighted this fact when she told Shamsuddin
who came to visit Shamsiah that it was better if he left early for the bus service to
the village was irregular, and if he waited too long, by the time he reached home, it
would already be very dark. The subtext of Hindun’s speech was to emphasize the
fact that Shamsuddin’s village was still undeveloped and did not even have electric-
ity supply. Hindun’s dialogue also showed that Shamsuddin was dependent on pub-
lic transport, the bus, for he did not own a car, which meant he was not well off
enough to afford to buy one. In short, Shamsuddin was not a good enough match for
her daughter.
It was therefore not surprising that Hindun did not want her daughter to marry a
village boy. She would rather Shamsiah marry a university graduate, Jaafar, who
studied overseas and after graduating came back and worked in the town. Towards
this end, Hindun engineered a strategy to get her daughter and the man she preferred
over Shamsuddin, by suggesting to her husband and daughter that they all go and
visit EncikHizam’s (Jaafar’s father’s) house. She then asked her daughter to go and
change and when Shamsiah came out wearing the prim and proper traditional baju
kurung, Hindun made sure that her daughter went back to her room and changed
into something more fitting and body hugging! The subtext of Hindun’s suggestion
was to lure Jaafar and enticed him with Shamsiah’s beauty and body. Unlike
Shamsuddin who stood his stand and choice and argued with, and gave his father an
alternative notion of things, Shamsiah, although she was equally educated, failed to
defend her boyfriend. She could not even defend her own self. She meekly obeyed
all that her mother told her to do, although she already knew what her mother’s
intentions were. The playwright had deliberately denied Shamsiah her own voice.
She was portrayed as obeying her mother completely, even to the extent of having
her mother dictated the figure hugging outfit that she should be wearing when going
to visit Jaafar.
Both families, be they from the town or from the village, did not like the “other”,
for they preferred the people from their own, familiar enclaves. The playwright, on
the other hand, remained unbiased, preferring to let the characters from both domi-
ciles slug it out at one another. Kala Dewata also chose to deliberately destroy the
stereotyped images associated with Malays from both the town and the village. He
98 S. ISHAK
did this by making both the families from the village and the town, to behave in an
almost similar manner, with both being equally kasar—rough and ill-mannered—
and equally disliking and distrusting the other.
They also have their own stereotyped images of what the “other” represented.
Mustapha Kamil Yassin had adeptly portrayed characters from the town and the vil-
lage to be almost similar: they shared the same fears, preferred their own kind and
wanted the best for their children, although the “best” meant different things to both
enclaves. These people were presented as equally rude when the situation warranted
it. Both families did not want their children to marry outside of these familiar
enclaves. They had their own stereotype notions of what the other was and what the
other could do to them, although they both came from the same race and religion,
divided only by so-called class and perceived social-cultural values.
This rural-urban, rich woman-poor man dichotomy was a common thematic con-
cern found in the realistic plays of the 1960s which was seen in the plays of another
well-known realistic playwright, the late Usman Awang (July 12, 1929–November
29, 2001): poet, essayist, novelist and dramatist. Above all, he was Malaysia’s
“Sasterawan Negara” (National Laureate, so called for receiving the Anugerah
Sastera Negara—the highest literary award conferred by the government on a liter-
ary figure). Like Mustapha Kamil Yassin, Usman Awang, too, was concerned with
advancing the villages so that both the inhabitants and their domiciles could change,
develop and become progressive. Like Mustapha Kamil Yassin, Usman’s plays also
dealt with love relationships between the rich and the poor as happened amongst
normal, ordinary people, speaking in a language used by common people. Through
these love matches, Usman Awang posed the poverty of the hamlets and the need to
bring progress and development. The playwright saw education as the social leveller
whereby poor Malays could escape the shackles of their village poverty and used
that education to reform their kampungs.
In Serunai Malam [Flute of the Night], published in 1966, Umar was the village
kid, who, through education, managed to escape the poverty which manacled him
as a child. Umar wanted to return to his kampung, to provide knowledge to the poor
village children he left behind. For Umar, education was the necessary step to elimi-
nate rural deprivation and bring progress, change and development.
On the other hand, his fiancée, Safiah, daughter of a high-ranking government
officer, who lived in the town, wanted Umar to join the then Malayan Civil Service
so that they could, perhaps, live in London or Paris or New York. Safiah certainly
did not fancy going back to live in the village—the backward kampung devoid of all
the facilities she was so used to. But in this play, the graduate who so much wanted
to return to the kampung succeeded in doing just that. Umar would fulfil his dreams
not only of helping the poor village kids but also of bringing change and developing
the village.
Plot, Theme and Narrative Structure of Realistic Plays
The problems portrayed in Atap Genting Atap Rembia and in Serunai Malam were
normal problems of class and status, of towns which had been developed and of vil-
lages which were still backward and undeveloped. Atap Genting Atap Rembia was
aptly titled as it encompassed within it the two dichotomies of town and village, the
tiled roof and the thatched roof, symbolizing the town and the village milieus, prog-
ress and backwardness, their occupants and all their idiosyncrasies.
This modern and new development of Malay plays revealed plots which moved
in a linear manner with a cause and effect trajectory, where problems were posited
in the beginning, the climax in the middle with the denouement at the end. By the
end of the play, all problems were solved, all obstacles were overcome, and the play
seemingly ended happily. Shamsiah’s parents, the high-ranking government officer,
En. Jamal and his class and status conscious, arrogant wife, Hindun, decided to go
to Shamsuddin’s house in the village, to visit his parents and to talk about the rela-
tionship of the young couple. In this sense, the playwright had given victory to the
kampung folk. It was not the village bumpkins who had to go to the town; instead,
it was the folks from the urban town area who had to swallow their pride and went
to the village.
Likewise in Serunai Malam, Safiah, who once harboured dreams of living
abroad, finally changed her mind and would now follow her fiancé to live in the vil-
lage. Together they would help educate the village children and bring progress to
the kampung.
Conclusion: Modernity Versus Tradition
This period of the development of modern theatre in Malaysia focused on the real-
istic plays of the drama moden. Modernization was seen within the spectrum of the
dramatic forms of the plays (sitting room settings, proscenium stage productions),
the social thematic concerns and the whole mise-en-scene which emphasized on the
ordinary and the everyday. Much would later be said that these realistic sitting room
plays, touted as the theatre form which modernized Malay theatre, would be consid-
ered as “foreign” and a mere imitation of the West. This fact alone did not augur
well for the traditionalists and the nationalists who faulted these plays which seem-
ingly did not reflect the identity of what Malay/Malaysian theatre should be. It also
did not testify to the notion of developing and modernizing Malay plays based on
the roots, traditions, heritage and culture of the Malaysian nation.
Throughout the ages from the makeshift stages in the villages to the grandeur of
the National Theatre, called Istana Budaya (the Palace of Culture[s]), in the capital
city of Kuala Lumpur, Malay plays have borrowed, adapted, evolved and modern-
ized. The forms and contents of these plays have changed, displaying in this very
changeability different periods and types of theatre modernization. This chapter
100 S. ISHAK
served to highlight the very beginning phase of the modernization of writing plays
of the 1960s by delineating the progress from traditional to the transitional to the
scripted forms of Malay plays. Malay theatre will continue to modernize, change
and evolve, and in the process it may create other new identities, constructs, plot
developments and narrative techniques. All these augurs well for future theatre
development.
References
Abdul Rahman bin Napiah. 1980–1981. Perkembangandan Perubahandalam Drama Moden

Malaysia. Thesis, University Kebangsaan Malaysia 1980–1981. (Published Under Mana
Sikana, the Author’s Pen Name, as: Drama Modern Malaysia: Perkembangandan Perubahan.
(Modern Malaysian Drama: Development and Change). Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasadan
Pustaka, 1987.
Camoens Cantius Leo. 1980–1981. Sejarahdan Perkembangan Teater Melayu. [History and
Development of Malay Theatre]. Thesis, University of Malaya.
Mustapha Kamil Yassin. 1974. The Malay Bangsawan. In Traditional Drama and Music of
Southeast Asia, ed. M. Taib Osman. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasadan Pustaka.
Nur Nina Zuhra. 1992. An Analysis of Modern Malay Drama. Shah Alam: Biroteks, MARA
Institute of Technology.
Rahmah Bujang. 1975. SejarahPerkembangan Drama Bangsawan di Tanah Melayudan Singapura
[The History of the Development of Bangsawan in Malaysian and Singapore: Kuala Lumpur:
Dewan Bahasadan Pustaka.
———. 1987. Boria: Form of Malay Theatre. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Solehah Ishak. 1987. Histrionics of Development: A Study of Three Contemporary Malay
Playwrights. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasadan Pustaka.
———. 1992. Pengalaman Menonton Teater. [Attending Theatres]. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan
Bahasadan Pustaka.
Zakaria Ariffin. 1981. Drama Melayudalam Esei. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasadan Pustaka.
Chapter 7
Metamorphosis: “Modernity” on Stage –
The Formation of the Chinese Spoken
Drama in Singapore (1913–1937)
YU Weijie
Prologue
As a young nation, Singapore has briefly a short history of only half a century.
However, the evolutional development of the “modernity” of theatre – in the case of
the fruition of Chinese-language spoken drama,1 partly stemming from the tradi-
tional Chinese opera performance and partly introduced and influenced from its
source country of China, as to be discussed here intensively – covers relatively a
much longer and more complicated process dating back to the beginning of the
twentieth century.
Situated at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, the Southeast Asian island of
Singapore became a city-state only in 1965 when it gained its independence from
Malaysia, shortly after the end of its colonial history under the United Kingdom that
ruled the island city over the previous one and a half centuries.
Though the known human activities and settlement on the island could be traced
back to as early as in the second century AD before it became an outpost of Sumatran
This article is one of the chapters from the author’s manuscripts of SINGAPORE STAGE (working
title), a research started at the International Research Centre of Interweaving Cultures in
Performance at Free University Berlin, Germany, where the author worked as a resident research
fellow (2009–2010) for the project, which was initiated and led by Prof. Dr. Erika Fischer-Lichte
and commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Science and Education of Germany. This paper was
first delivered at the International Conference of Asian Theatre Research Working Group (IFTR)
initiated and led by Prof. Yasushi Nagata at Osaka University, Japan, in March 2014; to the both of
whom, the author wishes to express his sincere and immense gratitude for their support to have
made the final publication of this entry possible.
1
Chinese-language spoken drama: 华语话剧, also used by the author as Chinese spoken drama, as
shown in the title of this article.
YU Weijie (*)
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore, Singapore

102 YU Weijie
Srivijaya Empire named Temasek, a maritime and commercial kingdom that flour-
ished between the seventh and the thirteenth century in the Malay Archipelago,
Singapore then became a part of the Johor Sultanate which is also one part of the
Malaccan Sultanate between the sixteenth and early nineteenth century. In 1819
Thomas Stamford Raffles (1781–1826) arrived at Singapore and signed the treaty
with the Sultan Hussein Shah of Johor on behalf of the British East India Company
to develop the southern part of Singapore as a British trading post. Seven years later,
the entire inland then became a British possession as part of its Straits Settlements,
in addition to the other establishments of Malacca, Dindings and Penang.
Singapore has become an island of immigrants at its very beginning – apart from
the ethnic Malay and the other indigenous groups, the number of the Chinese immi-
grants rose swiftly from only a handful among about 1000 people living on the
island prior to Raffles’ arrival to that of 17,179 after 1840 and then again to 86,762
around 1881.2 Most of the Chinese immigrants came to Singapore from the southern
part of China, who then settled down and formed their own dialect-based clan com-
munities to help and support one another. Clan houses and temples were thus built
where the altars of both ancestors and gods – including the popular known figures
from Buddhism, Daoism and Confucius as well as those non-ancestral/religious
characters like Monkey King, Matsoo, etc. from the folkloric and legendary tales –
were worshiped through ritual and festive ceremonies with performances. Hence
the initial form of ritual theatrical activities started.
However, in regard to the Chinese immigrant society, by comparison, the other
two British Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca by then had the stronger
original ethnical imprint and richer establishment of cultural tradition due to their
longer history with the Chinese immigrants – the larger number of the Chinese set-
tlers came during the Malacca Empire in the fifteenth century, and both Malacca
and Penang then consequently became known as the hub of the Peranakan Chinese,
also called as the Straits Chinese or Baba Nyonya, the descendants of the early
Chinese immigrants there, whose earliest arrival could be dated back to the tenth
century AD.
The Chinese immigrants together with all the other ethnic groups of Malay,
Indian and Eurasian as well as some other minor ethnic people have formed the
general population demography in Singapore since then. The Malay language has
been used as the national mother tongue with English as the official administrative
language for all in addition to the Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil as the four
official languages as well as the mother tongues, respectively, by these four major
ethnic peoples.
With such a historical and geographical as well as ethnical demographic back-
ground in mind, we need to observe the following three important factors in discuss-
ing and exploring the outcome of the modern Chinese-language spoken drama in
2
Thomas John Newbold, Political and Statistical Account of the British Settlements in the Straits
of Malacca, viz, Pinang, Malacca and Singapore: A State with a History of the Malayan States on
the Peninsula of Malacca, Vol. 1 London: J. Murray, 1839), 279.
7 Metamorphosis: “Modernity” on Stage – The Formation of the Chinese Spoken… 103
Singapore with its formation during both the city-state and nation-building pro-
cesses of Singapore.
Firstly, the early theatrical activities with the performance style of the traditional
Chinese opera varieties exerted a considerably significant impact on the outcome of
the Chinese-language spoken drama started in the then Straits Settlements of both
Malacca and Penang around the start of the twentieth century. This has in turn,
through guest performances, touring productions as well as literary and newspaper
publications of scripts, critiques and reviews, directly contributed and led to the
final birth of the Chinese-language spoken drama in Singapore, a colonial city
which by then had already become a flourishing hub among the few British Straits
Settlements since 1836.
Secondly, the journey of theatre “modernity” with the formation of the Chinese-
language spoken drama in Singapore has always been accompanied and determined,
since its beginning, throughout the route to its final nation-state building process,
either by its instinctive search for a regional social-political and artistic distinctive-
ness in terms of “Nanyang style” even during the colonial period then or by its more
conscious creation of the national identity of “Malaya” and subsequently
“Singapore” before and then after the founding of the republic in 1965,
respectively.
Finally, a multiracial and multireligious country, Singapore, has inherited the
cultural and theatrical richness from both the region itself on one hand and that of
the source countries of its four ethnic peoples of the Chinese, Malay, Indian and
Eurasia on the other hand, though the Chinese population has always taken the
majority among the total national ethnical demography (ca.70% compared to that of
the other three major ethnic groups). However, the theatrical, literary as well as
linguistic and cultural features from the other ethnic communities with their
English-, Malay- and Tamil-speaking theatres there have thus always been con-
stantly and deliberately “borrowed” and “interwoven” to have become part of its
own artistic expressions and theatrical identities as well in the formation of the
Chinese-language spoken drama in Singapore during its entire process.
Act I: The Birth (1913–1917)
It is interesting to note that the earliest existing record about the Chinese theatrical
performance activities was only found in a book published in 1845 by an American
military official named Charles Wilkes (1798–1877), who described the festivity
performances that he witnessed during the Chinese Lunar New Year in February
1842.3 In 1850, Jonas Daniel Vaughan (1825–1891), a British Straits Settlements
official, also published a book titled The Manners and Customs of the Chinese of
3
Charles Wilkes, The Singapore Chapter of the Narratives of the United States: Exploring
Expedition during the Years 1839–1942 (Republished in Singapore: Antiques of the Orient Pte
Ltd., 1984), 16.
104 YU Weijie
Straits Settlements, in which he also briefly mentioned the street theatre shows per-
formed by the actors of Cantonese, Teochew, Hokkien, etc.4 Further detailed and
vivid descriptions about such festive ritual celebrations, during which street theatri-
cal activities took place, on the occasion of the arrival of the Heavenly Goddess
from China to Singapore in April 1840 at Heavenly Happiness Palace, appeared in
An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore 1819–1867 written by C. B.
Buckley.5
There have been mainly five different traditional Chinese opera varieties intro-
duced and performed in Singapore since then, namely, Teochew opera, Cantonese
opera, Hokkien opera, Hainanese opera and Beijing opera, all of which, being just
only a small part of the hundreds of the traditional operatic varieties in China,
migrated to Malay Peninsula then.
Cantonese opera was the earliest one introduced to Singapore, followed by
Teochew opera, though the exact year of their respective arrivals has still remained
controversially unconfirmed. The archive document shows that a theatre organiza-
tion called Pear Garden Hall existed as early as in 1857, which was then renamed as
Eight Harmonies House in 1890 upon its registration with the government.6 The
nature and function of this organization is identical to that of the same-named one
of the Cantonese opera playhouses in Canton, China. The government record of
population registration in 1881 also shows that there were 240 performers resided in
Singapore, among which there were 14 actresses. It is believed that they were then
most likely the performers of Cantonese opera and Teochew opera, who resided and
performed around the China Town area at the time.7
Following the popularity and prominence of such theatrical activities of the
Chinese traditional opera in Singapore, the playhouses were thus built one after
another to cater for such functions: the earliest of which appeared in 1887 as reported
by Li Zhong-Jue, a Qing Dynasty Chinese official who visited Singapore in that
year. He accounted that there were about 4–5 playhouses around China Town area
and another 1–2 around the Civic District area. On the stages there, Cantonese opera
as well as Teochew and Hokkien opera were performed.
There had been at least eight Chinese opera playhouses in Singapore before
1893, namely, Pear Spring Garden, Celebrate Prominence Playhouse and Popular
Evergreen Playhouse which was later renamed as Celebrate Reformation Playhouse,
Joyfulness Garden, Scenic Spring Garden, Orange Osmanthus Garden, Rising
Spring Garden and Sunny Spring Garden. Thus, a Chinese opera playhouse circle
was then formed in China Town area, evidenced through a series of the related street
4
Jonas Daniel Vaughan, The Manners and Customs of the Chinese of the Straits Settlements
(Singapore: Mission Press, 1879), 82–84.
5
YI Yan (eds.), A Century of Pear Garden:History of Chinese Opera in Singapore (梨园世纪:新加
坡华族地方戏曲之路) (Singapore: Chinese Opera Institute Singapore, 2015), 3–4.
6
Yi Yan (eds.), A Century of Pear Garden: History of Chinese Opera in Singapore (梨园世纪:新
加坡华族地方戏曲之路) (Singapore: Chinese Opera Institute Singapore, 2015), 9.
7
Yi Yan (eds.), A Century of Pear Garden: History of Chinese Opera in Singapore (梨园世纪:新
加坡华族地方戏曲之路) (Singapore: Chinese Opera Institute Singapore, 2015), 10.
names as Playhouse Street (Smith Street today), Playhouse Back Street (Temple
Street today), Playhouse Cross Street (Trengganu Street today), etc. Not far away,
there was also a Wayang Street – namely, traditional opera street as Wayang is the
Malay word for traditional operatic performance, on which was located side by side
Celebrate Reformation Playhouse and Celebrate Prominence Playhouse.8
Though the record of the earliest playbills of various traditional Chinese opera
troupes in Singapore has been unavailable now, however, some existing documents
show the programmes of the traditional Chinese opera performances at the begin-
ning of the twentieth century consisting of the known repertoire of Mulian Rescues
His Mother, Eight Fairies Celebrate Longevity, Carp Jumps Over Dragon Gate, etc.
Seemingly, the function and nature of both ritualistic worship service of ancestors
and gods and festivity entertainment for general audience were reflected from such
programmes.
The nature and function of such ritualistic ceremony with gods/ancestor-worship
service thus appeared as the initial birth of the traditional Chinese opera perfor-
mance which migrated to and developed in Singapore. It is therefore not difficult to
imagine that the repertoire of the traditional Chinese opera performance in Singapore
in the nineteenth century could be none other than the category of the Buddhist
stories developed from the early shamanism drama of Noh theatre in China supple-
mented by the festivity programmes to entertain general audience in the streets. This
has reflected the immediate acceptance of such a repertoire genre from their source
country of China.
Apart from these two major functions, the traditional Chinese opera perfor-
mances in Singapore were then also deployed by some ensemble owners to attract
the public crowd to be involved in gambling activities which took place in the vicin-
ity of performance venue. In addition, the commissioned shows for private func-
tions like birthday celebrations for rich families and business openings by social
celebrities soon also became a routine engagement for some of the traditional
Chinese opera troupes.
Such functional nature with the performance of traditional Chinese operatic vari-
eties among and for the Chinese community in Singapore at the beginning of the
twentieth century seemingly, on one hand, was immediately distanced from the
increasingly spread-over of the atmosphere and concern of the restlessness and anx-
iety accumulated by the Chinese nationals at home in China at the eve of the Chinese
Revolution, the moment towards the downfall of the imperial Qing Dynasty (1644–
1911). However, on the other hand, Singapore at that time was also seen as an over-
seas base by the Chinese national Dr. Sun Yat-sen, where he arrived in 1906 to form
a local branch of his anti-Qing Dynasty revolutionary organization called Tung
Meng Hui, which was greatly supported by the local businessmen Tan Chor Nam
(1884–1971) and Lim Nee Soon (1879–1936).
Obviously, both the content and format of the then traditional Chinese operatic
theatre performance migrated to and developed in Singapore could no longer satisfy
8
GOH Ngan Hong, The Origin of Street Names in Singapore (新加坡街名由来)(Singapore: Hong
Nian Studio, 2006), 28–30
106 YU Weijie
the needs of the elite audience of the general public, including the rising business
class and the intelligentsia in particular, who identified themselves and sympathized
with the 1911 Revolution back in China. It is therefore not difficult to understand
why the social-political changes in the home country of these prominent Chinese
immigrants that called and necessitated for the outcome of a totally new and mod-
ernized theatrical performance, both in form and content, which successfully hap-
pened on the stage in China, could also have influenced and promoted the immediate
reception of the introduction of a totally new theatrical genre overseas in Singapore
soon after.
However, there appeared slightly a different route and process with the theatrical
“modernity” in content and form on the stage between China and Singapore. Back
at home, the formation of the spoken drama in China was pioneered by a group of
Chinese students studying in Japan who formed Spring Willow Society, which initi-
ated their stage experimentation of La Dame aux Camellias by Alexandre Dumas,
fills in 1906 in Tokyo before their fruition was brought back to Shanghai.9 While the
process of the birth of the Chinese-language spoken drama in Singapore seemed to
be more a prompt and direct response, which was inspired by a touring production
of The Legend of Romance in January 1913, as was recently explored from the
archive by the Singapore scholar Quah Sy Ren.10
The play was produced by Zheng-Tian-Sheng Reformed Modern-Spoken-
Chinese Ensemble from Hong Kong owned by a Cantonese called Chen Shaobai. It
is interesting to note that the ensemble benchmarked itself with the modern-spoken-
Chinese in contrast to that of the classical literary Chinese, based on the latter of
which, most of the traditional Chinese opera works had usually been scripted and
performed. The play, performed at Celebrate Prominence Playhouse, was consid-
ered as the very first appearance of the modern-spoken-Chinese theatre in Singapore.
Apart from its new linguistic expression of stage language, the production was also
noted for its nonconventional setting with prop windows that could be opened, as
well as the functioning scenic door, through which people on stage can enter and
exit.11
With this beginning, another production also in the form of modern-spoken-
Chinese was staged on 7 November 1913 at Pear Spring Garden on Playhouse Street
in China Town. The performance, which was in fact a charity production to raise
fund for Tongji Hospital staged by an organization called Senior Celebrity Goodwill
Society consisting of the local Chinese business representatives, was especially
advertised as a “play in modern-spoken-Chinese with solid scenic settings”. The
9
YU Weijie, The Tradition and Reality of the Chinese Theatre: from Origin till Today (Tradizione
e realta del teatro cinese: Dalle origini ai giorni nostril) (Milan: International Cultural Exchange,
1995), 178–179
10
QUAH Sy Ren, Scenes: A Hundred Years of Singapore Chinese Language Theatre 1913–2013
(戏聚百年:新加坡华文戏剧1913–2013) (Singapore: Drama Box/Singapore National Museum,
2013), 11
11
2013), 11
show ran for three consecutive evenings with several thousand tickets sold out to
have raised over 10000 silver dollars successfully.12
One year later in December 1914, the first modern-spoken-Chinese theatre group
called National Wind & Fantasy Scenery Ensemble, organized and supported by
several leading literature and newspaper agents, was established in Singapore. As
the outcome of the combined efforts jointly by the Chinese business community and
the intellectual circle of Singapore, this newly founded group immediately embarked
on staging its series of new productions: the triple bill in January 1915, followed by
another four plays in May of the same year, and a further production under the cat-
egory of “social new drama” entitled The Heroine which was part of the charity
performance series at both the beginning and the end of August that year. The play,
aiming at its social and educational significance by emphasizing on the importance
of school education for women as well as the issue of morality, is in fact a melodra-
matic depiction of the female lead who was the principal of a girl school, striving
for her freedom in marriage, etc.13
Seemingly, as mentioned above, the process to modernize theatre performance
started from its search for new stage expressions of modern-spoken-Chinese then
also reached to its approach to the new content in looking for plays’ social and edu-
cational significance instead of the previous theatrical function of merely worship-
ing gods/ancestors and entertaining audience only.
Involved in and contributed to this initial period of the outcome of the modern-
spoken-Chinese theatre also were – but not limited by – the founding of an all-
female group called Women Kindness Society that debuted its charity performance
at Celebrate Prominence Playhouse in September 1915; the establishment of another
troupe called Modern-Spoken-Chinese New Drama Society by the students of Yang
Zheng School that produced series of the plays performed in September 1915 in
celebration of Confucius’ birthday, the programme of which also aimed at exposing
social problems and changing the undesired societal manners, etc. in December
1917; and the formation of another new group of Temporary Modern-Spoken-
Chinese Drama Society solely for fund-raising purpose in January of 1918.14
Such a prompt establishment of the above-mentioned performance groups was
largely due to their strong interest in and immediate response to the newly intro-
duced form of modern-spoken-Chinese-language theatre in Singapore on one hand;
while on the other hand, it was also because of its practical and primary purpose for
more effective fund-raising performances with some of these groups. However,
12
2013), 3–5
13
2013), 9–10
14
2013), 10–11
108 YU Weijie
g enerally speaking, there was indeed a lack of any possible further developmental
agenda at this moment with most of these groups.
Consequently, such initial move to the modern-spoken-Chinese theatre soon
appeared inevitably at its halt until August 1918, when Good Voice Modern-Spoken-
Chinese Theatre Company was established, which has changed this situation
fundamentally.
Unlike all the other groups that were formed at the time, the company published
its manifestation in the newspaper accounting the historical development of the
Chinese theatre, announcing publicly its official agenda to express its patriotic feel-
ings through fund-raising performances, etc. Seemingly, the triple bill consisting of
The Shadow of Sword in Bridal Chamber, The Circle Mirror and The Poison of
Dissoluteness that produced for the fund-raising performances in August and
September that year upon its founding purposefully demonstrated such a manifested
goal.15
With the outcome of this clear vision and mission manifested and practiced by
Good Voice Modern-Spoken-Chinese Theatre Company, the Chinese-language spo-
ken drama was thus inevitably born in Singapore.
Act II: The Infant (1918–1927)
With its debut performances, Good Voice Modern-Spoken-Chinese Theatre

Company then, after its second production in 1920, regularized its performance
seasons from 1922 to 1926 with three to four productions annually, becoming one
of the most active theatre companies during this period.16
Subsequently, the whole 1920s witnessed the continual outcome of over a dozen
of newly established theatre groups performing in modern-spoken-Chinese in
Singapore, among which were the Popular Modern-Spoken-Chinese Theatre
Company and the Youth Encouragement Study Society; the latter was renamed as
Youth Encouragement Society in 1929. These two groups demonstrated their imme-
diate and effective contributions to the significant development of the newly born
modern-spoken-Chinese theatre in Singapore during this infant period. The former
was established in 1924 by the members of Comrades Club with four to six produc-
tions each season during its first 2 years, while the latter group consisting of the
overseas Chinese youth in Singapore was organized in 1921 and produced series of
productions each season and existed till the 1930s.
Though, like all the other theatre companies of the time, the Youth Encouragement
Study Society was also an amateur group, however, it started to have produced
15
2013), 13–15
16
ZHOU Ning (eds.),History of the Chinese Theatre in Southeast Asia Vol. 2 (东南亚华语戏剧史
下册)(Xiamen: Xiamen University Press, 2003), 582–583
many full-length plays in the early 1920s, as Who’s Fault, The Pitiful Maiden
Month, The Revival of the Rose, The Tragedy of the Youth, etc.17
Most of the playwritings created during this period by the above-mentioned
companies were merely for the purpose of their own groups’ performance instead of
being published. They were either the simple drafts, or the outlined scenarios, which
need to be further developed during rehearsal process with inputs jointly contrib-
uted from the ensemble members. Therefore, there have been hardly any existing
formal scripts from this period, and the research of these early plays were mostly
based on the synopsis found in the theatre columns of the newspapers then.18
As was noted by the late Singapore literature scholar Fang Xiu (1922–2010),
most of the plays performed during this period aimed at criticizing the societal prob-
lems, changing the social manners, dealing with the issues as antismoke, antigam-
bling as well as promotion of the new (western) medicine in order to replace the old
(traditional Chinese) medicine, etc.
It is interesting to note that, different from the traditional Chinese operatic variet-
ies then migrated to and developed so far in Singapore in terms of xiqu, this freshly
born theatrical style was thus initially called as baihua-ju, literally translated as
modern-spoken-Chinese drama, which was used as both the ensemble names of
many such newly established theatre groups as well as the genre titling for such
performances and productions.19 However, this term was also interchangeable with
the word of xin-ju (new drama) by some of the groups as in the case of the Modern-
Spoken-Chinese New Drama Society that was formed in 1915 mentioned above.
In fact, the word of xin-ju was directly introduced from China where it was used
to denote the same kind of the new drama, which was formed as the outcome of the
New Culture Movement of the 1910s, to distinguish itself from the old form of the
traditional Chinese opera performance named xiqu.20
The stage language of xin-ju performed and produced in China was in fact the
modern-spoken-Chinese based on Beijing dialectic pronunciation, which was origi-
nally used in Beijing opera, while the stage language in terms of the modern-spoken-
Chinese used in the performance of baihua-ju/xin-ju in Singapore was in reality
mostly based on the local (southern) Chinese dialects, which were originally used
in different traditional Chinese operatic varieties migrated to and performed in
Singapore then.
For instance, the touring production by Civilization New-Drama Troupe from
Shanghai in 1915 was performed in the modern-spoken-Chinese based on Beijing
17
FANG Xiu (eds.), Anthology of the Chinese New Literature of Malaysia Vol. 8: Special Vol 1 on
Theatre Movement(马华新文学大系第8卷:剧运特辑一集)(Hong Kong: World Book House Ltd.
1972), 11
18
下册)(Xiamen: Xiamen University Press, 2003), 577
19
ZHU Xu, Forty-Five Years of Spoken Drama Activities in Singapore and Malaysia (新马话剧活
动四十五年)(Singapore: Singapore Literature House, 1985), 3
20
YANG Bishan, On the History of Singapore Theatre (新加坡戏剧史论)(Singapore: Haitian
Culture Enterprise Pte Ltd., 1993), 12–14
110 YU Weijie
dialect, while the language used in the fund-raising performances by Good Voice
Modern-Spoken-Chinese Theatre Company in 1918 was the modern-spoken-
Chinese based on Cantonese dialect.
However, it is interesting to note that the plays performed by Youth Encouragement
Study Society in 1921 appeared, differently with each shows, in modern-spoken-
Chinese subsequently based on mandarin Chinese (similar to that of Beijing dia-
lect), Cantonese dialect and Teochew dialect in the three consecutive evenings,
respectively,21 a fact showing that the Singapore’s reception of this new theatrical
style of the Chinese spoken drama during this infant period already reflected its own
distinctive originality with the stage language of modern-spoken-Chinese based on
various relevant and existing local dialects spoken there.
This infant period of the 1920s also witnessed the emergence of numerous cam-
pus productions in the form of modern-spoken-Chinese theatre followed by the for-
mation of the drama groups under the same political and artistic direction in many
Chinese-teaching schools, among which were those active ones like Yang Zheng
School, the Overseas Chinese School, etc. as well as a kindergarten run by Christian
church, etc.22
The content of these modern-spoken-Chinese drama productions varied follow-
ing their different purposes and performance occasions ranging from fund-raising
showcases to festivity celebrations. Consequently, their production nature, to some
extents, the same as the other similar-purposed productions by the pioneering the-
atre companies that were formed earlier, limited the further improvement of the
performance quality of the modern-spoken-Chinese drama in Singapore during this
period.
Generally speaking, the content as well as the scripting of the series of produc-
tions created during this infant stage seemed to be significantly influenced from the
early works of the Chinese spoken drama also called xin-ju during its initial period
almost at the same time.23 Though written by the Chinese literati in Singapore, the
stories or their contextual background were largely based on their original Chinese
source scenarios. Thus, the expectation for the outcome of a modern-spoken-
Chinese drama that should be more relevant and identical to the social-political as
well as cultural identities of Singapore and its people became an inevitable call
towards the end of the 1920s.24
21
2013), 7
22
下册)(Xiamen: Xiamen University Press, 2003), 582–583
23
YANG Bishan, On the History of Singapore Theatre (新加坡戏剧史论)(Singapore: Haitian
Culture Enterprise Pte Ltd., 1993), 12–14
24
1972), 145
Act III: The Growth (1927–1937)
Such a call for the inclusion and creation of “the elements of Nanyang colour” in the
modern-spoken-Chinese drama performance, initiated by a literary journal in
Singapore in 1927, was echoed by the Chinese newspaper in Penang with its follow-
up discussions on the initiation of “the movement to create Nanyang new drama”,25
a lively new form of theatre to reflect the reality of the time with social-political and
cultural-educational missions to replace the previous theatre performances merely
for entertainment purpose. An indigenized Chinese-language spoken drama was
thus significantly advocated and promoted since towards the end of that decade,
though, in reality, most of the plays of which were by then still largely created and
performed either for charity fund-raising events or festive and commemorative
occasions by most of the amateur groups in Singapore and Penang, as well.26
However, a quarto-bill production of four one-act plays staged by the Youth
Encouragement Society in early 1933 at Victoria Memorial Hall,27 together with the
gradual shift of the performance centre of the Chinese-spoken theatre from Penang
to Singapore, marked the beginning of a more important phase of the growth of the
Chinese spoken drama in the island.
The Youth Encouragement Society is the first group to perform the Chinese-
spoken theatre as early as in 1923 and 1924 with its two respective gala programmes
in the Victoria Memorial Hall, a prominent performance venue in Singapore which
had by then solely been used by the English-speaking theatre companies only.
With this beginning, deliberately different from its 1931 production of the one-
act play After Homecoming in this public theatre which was written by the Chinese
playwright Tian Han (1898–1968), its quarto-bill production in 1933 performed on
this proscenium stage turned out to be known as the kind of totally “the new drama
based on Nanyang” which was written by the local playwright Jing Qian with the
works titling of Madam Fang, In the Green Forest, A Maid and The Love Among
Brother and Sister.28
These four short plays were originally published in a local newspaper called
Guanghua Daily in Penang before they were staged in Singapore, the production of
which, though, was not excitedly received as expected then. However, its localized
25
1972), 199–201
26
1972), 214–217
27
1972), 221–222
28
ZHOU Ning (eds.), History of the Chinese Theatre in Southeast Asia Vol. 2 (东南亚华语戏剧史
下册) (厦门:厦门大学出版社, 2007), 580–581
112 YU Weijie
story background marked the beginning of the growth of a local content with the
Chinese-speaking theatre in Singapore then.
Another factor also counted for the continual growth and popularity of the
Chinese spoken drama in this British colony was the building and launch of the
three major public entertainment centres in the 1920s and 1930s, namely, New
World (1923), Great World (1930) and Happy World (1935).29 Many of the above-
mentioned companies, which performed their modern-spoken-Chinese drama pro-
ductions there, jointly helped to have promoted the theatrical form of this new
Chinese-language spoken drama to be accepted by the general public, which further
prepared for and lead to the outcome of the flourishing period of the mandarin spo-
ken drama in Singapore in the years of 1937–1941 as the inevitable fruition stage
after this significant growth.
Epilogue: An Unfinished Journey Towards Maturity

(1937–1965)
This new period with the years of 1927–1937 was coincided with the Japanese
gradual military intrusion into China that finally led to the outbreak of the WWII in
1937. The Chinese immigrants in the British Straits Settlements including Singapore
were thus massively and enthusiastically mobilized resulting in the establishment of
various organizations engaging themselves in the fund-raising campaigns in order
to support their home country of China. The Chinese spoken drama thus became an
immediate tool to effectively serve for such a mission. Never in its short history has
had the Chinese-language spoken drama such an opportunity then to reach to the
massive audience of the general public before it soon, unfortunately, went to an
immediate decline from 1942 to 1945 when the War reached out to the Malay
Peninsula.
Nevertheless, the Chinese spoken drama again went to another prosperous devel-
opment during the time from the end of the war till the eve of the birth of the nation
resulting in the further successful creation of the matured productions of the local
plays by a number of the Singapore scriptwriters like Lin Chen, Li Xinke, Guan
Xinyias well as Liu Renxin and Luo Dazhang.
Furthermore, the two-decade continued development towards its maturity shortly
before the birth of the young republic in searching for the national identity, though
for an independent Malaya then, has also brought out some established Chinese
spoken drama companies represented by the Arts Theatre of Singapore (1955)30 and
29
YI Yan (eds.), A Century of Pear Garden: History of Chinese Opera in Singapore (梨园世纪:新
加坡华族地方戏曲之路),(Singapore: Chinese Opera Institute Singapore, 2015), 20–21
30
ZHOU Ning (eds.), History of the Chinese Theatre in Southeast Asia Vo. 2 (东南亚华语戏剧史
下册) (厦门:厦门大学出版社, 2007), 659
I-Lien Drama Society (1956),31 the only two from the many at that time that have
survived till today.
With the founding of the Republic in 1965, the Chinese spoken drama went to
another scale of height of development in searching for its distinctive identity in the
nation-building process in Singapore. This was coincided with the establishment of
Singapore Performing Arts School in 1965 by the late Kuo Pao Kun (1932–2002).
As a Singaporean playwright and director, he successfully created his unique stage
works of the Chinese spoken drama through his unusual social-political thematic
explorations and original dramaturgical scheming. He challenged the existing social
phenomenon in reality through reaching towards the further societal segmentation
of intelligentsia as well as general audience at large with series of his plays like
Coffin is Too Big for the Hole, No Parking on Odd Days, Lao Jiu, etc. continuing
the unfinished journey for the final maturity of the Chinese spoken drama in
Singapore towards the end of the twentieth century.
References
WILKES, Charles. 1984. The Singapore Chapter of the Narratives of the United States: Exploring
Expedition During the Years 1839–1942. Republished in Singapore: Antiques of the Orient Pte
Ltd., 16.
FANG, Xiu, ed. 1972. Anthology of the Chinese New Literature of Malaysia Vol. 8: Special Vol 1
on Theatre Movement. Hong Kong: World Book House Ltd.
GOH, Ngan Hong. 2006. The Origin of Street Names in Singapore. Singapore: Hong Nian Studio.
JONAS, Daniel Vaughan. 1879. The Manners and Customs of the Chinese of the Straits Settlements,
82–84. Singapore: Mission Press.
QUAH, Sy Ren. 2013. Scenes: A Hundred Years of Singapore Chinese Language Theatre 1913–
2013. Singapore: Drama Box/Singapore National Museum.
NEWBOLD, Thomas John. 1839. Political and Statistical Account of the British Settlements in the
Straits of Malacca, viz, Pinang, Malacca and Singapore: A State with a History of the Malayan
States on the Peninsula of Malacca, Vol. 1, 279. London: J. Murray.
YANG, Bishan. 1993. On the History of Singapore Theatre. Singapore: Haitian Culture Enterprise
Pte Ltd.
YI, Yan, ed. 2015. A Century of Pear Garden: History of Chinese Opera in Singapore, 3–4.
Singapore: Chinese Opera Institute Singapore.
YU, Weijie. 1995. The Tradition and Reality of the Chinese Theatre: From Origin Till Today
(Tradizione e realta del teatro cinese: Dalle origini ai giorni nostril). Milan: International
Cultural Exchange.
ZHOU, Ning, ed. 2003. History of the Chinese Theatre in Southeast Asia Vol. 2, 582–583. Xiamen:
Xiamen University Press.
ZHU, Xu. 1985. Forty-Five Years of Spoken Drama Activities in Singapore and Malaysia.
Singapore Literature House: Singapore.
ZHOU Ning (eds.), History of the Chinese Theatre in Southeast Asia Vo. 2 (东南亚华语戏剧史
31
下册) (厦门:厦门大学出版社, 2007), 660

Chapter 8
Modernization Re(ad)dressed in Indian
Theatre
Ravi CHATURVEDI
Part 1
The process of modernization in India has never been a suddenly generated event.
Rather, throughout the history, this has been a continuous process. As a usual char-
acteristic of modernization, the conflict with the tradition kept on going for a long
time. In Indian social structure, the traditions have always been a deep-rooted ele-
ment. The flow of modernization had its first encounter with the traditions prevail-
ing in during the ancient period along with the stratification of the society. As a
specific feature of the modernization, especially in Indian subcontinent, the continu-
ous change in the basic characters of ongoing traditional practices was either accept-
able by the society or otherwise proved obsolete, if not found suitable and useful
anymore. Such useless and obsolete traditions acquired the form of rituals.
Indian society, in its original character, has always been obsessed by traditions.
The obsession is so strong and deep-rooted that neither the British colonial rulers
nor the existing feudal lords and rulers ever tried to introduce any change in the
world of traditions. Even during the Muslim aggressions from north-west, the tradi-
tions did exist strong enough to digest the culture of the aggressors. Amir Khusro
and his musical innovations are the result of the infusion of the culture, appeared in
the form of modernization. Therefore, in Indian situation, no modernization could
be discussed without considering the traditions and society’s obsession for them.
In the study of modernization in India, tradition has always been an obsession.
During the 1950s, there was a hot debate in India on tradition and modernity. In the
west also, when modernization began after enlightenment, there was a serious
debate on religion, science, state and fundamentalism. Feudalism was challenged
by rationality, capitalism and science. In India, modernity needs to be analysed in
the context of liberalism, democracy and capitalism. The Britishers had colonial
R. CHATURVEDI (*)
School of Media and Communication, Manipal University Jaipur, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

116 R. CHATURVEDI
power to exploit the Indian masses, but in their effort they also wanted not to inter-
fere in the traditional structure of Indian society. The princely rulers were highly
antagonistic to modernity. Their survival depended on the continuity and strength-
ening of tradition. And, therefore, in Indian situation, it is quite relevant to discuss
modernity in terms of India’s traditions and hence the obsession.
It has been argued over and again that there is dialectical relation between India’s
tradition and modernity and British colonialism and nationalism and individualism
and collectivity, i.e. sangha. This concept of dialectics has been anchored in liberal
humanism. Various Marxist thinkers have argued that traditions are central to the
understanding of Indian society. The relations between modernization which came
to India during the British period and traditions are dialectical, which appears quite
logical to define traditions. The encounter of tradition with modernization created
certain cultural contradictions, adaptations and in some cases situations of conflict
also. Summarily, the encounter between tradition and modernity, therefore, ends up
in two consequences:
1. Conflict.
2. Synthesis.
In fact, much prior to the colonial rule and later in the post-independence period,
Indian society is the result of the interaction between tradition and modernity,
whether this was interaction between the races in ancient period or during the clas-
sical Vedic period. It is true that Indian culture represents certain common traditions
that have given rise to a number of general attitudes. The major influences in their
shaping have been the close interaction between various ethnic and religious groups
through commerce and culture. It was through the assimilation and conflict of such
varying forces that Indian culture became what it is today. In this respect, it would
be mistaken to believe that India’s traditions are Hindu only. In fact, they combine
traditions of various ethnic groups of the country.
Part 2
If we have a close look at Mahabharata and Ramayana, there are several examples
of crossing over various social customs, traditions, systems and intra-interaction
between various ethnic group as well, which appear in various conflicts and contra-
dictions throughout the history. The stratification of the society also resulted into the
division of people, later on appeared as caste groups. This was the period when the
knowledge was also made limited to the upper caste, depriving the lower caste, who
were not allowed to go for the formal education. The situation was so serious that
the social conflict and cultural contradictions became serious for the integrity of the
society.1
1
The issue of the crossing over of various disciplines in the theatre is also closely related to the
social structure of Indian society since ancient times. Unlike other parts of the world, Indian soci-
8 Modernization Re(ad)dressed in Indian Theatre 117
This is generally believed that the Natyashastra (known as the fifth Veda) is the
creation of Bharat Muni, but asserting its wide range of subjects dealt in detail in
thirty six chapters gives an impression that it is created by a group of people engaged
for such kind of informal education. For example, the very first chapter explains that
it is the essence of existing all the four Vedas and their various branches. This was
certainly a modern outlook with scientific vision to cater the sociocultural need of
the society in those days in a very systematic way.2
ety was specifically divided into four levels, which developed later on into the caste system. At the
uppermost level were the Brahmins, who were responsible for performing religious rituals and
imparting knowledge. By virtue of their higher level, they were considered the most respected
class. Lower down were Kshatriyas, whose task was to protect the people and the land. This was,
in fact, the ruling class, which produced the kings and warriors. The third level was occupied by
the Vaishyas, who owned trade and commerce. This was a rich class of business people who
exerted considerable pressure on the state because of their powerful financial status. At the lowest
level was the working class, called the Shudras, to which the majority of the population belonged.
This was the most deprived sector of society for whose members the recitation of the sacred books
(and thus study) was out of reach. The need for a new stream of education was strongly felt, whose
goal was to rectify the social imbalance; and this new stream appeared in the form of theatre. In
order to make it equal to existing streams of knowledge, the art of the theatre was termed nātyaveda
the fifth Veda, a synthesis of knowledge comprising the elements of all the existing books, as well
as the art forms. In fact, this will not be wrong to say that this synthesis of various knowledge was
an approach with a modern outlook to educate the society while working simultaneously. The first
chapter of Nātyashāstra provides sufficient evidence to prove the bold and modern outlook by
rejecting the social hierarchy of the upper cast population.
2
The Nātyashāstra (whose literal meaning is “the science of theatre”) describes the origin of
nātya in the first chapter. Lord Brahma created the nātyaveda for the benefit of all the varnas
(social levels), since the Shudras could not be instructed in Veda. The four constituents of this fifth
Veda were adapted from the four earlier Vedas, namely, Recitation from the Rgveda, Song from the
Saāmveda, Histrionics (Abhinaya) from the Yajurveda and Sentiment (Rasa) from the Atharvaveda.
The Upvedas were also connected with it. Where the recitation and song adapted from the Rgveda
and the Sāmveda are concerned, it suffices to say here that the contents of the Rigveda were recited
in a very simple oratorical manner and the musical pattern of the contents of the Sāmveda was
maintained. As for the adoption of the histrionics and the sentiments from the Yajurveda and the
Atharvaveda, respectively, let us note that the priest carrying out the sacrificial ritual of the
Yajurveda had a number of actions to fulfill; the mental state required of the priest by the various
rituals of the Atharvaveda was produced by his having the appropriate dress. Where the Upvedas
are concerned, evidence has suggested that the Ayurveda was placed in the Nātyashāstra, primar-
ily for the purposes of the treatment of the Vyabhichaāri Bhāvas. Certain diseases and their symp-
toms were taken to be characteristic of certain mental states on the line of Charaka and Sushruta.
The contents of the Dhanurveda were used in the representation of fights. The Gandharvaveda was
used in the preliminaries (Purvaranga) to performance and in the actual performance in the form
of Dhruvaā songs and an accompaniment to various movements. The Sthāpatyaveda was neces-
sary for the construction of the theatre space. An examination of these texts reveals that, in each
case, the particular Veda identifies a principal genre or form and then invariably considers the role
of the other arts in the structure in relation to the principal one. Thus an integral vision grows out
of multiplicity and could be described as an integral multidisciplinary approach.
118 R. CHATURVEDI
New Methodology of Learning
In general, theatre throughout the world calls upon performance, but in Sanskrit
theatre it calls prayog, which means ‘experiment’, a self-explanatory term for
modernity and openness for newer things. Unlike Western theatre, which is more
rigid in its grammar and performance, ancient Indian theatre is based on the multi-
plicity in terms of characters, language, environment, etc. However, this new meth-
odology of experimenting with the variety of issues was much dependent on the
accurate and effective communication, which was in its developing stage, hence
faced problems. Incomprehensive communication created a division in the audi-
ences into groups with a feeling of offended emotions. According to the references
available in NS,3 the first performance depicting the defeat of the Asura4 at the
hands of the gods was on, the former assembled there to see the performance became
agitated, finally decided to leave the performance.5 This group of audiences dis-
rupted the performance by manhandling the performers and destroyed the perfor-
mance space. This was a case of mishandling of the theme of the play and
miscommunication of the message, hence offended a large section of the society. As
a result, massive efforts were made for the security of the performers and the safe
and success of the performances. There is an interesting anecdote in NS—feeling
helplessness, asuras approached the creator Lord Brahma to present their stand with
a request and to draw the attention to the wishes of the larger section of the society
that:
This in fact a repudiation as far as we are concerned. The creator of the world as you are, it
is not proper for you to do this since both the Devas and the Asuras are your own
products.6
Hearing these words Brahma said:

O faultless Daityas do not be angry, cast away your worries. I have made the Natyaveda as
containing instruction to both you and the Devas, to distinguish between good and bad
in the realm of action, character and heredity. It does not singularly depict the actions of
either Daityas or Devas. In fact it emulates the actions of all the three world in general.7
This conversation explains the objects of the theatre in depth with a futuristic vision
with utmost clarity underlining the various needs and desires of the society without
prejudice to any particular section. It says:
In it there is Dharma (virtues), there is Krida (amusement; there is Arth (attainment of
riches or prosperity), as also peace, fun, fight, lust and killing (as the theme for depiction).
Further, it depicts the piety of the virtuous, lust of the sensuous, destruction of the wicked,
pacification of the noble, fortitude of the self-styled brave, enlightenment of the stupid,
3
Nātyashāstra.
4
Asuras (lower cast people of the society, identified as bad people with demonic tendencies).
5
NS, Ch I [64–65].
6
NS, Ch. 1: 103–104. Here the words Devas and Asuras are used for the upper and lower class of
the society.
7
NS, Ch. 1: 105–7.
scholarship of the intelligent, pastime of the affluent, firmness of the miserable, prosperity
of those who crave for wealth and resolution of the affected. I have made the drama as
portraying the different aspects, emotions and situations met with in the world.
It further says that:

The drama will portray the activities of people who are of exalted, low and middle class and
will contain instructions for their benefit. It will provide advice in all matters, business and
actions of various types. It will provide solace to the afflicted, fatigued, miserable ones and
ascetics tired of religious ceremonies. The art of drama will promote virtue, bring fame and
longevity, provide benefit, increase the intelligence and contain proper advice to the world.8
Summing up his conversation, the creators says:

There is no knowledge, no fine art, no lore, no practical art, no combination of learning and
no endeavour which is not seen represented in this art of drama. Sciences of all sorts, con-
trivances of different kinds and activities of vivid nature are all blended here in this drama
conceived by me. Hence you should not hold any grievances against the gods since the
drama emulates the actions of all the seven continents.9
This, in fact, reflects a modern outlook of the art of theatre where this was
expected to include the stories and incidents related to all the sections of the society
for an educative purpose. It was expected that the nature of the world which include
the pleasure and the pain simultaneously will be represented through actions and
gesticulation. As said earlier, the art of theatre will take into account the noble ideas
found omitted from the scope of Vedas, religious scriptures and other similar
authorities and will represent the same so as to serve the pastime for the world. No
other art or knowledge has been explained with such a modern thinking.
The perception of the modernity in India is not homogeneous. It varies signifi-
cantly from people to people and from place to place. This fact was well considered
and taken into account in the classical theatre of India, keeping the plurality and the
multiplicity of the ethnic character of the various nationalities and the region/s.
Chap. 23 of Nātyashāstra deals with the Ahārya Abhinaya (costumes and make-up)
and extensively explains the characteristics of different features and their attire as
well. This description was to underline the variety of traditions and the multicultural
picture of the life of the people with highly modern point of view and a sense of
equality and the authenticity in the dramatic representation of the life and the peo-
ple. While suggesting the use of the ornaments, NS says that “... for humans orna-
ments have to be made by efforts. These ornaments prescribed for the divinities
could be applied to humans also depending upon the regions to which they belong.”10
The element of modernity cannot be a unilateral idea, depicting one side of the
picture or placing one section as superior to the other. The classical Indian theatre
has taken utmost care in defining the success of the theatre in it impartial attitude for
8
NS, Ch.1:113–26.
9
NS, Ch.1:117–19 (ancient names of the seven continents are referred to as Jambu, Plaksa,
Salmali, Kusa, Kraunca, Saka and Puskara, identified, respectively, with the regions of Asia, South
America, Australia, Oceania, Africa, Europe and North America by some modern writers.)
10
NS, Ch.23: 49.
120 R. CHATURVEDI
authenticity of the fact. Describing the differences of the ornaments and dress, NS
specifically underlines and suggests some of the leading communities of the society
placed in various regions, such as “ladies of Avanti region should have the tuft of
hair with spilling curls of locks on the forehead. The Gauda woman should have
braid with curls on the forehead. The Abhira ladies should have hair plaited into two
braids, a veil over the head and garments mostly blue in colour. For the women of
the North-East region there should be a raised crest with a veil covering the head.
For the women of southern region marks on the forehead is essential. Depending on
the region and caste, dress and ornaments as also hair-dressing should be
prescribed.”11
Classical Indian theatre has prominently placed women characters with all their
creative qualities. Nātyashāstra has described ten styles of the plays in Chap. 24
called Dasrupak. However, all the major styles are focused around the female char-
acters. Abhjnan Shankuntalam written by Kalidasa, although is hero oriented, plays
according to the Sanskrit theatre tradition, but its entire focus is on Shakuntala, a
village girl living in a hermitage. This is a love story at one hand, but the exploita-
tion of a rural girl by a king on the other hand is in its focus, with a strong feminist
voice, where Shakuntala is patronized by the celestial powers.
Modernity has emphasized the reason-based thinking. Modernity also launched
the era of science and technology with thousands of new inventions and discoveries
about the outer world and the human body. In this sense, the classical theatre of
India devised Rasa theory with all its scientific rationality. The communication
cycle of classical theatre is based on the sentiments and the emotions which have
been derived from Ayurveda or the science of medicines. The classical theatre talks
about the coding and decoding of the dramatic texts in the signals for the effective
and successful communication. It defines the actor as the conveyance of the dra-
matic text in its codified form and carries it to the audience following a scientific and
logical communication theory that came into existence in the second century B.C.12
Part 3
Parsi Theatre: A New Wave of Modernity
During the course of history, the British decided to take over the governance of the
country in a formal way after the first freedom struggle in 1857, withdrawing the
powers of East India Company, making India formally a British colony. Besides
administration and commerce, the imperial masters started controlling the political,
economic, cultural, social order and the psyche of the people as well with an object
to transform the Indian society through English education, hence adopted Lord
11
NS, Ch.23: 64–72.
12
NS, Ch.8: 5–10.
Macaulay’s education policy, which was aimed to “form a class of person, Indian in
blood and in colour, but English in tastes, in morals and intellect”.13 In order to
achieve their mission, all possible efforts were initiated to use educational, cultural
and social institutions. Theatre was one among them. The English plays were staged
by the university students, a modern trend in Indian theatre giving a feeling of elite
and aristocracy.
In such an atmosphere, as described by Franz Fanon “when millions of Indians
were being skillfully injected with fears, complexes, trepidations, servility, despair
and abasement”,14 the Parsi theatre emerged to give a powerful voice to the millions
who lost the faith and dreams in the minds.15 Interestingly, from its inception in
1853, Parsi theatre rapidly developed into a mobile, company-based entertainment
that reached across India and extended overseas into Southeast Asia. It introduced
the conventions and techniques of realism, marking the transition from stylized
open-air presentations to a new urban drama, soon becoming a vital component of
the subcontinent’s cultural heritage, significant for its long-term impact on diverse
regional theatrical styles, mixing business with nationalism during the freedom
struggle.
To underline the fact that the entire modern theatre movement in India emerged
under the colonial rule in the mid-nineteenth century was based on the footprints of
Victorian theatre. However the theatres of different regions were identified with
regional languages such as Marathi, Bengali, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, etc. at
one hand, and the theatre popularly using Hindi and Urdu languages was known as
Parsi theatre after its ownership instead of the term Hindustani theatre or national
theatre in other words. It was also known as Company theatre because various the-
atre companies owned by Parsi business people managed them who realized the
potentials of show business and instituted theatrical companies. Seth Pestonji Framji
was the pioneer who founded the Original Theatrical Company in 1870, followed
by the formation of several other similar companies like, The Great National
Company in Bengal, Kirloskar Sangeet Natak Mandal in Maharashtra, Gubbi
Theatre Company in Karnataka, and in other regional languages. It is indeed inter-
esting to note that the Parsi theatre was Victorian in character but Indian in spirit
which was proved later on through its works, comments and participation in the
struggle for freedom of the country when it accepted the challenge and took up the
task of tutoring the society under the threat of colonial coercion.
13
Phillips, C.H. (Ed.); The Correspondence of Lord William Bentinck, Vol. II, p. 793.
14
Cesaire, Dine; Discourse sur le Colonialismel [taken from Black Skin, White Masks by Franz
Fanon] Grove Press, New York, 1967, p. 7.
15
Parsi or Parsee refers to a member of the larger of the two Persian Zoroastrian communities in
South Asia, the other being the Iranian community. According to tradition, the present-day Parsis
descend from a group of Persian Zoroastrians who immigrated to India during the tenth century
AD due to persecution by Muslims in Greater Persia. The long presence in the region distinguishes
the Parsis from the Iranians who are more recent arrivals and who represent the smaller of the two
Indian-Zoroastrian communities. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism
122 R. CHATURVEDI
Jomo Kenyatta said, “When the white man came to Africa he had the Bible and
we had the land. And Now? We have the Bible and he has the land”.16 Recognizing
this danger of colonization, Satyendra Nath Tagore communicated it through his
play Bharat Mater Bilap (The Sorrows of Mother India), staged on February 15,
1873, by the Great National Theatre at Calcutta.17 In one of the scenes, the beautiful
hands of Mother India were shown handcuffed, the face sad, and hair dishevelled,
and she was dressed in rags. Her starving lifeless sons reduced to skeletons were
lying at her feet. Mother India after several attempts could make them aware that the
Queen has robbed everything they possessed during their sleep, not only the national
wealth but their identity as well. Seeing no effect, she prays to God to help her chil-
dren with strength and courage to fight for their rights and freedom.
After the failure of first freedom struggle in 1857, as Thomas Metcalf has written
in his book Ideologies of the Raj, the British developed a notion of being an imperial
race, holding a conquered soil by dent of velour and foresight, hence no obligation
of any human relationship with the Indians.18 The notion emerged as a major reason
of unrest among the Indigo farmers of Bengal. According to Charles Kingsley, the
relation between farm owners and the labourers was of the “meanest and the weak-
est of bonds”.19 The labourers were exploited and forced to live under the “reign of
terror”. As a custom, the indigo labourers were forced to present their bride on the
first night to the farm manager. A local playwright, Dinbandhu Mitra, authored his
famous play Neel Darpan (Indigo Mirror) projecting the situation, first performed
at Dhaka in 1861. Kheshtramani, the young daughter of a farmer in the play, was a
real character Hiramani, who was abducted and taken to the house of the farm man-
ager, where she was brutally raped.20
The play raised a wave of fury throughout the country. Calcutta High Court took
the cognizance of the play and ordered to stop the repression of the Indigo planters
and to protect the social rights of the victimized Indigo labourers. Later in 1871, the
play was performed at Lucknow by the Great National Theatre under the direction
of Girish Chand Ghosh which again generated a political provocation. When the
pregnant girl Kshetramani in a scene of the play, dragged by the farm manager Rose
(enacted by Ardhendu Sarcar), pleads with folded hands and tearful eyes, saying
that “I am like your daughter sir, please leave me”, Rose villainously replies that “I
would like to be the father of your child”. At this stage the British farm manager is
challenged by Navin Madhav, a local youth culminating to the physical fight. The
outrageous British in the audience rushed to the stage and stopped the performance
in the middle, resulting into political riots in the town. As a result, The District
Magistrate banned the performance, and the company was asked to go back to
Calcutta. Later, the Dramatic Performance Act was imposed throughout the country
16
Mazoui, Ali M.; Cultural Focus in World Politics, 1990, p. 6.
17
Das Gupta, Hemendra Nath; The Indian Stage Vol. II/III, 1946, pp. 256–7.
18
Metcalf, Thomas R.; Ideologies of the Raj, 1998, p.44.
19
Tinker, Hugh; A New System of Slavery, 1974, p. 184.
20
Ibid, The Indian Stage Vol. II/III, 1946, p. 92.
in 1876, giving the rights to the police to censure and stop the performance, arrest
the actors and siege the property and sets if they consider it harmful to the
government.
Agha Hashra Kashmiri, one of the leading playwright of Parsi theatre in Act II,
Sc III of his famous play Yahudi Ki Ladki (Daughter of the Jew), points out the dif-
ference of social status between the higher and lower class of society, manipula-
tively created by the colonial masters. He sharply underlines the distinction made by
the imperial class and their painful behaviour towards the people of India as he says:
Your sorrows are sorrows, our sorrows are story;
Your blood is blood and our blood is water.
Parsi theatre played a very important role in emphasizing unity of Hindus and
Muslims. The essence of composite culture, the respect of each other’s religion and
the feeling of nationality are well underlined by B.C. Madhur, another playwright of
Parsi theatre in his play Jago Bahut Soye (Wake up! You Have Slept For Long).
In 1927 Miss Kathrine Mayo’s book Mother India, based on the experiences of
her visit to India, got published and presented a slanderous account of India and
Indians without clarifying the purpose of the visit and writing the book. Lala Lajpat
Rai, one of the greatest political and social leaders, called it the “Drain Inspector’s
Report”. Narayan Prasad Betaab wrote a play Kinnar Kumari as a reply to this book.
The play was staged at the annual conference of Indian National Congress at
Calcutta. The play was an outspoken reply to the said report. In one of the songs, it
says, “It is the Bulbul (the singing bird), happy to see a beautiful garden, while vul-
tures always spot the dead bodies and filth. Likewise the drain inspector does not
inspect the places of worship or anything good, but only the heaps of dirt”.
When Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India, partitioned Bengal in two halves, the
fire of agitation, first initiated in Bengal, reached Maharashtra, K.P. Khadilkar wrote
his famous play Keechak Vadha staged on February 23, 1907. Khadilkar cleverly
weaves the plot, and as the play progresses, the inner meaning of the play becomes
clear to the audience. They identified Keechak as Lord Curzon, Draupadi as India,
Yudhisthar as the moderate group of Indian National Congress, and Bhima as the
extremist group ready to adopt violence to free India from the shackles of bondage.
Khadilkar succeeded in communicating the idea to the people that the government
at London represented by an arrogant Viceroy is using the power to humiliate and
insult the people of India. Khadilkar used many lines from the official speech of
Lord Curzon. For example, in Act II, Sc. IV, Keechak says, “We must always
remember that slaves are slaves and can never equal rulers.” In Act III, Sc. II
Keechak advises his followers that, “Never speak softly and nicely to your slaves. If
we use such words for a moment, they think they are equal to us, which make them
envy to our happiness and call our rule oppressive”.
This is a brief account the Parsi theatre playwrights used to attack the colonial
rule and communicate their message to the people. The songs in the plays did a
great job as they reached each and every home and public place equally. Theatre
became a major threat to the British government. Realizing the power of theatre
124 R. CHATURVEDI
over the minds of the people, Hobbhouse, member of the Legislative Council of
Viceroy, once said, “No greater stimulus could be supplied to excite the passion of
mankind than that supplied by means of drama…”.21 Even the Dramatic Performance
Act of 1876 could not reduce the popularity of Parsi theatre who continued to affect
the minds of the people. Nevertheless, scared of extreme popularity and wide reach,
the ruling circle, in a calculative manner, declared a war against Parsi theatre; call-
ing it vulgar and cheap and obscene, the administration stopped permitting the Parsi
theatre companies to build makeshift stages when they travelled to the small towns,
and theatres in the cities were turned into cinema houses. Hence, as a result, the
glorious era of Indian theatre reached to an unfortunate end.
Conclusion
To sum up, this will not be wrong to say that Indian traditions are the resultants of
certain historical processes. They actually construct the structure of Indian culture.
These traditions belong to several ideologies such as Vedic, Buddhism, Jainism,
tribals and later Islam and Western modernity. The process of synthesis has, there-
fore, constructed these traditions. In this historical process, synthesis had been the
dominant organizing principle of the Indian culture, which was a central focus of
Indian classical theatre. Indian classical theatre has proved this transient character
and its dissolution in the “supreme reality” of the people, which it says as lokdharmi
tradition. All modern concepts talk about continuity of experimenting, and the clas-
sical theatre of India is a prominent example of such practice where a performance
is called an experiment, and not a show. After a long dark age of theatre history in
India, Parsi theatre emerges as the most modern theatre of the country, giving a new
purpose and new meaning to theatre in the background of freedom struggle and
social reformist movements. Even the postcolonial theatre of the country is still
located in its classical roots.
Unfortunately, modernity these days is related to the Westernization in terms of
replacement of old tradition from the new practices. What is more distressing is the
way the modernity is perceived and practiced in theatre in India and around. We
have yet to learn to take what is best for us while leaving unnecessary verbiage. Of
course, no society can either be only modern or traditional, for example, France is a
very modern society, yet they are very proud of their traditions. In Indian society,
where traditions are deeply rooted, the hunger for modernization is also very deep
and ancient.
Sinh, Ranbir: Identity Crisis in Multicultural Society (chapter in Ethnicity and Identity: Global
21
Performance, ed. Ravi Chaturvdi), Rawat Publication, Jaipur, 2005, p. 355.

References
Bharat Muni. 1998. Nātyashāstra (Trans. N. P. Unni). Delhi: Nag Publication.
Cesaire, Dine. 1967. Discourse sur le Colonialismel [Taken from Black Skin, White Masks by
Franz Fanon], 7 New York: Grove Press.
Chaturvedi, Ravi. 2001. Interdisciplinarity: A Traditional Aspect of Indian Theatre. Theatre
Research International. Cambridge University Press.
Das Gupta, Hemendra Nath. 1946. The Indian Stage Vol. II/III, 256–7.
Kalidas. Shakuntalam (Trans. Mohan Rakesh). Delhi: Rajkamal.
Kosambi, D.D. 1970. The Culture and Civilization of Ancient India in Historical Outline. Delhi:
Vikas Publication.
Majumdar, R.C., and A.D. Pusalkar. 1951. The History and Culture of the Indian People. Bombay:
Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan.
Mazoui, Ali M. 1990. Cultural Focus in World Politics, 6.
Metcalf, Thomas R.. 1998. Ideologies of the Raj, 44.
Mukerji, D.P. 2002. Indian Culture. Delhi: Rupa & Co.
Phillips, C.H.. (Ed.) The Correspondence of Lord William Bentinck, Vol. II, 793.
Rangacgaryya, Adya. Introduction to Bharat’s Nātyashāstra (Rev ed. 2014). Delhi: Munshiram
Manoharlal.
Richmond, Farley P., and Phillip B. Zarrilli. 1990. Indian Theatre: Traditions of Performance.
Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Shudrak. Mrichchhkattikam (Trans. Mohan Rakesh). Delhi: Rajkamal.
Sinh, Ranbir. 2005. Ethnicity and Identity: Global Performance. In Identity Crisis in Multicultural
Society, ed. Ravi Chaturvdi and Brian Singlton, 355. Jaipur: Rawat Publication.
Srinivas, M.N. 1965. Religion and Society Among the Coorgs of South India. New Delhi: Asia
Publishing House.
Tinker, Hugh. 1974. A New System of Slavery, 184. New York: Oxford University Press.
Part II
Problematics of Asian Theatre Tradition
Chapter 9
Representation of Chinese and Western
Classics: 108 Heroes and Measure
for Measure in Taiwan
Iris Hsin-chun TUAN
Introduction
108 Heroes: Tales from Water Margin (premiered in Taipei, June, 2011) was pro-
duced by the professional Contemporary Legend Theatre, led by Hsing-Kuo Wu
(1953–) in collaboration with popular singer Hua-Chien Chou (1960–) from Hong
Kong, script adaptation by Taiwanese novelist Ta-chuen Chang (1957–) and young
actors from Shanghai Theatre Academy to renovate Beijing opera by adding rock-
and-roll music, street dancing, electronic guitars, fire swallowing, kung fu tech-
niques and, more, to the stylization of Chinese traditional xiqu, Beijing opera.1
Measure for Measure (premiered in Taipei, May, 2011) was done by the
Department of Drama and Theatre at National Taiwan University (NTU). It was
adapted from Shakespeare’s play. But it broke contemporary theatre rules. It also
represented the seventeenth-century Global Theatre of England by transforming the
setting into the whorehouse in the 1930s in Shanghai. Through the view of
Performance Studies, these two performances are filled with the dialectics of inter-
cultural theatre, using the young performers to cultivate applied theatre education to
present the local issues by adapting classics.
How to save the decline of traditional Asian theatre? How to make the classics
modern to be accessible and accepted by the contemporary audience? The modern-
ization of Asian theatre is essential to fit to change. I think not merely Asian theatre
but also World Theatre is cultural weaving through not only the contemporary
1
The stylization of Beijing opera also belongs to codified acting. Codified acting has a certain
particular acting method system. For Bertolt Brecht, Mei Lanfang might have been demonstrating
the “Alienation effect” (or spelled as V-effekt). Performance Studies: An Introduction. Richard
Schechner. London and New York: Routledge, 2002, p. 155.
I. H.-c. TUAN (*)

National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

130 I. H.-c. TUAN
interactive cultures but also classical adaptation incorporated with the theatricality
of the retheatricalization in intercultural performance. In Taiwan, the two perfor-
mances both premiered in 2011—108 Heroes and Measure for Measure—use the
classics to present innovation by intercultural theatre. The issue and challenge for
doing theatre, as Erika Fischer-Lichte points out in “Interweaving Cultures in
Performance: Theatre in a Globalizing World”: “One of the most urgent issues fac-
ing theatre research today is the question of how theatre is affected by the rapid
processes of globalization” (p. 293). In globalization, Fischer-Lichte proposes to
tackle the four examples: internationally composed opera, dance and theatre com-
panies, the ubiquitous workshop culture and international theatre festivals, which
“does not simply mean pursuing the research of the 1980s and 1990s on intercul-
tural theatre under modified premises, but – in many respects – opening up a com-
pletely new field” (p. 294). This paper tackles the first example, the internationally
theatre company, and the fourth example, the local performance. Both are adapted
from the classics and represented by theatricality and retheatricalization in intercul-
tural theatre.
108 Heroes: Tales from Water Margin
The theatrical works of Hsing-Kuo Wu’s 108 Heroes: Tales from “The Water
Margin” (2007) and 108 Heroes: Tales from “The Water Margin” (Part II) (2011,
also known as 108 Heroes II–Hall of Righteousness), adaptations from a Chinese
classical novel, The Water Margin (also known as Outlaws of Water Margin) com-
bine Jingju, hip-hop, rock and roll and western total theatre. This production attracts
a lot of young audience members who never watched Jingju. Besides, this theatre
piece ingeniously adds hip-hop music to transform hip-hop Jingju into a cultural
phenomenon.
108 Heroes: Tales from Water Margin (premiered in Taipei in June, 2011) (see
Fig. 9.1) was produced by the professional Contemporary Legend Theatre led by
Hsing-Kuo Wu. Wu, in collaboration with Hong Kong popular singer Hua-Chien
Chou’s music composition, Taiwanese novelist Ta-chuen Chang’s script adaptation
and the young actors from Shanghai Theatre Academy, renovated Beijing opera by
adding rock-and-roll music, street dancing, electronic guitar, kung fu techniques,
fire swallowing and, more, to the stylization of Chinese traditional xiqu. For exam-
ple, somersault and kung fu techniques are performed by the stylization of Chinese
traditional xiqu. The special technique of fire swallowing is performed by the actor
Lin, Chao-Hsu who plays the role of Juan, Hsiao-Erh.
Compared with the moral judgement in Measure for Measure, the theme of 108
Heroes: Tales from Water Margin, in my view, focuses on honour, success, failure,
loyalty, friendship and life value judgement. The synopsis of the performance
explores the complex personalities that inhabit the middle section of the Water
Margin, one of the four literature masterpieces in China, the episodic long novel
accumulated and re-written by Shih, Nai-An (ca.1290–ca.1365) in the Yuan Dynasty
9 Representation of Chinese and Western Classics: 108 Heroes… 131
Fig. 9.1 The main characters strut on stage. The cast heroically sings their ideal in the upside
down era in the last scene before the curtain call. (Courtesy of the Contemporary Legend Theatre)
(1271–1368) and edited and revised by Lo, Kuan-Chung (ca. 1330–ca.1400) in the
Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) in China.
The story of Water Margin is about the main character, Sung Jiang, who gathers
those righteous men who were forced to be outcast robbers in the background of the
tumulus last years during the corrupt reign of Chinese Emperor Hui-Tsung, the
eighth Sung emperor, an outstanding painter who loved art but did not know how to
aptly rule the country in the North Sung Dynasty (1100–1125) in China. The folk
stories of Sung Jiang and the 108 generals and righteous men who were forced to
become bandits were told since the Sung Dynasty. In the Yuan Dynasty, Nai-An
Shih accumulated those stories into a complete first version. In the Ming Dynasty,
Kuan-Chung Lo edited and adapted Shih’s version to form the 100-episode version
and also the other 120-episode version. The original versions from Shih and Lo
include the core that those heroes and righteous men, after their surrender to the
ruling court, were either sent to fight to death or handicapped or put in exile,
schemed by the bad court courtiers to be executed to die or committed suicide.
Overall, these characters’ days end in heartbreaking miserable outcomes. In Chinese
Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), Sheng-Tan Chin (1610?–1661) cut the plot of surren-
der to condense it to the 70-episode novel, which has been popular to read for more
than 300 years now since it was written to the present.
To adapt the long 120-episode novel into a script for stage performance, Hsing-
Kuo Wu, the artistic director of Contemporary Legend Theatre, and Ta-chuen
Chang, the script adapter, a well-known popular novelist in Taiwan, limited the
show’s length to 108 minutes (to echo to the 108 heroes in the novel) and just
choose some of the major characters from the numerous characters in the very
132 I. H.-c. TUAN
c omplicated storyline of the original novel. In the performance program, it says:

“Part introduction of characters, part exposition of plot, it prepares the groundwork
for the climax and the finale: the Chrysanthemum Gathering. The performance
takes us from Chapter 31 to Chapter 70 of The Water Margin which follows Song
Jiang’s journey to Mount Liang”. The excerpt adaptation in this performance (as is
similar to the genre of opera adapted from novel like Giuseppe Verdi’s opera La
Traviata (1853) adapted from Alexandre Dumas fils’ novel La Dame aux Camélias
(1848), allows some time to show the local Asian performing style. In the case of
108 Heroes, it shows Beijing opera martial arts. The skills of the cast performing
Beijing opera stylization are solid, sometimes emphasized by performance action
pauses (so called Liang-Hsiang) and sometimes represented by cinematic montage
effect. The approach of film montage for the characters to perform their stories on
stage breaks the straightforward narrative of the original novel.
In the adapted performance script, the story synopsis is to choose some impor-
tant and interesting characters among 108 heroes to stage their stories. The scene of
the stage design in 108 Heroes employs Chinese calligraphy and mirror reflection
on the ground to show the dilemma of the character Sung Jiang (played by Hsing-
Kuo Wu). In the end, the chief Sung Jiang has a meeting with those outcast heroes
to decide if they surrender to the corrupt government. In Performance Studies, by
codified acting, 108 Heroes: Tales from Water Margin is performed by the profes-
sional cast in the highly formalized, centuries-old acting characteristic of Jingju
(Chinese Beijing opera). The excellent Chinese Beijing opera performance of the
senior experienced actors included Hsing-Kuo Wu playing the role of Sung Jiang;
Li-wu Dai playing the roles of Wu, Sung and Shih, Hsiu; and the actor Chao-sui
Lin, playing the role of Juan, Hsiao-Erh. With numerous years of Peking opera solid
training, they perform well the so-called four Gon-Fu (singing, reciting, acting,
fighting) and five methods (hands, eyes, heart, footwork, methodology). Adapting
the Chinese classics yet performing by the collaboration with the young performers
of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, the young actors’ Jingju stylization is marvel-
lous, such as the role Short Feet Tiger Wang, Yin (played by actor Gao, Feng), skill-
fully performing as if a dwarf in Beijing opera stylization (to walk by his knees in
Jingju boots while bending his legs) from the beginning to the end of the
performance.
Though it is a story focused on the men, this performance still uses a few actresses
to get the gender performance balance. For example, the young girl Liu Chin who
plays the role of the shrew Sun, Erh-Niang sings in a high pitch and who plays the
role of Hu, San-Niang acts and does the martial kicking kung fu astonishingly in the
metaphor is like the only red flower among the green grass in the mostly male cast
production (Fig. 9.2).
Besides, the extraordinary skills of Beijing opera stylization are demonstrated.
For instance, the male actor Kao Feng, who plays the role of the “Short Tiger” Wang
Ying performed in the peculiar traditional Chinese Beijing opera xiqu training of
“walking as a dwarf”, is remarkable. Moreover, both of the two performers Kao
Feng (as “Short Tiger” Wang Ying) and Liu Chin (as Hu, San-Niang) play well in
the scene of “Fighting Three Times at the Chu Mansion”. From fighting enemies to
Fig. 9.2 The young girl Liu Chin (who plays the role of the shrew Sun, Erh-Niang and the role of
Hu, San-Niang) catches the audience members’ eyes in this almost all male cast production.
(Courtesy of the Contemporary Legend Theatre)
becoming couples, Wang Ying and Liu Chin’s humorous dialogue, skillful kicking
of the sticks and fighting with the long knives are displayed by Chinese Beijing
opera stylization, in addition to the lively visual effects.
Measure for Measure by Retheatricalization
Compared with Contemporary Legend Theatre (CLT)’s 108 Heroes produced by the
professional troupe, Measure for Measure done by NTU’s drama department, mak-
ing it an amateur college student’s performance, was adapted from Shakespeare’s
play, breaking contemporary theatre rule; modernization represents the seventeenth-
century Global Theatre of England by transforming the setting into a whorehouse in
the 1930s in Shanghai to add the Asian “oriental exotic flavour” as Edward Said’s
Orientalism provokes. Both of the two performances—108 Heroes and NTU’s
Measure for Measure—use some young students to cultivate theatre education so
the young generation can practice theatre art and pass on to the future to promote
theatre art (Fig. 9.3).
For modernization of Asian theatre and attraction of the young audience mem-
bers’ attention, it can be explained why Director Bo-Sen Lu and Script Translator
and Adaptor Emeritus Professor Chi-His Perng want the setting to remain in the
modern whorehouse. Furthermore, I assume that it is also a scholarly academic
reason for “a world where, as actually happens in Shakespeare’s Measure for
134 I. H.-c. TUAN
Fig. 9.3. In a rehearsal, the chorus girls playing the roles of prostitutes (working in the pub whore-
house in Shanghai in the 1930s) do the singing and dancing. (Courtesy of Bo-Sen Lu)
Measure, a “wise burgher” (MM 1.2.83)—not incidentally, the word is exceedingly

rare in Shakespeare—might become proprietor of a brothel” (Richard 2008: 9).2
The production of Measure for Measure (liang to) presented by the NTU drama
department teachers and students was staged in Lu Ming Hall (premiere in Taipei in
May 2011) at National Taiwan University. This version of Measure for Measure was
directed by Bo-Sen Lu and performed by NTU amateur college students. In terms
of scenic design, Lu directed a modernized Measure for Measure. Lu transforms the
brothel in Vienna in Shakespeare’s play run by Mistress Overdone, a prostitute, into
the all urban degradation neon and Chinese red whorehouse in the 1930s in
Shanghai.
Unlike the sordid milieu in Shakespeare’s play, this Shanghai-setting NTU mod-
ern version of Measure for Measure was full of youthful milieu. It fills with young
and pretty girl college students, wearing short rectified Chinese tight dresses (Chi
Pao)3 and playing the roles of prostitutes in the opening sequence of Measure for
Measure with a din of laughter and night club music and chorus girls’ sexy and
cheerful group dance (see Fig. 9.3).
2
If interested, please see Richard, H. (2008). Measure for Measure and the (Anti-) Theatricality of
Gascoigne’s The Glasse of Government. Comparative Drama, 42(4), 391–408.
3
According to Far East Concise Chinese-English Dictionary, the definition of Chi Pao is an all-
purpose long gown worn by women in modern China (introduced by the Manchus). Editor in
Chief. Liang, Shih-chiu. 2nd Ed. Taipei: The Far East Book, 1987, p. 237.
Plot Analysis and Performance Review
The cast are the undergraduates in the Department of Drama and Theatre at National
Taiwan University. Without real social experiences, the young college students per-
form the mature roles of the Duke Vincentio, the Deputy Angelo and Miss Overdone;
although they need to be more sophisticated, they do have fresh energy in acting.
For instance, they perform well in the scene in which the Duke Vincentio, disguised
as Friar Lodowick at the left, gives advice to Isabella, a novice nun at the right in the
mise-en-scène. Moreover, the final scene of Measure for Measure ends when
Isabella leaves Duke Vincentio alone on stage, having refused Duke Vincentio’s
proposal. The stage was brightly lit, with a bright white spotlight on Duke Vincentio’s
disbelieving face; for Duke Vincentio, played by the young male actor in Director
Lu and Playwright Perng’s design, cannot believe that in his high position and
power after his help to save Isabella’s brother, Isabella can refuse his marriage pro-
posal to choose to continue to be a nun.
As a faithful plot adaptation, yet changed to be a different time and space in
China, the synopsis of this play staged by the NTU production remains the basic
plot as it is in Shakespeare’s original play. Angelo, a deputy who runs in the Duke’s
absence, executes the law so severely that he wants to put Claudio, Isabella’s
younger brother, to death, because Claudio makes Juliet, Claudio’s lover/unofficial
bride, pregnant with his child before an official wedding ceremony. Isabella,
Claudio’s sister and a novice nun, begs Angelo not to do so. Angelo desires Isabella’s
beauty so he asks Isabella to have sex with him as the terms to exchange her chastity
for her brother’s life. Isabella visits Claudio in the prison to tell him that. Claudio
wants to live so he asks Isabella to sacrifice herself to agree to do so to have sex with
Angelo for saving his own life. After measuring the situation, Isabella refuses to do
so as Angelo’s exchange terms and Claudio’s request. Then Friar Lodowick (dis-
guised by Duke Vincentio) helps Isabella by asking Mariana, Angelo’s former fiancé
who had allured to have sex with Angelo but was abandoned by him, to secretly
replace Isabella to meet Angelo outside at dark night. Even after getting the leg with
the woman he assumed to be Isabella, Angelo does not keep his promise. Instead,
Angelo still wants to put Claudio to death. Therefore, Duke Vincentio reveals his
identity to resolve the problems and punishes Angelo by asking him to marry
Mariana, the woman whom Angelo actually does not love.
Furthermore, Duke Vincentio also pursues Isabella to ask her to marry him.
However, not desiring money, status or marriage, Isabella wants to remain as a
chaste nun so she declines Duke Vincentio’s marriage offer. The NTU performance
ends by having the spotlight on Duke Vincentio’s stunned face, showing the discon-
tent and shock. I argue that Isabella is brave to say no to the patriarchy, the power
and the earthly properties. That is, Isabella is darling to refuse Angelo, the politi-
cian’s threat, decline Claudio, her brother’s selfish request, and Duke Vincentio, the
powerful man in the high political position who has supreme ruling power and great
wealth.
136 I. H.-c. TUAN
To represent Shakespeare’s play by contemporary Intercultural Theatre, in

“retheatricalization” as Erika Fischer-Lichte’s term in “From Theatre to
Theatricality—How to Construct Reality”:
Discusses the retheatricalization of theater as the attempt to deconstruct the traditional sys-
tem of semiotic systems employed in Western culture. Restructuring of the whole system as
well as its sub-systems; Dissolution of the strict separation between stage and auditorium.
(1995: 97)
Retheatricalization can decode the word meanings in the semiotic system embedded
in the long heavy fictional classics. The retheatricalization via live performance by
the performers’ bodies, with the solid foundation of Beijing opera stylization of the
traditional Chinese theatre training, helps the audience members comprehend the
modern interpretation signification. The decode word system in Freud’s
Interpretation of Dreams and Lacan’s psychoanalysis underneath the iceberg of the
subconscious and the obscure signifiers can be shown by the visual culture mani-
fested by the theatre art.
In the performance arena, by retheatricalization, the NTU production stages this
play in the experimental theatre of Lu Ming Hall, which accommodates about 200
audience members. The stage design is a two-floor square platform, set in the 1930s
Shanghai. The director is original to break the basic theatre rules by allowing the
audience members to eat, drink and stroll around during the performance. There are
two types of tickets—the cheaper one on 1F can let the audience members walk
freely as they wish around with the performers in the performance pit place, in a
way sometimes the audience members unconsciously function as the crowd in some
scenes; the other higher price on 2F let the audience members remain sitting com-
fortably in their seats. The audience can choose to buy which kind of ticket type in
advance. According to my observation and the audience survey, most of the young
college students like to buy the cheaper ticket in the stroll-around 1F session. During
the intermission, some of the performers (supporting roles) sell snacks and drinks to
the audience members. The young audience members mingle together with the
young performers, creating a cozy friendly atmosphere. The audience members
who remain seated also are being aroused by the performers who ask the audience
members to respond in the final trial scene. Overall, the young NTU college stu-
dents’ performance is good and innovative, serving the parts well if judged by the
amateur college student’s level.
Connecting this to Michel Foucault’s Discipline and Punish which mentions
how questionable disciplinary power conditions society, focused on body and
prison, I think that in the case of putting Claudio in the prison, the theme of Measure
for Measure is law, morality, justice, punishment and mercy. My ideas can be sup-
ported by S. Magedanz in “Public Justice and Private Mercy in Measure for
Measure” which indicates:
As the only one of Shakespeare’s plays to carry a biblical title, Measure for Measure draws
on an explicitly Christian body of thought about law, mercy, justice, and the right exercise
of authority. (317)4
The example of the authority can be shown by the character of the Duke. The ulti-
mate objective of Measure for Measure’s Duke, of course, is secretly to observe
“what our seemers be” (1.3.55). The Duke’s role as examiner of personal qualities
is emphasized by contrast to the source material of Measure for Measure.5 As
H. Richard points out, the Roman Severus was noted for disguising himself to
obtain information on the vices to be reformed—his particular link with Measure
for Measure’s Duke (2008: 399).
To manifest the crime from the hidden seeming appearance of the pretence,
Shakespeare in Measure for Measure uses a garden image as a metaphor to compare
the weed with Angelo’s shameful crime:
Duke: …
Twice treble shame on Angelo,
To weed my vice, and let his grow.
Oh, what may man within him hide,
Though angel on the outward side!
(Act III Scene ii Lines 269–272)
With the ironically spelling name similar to the good word “Angel”, however,
Angelo turns out to be a hypocrite. In my perspective, in the end, even Duke
Vincentio’s intention of marrying Isabella, leaving himself as the final winner who
manipulates behind the screen to win the people’s heart by using Angelo as a pawn,
is also embodied with desire and power.6
4
For example, G. Wilson Knight, “Measure for Measure and the Gospels,” in The Wheel of Fire:
Essays in Interpretation of Shakespeare’s Sombre Tragedies (London: Oxford University Press,
1930), pp. 80–106; Roy W. Battenhouse, “Measure for Measure and Christian Doctrine of the
Atonement,” PMLA 61, 4 (December 1946): 1029–59; M. C. Bradbrook, “Authority, Truth, and
Justice in Measure for Measure,” RES 17, 68 (October 1941): 385–99. All biblical references are
to the Geneva Bible: A Facsimile of the 1560 Edition (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press,
1969). See Harold Bloom’s introduction to William Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure.
5
Many literature reviews mention about this point, for example, “Measure for Measure” in
Modern Critical Interpretations (New York: Chelsea House, “Measure for Measure” in The
Meaning of Shakespeare (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1951), pp. 436–54. “The
Renaissance Background of Measure for Measure,” ShS 2 (1949): 66–82, 70–1, and the sources
cited therein. W. Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, ed. J. W. Lever, rev. Arden ed. (London:
Methuen; Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1965), I.i.32–5. N. W. Bawcutt, “‘He Who
the Sword of Heaven Will Bear’: The Duke versus Angelo in Measure for Measure.” ShS 37
(1984): 89–97, 95.
6
In China, for spectators of Ying Ruocheng’s production of Measure for Measure (1981) in Beijing
made sense for the Duke’s authority because of the politics in China. Y. L. Lan in “Ong Keng Sen’s
Desdemona, Ugliness, and the Intercultural Performative” comments: “The trial of the Gang of
Four looming over the country at the time provided a context in which this play, and particularly
Angelo’s abuse of his power, resonated with political immediacy; at the same time, the Duke was
not at all a shady character who uses his authority in suspect ways: “his methods and power were
accepted as just and proper, not questionable or perverse” (260). Theatre Journal, 2004, 56(2),
251–273.
138 I. H.-c. TUAN
Problem Play or Comic Romance
Similar to Henrik Ibsen’s “problem plays” which deal with social problems, in
terms of genre and characters, Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure is also a “prob-
lem play” written in the middle stage of the Bard’s earlier comedies and latter trag-
edies. Robert Bennett proposes “comic romance” as a new genre for Measure for
Measure, and he argues that humanist theatre aims to reform society (328).7 In plot,
reversal and ending, Measure for Measure’s contemporary debates about judgement
and the right use of authority are enacted on the stage of Shakespeare’s fictional
Vienna. The debates of personal and public morality are announced from the open-
ing of the play. According to dramatic convention, in a tragedy, both the good and
the bad suffer; in a tragicomedy, the bad are punished, but the good are rewarded
(Magedanz 2004: 326). However, the ending of Measure for Measure resists this
split. If the judgement scene of Measure for Measure forms the counterpart to
Borgia’s act, the amazing spectacle becomes one of forbearance, not of brutality
(Magedanz 2004: 329). Yet, at the end of Measure for Measure, both the good and
the bad are rewarded; even the bad Angelo is ordered to have a woman. And the
punishments, if they can even be called that, are minimal, just to make Angelo
marry the woman he had sex and abandoned. In this aspect, this might not be a fair
judgement to regard Measure for Measure as the problem play. Instead, it is more
like a comic romance because there is a letting go of the bad Angelo.
Angelo maybe is a pursuer (in the beginning for morality and in the end for
Isabela), but Measure for Measure definitely is not a funny play. When Angelo asks
for Isabella to exchange her sexual service and sacrifice her virgin chastity for her
brother’s life, the heroine Isabella, Shakespeare’s deliberate alteration of a
Renaissance nun, encounters a moment for measure, taking into a consideration, in
Measure for Measure (ca. 1603). Isabella faces a moment of crisis and moral
dilemma. In Measure for Measure, this sexual undercurrent constantly pushes away
moral beholders and scares the virgin audiences.
Isabella’s silent power in the end of the play represents the resistance and wom-
en’s free will to go against the monarchy and the patriarchy through the transcen-
dence of believing in God as a chaste and faithful nun.8 Isabella’s silence toward the
Duke’s marriage proposal ends the play, as D. J., Hopkins and S. Orr. in Theatre
Journal review “Measure for Measure” point out:
One of the most discussed aspects of Measure for Measure, a particularly problematic
example of Shakespeare’s “problem plays,” is the notable silence that falls on the virginal
Isabella at the conclusion of the play’s last scene. (97)
In Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, Isabella is silent to leave the audience a lot
of space for imagination to guess if Isabella agrees or not. While in the NTU college
7
O’Donnell, A. M. (2003). “Romance and Reformation: The Erasmian Spirit of Shakespeare’s
Measure for Measure” (review). Shakespeare Quarterly, 54(3), 328–330.
8
See Marcia Riefer. “‘Instruments of Some More Mightier Member’: The Constriction of Female
Power in Measure for Measure”.
students’ performance version, Director Lu designs to let Isabella refuse the Duke’s
marriage proposal and let the spotlight stay on the shocked and disbelieving face of
the actor who plays the role of Duke Vincentio. This ending leaves the audience to
have a feminist interpretation on Isabella’s free will to keep her choice to be a chaste
nun instead of marrying to the Duke to be a rich Duchess.9 I think that this modern
interpretation on the classic Shakespeare play imbues with the feminist spirit. As is
the case with Dora in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, a woman can choose to be neither a
wife nor a mother. In Isabella’s case in NTU Director Lu’s Measure for Measure,
she chooses to be a nun for the sake of her spiritual happiness.
Intercultural Theatre
In the light of intercultural theatre, Patrice Pavis proposes seven inflections to

encompass theatrical innovation from the early 1980s: inter-, intra-, utra-, pre-,
post- and metacultural.10 The definition of intercultural theatre, according to
Jacqueline Lo and Helen Gilbert:
Put simply, intercultural theater is a hybrid derived from an intentional encounter between
cultures and performing traditions. It is primarily a western-based tradition with a lineage
of modernist experimentation through the work of Tairov, Meyerhold, Brecht, Artaud, and
Grotowski. More recently, intercultural theatre has been associated with the works of
Richard Schechner, Peter Brook, Eugenio Barba, Ariane Mnouchkine, Robert Wilson,
Tadashi Suzuki, and Ong Keng Sen. Even when intercultural exchanges take place within
the “non-West,” they are often mediated through western culture and/or economics.
(2002:36–37)
Intercultural performance is combined with the non-West, mediated and filtered

by the western culture and hegemonic power and economics. The example can be
taken by the disputes over Peter Brook’s The Mahabharata. The Indian Hindu epic
The Mahabharata is adapted by English Director Peter Brook whose base is in
France to debut as a 9-hour theatre production in the Avignon Festival in 1985 and
later condensed to be released in 1989 as a 5 1/2-hour English language film.
Peter Brook’s intercultural piece The Mahabharata performed by the interna-
tional, multi-racial and multi-lingual cast aroused extreme praise and extreme
9
In the premiere of Measure, Measure! performed by Taiwan Bangzi Opera Company in the
National Theater on June 8, 2012, Director Lu, Bo-Sen and the two collaborative playwrights—
Perng, Chi-Hsi and Chen Feng—transform the background to be in (907–979) (after the late Tang
Dynasty and before the Sung Dynasty) in China and change the ending. After Isabella’s silence
without positively responding to the Duke’s marriage proposal in front of the crowd in the public,
the playwrights add the lines of the Duke (Nan Ping King) to say that he will let Isabella (Mujung
Ching) think about it and answer later. Then in Director Lu’s “mise-en-scène”, in the last scene, he
designs Mujung Ching walks toward Nan Ping King on the high platform, which may signify that
she perhaps says yes as a more positive happy ending in the end of the performance which still
does not give a definite expression and leaves open interpretation for the audience members and
the critics.
10
In the introduction to Pavis’s edited volume, Intercultural Performance Reader, 5ff
140 I. H.-c. TUAN
c ondemnation. For instance, Maria Shevtsova praises Brook’s work is close “to the
spirit of synthesis and, for that matter, to the humanist perspective…, not to mention
its humanitarian and even utopian impulse” (Shevtsova 1991:221–222). In a con-
trast, Rustom Bharucha criticizes:
…its appropriation and reordering of non-western material within an orientalist framework
of thought and action, which has been specifically designed for the international market…
He 〔Brook〕has taken one of our most significant texts and decontextualized it from its
history in order to “sell” it to audiences in the West. (Bharucha 1990 〔1993〕: 68)
The East, no matter the epic classics or the academic publication, is like a cul-
tural commodity, selected/appropriated by the Western director to be packaged to
add an oriental flavour to sell to the West and global consumers. As Iris Hsin-chun
Tuan indicates:
Bharucha is against the “Utopian Dream” and the “Culture of Choice” that the Universalists
claim. Instead, Bharucha argues that “we have no choice but to live with these representa-
tions of the Other in the absence of alternative networks and narratives”(p. 206). Even if the
debate of “Otherness” is “consolidated into a platform of political action”(p. 206). Those
non-western countries, such as India and Taiwan, have no choice at all. The silence or even
dissent of the “Other” is regarded by the West as a contribution to the whole cultures and
politics. (Tuan 2010:20)
Both Isabella’s silence in Measure for Measure and the East’s silence are taken
as a female Other in terms of gender politics to protest the patriarchy and masculine
Western hegemonic power. In terms of “Global Shakespeare”, according to Edward
Said in his influential book Orientalism (1979), by labelling the “Other” as exotic,
childlike, primitive, dangerous or incomprehensible, the artist or colonizer can jus-
tify “controlling” or “appropriating” cultural properties (Zarrilli et al. 2006: 499).
The West looking down the East to labour it as the “Other” can be easy for the colo-
nizer to appropriate the Eastern cultural heritage, as the Chinese classic Journey to
the West has been appropriated and represented by many directors to sell to the
West.
Representation of the Classics Adaptation
In intercultural theatre, using Patrice Pavis’ hourglass image to visualize this cul-
tural transfer: “Only a few elements of the source culture” pass through the “filters”
into the target culture, and they are “selected according to very precise norms”
(1996: 16). The scripts of Measure and Measure and 108 Heroes are filtered from
the original classics to be staged in these theatre forms. They consist of intercultural
signs in a new practice of theatre, that is, responding to the postcolonial and post-
modern culture and creating an expression to use the past historical fiction and play
to reflect the reality of contemporary life.
However, appropriating or representing another culture in an artwork might be
problematic, as Said points out:
The things to look at are style, figures of speech, setting, narrative devices, historical and
social circumstances, not the correctness of the representation nor its fidelity to some great
original. The exteriority of the representation is always governed by some version of the
truism that if the Orient could represent itself, it would; since it cannot, the representation
does the job, for the West, and faute de mieux, for the poor Orient. (Said 1978:21)
The representation of the Orient is done by the West. In terms of intercultural

theatre, as Y. L. Lan comments Ong Keng Seng’s unsuccessful use of Kathakali in
King Lear, we notice how and what intercultural theatre performs:
the concomitant allure and distrust of the spectacle of the foreign, an alienation from the
text or form that one identifies with one’s own culture, a resistance to cultural disposses-
sion—even the blank of non-understanding. Intercultural Shakespeare in particular is
rooted in such formations of foreignness by virtue of the role Shakespeare has played in
Western cultural imperialism and British colonialism on the one hand; and on the other, in
Asian countries’ strategic adoption or disparagement of foreign (i.e., Western) cultures to
serve their socio-political agendas (256).
Asian countries, like Taiwan and China, use the strategy of adaptation to import
Shakespeare’s play to serve the local social and political reinterpretation. Measure
and Measure is another case. From the strategy from foreign to familiar, turning
around the table, the traditional xiqu, such as the Beijing opera, Henan bangzi,
Hakka opera, Taiwanese opera, etc., are all adopting western classics. Adapting the
Western classics or digging out Chinese literature masterpieces is the method to try
to renovate the performing form and attract the younger generation to go into the
theatres to watch the performances in this new global era. The two performances
have young students working as actors and actresses, the former cast is the NTU-
drama amateur college students, and the latter is the participation of Shanghai
Traditional Opera School from the Shanghai Theatre Academy.
Conclusion
Both the two productions—Measure for Measure and 108 Heroes—adapt classics
and are staged by intercultural theatre, which mixes with more than two different
cultures. The former adapts western classics in the form of Shakespeare’s play, and
the latter adapts Chinese classics, in the form of Tales from Water Margin. NTU’s
Measure for Measure combines Shakespeare’s English play, by “retheatricaliza-
tion” changing the background to take place in a modern Chinese whorehouse in the
1930s in Shanghai. This performance was staged in the avant-garde experimental
theatre style and imbued with the local cultural modernity by breaking the conven-
tional theatre viewing rules. 108 Heroes combines with the Chinese classics and
also with the Taiwanese local political context.
In a comparison, the NTU production Measure for Measure is performed by
amateur young drama students at NTU, while 108 Heroes is performed by theatre
troupe professionals and some young college students from China who have solid
traditional Chinese theatre training for years. It is the same that the Contemporary
Legend Theatre also adds some young actors and actress from the Shanghai Theatre
142 I. H.-c. TUAN
Academy to perform in this production. 108 Heroes has been in cultural travelling
to be staged in Taiwan, China and Hong Kong.
As we know the impact of youth theatre on young people’s personal and social
development is what Jenny Hughs and Karen Wilson pointed out in the journal
paper published by The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance. The young
performers’ talents and skills demonstrated in these two performances are eye-
catching. The young performers bring new ideas in the modern Little Theatre as
well as energize the traditional Chinese operatic performing arts.
In globalization, Stuart Hall indicates the influence of Western popular culture on
all cultural forms via media technology. Halls points out: “In terms of culture, the
new kind of globalization has to do with the new form of global mass culture”
(1997: 178). Halls finds out that global culture:
is culminated by all the ways in which the visual and graphic arts have entered directly into
the recognition of popular life, of entertainment, and of leisure. It is dominated by televi-
sion, by film, and by the image, imagery, and styles of mass advertising. (Hall, “The Local
and the Global” 178)
As the homogenization of the current American-oriented global mass culture is

still predominant, the avant-garde Asian theatre like the hip-hop Jingju of 108
Heroes may attempt to create what Homi Bhabha calls “Third Space” that:
challenges our sense of the historical identity of culture as a homogenizing, unifying force,
authenticated by the originary Past, kept alive in the national tradition of the People.
(Bhabha “The Location of Culture” 37)
In a postmodern representation, the hip-hop Jingju of 108 Heroes has rebellious

spirit to go against the authority, and righteous brotherhood added with fashions and
intercultural styles might provide the people with a temporary utopia across tempo-
ral and geopolitical boundaries where the old audience have nostalgia and the young
audience create new identities.
The performer’s perspective can be seen in Players of Shakespeare 4 edited by
Robert Smallwood. The book review by Jim Stark is “significant and rather unusual
as a historical document by actors describing from their own perspective what they
were doing in the preparation and performance of roles with the RSC” (86). Paying
attention to the actors describing their own perspective, I interviewed the performer
Wu, Hsing-Kuo. Wu expressed that in CLT’s The Tempest Jingju version, after play-
ing the lead protagonist Prospero who has magic power in the same title play written
by Shakespeare after adaptation, Wu added the last scene to relate his feelings as a
performer to take off the role’s headdress and costume robe to just be the actor him-
self. Then Wu asks for the forgiveness from the audience in order to set him free
from role-playing and afterwards to exit the stage as a person himself.
I argue that World Theatre is cultural weaving by not only the contemporary
interactive cultures but also the classical adaptation incorporated with the theatrical-
ity of the retheatricalization. In intercultural theatre by Performance Studies, that is,
from playing the role to examining the essence of performance. “In this new global
context,” as Antony Tatlow points out in Shakespeare, Brecht, and The Intercultural
Sign, “where performances can travel anywhere and videos can substitute for “being
there” (60). The liveness of these two performances—Measure for Measure and 108
Heroes—is irresistible to attract the audience members by the theatrical innovation
and extraordinary Chinese Beijing opera stylization. In view of Performance
Studies, these two performances filled with the dialectics of intercultural theatre
present the local issues by adapting Western and Chinese classics to contribute to
the World Theatre.
References
Bawcutt, N.W. 1984. ‘He Who the Sword of Heaven Will Bear’: The Duke Versus Angelo in
Measure for Measure. ShS 37 (89–97): 95.
Bharucha, R. 1993. Theatre and the World: Performance and the Politics of Culture. London/New
York: Routledge.
Hall, Stuart. 1997. The Local and the Global: Globalization and Ethnicity. In Dangerous Liaisons:
Gender, Nation, and Postcolonial Perspectives, ed. Anne McClintock, Aamir Mufti, and Ella
Shohat, 173–187. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Liang, Shih-chiu. 1987. Far East Concise Chinese-English Dictionary. 2nd ed. Taipei: The Far
East Book.
Lo, J., and H. Gilbert. 2002. Toward a Topography of Cross-cultural Theatre Praxis. The Drama
Review 46 (3, Fall): 31–53.
Magedanz, S. 2004. Public Justice and Private Mercy in Measure for Measure. SEL Studies in
English Literature 1500–1900 44 (2): 317–332.
O’Donnell, A.M. 2003. Romance and Reformation: The Erasmian Spirit of Shakespeare’s Measure
for Measure. (Review). Shakespeare Quarterly 54 (3): 328–330.
Pavis, Patrice. 1996. Introduction. In Intercultural Performance Reader, ed. Patrice Pavis. London:
Routledge.
Richard, H. 2008. Measure for Measure and the (Anti-) Theatricality of Gascoigne’s The Glasse of
Government. Comparative Drama 42 (4): 391–408.
Said, Edward W. 1978. Orientalism. New York: Random House.
Schechner, Richard. 2002. Performance Studies: An Introduction. London/New York: Routledge.
Shevtsova, M. 1991. Interaction-Interpretation: The Mahabharata from a Socio-Cultural
Perspective. In Peter Brook and the Mahabharata: Critical Perspectives, ed. D. Williams.
London/New York: Routledge.
Tuan, Iris Hsin-Chun. 2010. Alternative Theater in Taiwan: Feminist and Intercultural Approaches.
New York: Cambria Press.
Zarrilli, Phillip B., Bruce McConachie, Gary Jay Williams, and Carol Fisher Sorgenfrei. 2006.
Theatre Histories: An Introduction. New York: Routledge.
Programs and Multimedia
Program of 108 Heroes: Tales from “The Water Margin”. 2011. The Contemporary Legend
Theatre, the National Theater, June.
Program of Measure, Measure! 2012. Taiwan Bangzi Opera Company, the National Theater.
Premiered on June 8.
108 Heroes: Tales from“The Water Margin”. 2011. Dir. Hsing-kuo Wu. The Contemporary Legend
Theatre.
Measure for Measure. 2006. Dir. Bob Komar. Lucky Strike Productions. Color.
Chapter 10
The Translation and Reception of Eugene
Labiche’s Plays in Modern China
LO Shih-Lung
Chinese modern drama has developed with the translation and the reception of
Western theatre: The Lady of the Camellias performed by the Spring Willow Society
(Chunliu she) in 1907 and Ibsen’s social problem plays introduced in 1918 by the
reformist literary magazine La Jeunesse (Xin qingnian) are only two well-known
examples. During the period of the New Culture Movement (ca. 1915–1921), schol-
ars and artists had planned to establish bibliographies of modern Western theatre, by
which they hoped to better organize, or rather systematize, the translation of Western
theatre, instead of an arbitrary selection and translation. Hu Shi (1891–1962), for
example, had urged his contemporary to select 300 excellent Western plays and
translate them.1 The reason, as Ouyang Yuqian (1889–1962) indicated, was that
the “theatre had never existed as a literary form in China”. To modernize Chinese
theatre, an urgent necessity was to “translate [western] dramatic works, take them
as writing examples and imitate them”.2 It was in this context that La Jeunesse pub-
lished in 1918, a bibliography entitled “Selection of One Hundred Modern Dramatic
Works” which was suggested by Song Chunfang (1892–1938),3 professor in
A part of this paper’s content can bereferred toas Lo Shih-Lung, “The Translation and Transmission
of Eugene Labiche’s Comedies on the Modern Chinese Stage” (in Chinese), Tsing Hua Journal of
Chinese Literature 16 (Dec. 2016), pp. 207–256.
1
Hu Shi, “On the Constructive Literature Revolution” (Jianshe de wenxuegeminglun), La Jeunesse
4. 4 (April 1918). Text collected in Hu Shi, Complete Works of Hu Shi (Hu Shi quanji) 1 (Hefei:
Anhui jiaoyuchubanshe, 2003), 52–68.
2
Ouyang Yuqian, “My Opinions on Reforming Chinese Theatre” (Yu zhigailiangxiju guan), La
Jeunesse 5. 4 (October 1918): 341.
3
Song Chunfang, “Selection of One Hundred Modern Dramatic Works” (Jinshi mingju baizhong
mu), La Jeunesse 5. 4 (October 1918): 361–365.
LO Shih-Lung (*)
National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan

146 LO Shih-Lung
comparative literature of Peking University. For the first time, the Chinese modern
theatre had a clearer idea in regard to its Western role models.
Among these 100 hundred plays, 22 were written in French language. The
selection criteria were undoubtedly influenced by the background Song Chunfang
who had studied in Switzerland and France. In 1921, Song published another bib-
liography entitled “Thirty-Six New European Plays” in which six were written in
French. The objective of Song Chunfang was clear. He emphasized, as Hu Shi and
Ouyang Yuqian, that Chinese playwrights “did not have any well organized and
systematized knowledge of modern theatre”. Bibliographies meant useful guide-
lines and should be inspiring to those who were devoted to modernizing Chinese
theatre. The two bibliographies were collected later in the first volume of Song’s
Essays on Theatre (hereafter abbreviated as Essays) published in 1923.4 But in
fact, all the plays suggested in Song’s bibliographies were not translated after-
wards. Which playwrights and whose works were finally translated? How were
these translated works perceived by the Chinese readers and audience? In this
paper, I will examine writings of Song Chunfang and his contemporaries in regard
to French theatre, try to rediscover the playwrights and works which were appreci-
ated in the Chinese Republican period (1912–1949) but may be entirely forgotten
in our times and suggest a rereading of the history of Chinese modern theatre,
which was not merely influenced by certain greater playwrights as Ibsen, Hugo or
Alexandre Dumas.
Social Function and Literary Value of Eugene Labiche’s Plays
In the writings of Song Chunfang, two French playwrights were regularly quoted:
Eugene Sribe (1791–1861) and Eugene Labiche (1815–1888). The reason was that
Song Chunfang intended to find a kind of “popular theatre” for the Chinese audi-
ence. Scribe and Labiche were two playwrights selected by Song Chunfang as role
models. The British writer William Somerset Maugham had mocked the taste of
Song Chunfang and was surprised to know that a well-educated Chinese university
professor was interested in these prolific and popular but somehow mediocre play-
wrights.5 Maugham’s judgement was certainly a misunderstanding. In fact, as a
scholar, Song Chunfang had attempted to introduce to his compatriots every differ-
ent Western theatrical current and movement. As a playwright, Song focused, how-
ever, on the comedy which was, according to his Essays, relatively popular and
could be much appreciated by the ordinary people. Song had criticized the domi-
4
Song Chunfang, Essays on Theatre (Song Chunfang lunju), vol. 1, 3rd ed. (Shanghai:
Zhonghuashuju, 1930), 287–310. The second and the third volumes of Song’s Essays were, respec-
tively, published in 1936 (Shanghai: Shenghuo shudian) and 1937 (Shanghai: The Commercial
Press).
5
William Somerset Maugham, “XLVIII: A Student of the Drama,” On A Chinese Screen (London:
William Heinemann, 1922), 188–192.
10 The Translation and Reception of Eugene Labiche’s Plays in Modern China 147
nance of the Ibsen-styled “social problem plays” in China, which seemed to him
incompatible with most Chinese audience’s taste and understanding. The audience,
who was tired of topics related to social reform issues, would finally become indif-
ferent to the modern theatre. To Song, the best way to revitalize the “declined”
young modern Chinese theatre was to promote popular plays which could really
attract the public. Thus, Song argued in his Essays that “the only aim of [the produc-
tion of] a play is to please the audience – not only the minority but the majority of
the audience”.6 How to satisfy the public mentality was essential to the success of a
play. The modernization of the Chinese theatre cannot be realized without the sup-
port of audience. If Ibsen’s plays introduced by La Jeunesse had prepared the way
for the modernization of Chinese theatre, the Chinese theatre could only rely on the
popular theatre to assure that the modernization could last long.
The “well-made play” of Scribe, highly recommended by Song Chunfang, was
taken by Song as a better role model than Ibsen’s social problem play for Chinese
modern theatre. However, Scribe’s plays were hardly translated in the twentieth
century.7 As for Eugene Labiche, his one-act comedy Liangge dou shi danxiao de
ren (literally Both Are Timid Guys; original title was not indicated by the editors)
was translated by Zhao Shaohou (1899–1978) and Song Chunfang himself and was
published in The Eastern Times (Shibao) of Shanghai in October 1921.8 The two
translators were both professors in French and comparative literature. In order to
introduce Eugene Labiche to the Chinese readers, Song Chunfang published in the
same newspaper an article entitled “Why do I Present Labiche?” This article would
be found in the first volume of Song’s Essays mentioned above.
In this article, Song Chunfang explained to the readers the advantages of
Labiche’s plays. These plays were defined by him as huaji ju, literally “burlesque
plays”. But the definition of huaji was loose and ambiguous in Song’s writings.
Sometimes the term was used as a synonym of comedy or farce. On the other hand,
the term huaji was actually taken from Chinese traditional theatre critics and could
evoke immediately a literary allusion to classical literature. In the Records of the
Grand Historian (Shiji) of Sima Qian (139–86 B.C.), a chapter entitled “Stories of
the Burlesque People” (Huaji liezhuan) was dedicated to the jesters in ancient
China. One of the personalities of the chapter was named You Meng (literally
“Actor Meng”), who had a good acquaintance of ironic language and parodies, by
which he had succeeded to give rulers useful but pungent advices. By using the
term huaji which was familiar to Chinese readers, Song Chunfang had tried to
6
Song Chunfang, “Improving the Chinese Theatre” (“Xiju galiang pingyi”), in Essays 1, 3rd ed.
(Shanghai: Zhonghuashuju, 1930), 261–265; Song Chunfang, “Discussions on the Plays of
Chinese New Theatre” (“Zhongguo xinju juben zhi shangque”), in Essays 1, 3rd ed. (Shanghai:
Zhonghua shuju, 1930), 267–274.
7
Xu Zhuodai and Bao Tianxiao had translated Scibe’s Adrienne Lecouvreur and published it in
1911. Their Chinese translation was actually adapted from Osada Shuto’s Japanese translation.
Another adaptation of Adrienne Lecouvreur was realized by Li Jianwu and was published in 1947.
No other plays of Scribe were published in Chinese in the twentieth century.
8
Zhao Shaohou had also mentioned their cooperation in the preface of his translation of Sands
Bewildering People’s Eyes (Miyan de shazi) (Shanghai: Xinyueshudian, 1929), 6.
148 LO Shih-Lung
establish a connection between the Western comedy and the Chinese theatre tradi-
tion. In other writings related to Chinese traditional theatre, Song Chunfang usu-
ally emphasized that the Chinese theatre and the Western theatre should be
evaluated at the same level since each theatrical form had its particular aesthetic.
The choice of the word huaji xi and its application to Labiche’s comedy remind us
of Song Chunfang’s s elf-esteem in his own culture. To him, the Chinese theatre can
be as modern as Western theatre, if Chinese playwrights exhibit the same creativity
as Western playwrights. However, the modernization of Chinese theatre cannot be
realized without the rediscovery and the recognition of its own traditional reper-
tory. Labiche’s plays meant to Song Chunfang a bridge constructed between the
tradition and the modernity, which connect the Chinese theatre to the Western
theatre.
The universality of the huaji ju allowed Song Chunfang to develop his arguments
about the advantages of Labiche’s “burlesque plays”:
1. These plays are “compatible with the mentality of ordinary people”. They were
appreciated by audience of all ages from various countries. They were different
from Ibsen’s plays, which are “only applauded by a few professors and readers
of La Jeunesse”.
2. Among the burlesque plays in the world, French burlesque plays were the best
ones because “the Gaul people are natural-born optimists” and know how to
make others laugh.
3. The burlesque plays can exempt Chinese people from the pessimism caused by
the wars and political tumult and could improve Chinese people’s mental health.9
Two other articles of Song Chunfang allowed his contemporaries to know the
name of Labiche. In “Discussions on the Plays of Chinese New Theatre”, first pub-
lished in 1921,10 Song Chunfang had praised, by a couple of words, Labiche’s excel-
lent skill of playwriting. The focus of the article was rather on Eugene Scribe’s
well-made play instead of Labiche’s comedy. Also written in 1921, “The French
Theatre before the Great War” allowed readers to know Song Chunfang’s passion
for Labiche, because Song asserted that Labiche was the best French playwright
after the death of Moliere.11 Although Song Chunfang was the first professor giving
courses of Western theatre in a Chinese university, his argument on Labiche’s plays
was not entirely based on a pure artistic point of view. If his contemporaries of La
Jeunesse had tried to provide an Ibsenian remedy for the Chinese society, Song
Chunfang preferred the therapy accomplished by laughter and comic elements. The
approaches were not the same, but the sociopolitical function of theatre was, how-
ever, not only appreciated by Ibsen’s Chinese disciples but also by Song Chunfang.
9
Song Chunfang, “Why do I Present Labiche?” (“Wo weishenme yao jieshaoLapixu?”), in Essays
1, 3rd ed. (Shanghai: Zhonghua shuju, 1930), 247–252.
10
Song Chunfang, “Discussions on the Plays of Chinese New Theatre,” op. cit., 267–274.
11
Song Chunfang, “The French Theatre before the Great War,” (“Dazhanyiqian de Faguoxiqu”), in
Essays 2 (Shanghai: Shenghuo shudian, 1936), 20–25.
After his collaboration with Zhao Shaohou in 1921, Song Chunfang had not
translated other plays of Labiche. But the reputation of Labiche began to spread
among scholars in French literature and theatre-goers. In April 1924, the monthly
literary magazine Xiaoshuo yuebao (Monthly Magazine of Novel) published a spe-
cial issue dedicated to French literature. For the first time, the French literature—its
history, genres, writers’ styles, etc.—was presented to the Chinese readers in a rela-
tively systematic method. In the appendix entitled “Short Biographies of French
Writers”, Labiche was descried as a “very important playwright of comedy who had
written more than 100 plays during his life”.12 Canonized by one of the most influ-
ential literary magazines, the name of Labiche appeared thus regularly in other
works related to French literature studies. However, different from the sociopolitical
and practical point of view initiated by Song Chunfang, later researches in French
literature turned to the literary aspect of Labiche. In the History of French Literature
(1930) of Xu Xiacun, Labiche’s works were qualified as “pure comedy”. As a great
translator, Xu Xiacun pointed out the value of Labiche’s dramatic language.
According to Xu Xiacun, the popularity of Labiche was based on his “humorous
wits, smart parodies, pretty dialogues, and burlesque plots”.13 Xu Zhongnian, in his
French Literature ABC (1933), also emphasized the literary value of Labiche’s
plays. In the chapter on French literature of 1850–1880, Xu Zhongnian divided the
theatre into two categories: comedy of manners (yanjiu fengsu ju) and pure comedy
(xiju). It is interesting to point out that Xu Zhong also specified that “the [pure]
comedy is not always burlesque”.14 Obviously, Xu Zhongnian attempted to enhance
the literary status of Labiche and avoided to connect Labiche to popular entertain-
ment. The History of French Literature (1936) of Xia Yande also paid attention to
the language of Labiche. According to Xia Yande, “there is no failed sentence in
Labiche’s plays; not even a single word can be deleted”.15
Besides these remarks and comments on Labiche’s plays, researchers and schol-
ars in the 1940s tried to compare Labiche to other French playwrights in order to
clarify more details of Labiche’s style. Yuan Changying, one of the most renowned
female writers in the Republican period, adopted this comparative approach. She
observed that Labiche was close to Scribe, in terms of its popular elements which
made it accessible to ordinary people. This “genius of comedy”, according to Yuan
Changying, “neither showed us a serious judgement of value as Moliere, nor exhib-
ited an ironic tone as Voltaire. There is nothing surprising in Labiche’s plays, but
they are always surrounded by an atmosphere which reminds us of our daily life.
12
Ming Xin, “Short Biographies of French Writers,” Monthly Magazine of Novel 15, special issue
“Research on French Literature,” (April 1924): 39–40.
13
Xu Xiacun, “Theatre in the End of Nineteenth Century,” in History of French Literature
(Faguowenxueshi) (Beijing: Beixinshuju, 1930), 214.
14
Xu Zhongnian, French Literature ABC (Faguo wenxue ABC) 2 (Shanghai: ABC congshushe,
1933), 80–81.
15
Xia Yande, History of French Literature (Falanxi wenxue shi) (Shanghai: The Commercial Press,
1936), 476.
150 LO Shih-Lung
[…] The point is to entertain the audience, instead of giving them a moral lesson”.16
If Yuan Changying’s argument on the popularity of Labiche’s plays is quite similar
to that of Song Chunfang, the audience that Yuan Changying referred to should be
much different. In fact, from the 1930s on, the Chinese society had witnessed the
emergence of the urban middle class. In the Chinese society where the moderniza-
tion was accelerated in the 1930s–1940s, the comedy of Labiche which had much
parodied the nineteenth-century rising French middle class became accidently a
mirror of the Chinese middle class.
Wu Dayuan might had noticed this aspect. In the History of French Literature
(1946) written by this professor of Tsinghua University, Labiche and Scribe were
both considered as the best vaudeville playwrights in the nineteenth century. Wu
Dayuan analysed carefully the writing style of Labiche and pointed out that Labiche
“depicted with dexterity the middle class”; “employees, businessmen, or notaries in
his plays are vividly portrayed and they are exactly the same as we know. The audi-
ence cannot help but laughing at their stupidity and ridiculousness”.17 The comic
situation and irony in Labiche’s plays didn’t seem far from the Chinese society in
the 1940s.
ranslations of Eugene Labiche’s La Poudre aux yeux

T
(Throwing Dust in People’s Eyes)
As mentioned above, the Chinese theatre of the twentieth century was much inspired
from French theatre. According to the research of Tian Qin in The Chinese Theatre
Movements (1946), among the 387 plays translated from foreign languages during
1908–1938, 132 plays—that is, more than one third—were translated from French.18
If early French plays were often retranslated from Japanese translations, the Chinese
translators turned towards the French originals from the 1920s on. For example, in
1926, Liu Bannon translated The Lady of the Camellias directly from French lan-
guage, one of the Western plays which had influenced the birth of Chinese modern
theatre.
The translation of Labiche’s works was also influenced by this literary current. In
1929—6 years after the publication of the first volume of Song Chunfang’s Essays—
Zhao Shaohou, with whom Song Chunfang had translated a one-act play of Labiche
16
Yuan Changying, “Theatre,” in History of French Literature (Falanxi wenxue shi) (Shanghai: The
Commercial Press, 1944), 152–153.
17
Wu Dayuan, History of French Literature (Falanxi wenxue shi) (Shanghai: Shanghai shudian,
1946), 530.
18
Tian Qin, “A Comparative Study of the Translated Plays During the Last Thirty Years” (“Sanshi
nian lai xiju fanyi zhi bijiao”), in The Chinese Theatre Movements (Zhongguo xiju yundong)
(Shanghai: The Commercial Press, 1946), 107. A former edition was published in Chongqing, in
1944, during the Sino-Japanese War.
in 1921, published his translation of La Poudre aux yeux.19 The Chinese title is
Miyan de shazi, literally “Sands Bewildering People’s Eyes” or “Throwing Dust in
People’s Eyes”. In fact, in Song Chunfang’s Essays, he had never mentioned this
play. The play that he suggested his contemporaries to translate was Le Chapeau de
paille d’Italie (The Italian Straw Hat, 1851), one of the most famous plays of
Labiche even to nowadays’ readers. But why was La Poudre aux yeux selected and
translated? In the end of the article “Why do I Present Labiche?”, Song Chunfang
asked twice his contemporaries to produce as soon as possible Le Chapeau de paille
d’Italie. Why the play was not finally translated?
The answer may be found in Song Chunfang’s Essays. In the article “Improving
Chinese Theatre”,20 Song Chunfang emphasized the importance of musical ele-
ments in traditional Chinese theatre. By doing so, he tried to defend the value of
traditional theatre and took an eclectic stance between the tradition and the moder-
nity, instead of a violent break from the tradition. In his dichotomy argument, the
musical elements should be kept in traditional theatre (e.g. the Beijing opera), while
the modern theatre of Western style should be accomplished by dialogue without
interference of any singing part. The similar idea can be found in his analysis of
Labiche’s play in “Why do I Present Labiche?”. To Song Chunfang, although the
“couplets” sang by the characters in Labiche’s plays were an indispensable element
in Western vaudeville, it was difficult to translate these couplets into Chinese
because of the differences between the languages. Thus, Song suggested to delete
these couplets when translating and representing Labiche’s plays in Chinese.
“Deleting these couplets”, argued Song, “will do no harm to the main idea of the
play”. Song Chunfang did not specify the plays concerned. But Le Chapeau de
paille d’Italie is indeed a play accompanied by couplets, and it is also true that these
couplets are not necessary in terms of the arrangement of main plot. It may be the
reason that neither Song Chunfang nor his contemporaries had not translated this
play. Instead, they had chosen a pure “spoken drama” of Labiche, that is, La Poudre
aux yeux. It is interesting to remind that the denomination of “spoken drama”
(huaju) was confirmed by Hong Shen in 1928, the year before the publication of
Zhao Shaohou’s Miyan de shazi.
The plot of the two-act comedy La Poudre aux yeux is not complicated. Two
middle-class families, Ratinois and Malingear, try to find an ideal husband/wife for
their daughter/son. Mr. Malingear, a mediocre doctor, pretends to be an excellent
one and always busy with research projects. Mr. Ratinois, merchant of chocolate
and candies, is a nouveau riche whose son is a lawyer. To persuade each other, the
Ratinois and the Malingear make up more and more bluffs. The plot of the second
act is similar to that of the first act. In the dinner of the second act, the characters
finally understand that all their cheatings are nothing but throwing “sands bewilder-
ing people’s eyes”.
Represented for the first time on 19 October 1961, in the Gymnase Theatre of Paris.
19
Song Chunfang, “Improving Chinese Theatre” (“Gailiangzhongguoxiju”), in Essays 1, 3rd ed.

20
(Shanghai: Zhonghua shuju, 1930), 275–286.

152 LO Shih-Lung
Nowadays people know little about the life of the translator Zhao Shaohou.
Graduated from Peking University in 1919, Zhao began to teach French language
and literature in different universities from 1920. His translation of La Poudre aux
yeux was published by the New Moon Bookstore (Xinyue shudian). Founded by the
“New Moon Society” (Xinyue she, one of the most important literary societies of
Chinese modern literature), this bookstore was located in the Shanghai French con-
cession since 1927 and closed in 1933. Many famous writers and intellectuals were
members of the New Moon Society and investors of the bookstore, such as Hu Shi,
Xu Zhimo or Song Chunfang. The members of the New Moon Society were
interested in Western theatre. The monthly magazine New Moon had published
nine plays translated from foreign languages. During 1927–1933, the New Moon
Bookstore had published 24 translated books. Six of them were theatre plays.21 La
Poudre aux yeux was the only one which was translated from French. On the pub-
lication cover, the Chinese title Miyan de shazi was the calligraphy of Hu Shi.
To promote the translation of Zhao Shaohou, the advertisement published in the
New Moon magazine described it as:
This is an immortal work of Labiche, who was a nineteenth-century French grand master of
burlesque. The plays of Labiche can satisfy public mentality. The reputation of Labiche’s
plays are recognized all over the world and their transmission is not limited by countries’
boundaries. That is why the French, the Americans, the African Negros, as well as the men
and the women, the elder and the younger, everybody loves reading his plays. In China,
there is few burlesque plays exclusively for fun. Therefore, Mr. Zhao Shaohou, particularly
by using his fluent language, translated this immortal play of the great writer. After reading
it, we assure that you cannot help but being happy and laughing, even though you are actu-
ally in a ruined world stuffed by anxieties and worries.22
The description above was obviously taken from Song Chunfang’s ideas in his
Essays, such as Labiche’s “burlesque” quality, “not limited by countries’ boundar-
ies”, “public mentality”, etc. Although the name of Song Chunfang was not men-
tioned in the advertisement, the first translation of La Poudre aux yeux—and the first
Labiche’s play published in a single volume—could never be realized without Song
Chunfang’s efforts.
The play was not merely translated for pleasure of “reading in a ruined world”,
as it was claimed in the advertisement of the New Moon. Yan Zhewu (1907–?), who
was famous for his passion for the theory and practice of the “people’s theatre”, had
directed Sands Bewildering People’s Eyes in the province of Shandong during
1934–1935.23 The performances were mainly for the illiterate public, in order to
21
Wang Jianfeng, “New Moon School’s Ideas on the Translation: A Study of the Advertisements of
the New Moon Magazine,” (“Cong Xinyue yizhu guanggao kan xinyue pai fanyi sixiang”), Journal
of Huaibei Normal University 35.4 (August 2014): 81–84; Wang Jianfeng, “The Sponsorship of
the New Moon Bookstore for the Translation of Theatre Works” (“Xinyue shudian dui xiju fanyi
huodong de zanzhu”), Journal of Chifeng College (Edition of Chinese Literature, Philosophy, and
Social Sciences) 35.10 (October 2014): 39–40.
22
New Moon 4.6–7, 1929.
23
Yan Zhewu, “Towards the ‘Theatricalization of the Public Readings’” (“Zouxiang “minzhongdu-
wuxiquhua” zhilu”), The Monthly Journal of the Public Education of Shandong (Shandong
enrich the cultural life of local people, especially the labourers and farmers. It is
interesting to point out that this translated comedy was performed with other propa-
ganda plays in Shandong. On 24–25 November, Sands Bewildering People’s Eyes
was performed right after the performance of a collective creation street theatre
Throw Down Your Whip (Fangxia ni de bianzi). The latter, often considered as a
left-wing propaganda play, accused the oppression of the landlords who were effec-
tively supported by the compatriots who dared not to revolt. It seems that the orga-
nizers of the program intended to reveal to the audience the hypocrisy and selfishness
of urban middle class. For the left-wing artists, a “modernized” public should be
undoubtedly conscious of the class conflict. The play of Labiche was an example to
demonstrate this conflict and the real face of middle class.
If Labiche’s La Poudre aux yeux could be appreciated by the ordinary people in
the countryside of Shandong, the same play also attracted young students in the
modern theatre education system. The translation was accomplished in 1936 by the
young playwright Cao Yu (1910–1996), who had published his famous The
Thunderstorm (Leiyu) 2 years ago. The new translation—or rather adaptation,
because Cao Yu had only kept the first act of the original and revised it—was enti-
tled Du Jin (literally Gilt). The title was inspired from the dispute between doctor
Malingear and his wife. The doctor criticizes his wife for she always wants to
“throw dust into others’ eyes to bewilder them”. However, Mrs. Malingear argues
that everybody does the same thing in a different way. She must throw the dust to
bewilder others, because their daughter is actually perfect but needs to be more
presentable. Just like a gilt watch chain, their daughter can be more eye-catching
once she is “gilt”.
The adaptation of Cao Yu had a precise pedagogic objective. In 1936, the young
professor Cao Yu taught modern theatre courses in the National College of Dramatic
Arts. To arouse students’ interest in modern theatre, Cao Yu tried to “find out a play
which can be presented on stage” by his students who had hardly stage experiences,
and adapted this play into a “parody which reflects the reality of today’s Chinese
society and customs”. More than a translator, the playwright Cao Yu paid attention
to the practical aspect. He pointed out that the performance of comedy was a
challenge to students, and he defended the stage effects brought forth by his
adaptation:
The play Gilt can easily produce stage effects. Through the performance of the play, begin-
ners of theatre courses can understand what the stage and the audience mean to them. […]
Secondly, I think the success and the style of the performance of this play depend on the
actors’ talent and training. A good and well-developed actor can make it a cultivated,
humorous and charming performance. It will by no means become a low comedy. I think
this one-act play is a good test to the actors and the director.24
minzhong jiaoyu yuekan) 7. 9, quoted in Zhou Huimei, Public Education Centers and the Evolution
of the Chinese Society (Minzhong jiaoyu guan yu zhongguo shehui bianqian) (Taipei: Showwe
Publishing, 2013), 375–376.
24
Cao Yu, “Epilogue of Gilt,” (“Du jinhouji”), Little Plays (Xiao Juben) 11 (1981). This article is
collected in The Complete Works of Cao Yu (Cao Yu quanji) 5 (Shijiazhuang: Huashanwenyi,
1996), 108–110.
154 LO Shih-Lung
In spite of the excellent comic effect on the stage, Cao Yu didn’t seem to appreci-
ate the language of Labiche. In the same article quoted above, Cao Yu indicated that
the sense of humour exhibited in the lines of Labiche’s plays is “sometimes vulgar”
and the “comic language and the arrangement [of plot] are a little bit clichés”. Cao
Yu observed that the popularity of Labiche in France was because the audience had
been tired of serious social problem play. It seems that Cao Yu ironized here the
evaluation of Song Chunfang and the New Moon Bookstore, who had more or less
exaggerated the literary value and social function of Labiche. In any case, the adap-
tation of Cao Yu, which aimed to enrich students’ applied knowledge on modern
theatre, was written in a more fluent and colloquial language than the translation of
Zhao Shaohou. Besides, the characters’ names and the expressions were much
Sinicized in order to give the readers/audience a kind of familiarity.
Although Gilt was first performed in 1936, it was not published until 1943.25
A reprinted version appeared in 1981. On the theatre stage during the Sino-Japanese
war (1937–1945), the adaptation of Cao Yu was sometimes entitled Smoke Bomb
(Yanmudan). In 1938, the National College of Dramatic Arts had evacuated to the
province of Sichuan, in the southwestern China. In September, students of the col-
lege had given six performances of Smoke Bomb in the Cathay Theatre in Chongqing.
According to the program, this one-act play was translated by Wan Jiabao and
directed by Guo Lantian.26 Wan Jiabao is the birth name of Cao Yu. The Smoke
Bomb was exactly Gilt. The titles referred to different metaphors, but the main idea
of “cheating” was the same.
No matter what the title was, the adaptation of Cao Yu which had been used for
modern theatre courses was criticized by some audience during its commercial per-
formances because of the character “Uncle Zhao”. This character cannot be found
in the printed version, but it seems that this Uncle Zhao often showed up at the end
of the performance of Gilt.27 He gave a moral lesson to the two families, told them
that it was unwise to believe in the gilt appearance, and offered an amount of money
to help the young couple to get married. This arrangement gave a Chinese-styled
happy ending to the ironic comedy. For some audience, an adaptation like this was
entirely a failure. It cared about nothing but the audience’s laughter and had
neglected the serious aspect of the original.28 Still, the comic elements always
attracted the audience who were tortured by the war. According to another review,
“the performance exhibited rapid, fluent, vivid and exaggerated comic skills”.
Thanks to the actors who made good use of the stage and captured audience’s atten-
25
Cao Yu, Du jin (Gilt), published for the first time in journal Theatre Times (Xiju shidai) 1
(November 1943): 16–26.
26
Shi Man, Chronicle of the Theatre in Chongqing during the Resistance Against Japan (Chongqing
kangzhan jutan jishi) (Beijing: Zhongguo xiju chubanshe, 1995), 24.
27
For example, he could be found in the performances directed by Hong Mo and represented by the
Shanghai Dramatic Art Society (Shanghai Juyi she), from June to August of 1941, or in the perfor-
mances given by the Yanjing Theatre Troupe, in Beijing, in October 1941.
28
Cui Muxue, “Two Reviews of Gilt” (“Jupingliangti: guanyuDu jin”), Knowledge and Life
(Zhishiyushenghuo) 1.10 (1941): 230–231.
tion by their fantastic actions, the performance was “similar to a Hollywood

comedy”.29 For the audience living in a “ruined world”—if we quote the words of
Song Chunfang in his presentation of Labiche—a relaxing and harmless romantic
comedy may be more interesting than a parody of urban middle class. The supple-
mentary character Uncle Zhao promised the audience a warm and hopeful romantic
melodrama, although it had derived from Labiche’s intention. Perhaps the audience
threatened by war always looked for something unrealistic to bewilder themselves.
On 26 February 1944, the Chinese Artistic Theatre Society (Zhongguo yishu jushe),
in Chongqing, planned to perform thiry-one-act plays, including Gilt. But the title
had finally been changed into Two Phoenix Singing Their Romantic Tunes (Luan
feng he ming).
In addition to the translations of Zhao Shaohou and Cao Yu, new translations of
La Poudre aux yeux continued to appear in China in the 1940s. In 1940, the Zhengxin
Bookstore of Shanghai published a “modern ironic play” (xiandaifengciju) entitled
A Pure Evening Feast (Chunjie de yeyan) which was, according to the cover of the
publication, “adapted” by Hong Liu (?–?) from the original of “La Pisi” [Labiche].
The storyline of this version respects the original play. No plots had been added nor
been deleted. The title suggests that Hong Liu focused on the “feast” of the second
act, in which all the members of the two families have dinner together and all their
bluffs and deceptions were finally revealed. A Pure Evening Feast was undoubtedly
interested in the ironic tone of the original, but the translator seems to express his
understandings of these white lies out of a “pure” intention.
Compared to precedent translations, A Pure Evening Feast is especially suc-
cessful in its language. The dialogues are much naturally structured and close to
Chinese speakers’ language habits. For example, when the Ratinois discuss with
restaurant owner on the dishes for the dinner, the restaurant owner suggested
dishes like “carp from the Yellow River”, “mushrooms of Zhangjiakou30”, “wild
duck of Beijing”, “[Dessert] Leifeng Tower made from pineapple”, etc. In the ver-
sion of Zhao Shaohou, these dishes were however faithfully translated into “carps
form the Rhin”, “Mushrooms ‘Telufu’”, [truffles] “Free range chicken of China”,
“[Dessert] ‘Tour de Nankin’ made from pineapples”, etc. If the translation of Zhao
Shaohou represented exotic elements in the original text, it is the translation of
Hong Liu that made the dishes more accessible to the imagination of the Chinese
readers/audience. The joyful dinner was not only for the two middle-class families
but also for the audience who starved for a feast which could be enjoyed at a
peaceful time.
Moreover, several sensible words were modified or deleted in the translation of
Hong Liu, in order to avoid possible political intervention. For example, the Ratinois
planned to ask their neighbour to pretend to be their house servant. The sentence
was translated by Zhao Shaohou as follows: “The man who rents the second floor…
29
Shen Xie, “Reviews: Gilt and Proposal” (“Yanchuniaokan: Du jin, Qiuhun”), Art of Theatre
Stage (Wutai Yishu) 2 (1941): 32–33.
30
Zhangjiakou was a commercial town located near Beijing, through which exotic products were
imported to the capital.
156 LO Shih-Lung
who has grown up in the colony… went to the countryside these days…”.31 In the
translation of Hong Liu, however, the word “colony” does not exist anymore, and
the sentence is cut short and becomes “That who rents the second floor has been to
the countryside these days”.32
In any case, the new translation of Hong Liu should have been very popular. A
publisher named “Yixinchubanshe” had published a play entitled Dinner (Wancan).
The year and the place of publication were not indicated. The translator was Zhang
Hongfei, and the author was “Lai Leishu” [Labiche]. But, in fact, every single word
of the translation of Zhang Hongfei is exactly the same as the translation of Hong
Liu, except the title.
The Sino-Japanese War ended in 1945. The play of Labiche was still appreciated
in Chinese theatre. Yan Zhewu, who had directed the performance of Sands
Bewildering People’s Eyes (translation of Zhao Shaohou) in the 1930s, translated
the play himself in 1947. His translation was published in the magazine The Pioneer
of Literature and Arts (Wenyixianfeng), which was supported by the Nationalist
authorities. The title was the same as the translation of Zhao Shaohou, that is, Sands
Bewildering People’s Eyes (Mi yan de shazi).33 Before the publication, the transla-
tion of Yan Zhewu had already been performed by the Troup of Experimental
Theatre Education (Shiyanxijujiaoyu dui) supported by the Ministry of the Education
of Chiang Kai-shek government. The performances were given from October 1943
to June 1944, in Chongqing.34
As Hu Shi and Ouyang Yuqian, Yan Zhewu considered that the problem of
Chinese modern theatre had been resulted from the lack of good plays. To modern-
ize Chinese theatre, argued Yan Zhewu, “of course we have to create new plays
which can be performed on Chinese stage. But the situation is so urgent. For the
moment, the best solution is to make use of the plays which have been already pub-
lished, and the plays translated from foreign languages”.35 Due to this idea, Yan
Zhewu, who was a colleague of Cao Yu in the National College of Dramatic Arts,
translated again the comedy of Labiche.
Three important points can be observed in the translation of Yan Zhewu. Firstly,
two sketches of stage design are published in the magazine with the text of the play.
Nowadays readers and researchers can take them as precious image references and
imagine the development of theatre directing in the 1940s. Secondly, in the pro-
logue to his translation, Yan Zhewu gives a short presentation of former translations
31
Zhao Shaohou, Sands Bewildering People’s Eyes (Miyan de shazi) (Shanghai: Xinyueshudian,
1929), 100.
32
Hong Liu, A Pure Evening Feast (Chunjie de yeyan) (Shanghai: Zhengxinshudian, 1940), 87.
33
Yan Zhewu, Sands Bewildering People’s Eyes (Mi yan de shazi), in The Pioneer of Literature and
Arts (Wenyixianfeng) 10.1 (January 1947): 49–71.
34
Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (Zhongguo renmin zhengzhi xieshang huiyi),
als. ed., The Chronicle of the Sino-Japanese War in Chongqing (Chongqing kangzhanjishi)
(Chongqing: Chongqing chubanshe, 1985), 353.
35
Yan Zhewu, “Adaptation and Revision” (“Gai yiyu gai zuo”), in Theatre Life (Juchang shenghuo)
(Beijing: Zhonghuashuju, 1939), 70.
and performances. Although some titles need to be clarified,36 this presentation still
helps us to retrace the reception and the diffusion of La Poudre aux yeux in China.
Thirdly—and perhaps the most important—due to the translations and retransla-
tions of the same play from the 1920s to the 1940s, latter translators had the chance
to sharpen their language with the help of precedent works. The retranslations of
Labiche’s plays had witnessed the evolution of modern Chinese vernacular lan-
guage (baihua) and its integration into the texts of Chinese spoken drama. Modern
vocabulary and expressions were more and more naturally uttered from the charac-
ters. From this aspect, all the latter translations can be considered as adaptations of
the first translation of Zhao Shaohou. The language that they used was not merely a
Chinese rewriting of Labiche’s text but also a language adapted to the habits of
modern readers.
From Zhao Shaohou to Yan Zhewu, a nineteenth-century French comedy has
become a play which reminds Chinese people of their daily life and even their man-
ners. The popularity of La Poudre aux yeux—or rather its Chinese
translations/adaptations—can be proved again by the production of Fake with Joy
(Huan tian xi di). The scenario of the film was adapted by Wu Renzhi (1902–1995)
from Labiche’s comedy. Directed by Zheng Xiaoqiu (1910–1989) and distributed
by Datong Corporation in 1949, this film had hardly any more French elements.
According to contemporary journal reviews and archives, the story happens in mod-
ern Chinese society, and it was not Parisian middle class but the emerging Chinese
urban middle class who were mocked by the filmmakers. Unfortunately, no more
copy of this film exists nowadays.
ranslations of Eugene Labiche’s Le Voyage de Monsieur

T
Perrichon (Mr. Perrichon’s Travel)
As mentioned above, the Essays of Song Chunfang published in 1923 had allowed
the Chinse readers to know the name of Labiche. It was also in 1923 that his comedy
Le Voyage de Monsieur Perrichon37 had been introduced to China. The play was
presented as a quju, literally meaning “amusing play”. The translator is Pan Chuanlin
(?–?), a young member of the literary club “Law Grass Society” (Qiancaoshe)
based in Beijing. Entitled The Travels of Mr. Bai Lishun (Bai Lishunxiansheng de
youli, “Lishun” means literally “reasonable”), this translation was published in the
Thrice-monthly Magazine of Literature (Wenxuexunkan).38 A few excerpts had been
36
For example, does the play Shengjie de yeyan mean Chunjie de yeyan (translation of Hong Liu)?
Is it a mistake of Yan Zhewu, or was there another translation entitled Shengjie de yeyan?
37
Represented for the first time on 10 September 1860, in the Gymnase Theatre of Paris.
38
The Thrice-monthly Magazine of Literature of the Low Grass Society was founded in July 1923
and closed in January 1924. It was published as the supplement of the Daily of the Republic
(Minguo Ribao). Different from the trimonthly magazine Low Grass which was dedicated to their
members’ creation, the Thrice-monthly Magazine of Literature had published lots of literary works
translated from foreign languages.
158 LO Shih-Lung
published in three issues, and the name of the French playwright was published as
“Lapiche”. In any case, the first translation of Le Voyage de Monsieur Perrichon did
not play an important role in terms of the reception of Labiche in China.
Other translations were available during the 1930s–1940s. The translation of
Wang Shoushan (?–?), entitled The History of Mr. Bolisong’s Travel
(Bolisongxiansheng de lüxing ji), was published by the No Name Society
(Weiming she) of Beijing, in 1930. In 1931, the monthly magazine New North
(Xin Beifang), based in Tianjin, published the unfinished translation of Cai
Zengjie (?–?) entitled The Travel of Ba Xixiong (Ba Xixiong de lüxing).39 In 1940,
the translation of Liu Musen (?–?) was published by the Chinese Books and
Magazines Corporation (Zhongguo tushu zazhi gongsi), in Shanghai. Entitled The
Travel (Lüxing), this translation had been partially published in the Theatre
Magazine (Xijuzazhi).40
The short survey above shows two facts. Firstly, although the translation of Le
Voyage de Monsieur Perrichon was earlier than La Poudre aux yeux, the available
translations were often incomplete. The first complete translation was not published
until 1930 (Wang Shoushan). Secondly, compared to La Poudre aux yeux, transla-
tors seemed to prefer in this play and were devoted one after another to launch their
own translation.
The play is about the wedding proposals of two young men, Armand and Daniel,
who had had known Mr. Perrichon’s daughter in a dancing party. The Perrichon
family goes to vacation in Switzerland, and the two young men follow them.
Mr. Perrichon has an accident in the valley and is saved by Armand. The proud and
highly self-esteemed Mr. Perrichon is not at all graceful for this brave action which
makes him lose his face. On the contrary, Daniel, pretends to be hurt, saved by
Mr. Perrichon and thus wins Mr. Perrichon’s appreciation. The plot develops with
the pride and the prejudice, and Labiche puts it in a perfect ridiculous and ironic
way. As Yuan Changying indicates, “the play is interweaved by the comic actions of
the two young men. […] The plot, in a word, is that we tend to like those whom we
protect, and dislike those who protect us”.41
The translations mentioned above, although incomplete, tried their most to be
faithful to the original text, instead of free adaptation. For example, the translation
of Cai Zengjie basically keeps special expressions or wordplay of French language.
Sometimes he even quoted directly the original French sentence. To help the readers
understand the text, he gives a literal translation followed by his explanation.
Liu Musen also pays attention to the language of the play. In the preface of his
39
The New North was founded in January 1931 and closed in October 1931. The translation of Cai
Zengjie was published in vol. 2, no. 4, October 1931, pp. 1–20. The third act was not published.
40
The Theatre Magazine was founded in October 1938 and closed in September 1940. The first two
acts of Liu’s translation were published in vol. 3, no. 4 and 5, 1939. The third act was only pub-
lished in the single volume edition of 1940.
41
Yuan Changying, History of French Literature (Faguowenxueshi) (Shanghai: The Commercial
Press, 1944), 152.
translation, Liu Musen explains how he chose exact words for each line to precisely
convey the author’s intention. To him, the language is the most interesting part in
this play, and that is also the reason why he decided to translate this play. Compared
to Song Chunfang who had much emphasized the burlesque plots of Labiche’s
plays, the translation of Liu Musen tended to focus on the text itself and provided
the readers an access to the appreciation of the French language.
Due to its language value, Labiche’s plays were considered as good readings for
French learning. Thus, Liu Musen argues in his preface that “perhaps this play is not
very suitable for stage performance. One has to admit the fact that the amount of
readers of Labiche is much than the audience of Labiche’s plays. Especially in the
United States, Labiche’s plays are always used in high school and college as text-
books in French courses. In Shanghai, there are also several universities […] where
French is taught as second foreign language. This play [Le Voyage de Monsieur
Perrichon] is used as reading text for the fourth semester”.42 Learning Western lan-
guages was not a new idea to the 1940s Chinese people. Since the end of the nine-
teenth century, the political-cultural discourses of the intellectuals tended to connect
the nation’s future to the aptitude of Western languages. The goal of proficiency in
Western languages must be attained, and a play which can improve students’ lan-
guage ability should be undoubtedly appreciated and widely applied to school edu-
cation. In addition to the preface of Liu Musen, there is another long article on
Labiche’s style in this publication. It is the preface to the French edition of the
complete works of Labiche. The author is French playwright Émile Augier, and the
translator of this article is Liu Musen’s friend Wang Ji. Evidently, Labiche is studied
as a representative French dramatic literature, and his literary status is canonized in
Chinese universities. While La Poudre aux yeux was taught by Cao Yu in the
National College of Dramatic Art, Le Voyage de Monsieur Perrichon was taught in
language and literature courses of university. Both plays of Labiche were thus intro-
duced to the modern educational system of China.
After the Sino-Japanese War, a new translation of Le Voyage de Monsieur
Perrichon was available. Entitled The Race Between the Tortoise and the Hare
(Guitujingzou), this translation was accomplished by DiaoRujun (1907–1994).43
The Chinese title was inspired from the famous fable of La Fontaine. In the second
act of Labiche’s play, the playwright also referred to this literary allusion.44 The
translator DiaoRujun, who had studied literature and theatre in the University of
Paris, seems to be much interested in Labiche’s plays. In September 1945, a one-act
42
Liu Musen, “To My Old Friend Lu Chen—Preface by the Translator” (“Gei lao huoban Lu
Chen—Dai yizhexu”), in The Travel (Lüxing) (Shanghai: Zhongguo tushu zazhi gongsi, 1940), 13.
43
DiaoRujun, The Race Between the Tortoise and the Hare (Gui tu jingzou) (Chongqing: The
Commercial Press, November 1945). The original title of the play is indicated in the copyright
page, but the author was incorrectly spelled as “LaicheEvgine”.
44
Daniel says to his competitor Armand: “Qui arrivera le premier de nous deux? Nous avons la
fable du Lièvre et de la Tortue” (Which one of us will arrive the first? We have the fable of The
Tortoise and the Hare).
160 LO Shih-Lung
play entitled The Grammar (Wenfa) had been published in the Pioneer of Literature
and Arts.45 In 1946, DiaoRujun published in the same journal a three-act play of
Labiche, which was entitled The Small Birds (Xiao niao).46 This is the journal where
Yan Zhewu published his translation of La Poudre aux yeux in 1947.
In addition to these translations of Le Voyage de Monsieur Perrichon, an adap-
tation was accomplished by Shi Huafu (pseudonym of Chen Linrui, 1905–1969).
The title Peacock Screen (Kongque ping) referred to the story of Li Yuan, founder
of the Tang Dynasty (618–907). Before becoming the emperor, he had participated
in an archery organized by the general Dou Yi who desired to choose a brave young
soldier as his daughter’s husband. The participants are asked to shoot an arrow on
the screen decorated by a painted peacock. The target for the archers was the pea-
cock’s eye. In the twentieth century, the story was adapted into the form of Beijing
Opera by Cheng Yanqiu (1904–1958).47 Shi Huafu must be acquainted with the
allusion of “Peacock Screen”, and his adaptation was completely moved into a
Chinese context. Three points of the adaptation are especially worth readers’
attention:
Firstly, not only the names of characters and scenes but also the social back-
ground of characters and the plot are totally revised and moved in modern China.
The nouveau riche Mr. Perrichon becomes Mr. Baili Xiang, responsible of the
Fangfang Tofu Company. Armand becomes Li Shaoguang, member of the board of
directors of the Zhongfeng Bank. Daniel becomes the manager of the Shanghai
Tram Corporation. The Baili family spend their vacation in the famous Mount
Mogan, in the province of Zhejiang, instead of the Alps of Switzerland. The word-
plays such as the wrong spelling (mer [sea]/mère [mother]) in the original play are
not translated but replaced by other similar Chinese puns. These arrangements
allowed the readers to identify themselves to the characters and life style repre-
sented in this play. The daily life elements which can be found in China of 1930–
1940, such as the public transportation (train, tram), reinforce the atmosphere of
modern city life. For the interior design of the house of Mr. Perrichon, Labiche had
given every detail concerned. In the adaptation of Shi Huafu, eight words in the
stage direction are sufficient to express the taste of the nouveau riche of Shanghai:
“dubious, mix of elegant and vulgar decorations” (Bu san busi, you ya you su).
Moreover, the dialogues are as natural as colloquial Chinese vernacular language.
The sense of humour is perfectly conveyed. The Peacock Screen reads like a Chinese
playwright’s creation instead of a translation.
45
DiaoRujun, The Grammar (Wenfa), The Pioneer of Literature and Arts 7. 3 (September 1945):
43–60.
46
DiaoRujun, The Small Birds (Xiao niao), The Pioneer of Literature and Arts 8.2–4 (February–
April 1946): 50–64 (Act I, issue of February), 35–44 (Act II, issue of March), 48–57 (Act III, issue
of April).
47
The only available recording was published by Pathé in 1923.
Secondly, some details are modified or added so that they can remind the readers
of mores and social codes of the Chinse society. For example, in the first act of
Labiche’s original, an employee of the company of Mr. Perrichon wants to borrow
money from Mr. Perrichon. In the adaptation of Shi Huafu, the one who borrows
money is not only an employee of the Fangfang Tofu Company but also brother of
Mrs. Baili. On the other hand, Mrs. Baili’s cousin works actually in the Jiading
branch of the Zhongfeng Bank. Li Shaoguang, who has known this information, is
himself the manager of the Zhongfeng Bank. The complicated network of people’s
relations in the Chinese society makes the adaptation of Shi Huafu more compre-
hensible and more humorous among the readers. The relationship and the intimacy
between the characters can also be observed by the terms they use to call each other.
For example, since Mr. Li has saved Mr. Baili’s life, Mr. Baili calls him “Brother
Shaoguang” (Shaoguangxiong). This term shows that their relation is closer, but the
respect and courtesy still exist between them. Mr. Baili is actually more flattered by
Zhang Wenlie who is saved by him. So Mr. Baili calls him “Old Zhang” (Lao
Zhang), term used between closer friends. Because of these details, a Frenchman’s
travel becomes the Chinese The Peacock Screen. It is not only an ironic comedy
dealing with the urban middle class but also a screen which reflects the sophistica-
tion of Chinese manners.
Thirdly, the vanity of Mr. Perrichon in the original becomes the question of
“face” (mianzi), and the term “face” appears regularly in the Chinese adaptation.
For example, in Act III, scene 3, Mrs. Perrichon analyses why his husband prefers
Daniel to Armand. She argues that “His behavior flatters your vanity… so… that’s
why you prefer him” (Cela flatte ta vanité… et voilà… et voilà pourquoi tu le
préfères). This simple sentence is much developed in the adaptation of Shi Huafu:
“When Mr. Zhang sees you, it seems that he cannot stop repeating ‘Were it not for
Mr. Baili Xiang… Were it not for Mr. Baili…’ Does he make you feel proud [having
face, you mianzi] by doing so, isn’t it? You like him, because he knows how to flatter
you”. Other examples of the use of the term mianzi can be easily found in Peacock
Screen, one of the most worrisome questions in China.
Through his observations of the manners of rising middle class in the Chinese
society of 1930–1940, The Peacock Screen becomes a remarkable adaptation of
Labiche’s play. The comic elements of Labiche are appropriated by the Chinese
writer, and the story is recreated in a Chinese framework.
Conclusion
The translation and the adaptation of Western theatre played an important role in the
history of modern Chinese theatre. What kinds of plays were chosen, translated and
even retranslated? Two reasons are essential: firstly, the literary value allows a play
to attract readers and audience in different periods of time; secondly, the issue or
162 LO Shih-Lung
subject evoked by a play satisfies the aspiration of the readers and audience. Scholars
have been devoted to the research of the reception of works of greater playwrights.
Still, there are some other playwrights whose works were indeed appreciated but are
less known nowadays. La Poudre aux yeux and Le Voyage de Monsieur Perrichon of
the French playwright Eugene Labiche are two examples. These two comedies (or
“burlesque plays”, in Song Chunfang’s words) are often neglected by researchers of
Chinese modern theatre. One reason is due to Labiche’s status in the French litera-
ture, although his works are regularly performed on contemporary French stage.48
Another reason—which may be more decisive—is that the historians of Chinese
theatre tend to overemphasize the single-lined “progressive tradition” (jinbuchuan-
tong) of Chinese modern theatre and ignore the possibility of multilined develop-
ment of different theatrical currents. Labiche’s plays, which are deviated from the
Ibsenian progressive and realistic tradition of the modern Chinese theatre, have
been often forgotten by the researchers.
However, evidences have shown that Labiche’s works had not only been intro-
duced to China but also been presented in a systematic way by scholars like Song
Chunfang. Scholars of the 1910s–1920s had attempted to establish “bibliographies”
through scientific and academic spirit, by which they attempted to prepare nutrition
for the young Chinese modern theatre. Labiche’s comic plays stepped thus on the
Chinese land in the 1920s and were promoted as remedy to the nation’s melancholy
and pessimism. In the 1930s, Labiche’s play was partially deleted and revised by
Cao Yu. By doing so, the young Chinese playwright tried to inspire students who
accepted their professional training in modern educational system. During the Sino-
Japanese War, Labiche’s plays continued to be retranslated and performed. In the
1940s, finally, writers and translators as Shi Huafu had successfully revised
Labiche’s plays and created their adaptations, in which only the framework of the
original had been kept but the dialogue and the pleasure had been totally replaced
by Chinese characteristics. From the 1910s to the 1940s, the plays of Labiche had
been appropriated by Chinese writers in different ways. From the “bibliography”
project of scholars to the practice of playwrights, the Chinese theatre found a pos-
sibility to modernize itself. In the history of modern Chinese theatre, this is undoubt-
edly an event which is worth our rediscovery.
For example, in the 2015–2016 season, Un chapeau de pailled’Italie of Labiche is performed at

48
La Comédie-Française.
Appendix
Original Title Chinese Title Chinese Title Translator / Year of Remarks
(transcription pinyin) (Chinese Adaptor Publication
characters)
Les deux Lianggedoushidanxiao Zhao 1921
timides de ren Shaohou
Song
Chunfang
La Poudre aux Mi yan de shazi Zhao 1929
yeux Shaohou
Du jin Cao Yu 1943 Represented
for the first
time in 1936
Yanmudan Wan Represented in
Jiabao [Cao 1938
Yu]
Chunjie de yeyan Hong Liu 1940
Shengjie de yeyan Unknown Probably
another title of
Chunjie de
yeyan
Luan feng he ming Cao Yu Represented in
1944
Men dang hu dui Unknown Probably
another title of
Luan feng he
ming
Wancan Zhang Text completely
Hongfei the same as the
translation of
Hong Liu
Mi yan de shazi Yan 1947
Zhewu
Huan tian xi di Wu 1949 Film
Renzhi
Le Voyage de Bai Lishunxiansheng Pan 1923 Incomplete
Monsieur de youli Chuanlin translation
Perrichon Bolisongxiansheng de Wang 1930
lüxing ji Shoushan
Ba Xixiong de lüxing Cai 1931 Incomplete
Zeng jie translation
Lüxing Liu 1940
Musen
Kongque ping Shi 1944
Huafu
Guitujingzou 1945
DiaoRujun
La Grammaire Wenfa 1945
DiaoRujun
Les petits Xiao niao 1946
oiseaux DiaoRujun
Fig. A.1 Chinese translations/adaptations of Eugene Labiche’s plays in the republican period
164 LO Shih-Lung
References
Cao Yu. 1943, November. Du jin (Gilt), Theatre Times, 16–26.

———. 1981. Epilogue of Gilt (“Du jinhouji”). Little Plays (Xiao Juben), 11.
Hong Liu. 1940. A Pure Evening Feast (Chunjie de yeyan). Shanghai: Zhengxinshudian, 87.
Hu Shi. 2003. Complete Works of Hu Shi (Hu Shi quanji), 1, 52–68 Hefei: Anhui jiaoyuchubanshe.
William Somerset Maugham. 1922. XLVIII: A Student of the Drama. In On a Chinese Screen,
188–192. London: William Heinemann.
Ming Xin. 1924, April. Short Biographies of French Writers. Monthly Magazine of Novel 15, spe-
cial issue “Research on French Literature,” 39–40.
Ouyang Yuqian. 1918, October. My Opinions on Reforming Chinese Theatre (Yu zhigailiangxiju
guan). La Jeunesse 5(4):341.
Represented for the first time. on 19 October 1961, in the Gymnase Theatre of Paris.
Shi Man. 1995. Chronicle of the Theatre in Chongqing During the Resistance Against Japan, 24.
Beijing.
Song Chunfang. 1918, October. Selection of One Hundred Modern Dramatic Works
(Jinshimijubaizhong mu). La Jeunesse 5(4):361–365.
———. 1930a. Improving Chinese Theatre (Gailiangzhongguoxiju). In Essays 1, 3rd ed., 275–
286. Shanghai: Zhonghuashuju.
———. 1930b. Why Do I Present Labiche? 247–252. Shanghai: Zhonghuashuju.
———. 1930c. Essays on Theatre (Song Chunfanglunju). Vol. 1. 3rd ed, 287–310. Shanghai:
Zhonghuashuju.
———. 1936. The French Theatre Before the Great War, 20–25. Shanghai: Shenghuoshudian.
Tian Qin. 1946. A Comparative Study of the Translated Plays During the Last Thirty
Years (“Sanshinianlaixijufanyizhibijiao”). In The Chinese Theatre Movements
(Zhongguoxijuyundong), 107. Shanghai: The Commercial Press. A Former Edition was
Published in Chongqing, in 1944, During the Sino-Japanese War.
Wang Jianfeng. 2014, August. New Moon School’s Ideas on the Translation: A Study of
the Advertisements of the New Moon Magazine. Journal of Huaibei Normal University
35(4):81–84.
Wu Dayuan. 1946. History of French Literature (Faguowenxueshi), 530. Shanghai: Shanghai
Shudian.
Xia Yande. 1936. History of French Literature (Falanxiwenxueshi), 476. Shanghai: The
Commercial Press.
Xu Xiacun. 1930. Theatre in the End of Nineteenth Century. In History of French Literature
(Faguowenxueshi), 214. Beijing: Beixinshuju.
Xu Zhongnian. 1933. French Literature ABC (Faguowenxue ABC) 2, 80–81. ABC Congshushe:
Shanghai.
Yan Zhewu. 1947. Sands Bewildering People’s Eyes (Mi yan de shazi). The Pioneer of Literature
and Arts (Wenyixianfeng) 10 (1): 49–71.
———. 2013. Towards the ‘Theatricalization of the Public Readings’. The Monthly Journal of the
Public Education of Shandong 7:9, quoted in Zhou Huimei, Public Education Centers and the
Evolution of the Chinese Society, 375–376. Taipei: Showwe Publishing.
Yuan Changying. 1944. Theatre. In History of French Literature (Faguowenxueshi), 152–153.
Shanghai: The Commercial Press.
Zhao Shaohou. 1929. Sands Bewildering People’s Eyes (Miyan de shazi), 100. Shanghai:
Xinyueshudian.
Chapter 11
The Modernization of Chinese Xiqu
with a Case Study of Major Kunqu
Productions in Mainland China,
2001–2013
YANG Ming
As a major form of Chinese indigenous theatre (xiqu), Kunqu has been a part of the
modernization that the Chinese theatre has been going through since the early twen-
tieth century. Research on the development of Kunqu during this process will shed
light on the study of the modernization of Chinese theatre. This paper reviews the
major Kunqu productions in mainland China between 2001 and 2013, analyses their
specific characteristics, and examines those characteristics against the general ten-
dency of xiqu modernization in the twentieth century. It considers the contemporary
development in the early twenty-first century as well as offers expectations as to
future trends in modernization.
Xiqu, Modernization, and Kunqu: The Twentieth Century
It is quite necessary to look at the definition of xiqu first, before embarking on the
discussion of its modernization. The connotation of Chinese theatre has gone
through fundamental changes since the beginning of the twentieth century. It used
to refer to the indigenous theatre forms of China, such as nanxi (southern theatre),
zaju (variety plays), and Kunqu. By the turn of the twentieth century,1 new theatre
forms including wenmingxi (the “civilized drama”), huaju (the spoken drama),2
1
Chen Baichen and Dong Jian (1989) take the year 1899 as the moment when the first western-
style drama was staged in Shanghai, whereas other scholars believe it was started with the produc-
tion of Heinu yutian lu (The Black Slave’s Cry to Heaven) based on Harriet Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s
Cabin by Chunliu She (the Spring Willow Society) in Tokyo, Japan in 1907.
2
The relationship between wenmingxi and huaju is disputed. Some scholars believe the former is
the predecessor of the latter while others argue that wenmingxi is the embryonic form of huaju. See
Dong Jian (1999), Hu Xingliang (2004), and Liu Siyuan (2006, 2007).
YANG Ming (*)
University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA

166 YANG Ming
opera, and dance drama had been introduced into China3 and started to acquire an
increasingly large influence. To distinguish the indigenous traditions from the newly
introduced forms, xiqu (literally the “theatre (of) tunes”) became the standardized
reference of the Chinese indigenous theatre,4 owing largely to the popularization of
the term by Wang Guowei through his series of publications on classical Chinese
theatre between 1912 and 1917. Meanwhile, (xiyang) xinju (“[Western] New Plays”)
was used for the imported forms from the West, as well as China’s immediate Asian
neighbour in the East Japan. A coexisting huaju-xiqu system within the Chinese
theatre thus came into being and entered the regular discourse of Chinese theatre
scholarship.5 This duality has led to the modernization of Chinese theatre being
twofold, if not even more disparate – the differences arising from the multiple pos-
sibilities as was exemplified in the guiding principles set forward by Zhang Geng in
his essay titled “The Nationalization of huaju and the Modernization of the Old
Theatre”6 in 1939. The broad scope of such discussions exceeds the remit of this
paper. Therefore, all discussions in this paper hereafter, unless specified otherwise,
are restricted to the domain of xiqu.
The modernization of xiqu in the twentieth century is rightfully referred to as a
“tortuous path” (Dong 1998) due to the complexity and intricacy of the social, polit-
ical, economic, and cultural changes taking place during the process. It is something
of a challenge to divide that history into phases and summarize the features in those
phases, respectively, yet the creation of such divisions and summarizations is imper-
ative for such discussions to begin. Dong suggested three phases first, the negation
and criticism of xiqu as being obsolete and backward (starting in the 1910s), second
the rebuilding and utilization of the old art form for new content (starting in the
1920s), and finally the identification with the term xiqu and reassessment of its
value (starting in the 1980s). In the previous year, Hu puts forward a division with
four phases in his study of xiqu modernization in the twentieth century – the begin-
ning phase (starting with the May 4th Movement in 1919), the second phase of
“putting the new wine in the old bottle” (starting with the outbreak of the Sino-
Japanese War in 1937), the third phase of “‘San bingju’ (three simultaneous devel-
opments) and modern plays” (starting with the founding of the PR China in 1949),
and the last phase of “explorations and reforms amidst the crisis” (starting with the
“New Era”, the post-Cultural Revolution period, beginning in 1978). Since the year
2000, similar dating and defining endeavours have also been undertaken by scholars
in the continued discussions on the modernization process in the twentieth and the
3
The latter three never achieved the same popularity and predominance onstage as huaju. As a
result, in narratives on modern Chinese theatre, huaju has been employed as the default synonym
of western theatre, as is to be seen in the essays by Zhang Geng and other Chinese scholars.
4
When viewed in different perspectives, it was also referred to as jiuxi (Old Theatre) in comparison
to the “New” and guoju (National Theatre) as against the “Western”.
5
See, for example, Dong (1998), Ruan (2003), and Shi (2010) on the huaju-xiqu duality.
6
“Old Theatre” referred to xiqu, as Zhang Geng explicitly expounded in his later works. See
Liu Tao (2004).
11 The Modernization of Chinese Xiqu with a Case Study of Major Kunqu… 167
unfolding twenty-first century.7 Those discourses have certainly contributed to the

theoretical construction and the rearrangement of the historical data. Nonetheless,
there are also common deficiencies, mainly the lack of definitive dates (or years) for
the starting and ending of the periods described. There is also a gap in the post-1949
analysis, due to the selective omission of any mention of the Cultural Revolution.
For example, Hu deliberately skips this period, taking a “great leap forward” from
the “17 years after the founding of PRC” immediately to the “New Era”; Dong
simply dismisses this era, condemning xiandai geming yangbanxi (the Modern
Revolutionary Model Works) as “a freak” that “confronted and obstructed the true
modernity of theatre”, hence “the days when yangbanxi is at its peak (i.e. the
Cultural Revolution)8 are the days during which China’s theatre modernization pro-
cess was forcibly blocked”, which is “an indisputable fact” (1998). Understandably,
such deficiencies are due to the previously stated complexities and intricacies on
that “tortuous path” – which often deviates from a linear course of development,
thus denying the convenient plotting of developments along a temporal axis. In
addition, it continues to take time for the Cultural Revolution to be “quarantined”
politically before it can be discussed openly in academic discourse.
I propose to divide the modernization process of xiqu in the twentieth century
into two halves, with the year 1949 as the demarcation line. Prior to 1949, the efforts
towards a modernized xiqu were largely sporadic and incidental – made only by
scholars, artists, and professionals active in certain theatre forms; however, since the
founding of PR China in 1949, modernization has become a state endeavour, one
which has incorporated not only theatre but practically all major aspects of the soci-
ety, of which the best exemplification is shixian sihua (the realization of “four mod-
ernizations”, in agriculture, industry, national defence, and science and technology).
The first half is to be further divided into three sections: section one (1901 to the late
1910s), the intellectuals’ critique of the traditional Chinese theatre; section two (the
1920s to the mid-1930s), the xiqu artists’ experiments for a modernized theatre; and
section three (the late-1930s to 1949), the joint efforts to combine the traditional
forms with the modern themes. The government’s participation is a running theme
for the second half, which varied in terms of the spans and scales of dominance and
influence, dividing this period into three sections along the linear timeline: section
one (1949–1966), the nationwide campaign to modernize xiqu through the “Xiqu
Reform” initiated and implemented by the state; section two (1966–1976), the
monopoly of the Modern Revolutionary Model Works, manifested mostly in the
form of Jingju, while other xiqu forms were banned and troupes disbanded, under
state leadership, aiming to achieve the modernization of China’s theatre by “making
the foreign things (such as the “western” instruments, setting, lighting, costume,
and makeup) serve China and [making] the past serve the present”; and section three
(1978–2000),9 the synthesized drives, including “new” western thoughts introduced
7
See Shi (2004) and Ai (2008).
8
The author’s note.
9
Although the Cultural Revolution ended in 1976, it didn’t connect immediately to the New Era,
which arrived following the convening of the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central
168 YANG Ming
after the implementation of the opening up and reform policy, the audience and
market, the professionals’ trials, and the government’s by-then diminished influence
via guidance and the granting of awards.
Would the development of Kunqu conform to the course of xiqu modernization
in the twentieth century?
Kunqu (also translated as Kun Opera) is one of the oldest Chinese indigenous
theatre forms and is still widely performed across the country on stage today. It
originated in the sixteenth century during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) and
achieved about 200 years of prosperity as China’s national theatre form. Kunqu car-
ries on the characteristics that it inherited from older forms, and it has exerted great
influence on the development of a number of the newer ones. The comprehensive
fusion of performance elements in Kunqu includes song, speech, dance, acting, and
acrobatic display, and it boasts a treasury of materials for new plays and numerous
scenes that have been transplanted to other forms. It is regarded as exhibiting “the
highest taste of classical dramatic literature”, claiming the “perfect system of clas-
sical theatre performance”, and enjoying the status of bai xi zhi mu/zu (“mother/
ancestor of hundreds of xiqu forms”).10
Scholars of xiqu in China generally identify three periods in which efforts were
made to revitalize Kunqu since its decline in the late Qing dynasty (1644–1911).
Two of these periods played out in the twentieth century. The founding of Kunju
Chuanxi Suo (the Institute for the Preservation and Transmission of Kunqu) in 1921
is seen as the nexus of Kunqu’s first revitalization. Founded through the individual
efforts of a number of Kunqu enthusiasts, the Institute suffered from its unstable
financial footing; it suffered such that after only 5 years of the planned 6-year pro-
gram of its first class (the Chuan class), the funding ran out. The Institute’s “early
graduating” students formed troupes including the Xiannishe (the Xianni Society).
But they did not flourish and were eventually disbanded some 10 years later.
The second revitalization was marked by the instant sensation of the 1956 pro-
duction of the Kunqu play Shi wu guan (Fifteen Strings of Cash). Famously, Premier
Zhou Enlai said of that production: “This one play has saved an entire theatre form”
because it “sets a good example for carrying out the policy of ‘Letting a hundred
flowers blossom and weeding through the old to bring forth the new’”. With this
new favour from the government and party leaders, Kunqu soon saw the founding
of the seven professional troupes by the late 1950s – the very same troupes that are
active again today, the recruiting and training of new performers, the performances
of both classical and newly written plays, and the publication of academic research
on Kunqu history and practice. However, Kunqu lost the political ground it had
gained soon after the Cultural Revolution started. All schools and troupes were
Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in December 1978, at which the Opening up and
Reform policy was adopted and the state’s focus shifted to the “construction of socialist
modernization”.
10
It has become the standardization in the reference of Kunqu in Chinese theatre scholarship. See
Niu et al. (1996), Li Xiao (2006), and Zheng Lei (2005), for example.
d isbanded, and Kunqu artists were forced to find other careers (Cong 2007), thus
ending the second revitalization after barely 10 years.
After the Cultural Revolution, all the previously disbanded Kunqu companies
were re-established, and productions were made, including both the “traditional
plays” and exploratory works like Xue shouyin (The Bloody Handprint), an adapta-
tion of Shakespeare’s Macbeth – resetting the story in a Chinese context – by the
Shanghai Kunqu Company (Shangkun) in 1987. Yet, in general, the situation for
Kunqu was becoming so difficult by the end of the twentieth century that, as
UNESCO observed in its Proclamation, “Kunqu performances… since 1990, have
only been staged sporadically” (2001). This was the condition in which Kunqu lay
at the tail end of the twentieth century.
If we examine it against the modernization process of Xiqu in the twentieth cen-
tury, Kunqu’s trajectory, at first glance, does not seem to be in accordance with the
general tendency – specifically that in the first half of the century. It does make more
sense, however, when one takes into consideration that the dominant xiqu form dur-
ing that period was Jingju, crowned as guoju (the “National Theatre”), while Kunqu
was struggling for its very existence. The establishment of the Institute was exactly
such an act of self-rescue. By the beginning of the twentieth century, Kunqu had
long lost the glory of its heyday, owing to a combination of causes: the competition
from other newer theatre forms (represented by Jingju), the interruption of sponsor-
ship by the court and the officials after the ending of the Qing dynasty in 1911, and
the loss of appeal to the audience as an elite theatre. All this had taken place long
before critiques were undertaken by the advocates of modernization. It was the
chuan class graduates who not only extended Kunqu’s life by carrying on the tradi-
tion till the end of the first half of the xiqu modernization; more importantly, they
helped to boost the modernization progress through the 1950s, with their production
of Shi wu guan both for Kunqu and for xiqu as a whole. If one wants to elaborate on
the reasons underpinning Shi wu guan’s success, it has to be noted that the Central
Committee of the Communist Party of China was launching a campaign against
bureaucracy and subjectivism in the mid-1950s. And this play – which was adapted
from a Ming play that tells the story of an official making amends following a case
of mismanagement by his former colleagues due to the inadequacy of their investi-
gation skills and general arrogance – was taken as an ideal showcase. Kunqu offered
a perfect example of the role the state played in the modernizing of the theatre.
Between 1956 and 1966, Kunqu precisely followed the San bingju policy to “devel-
oping modern plays, revising, sorting out, and staging good traditional plays, and
promoting newly written historical plays”. Despite that advantage, Kunqu couldn’t
be spared the common fate meted out to the non-Jingju xiqu forms during the
Cultural Revolution. Since the beginning of the New Era, along with other xiqu
forms, the Kunqu artists were exploring different approaches, including the inter-
cultural experiment embodied in the production of Xue shouyin. Another production
by Shangkun in 1995 – Sima Xiangru – based on the life story of a historical figure
explores how the title character is confronted with temptations of fame, wealth, and
achievement and loses himself temporarily in those pursuits but eventually restores
his peace of mind by returning to a simple life. Obviously, that was an attempt to
170 YANG Ming
approach the historical figures and events from the contemporary, “modern” per-
spectives by projecting then-current values and methodology onto the past, which
was a primary “modernizing” approach as set forth in the San bingju principles.
Kunqu, Xiqu, and Modernization: The Twenty-First Century
In this section, I will review the major Kunqu productions in the twenty-first cen-
tury, aiming to pinpoint both their connections to its tradition in the process of
modernization in the twentieth century and the changes that are taking or have taken
place. There are three main reasons why I set the timeframes as starting in 2001 and
ending in 2013.
First, the year 2001 stands as a landmark not only because it marks the beginning
of the new millennium; more importantly, it was on May 18th of that year that
Kunqu was proclaimed by UNESCO as a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible
Cultural Heritage of Humanity”. Kunqu’s third revitalization can be said to date
from UNESCO’s Proclamation. That Proclamation has brought about a tremendous
momentum to the revitalization of Kunqu, with more productions, increased audi-
ence numbers, (re-)kindled academic interest in Kunqu-related studies, and a larger
and steadier investment of money and attention by governments at various levels.
According to The Yearbook of Kunqu Opera-China 2012 (Zhu Donglin), there were
45 full-play (as against zhezixi – highlight scenes) productions between 2001 and
2012.11, 12 I have selected the following productions on the basis of three criteria to
be met simultaneously: 1. These were the most “well-known” productions in that
period – they were given widespread media coverage and received many critiques,
thus offering rich materials for analysis; 2. Ten out of the twelve plays were
rehearsed and performed during my 2013 field study, so I have observed the produc-
tions in a live condition (I had observed and studied the other two plays in live
performances previously in my preliminary field work). There are recordings avail-
able on DVD or online for future revisits and analysis; and 3. They have their spe-
cific impact on the Kunqu of this period in exploring different ways in aspects such
as play writing, music composition, directing, acting, costumes, stage setting, and
lighting.
Second, Kunqu’s third revitalization has attracted the attention of a variety of
social sectors in China and has received constant support in policy and funding.
During the decade since the Proclamation13 was issued, the numbers of plays staged,
11
The article in the 2012 Yearbook didn’t provide the details of the 45 productions nor even a list
of titles. I unsuccessfully tried to contact the editor-in-chief and the article author to find more
information.
12
There is no statistical record in Yearbook 2013 of the new productions in 2013.
13
See Zhao Bo and Xu Jingjing. Shiwuguan 50 nian hou zai jin jing, Kunqu mouqiu quanmian
fuxing (Shi wu guan in Beijing after 50 Years – Kunqu Seeks a Full-scale Revitalization); Times
Weekly Editorial Office. Kunqu shen yi shi nian dashi ji (Major Events of Kunqu in the 10 Years
overall productions, and audience members are believed to have reached levels
unprecedented since the 1920s.14 However, little theoretical work has simultane-
ously been conducted from the aspect of theatre, which seems to justify the call
from Zhu Donglin for more scholarship to appear on practical Kunqu productions
in this period (2013).
Third, and finally, the information and data for analysis are based on my pre-
dissertation field research between August 2013 and June 2014 on major mainland
Chinese Kunqu productions since 2001. Although I continue to collect and update
my data base, the focus is nonetheless fixed on the period between 2001 and 2013.
I follow Zhang Geng’s model of categorization, which has been employed in
xiqu scholarship since the 1950s – traditional historical plays, newly written histori-
cal plays, and modern plays. I group the major recent Kunqu productions into three
categories: the classic plays, new historical plays, and contemporary plays.
I will review the productions in each category with a brief introduction to each
play, respectively, a summary of the process by which the play was produced and a
discussion of the special features of that production. Then, I will compare produc-
tions in different categories. Finally, I will summarize the general features of these
twenty-first-century Kunqu productions.
The Classic Plays
Productions in the first category focus on the classic plays from the Kunqu reper-
tory. They attach great importance to keeping the presentation of those plays
“authentic” and, most importantly (at least important for publicity purposes), are
performed by young actors (trained by master Kunqu artists). The most notable
example for this category is the Youth Version of The Peony Pavilion (hereafter
YVPP), the first production that advocates a “Youthful Restaging”.
• The Youth Version of The Peony Pavilion (2004)
YVPP refers to the specific production of The Peony Pavilion jointly staged by
Bai Xianyong and the Suzhou Kunqu Company (Sukun) that debuted in 2004. It is
the single production that has attracted the greatest interest from audience, scholars,
and governmental cultural and arts bodies. It remains the production given the most
public performances – the 200th three-night performance was given at China’s
National Centre for the Performing Arts on December 8–10, 2011,15 and it has
after the ICH Designation), Time Weekly. 2011 (45); and Yi, Yan. “Kunqu zhe shi nian”(“Kunqu
during the 10 Years.”) People’s Daily. 19 May 2011: 20.
14
This circumstance cannot be absolutely confirmed, due to the lack of readily available data con-
cerning audience and productions prior to 2001. In my research, I aim to uncover the specific data
by delving into the records at the major Kunqu companies and the State Statistics Bureau of China.
15
To this day, YVPP still inspires public performances, but on most occasions it is in the form of
jinghuaban the highlights version, which consists of 7–8 scenes in one night. I did not give a time
reference for the highest record on the number of performances given because it is the all-time
highest till now.
172 YANG Ming
exerted great influence on the development of Kunqu since its premiere. Bai
Xianyong was the individual who came up with the concept of the “youth version”
at the early stage of planning. As Bai explicitly stated on various occasions through-
out the years from 2003 to now, this is a play about a couple of young lovers, per-
formed by a pair of young actors about the same age as the leading characters
(mid-20s), with the aim of reaching a new, young audience and thereby rejuvenating
the old tradition of Kunqu.
The Peony Pavilion has remained one of, if not, the single most popular chuanqi
plays since its original writing by Tang Xianzu in around 1598. There are many
reasons behind its instant sensation and enduring popularity, from the great literary
beauty in the lyric to the romantic and bold visions it alludes to. As its alternate title
The Return of the Soul indicates, it tells the story of a young girl who dies for love
and is resurrected with love, the pursuit of passion and love against the bonds of
social convention, and the advocacy of a form of spiritual freedom from the
Confucian restrictions on desire and individuality. The rich content in this 55-scene
play ranges from the love romance between the hero and the heroine to the military
and political struggles over the destiny of the Song dynasty between the Song
empire, the Jurchen invaders, and their collaborators. And it has been staged very
often – albeit during these two centuries mostly in the form of zhezixi – the highlight
scenes16 except during the interruption of the Cultural Revolution. In the last few
years of the twentieth century alone, The Peony Pavilion was brought onto the main
stage multiple times, among which was the first truly full-scale production in that
century, at the Lincoln Centre in 1999, under the direction of Chen Shizheng, which
ran 6–7 h per night for a total of 20 h on three nights.17 There has also been the pro-
duction directed by Peter Sellars in 1998 and the 1999–2000 production by
Shangkun – performed in 3 sections for a total of 34 scenes. These have added to the
legacy of earlier productions in the 1980s and the recurring, contemporary produc-
tions by other Kunqu companies.
Even though it was not the earliest of the Kunqu productions after 2001, the
YVPP stands out as a milestone in setting up a model that has impacted the Kunqu
productions yet to come in many ways. In play-(re)writing, the YVPP is described
as an “orthodox, authentic and honest restaging” (Bai Xianyong) of the original.
Following its self-imposed rule of “cutting but not changing”, the original 55 scenes
were reduced to 27 scenes, with some rearrangement in the order of their a ppearance.
There were also words in the 27 scenes that were taken out, but among the lyrics
that were kept, every single word remains the same as in the original script.18
16
According to Lu Eting in his History of Kunqu Performance (1980, 2006), there might be full-
play productions by the court troupe during the Qianlong Era but very unlikely by the private
troupes and commercial troupes due to the strains of money, cast, materials, and time.
17
There were heated debates on whether Chen’s production of PP was authentic Kunqu, but
according to Chen himself, what mattered more to him was the play as a vehicle to demonstrate
Chinese culture, not the form of Kunqu (Chen’s interview, 1998).
18
That is of course quoting Bai and other people repeating him, because, strictly speaking, there
hasn’t been such a thing as the “one and only” original script. Throughout the years, there are
numerous versions of the scripts published and used in actual performance. Bai and his staff cer-
tainly stick with one such version, but it is arguable whether they should be considered “authentic”
original.
In performance, the production also followed tradition; the young male and
female lead were trained under the master actors for 1 year, after which they were
taken as official pupils by going through the conventional ceremony of kneeling
down and kowtowing to their masters. The acting conventions, including singing,
speaking, and dancing, were preserved and carried on by the young generation of
actors in the performance.
In terms of the musical aspects, western instruments were incorporated into the
orchestra, which also uses traditional Chinese instruments like the holed wind
instrument (xun) and the set chimes (bianzhong), which had not been a regular part
of the Kunqu ensemble. Western composition methods were employed in the pro-
duction, too, such as creating two motif pieces for the hero and heroine, respec-
tively – which lent the two characters unique musical images and made each more
easily identifiable. Despite the methodological westernness in composing these
motifs, they were originally extracted from the defining melodies in the two charac-
ters’ signature arias and developed into larger pieces. There is only one piece of
music that was completely original – that written by Zhou Youliang, the music
supervisor, composer, and conductor of the production. He chose to put the Prologue
of the play to music, using it as a most striking refrain at the end of each section,
thereby connecting the three-night performance into a united entity. Incidentally,
this piece was constantly mistaken not for a newly written one but as a set tune
qupai of Kunqu. Those instances of “Kunqu-ness” in the music exist thanks to the
original work having been crafted within the scope of the rules and regulations of
Kunqu (Zhou Youliang 2014). In addition to the western methodology, there were
also new treatments of the vocal accompaniment, including “chiming-in” bangq-
iang (literally “helping with the tune”) borrowed from other xiqu forms like chuanju
(from Sichuan) and offstage singing, as in the Prologue.19
Arguably more conspicuous than the musical aspect were the eye-catching cos-
tume designs. Take for example, the silk dresses for the 12 actresses playing the
flower spirits, which were all hand made by the embroidery workers of Suzhou, who
sow 12 patterns of flowers to represent the different flowers in each of the 12 months
of a year. Chen’s 1998 production was the immediate predecessor that started to use
the embroidery work in costumes, but YVPP was the one that raised the significance
of costumes to a higher level, to be part of the spectacle of the performance
(Figs. 11.1 and 11.2).
Images of traditional Chinese brush paintings and calligraphy were used as part
of the stage setting and props. It also served to indicate the time and venue, to depict
certain moods, or to establish certain connections – as with the huge pieces of cal-
19
It should be noted that (1) Zhou Youliang composed the music with a visual image in mind – at
least that was what he said at the interview, so that was a desired effect for the beginning of the
play; (2) it was also a contingent device, as Zhou failed to find a cangyin for the Prologue, and
Wang Shiyu had to step in, but Wang refused to appear on stage. This is going to be Youth Version!
Besides, he was the master teacher. It was inappropriate for him to perform either, though in some
cases – to be checked out – Wang was persuaded by Bai to perform anyway. So it is likely that the
offstage singing in YVPP was not meant to be how it was adopted in the following productions and
used to the extreme as in The Dream, which might be a misunderstanding-led distortion. This
detail is yet to be confirmed.
174 YANG Ming
Fig. 11.1 12 Flower spirits in silk dresses
Fig. 11.2 Du Liniang posing at the end of the first section

ligraphy works of poems written by Du Fu and Liu Zongyuan, who were the ances-
tors to the heroine and the hero, respectively. Unlike many productions prior to the
YVPP, which would fill the space on stage with various props and devices, its stage
was almost “pristinely empty and bare”; sometimes there were only one table and
two chairs as in the plainest traditional form of setting. Er dao mu (the second cur-
tain) was invented after the western style of theatres were introduced into China in
the late 1800s and early 1900s and commonly used to cover up for changes of scene
and prevent audience distractions through the appearance of the stage crew onstage.
With the help of lighting and the onstage actors helping with the scenery changes
and props placements during blockings, the same effects were achieved in YVPP
even without use of the second curtain.
• The Jade Hairpin (2008)
In 2008, The Jade Hairpin was produced by Bai and Sukun, with basically the
same cast of Sukun and the guest team with Bai from the YVPP. There are of course
differences; when compared to The Peony Pavilion – a rich and powerful master-
work – The Jade Hairpin is more like a sketch: brisk, engaging, and amusing (Yue
2006). Here there is no passionate love sufficient to transcend the barriers between
life and death, no battle of wits and valour fought for the safeguarding of the dynasty.
Instead, The Jade Hairpin tells the story of romance between a young couple
betrothed to each other at birth by their parents but separated since childhood due to
the tumult of wars. Years later, they meet at a nunnery. The young man – Pan
Bizheng – is studying for the next round of imperial examinations, and the girl,
Chen Miaochang, is living as a nun. After the mutually favourable impressions of
each other, Pan takes the initiative, checking out the mutuality of his affections by
teasing Chen through his zither playing. This takes place without much success.
But, after sneaking into Chen’s bedroom, where he finds a love poem written by her,
revealing her true affection for him, the two youngsters firmly take vows to be
united as husband and wife. Yet Pan’s aunt, the abbot of the nunnery, uncovers the
romance and tries to prevent a scandal by forcing Pan to cross the Long River to take
the imperial examinations. Chen rushes to the river and catches up with Pan in a
small boat on the autumn river. And, though they finally part with each other, it is a
parting filled with not only tears but also hope – Pan and Chen exchanging the jade
hairpin and the fan pendant as a token of their love and hope for a reunion in future.
The full play of this joint production consists of six scenes that altogether take 3
hours – as against the 9 hours plus for the YVPP. Among the prominent scenes are
the “Teasing with the Zither”, “Stealing the Poem”, and “The Autumn River”
scenes, which are also regularly performed as zhezixi as highlight scenes holding
artistic merit on their own terms.
Despite those differences, JH is a continuation of the same experiments concern-
ing the form’s aesthetic system that were proposed, tested, revised, and retested in
the YVPP. The 2009 anthology on the production, engineered by Bai and receiving
contributions by the cast and guest artists, is titled The Story of Jade Hairpin: Zither,
Tunes, Calligraphy and Paintings – New Aesthetics of Kunqu, which points out the
key aspects that were further emphasized in this play, i.e. the zither, the traditional
176 YANG Ming
calligraphy, and the Chinese brush painting. As the scene title suggests, the zither is
certainly the crucial element in the scene “Teasing with the Zither”. As a matter of
fact, a precious Tang dynasty ancient zither of over 1200 years of history was played
for the focal moment of the zither-playing correspondence between the hero and the
heroine, as well as for other scenes of the play as part of the orchestra. Yet, compara-
tively speaking, images of Chinese calligraphy and brush paintings are given more
“visible” appearances in the performance. The simple-lined drawings of Bodhisattva
and the lotus held in Buddha’s hand are projected onto the backdrop as the setting
for events taking place at the Buddhist nunnery. And the calligraphy works are like-
wise employed throughout the play – from the first scene of “Seeking Shelter at the
Nunnery” to the last “Autumn River” scene, varying from the easily legible regular
script to the barely legible running script to script in such a bold cursive style that
the Chinese characters take on the graphic effects of paintings, as are seen in the
“Zither” scene and the “River” scene, in which the characters of “lotus” and “autumn
river” are functioning, through their visual expressivity, as background paintings.
The greatly enhanced application of Chinese calligraphy and painting works,
together with the usage of the ancient zither, are intended to fulfil the goal Bai and
his colleagues set for the production of JH – to restore Kunqu as a theatrical form of
true elegance.
• Peach Blossom Fan: 1699 (PBF 1699) (2006)
One of the two most successful Kunqu plays in the early Qing dynasty, The
Peach Blossom Fan, was written by Kong Shangren in the late 1600s. The play
consists of 44 scenes and tells the story between Hou Fangyu, a 19-year-old scholar,
and Li Xiangjun, a 16-year-old courtesan, in the upheavals of the final years of the
Ming dynasty. Hou and Li fall in love with each other at first sight and soon get
married, receiving the praises and blessings of their friends. However, a deposed
official – Ruan Dacheng – humiliated by Hou and Li’s rejection of his wedding gifts
as an attempt to buy their favour frames Hou for treason. Consequently, Hou has to
flee during his honeymoon. Now Li is left alone, and Ruan tries to force her to be
remarried to the Prime Minister. In order to preserve her chastity, Li makes up her
mind to kill herself and barely survives the wound. Her blood is splashed onto the
fan, which becomes their love token. Out of admiration for her courage and deter-
mination, a friend of theirs saves the fan for art by painting some peach blossoms on
top of the blood stains, thus turning it into the “peach blossom fan” that gives the
play its title. However, when Hou and Li are finally reunited with each other, their
personal turmoil settled by the transition from the Ming to the Qing; they feel that
any individual happiness they could possibly gain is meaningless now their nation
is lost, so they tear up the fan and give up all worldly pursuits, becoming a Buddhist
monk and nun, respectively.
The PBF 1699 – a tribute to the year when it was first performed – was produced
by the Jiangsu Kunqu Company (Shengkun) 3 years after the YVPP made its debut.
Although the director Tian Qinxin publicly denied the influence from YVPP in an
interview in 2006, there were some common features identifiable in PBF 1699, such
as the youthfulness of the cast, the goal for an authentic performance – as close as
possible to how it was nearly 300 years ago – and the emphases on resuscitating
certain dying practices in Kunqu as an elegant form of theatre. While the YVPP took
pride in the fact that the age of the main actors in its cast were “close to the age” of
the characters they would portray at the premiere, the PBF 1699 claimed that its
actors were exactly as young as the leading characters. The average age of the cast
was a mere 18 years. Take, for example, the two actors playing the character of Li
Xiangjun in the two halves of the play: Shan Wen was 16, and Luo Chenxue was 18,
exactly the same age as Li was at the time of the story’s setting. The playwrights and
director took great pains to retrieve the scripts and the music scores from the Qing
dynasty to ensure that the production would be presented in the same way it was
several centuries ago. As against the 3 scenes that were often performed as zhezixi,
the play’s 44 scenes were in essence preserved in PBF 1699 by reorganizing them
into 6 acts, hence maintaining the structural balance between the civil, emphasizing
singing and acting, and the martial, stressing fighting and combat, scenes originally
in the play. As in the handling of The Peony Pavilion, there was “only cutting but no
changing” in the script of PBF 1699. The young actors went through highly exhaus-
tive training over a 6-month period to learn from the teachers for singing, speaking,
dancing, and fighting in the same ways that the teachers learned from their masters,
so that the performance carried on the tradition passed down from the predecessors.
The 291 sets of costumes for nearly 60 cast members were, as with YVPP, all hand-
made by over 300 embroidery maids in Suzhou.
And the PBF 1699 production had its own unique attributes as well, the most
striking one being its treatment of the performance space on stage through the set
and lighting design. As the story takes place in the city of Nanjing, the temporary
capital of the Late Ming, dark glass was used for the whole floor instead of the car-
pets usually covering the Kunqu stage, to create the visual effect of the Qinhuai
River that runs through the entertainment as well as political quarters of the city, by
emulating the shadows and reflections of the water and helping render the i mpression
of boat-rowing on the imaginary river more convincing. Another innovative device
was the three “walls” onstage that were made of white translucent screens on which
was painted the masterpiece The Prosperous Market in the South Capital from the
Ming dynasty. The commonly used backdrop was replaced by the centre screen
downstage, which partially veiled the orchestra. In front of the other two screens on
stage left and stage right, 18 chairs were lined up on the narrow runways. When
those chairs were taken by actors and jianchang, the stage crew, it was at once as if
they were waiting for their respective turns for entrance in an onstage resting zone
and at the same time that they themselves were among the audience for on the
events taking place in the core performance space on the moveable platform, a
“stage within a stage”. Major events in the focal scenes took place on that platform.
Equipped with a parallel frame structure, it created a visual effect similar to that of
a camera lens or a mounted painting, hence a double-layer or an “illusion within an
illusion”.
178 YANG Ming
The New Historical Plays
Among the people who work with Kunqu, many hold the following view: there are
so many extant classic plays that there is no more need to create new Kunqu plays.
Bai Xianyong, for one, has on different occasions stated his disbelief, adding that
“there are simply too many things to learn (about the classic plays) and too much
work to do in order to pass them on to the next generation”. While such an argument
does sound reasonable, new Kunqu plays have been written and produced before,
after, and at the same time as the classic plays regularly restaged.
• Jingyang zhong (The Jingyang Bell) (2012)
The first example of the new historical plays shares certain similarities with the
restaging of classic plays. Those plays have been created on the basis of the extant
zhezixi – the highlight scenes from complete plays that are still regularly performed.
Often with the help of newly written connecting scenes and/or lines, the extant
scenes are reorganized and woven into these full-length play formats under a new
title. The 2012 Shangkun production of Jingyang zhong serves as a good example.
The original chuanqi play was titled Tie guan tu (The Painting by the Iron-Crown
Taoist Priest), which tells about the life of different characters during the last days
before the fall of the Ming dynasty – from the last emperor Chongzhen, who hangs
himself on a plum tree after the palace was taken, to the lady-in-waiting seeking
revenge for the emperor and empress with the enemy. It ends with the emperor and
all his loyal followers turning into immortals after death and ascending to heaven.
The new play selected five extant scenes that were the most popular and best pre-
served and worked them into a complete play of seven scenes (reduced to six scenes
since July 2013). Those scenes are the highlights of either the performing skills such
as singing, dancing, and fighting or the intense emotional conflicts of characters,
e.g. the one when the emperor forces the empress and princess to commit suicide to
save them from humiliation by the enemy. Since those scenes were staged in basi-
cally the same way as they were passed down, they are regarded as a best attempt to
preserve the “authenticity” of the original plays nearly as effectively as the restaged
classic productions.
In addition to the preserved “authenticity”, this production was known for its
innovations. For example, the “title subject” – the Jingyang Bell – is given symbolic
meanings. The bell was struck three times in the production, the first time in the
opening scene, for convening the court to discuss the defence of the capital against
the insurrectionary army. The Minister of Defence then stepped forward for the mis-
sion – he fought to death, courageously and desperately, in the following scene
“Shower of Arrows”, a display of combat skills. The second time, the bell rang on
the cusp of fall of the besieged capital. No officers or officials answered the call.
The only person eventually showing up was a eunuch. He won the emperor’s trust
and was assigned to safeguard the city gate, which the eunuch opened to usher in the
enemy. The third and last time coincided with Chongzhen fleeing the palace.
Obviously, the bell was not struck by a hand from the Ming court but from the
enemy’s camp, and thus its tolls not only served as the death knell for the Emperor
but also signalled the change of the regimes. While depicting the emperor’s predica-
ment, the character attacked many social ills keenly felt by the contemporary audi-
ence – corruption, materialistic pursuits, and betrayal in the face of either threat or
temptation. Last but not the least, the emperor made the final call before he commit-
ted suicide: “Future generations, learn the lessons from my failure and do not com-
mit the same errors!” – an explicit attempt to evoke the current zeitgeist through the
mouth of a historical figure.
• Gongsun Zidu (2007)
Another variety among the new historical plays is the “transplanted” play –
which borrows the original source of stories from other xiqu forms, rewriting them
to fit into Kunqu’s specific rules regarding lyric and musical composition. Gongsun
Zidu was transplanted from the Jingju play Fa Zidu (The Expedition against Zidu)
by the Zhejiang Kunqu Company (Zhekun). It was originally a “ghost play” telling
about the jealousy-driven General Gongsun Zidu shooting his commander Ying
Kaoshu in the back at the battlefield and stealing all the glory. Kaoshu’s ghost then
arrives to haunt Zidu until he is eventually driven crazy and kills himself. The
production team’s main purpose was to explore the ways of expression for the role
type wusheng – the male martial characters, whose appeal by and large resides in
action – dancing, fighting, and doing acrobatics. The play went through numerous
revisions including nine script drafts by four playwrights over the ensuing 10 years.
When it was formally staged in 2007, the final product fulfilled the initial goal in the
role-type characterization by enhancing the skills of singing, speaking, and acting
of the wusheng actor and, in the meantime, reinforcing the traditional strength in
combating and acrobatic techniques. What is more, the production attached great
importance to probing into the characters’ inner world – where conscience and van-
ity, revenge and forgiveness, and guilt and pride constantly appear in conflict. The
ghost of the deceased Kaoshu was reduced to the imaginary product of Zidu’s
stresses, freeing the play from the stereotype of revenge by the ghost to a story that
inquires into the nature of the soul. Zidu’s suicidal act in the end was no more an act
of madness; instead, it was the result of a choice he made with a clear mind, the
result of the yearning for integrity and honour triumphing over that for greed, fame,
and power, thus elevating the character to the status of a flawed tragic hero.
• Ban Zhao (2001)
Ban Zhao is an original Kunqu play created by Shangkun in 2001. It was based
on the life of a historical figure in the Han dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE). The title
character Ban Zhao is the little sister of a court historian who passed away in his
prime, leaving behind the voluminous work – the history of the Han dynasty – only
half-finished. Ban Zhao takes over the daunting task, devoting the rest of her life to
completing the project. Along the way, she is faced with various challenges while
her mind is fixed on the project; her marriage fails, and her husband subsequently
drowns himself; her best friend and soul mate departs, and her own health declines.
In the end, Ban Zhao endures the hardships all by herself, finally completing the
180 YANG Ming
compilation of the Han history. The next day, with a smile on her face, she sinks into
sleep while sitting beside the mound of the finished volumes – a sleep from which
she never emerges.
The play was largely the continuation of the way of thinking that was found in
Sima Xiangru in the 1990s; the characters were in essence the present-day intellec-
tuals. Though set in the past, they embodied the modern values and the spirit of the
contemporary times and faced the contemporary temptations the same way people
are tempted today. These characters, however, resolutely hold onto their principles.
What also remains noticeable is the conscientious pursuit in the creation of the
character. The play was a custom-made piece created upon the request by the female
lead actor Zhang Jingxian, who played the title character throughout the perfor-
mance. To play roles encompassing the entire life of Ban Zhao – from a young,
worry-free 14-year-old girl to a newly-wed maid in her early 20s, a middle-aged
widow, and at last the old lady in her 70s appearing in the final scene, Zhang broke
down boundaries between the different role types expected of female characters;
she designed the specific vocal expressions, hand gestures, postures, costumes, and
makeup designs for the character at different ages and in different identities.
The Contemporary Plays
The contemporary plays refer to the works written by today’s playwrights – which
tell stories concerning the life of people since the May 4th Movement in 1919.
Between 2001 and 2013, there were altogether four productions of the contempo-
rary plays, only two of which were main stage productions, both by the Beijing-
based Northern Kunqu Company (Beikun). The production in 2011 was titled Jiu
jing juechang (The Last Song of the Old Capital), depicting the bitter experiences
of four Kunqu actors in Beijing before 1949 (hence the “old capital” of the title).
The magnetism of the production lays in the intricate structure of “plays within the
play”, which were carried out by real Kunqu actors from Beikun playing the char-
acters of Kunqu actors, while, in turn, these actor-characters would play different
characters, hence the second layer of playing.
Beikun’s 2012 production of Ai wu jiang (“The Boundless Love”) was a “con-
temporary play” true to its type. It was based on a true story that took place in
Beijing in 2011: Learning the news that his mother was dying from a severe case of
hepatitis, realizing that the only chance to save her would be a liver transplant and
that there was no suitable donor available, the 22-year-old college graduate imme-
diately returns from the USA and, despite his mother’s protestations, donates more
than half of his liver for the surgery, saving her from death. The production was truly
“contemporary” in various perspectives: all characters wore “real-life” contempo-
rary costumes, high heels, and T-shirts in place of the thick-sole boots and water
sleeves, eliminating any possibility for xiqu’s conventionalized stage gait and hand
gestures; stage dialogs were interspersed with words like “internet” and “email”; a
colossal prop bridge was set on wheels and moved about the stage manually. Three
huge LED screens were set up in the back of the stage as the backdrop, on which
images were projected, indicating the change of scenes. Moreover, the concept of
the chorus was borrowed from Greek tragedy. This chorus role was performed by
the full cast, fulfilling the role of narrator, commentator, and backing vocalists,
while the lead characters were singing.
Like the contemporary plays in other xiqu forms, the two production teams made
admirable efforts in experimenting with different means of expression. They were,
however, both confronted with the common challenges when a traditional art form
takes on a modern theme: the incompatibility between the lyrics of songs and the
modern language, the limitation of the real-life costumes on the conventionalized
movement system, and the absence of the usual stylized Kunqu aesthetics – hamper-
ing not only the Kunqu artists but also the audience.20
Summary
Although the modernization of xiqu had long been proposed in theory, and put into
practice in the twentieth century, its concept and principles were not clarified until
the beginning of the twenty-first century. The delay owed to a number of factors.
First, as an unprecedented enterprise, modernization is a constant process of explo-
ration – involving experiment, learning from trial and error, revision, and explora-
tion again. Consequently, the development of theory on modernization goes through
a pattern of “negation and affirmation” repetitively. Second, the course of xiqu mod-
ernization has been impacted by the social, economic, and, specifically, the political
changes in the twentieth century. Our subsequent reflections on the experiences of
the past century make it possible for us to conduct theoretical formulation with
greater precision and clarification. Simultaneously, we must acknowledge that the
clarity of hindsight does not rule out the appearance of disagreements and
disputes.
What is the core concept for the modernization of xiqu? In essence, it is “to
reflect the daily life, mentality and aesthetics of modern times through the xiqu art,
by assigning new meanings to the traditional form while maintaining its essential
features”.21
If we comb through the major Kunqu productions mentioned here against this
core concept, we will find at a glance those that fit well with the need to demonstrate
the genre through modernized works: the contemporary plays, of course, for “real-
istically representing the modern Chinese people’s mental outlook and aesthetic
tendency”, and the new historical plays, for “examining the historical themes from
modern perspectives, thus incorporating the modern conceptions of culture and aes-
thetics and the spirit of the times” (Zhang 2003).
20
Based on my interviews with both Kunqu workers and audience.
21
The definition is based on the combination of ideas in the works of Dong (1998), Zhang Geng
(2003), Liu (2004), and Gong (2011).
182 YANG Ming
The classic plays seem to be elusive, though. All the three productions I have
reviewed here were already among “the favourite artistic works of the Chinese peo-
ple”, examples of work that enjoys “a ready market among the audience”, as Zhang
Geng puts it. One sees an apparent polarity in those productions. On the one hand,
they tried to connect with the present-day audience, specifically the younger genera-
tion, by enacting plays about the love of young characters by young actors, hence
the “youth version”. On the other hand, the productions chose to subscribe to a
“subtraction but no addition” approach to working with the original scripts and
“preserving the authenticity of the performing tradition as it was centuries ago” in
both training and onstage performance. In addition, “new old things” were intro-
duced into the Kunqu productions – including the (technically anachronistic)
1000-year-old zither from the Tang dynasty in the ensemble, the employment of
cursive calligraphy works as stage props, and the Ming dynasty painting master-
piece projected onto the curtains, to name but a few. The productions were perme-
ated with contradictions and received diverse pronouncements – praise for updating
the best of traditions, denunciation as marketing tricks, and questions on being
super-conservative, over-commercialized, or simply regressive.22
What are those productions? Shall they be viewed as recreations of the past,
regarded as contemporary variations, or recognized as modernized productions?
My answer is yes, they are to be considered as truly modernized productions. In
other words, they exemplify the fruit of xiqu modernization in the classic plays.
Again, I shall look at Zhang Geng for reference. Despite the fact that he advocated
the creation of the contemporary plays, Zhang firmly believed in the significance of
the classic plays in the modernization of xiqu: “the life in the past is not isolated
from the present, as one can always learn from history”, which makes it possible for
the classic historical plays to be rendered through a new lens, examining and
expressing the life, thoughts, and actions of the past while reflecting the spirit of
modern times. The key lies “in the re-interpretation of the historical characters” (Liu
2004). In this specific case, however, since the preserved performing practices may
have prevented the “reinterpretation” of the “characters”, we will turn away from
the people within the plays to look at another aspect in these productions – the “rein-
terpretation” of the “art form” – Kunqu. Instead of setting out to change the preoc-
cupation that Kunqu was an ancient art tradition, Bai and other producers were
dedicated to reinforcing it. However, once the plays were enacted, the art tradition,
the eternal theme of love, and the well-tempered performance skills were all brought
to life through the incarnation by the young actors. These performances reached out
freshly to the audience, provoking a process of “reinterpretation” from within. This
is the realization of true modernization in production.
The challenges to fit the “youth version” production of Kunqu classic plays into
the box of modernization may point to a possibility that the reinterpretation of
Kunqu as an ancient tradition – not merely the restoration to its early stages – might
be also an alternative to those manifestations of modernization that attempt to pro-
pel the form along a linear temporal axis.
The publications on YVPP are numerous and the opinions varied, the majority of the responses
22
being positive.
Conclusion
I have reviewed the major Kunqu productions in mainland China since 2001 and
studied them within the framework of the modernization of xiqu. One may have
discovered that the discussion of modernization could be attributed to a certain
starting point, despite the disputes involved,23 but the process is open-ended. It is
necessary to point out that, in the Chinese context, “the modernization” is an ongo-
ing process. Even if certain terms like the Four Modernizations – which was pro-
posed in the 1960s, with the year 2000 set as the hallmark for completion – have
faded from today’s political lexicon, new versions of modernization have continued
to appear on the horizon.24 As for the field of theatre studies, the process of modern-
ization will most likely remain in the common language, for “it (the modernization)
is a long-term, difficult course that deepens continuously” (Gong 2011).
The long currency of the term “modernization”, remaining in circulation almost
in exclusivity, has given rise to concern. Since the beginning of the twenty-first
century, Guo Hancheng, the former collaborator and later the successor to Zhang
Geng in both academic and administrative leadership, enthusiastically suggested
that the creation of contemporary plays be regarded as the “touchstone of the mod-
ernization of xiqu” that once the qualifications are met, it will mark the triumphant
completion of the stage of “Xiqu Reform” and the entrance into that of “Xiqu
Construction” (2002, 2006, 2013, 2014; Guo Guangyu 2005). The proposal is argu-
ably an attempt to introduce new terms into the phrasebook to replace the word
“modernization” and prepare for its retirement. Unfortunately, as my previous dis-
cussion indicates, the current reality is that Kunqu is not yet ready to face the test of
the “touchstone” with the productions of contemporary plays.
Lastly, we have to be aware that this paper has thus far merely touched upon the
modernization of xiqu, which is only half of the overall modernization of the
Chinese theatre – the other half being the nationalization of huaju. Even if I abstain
from questioning the validity of such a dualistic coexistence of huaju-xiqu under the
broad aegis of Chinese theatre (for oversimplification), I cannot help being suspi-
cious of the legitimacy of the implied, if not declared, opposition between national-
ization and modernization in the dichotomy. In other words, will nationalization in
time negate modernization? Or, by following the same vein of thought as I put for-
ward in the previous paragraph – about the inadequacy in the vocabulary of modern-
ization – will modernization inevitably or inherently involve nationalization? Is it
possible that the Chinese theatre – either huaju or xiqu – will be modernized via
nationalization and nationalized during modernization? I firmly believe that such
questions are legitimate in advancing the discourse of Chinese theatre moderniza-
tion – a subject which I look forward to addressing in my next paper.
See Hu Xingliang (1997), Dong (1998), Shi (1999), and Ai (2008).

23
The most recent major example of this is “the advancement of the modernization of national
24
governance system and governance capacity” put forward by Xi Jinping in 2013.

184 YANG Ming
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Chapter 12
On the Modernity of Chinese Drama
Through the Perspective of Perception
from Gao Xingjian’s Dramas
Yingying XIAO
Part One: The Alterity of Cultures
Modernization, Is It Just a Historical Concept?
Before we look into the modernity of Chinese drama, there is an unavoidable ques-
tion to be asked: what is Chinese modernity?
Firstly, we should point out that the difference between Chinese and Western
modernity not only refers to their modernizations started for different reasons and at
different times, developed in two different directions but also refers to their origi-
nals cultures which are almost opposite to each other. The European modernization
(especially in France) started from the movement of secularism in the seventeenth
and eighteenth century. Voltaire, the French writer and philosopher of the “Age of
Enlightenment”, even adapted one of the Chinese dramas – The Orphan of Zhao –
into a French drama, L’orphelin de la Chine (The Orphan of China), in order to
oppose Christian ethics and preach about the “enlightened” monarchy. Voltaire
actually considered the Chinese politic (or should we say, his interpretation of the
“Chinese politic”) as a good model for France at that time. However, in China, the
same religious problems did not exist, and so secularism was not the cause of
Chinese modernization, a process which actually began some 200 years later when
China met West.
Secondly, for China, the essential problem during its modernization (literature
and theatre) was what’s the “modernity” between tradition and westernization. If
Western modernization was the result of the fission of its very own culture and was
promoted by its own development of philosophy, science and technology, then the
modernization of China (similar to many Asian countries), on the contrary, is the
Yingying XIAO (*)

Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China

188 Yingying XIAO
product of the impact of an external force. This also explains the different directions
of modernization in the West and in China: “inside to inside” versus “outside to
inside”.
This is the reason we can’t just consider Chinese modernization as a historical
concept: the historical perspective can’t explain why after nearly 200 years of mod-
ernization – we could also say westernization – the concept of modernity is so dif-
ferent in China from the West. We need another perspective to be able to deeply
understand Chinese modernity, that is, a perspective of “alterity” by which we can
analyse the particularity of Chinese culture from “the way to perceive” that pro-
foundly inspires Chinese traditional drama and modern drama – even though the
latter is born precisely at the time when China met West.
Alterity as a Tool to Examine the Modernity of Chinese Drama
François Jullien considers Chinese culture as an otherness, an “alterity”.1 But what

is the alterity? First of all, we must not presuppose some concepts as universal for
all cultures. And in this sense, neither “opera” nor “drama” can explain Chinese
traditional performances xiqu: it is not just a question about vocabulary or transla-
tion but a question about the cultural alterity (bear in mind that in this article we will
still use this term “opera” as a conventional translation for “Chinese opera”).
Let’s take the concept of “reality” in Western and Chinese drama as an example.
How to “represent reality” has been a fundamental philosophical question in
Western culture since the origin of Greek philosophy (Plato, Aristotle) and indeed
even till this day. Therefore, how to imitate reality is an essential question in Western
drama. From Aristotle’s three unity rules in the classical period, to the fourth wall
of realistic theatre in the nineteenth century, and to Stanislavsky’s “reality” notion
in the twentieth century, Western drama reflects exactly this philosophical ideal.
The performance of Chinese traditional opera pursues a kind of “spiritual simili-
tude but not formal similitude”. For example, in a traditional xiqu stage set, there is
never a background which imitates reality – usually, there is nothing except for
perhaps one table and two chairs that suggests no constraint whatsoever to space-
time. Chinese opera is consistent with other traditional arts such as poetry and paint-
ing: all of them lean on a kind of “noncoherence” in Chinese thought which is quite
the opposite of the “coherence” used in Western philosophy.
It is possible to make a more detailed analysis of this “noncoherence” in philo-
sophical terms, and we can find a lot of examples in Chinese thought and language,
for example, the subject/object dualist relationship in Western philosophy (that is to
say the “adhesive” relationship between the subject and the object: if there is a sub-
ject, there must be an object, and vice versa). In Chinese traditional thought, this
relationship has never been explored. Another example is that the subject in Western
1
François Jullien: L’écart et l’entre, Leçoninaugurale de la chaire sur l’altérité, Paris, Galilée,
2012, p. 17.“Alterity” in French: altérité.
12 On the Modernity of Chinese Drama Through the Perspective of Perception… 189
languages is always defined by verb conjugations and tenses, but there are neither
tenses nor verb conjugations in the Chinese language. Thus, the link between the
subject and time, so pondered by St. Augustine in Western philosophy, did not in
fact exist in Chinese thought before the nineteenth century.
Chinese thought did not philosophically ask itself the question “Who am I?”
Bear in mind that in the Chinese classical language, the verb “be” did not exist – “
是”, indeed the verb “be” in modern Chinese actually means “here” or “this” in
Chinese classical language.In Chinese thought, “Who am I” is more a question
about “Where am I?”, especially in Confucianist thought. Also, I does not mean
“who” I am but rather “where” I am: just as we see in the relationships between me
and my family, me and my friends and me and society; I finds myself. And this is why
the notion of “subjectivity” in Chinese classical thought cannot be found.
So alterity offers another perspective to help us look into Chinese drama, and by
which we learn “the way to perceive”, and in this way we can see how the particu-
larity of Chinese modern drama emerges.
Modernity and “The Way to Perceive”
Chinese and Western modern drama both focus, to a certain degree, on the “percep-
tion” – specifically, the way to perceive.
When Foucault called modernity a feeling of “vertigo in the face of the passing
moment”,2 he actually emancipated modern art from the eternal and the immutable
of the other half of art, as Baudelaire said: “By ‘modernity’ I mean the ephemeral,
the fugitive, the contingent, the half of art whose other half is the eternal and the
immutable”.3 In other words, compared to the classic art theory that “beauty is eter-
nal and immortal”, Foucault defines modern art only as “the ephemeral, the fleeting,
the contingent”4 – those terms can also be used to generalize the modernity of con-
temporary theatre: when modern theatres leave out the classical rules and do not
object to the presence of epic/narrative features in dramatic works, they turn to the
exploration of the body, the feeling and the language itself. From this point of view,
the modernity of theatre can be considered, as an art about perceiving: how to show
our perception for reality and for ourselves.
Western playwrights such as Antonin Artaud and Bertolt Brecht were surprised
when they saw Oriental Theatre (Balinese dance, Chinese opera, Japanese Kabuki,
etc.) in the 1920s and 1930s. They found not only another idea of an art form totally
different from the Western one but also another way to perceive the world.
2
Michel Foucault: “What is Enlightenment?” (“Qu’est-ceque les Lumières?”), in Rabinow (P.),
ed., The Foucault Reader, New York, Pantheon Books, 1984, pp. 32–50.
3
Baudelaire: Painter of modern life and other essays, Translated and edited by Jonathan Mayne,
London, Phaidon Press, 1964, p. 13.
4
Michel Foucault: “What is Enlightenment?”, op., cit, pp. 32–50.
190 Yingying XIAO
The way to perceive seems like something too ordinary but actually refers at a
deeper level to the originality of their respective cultures. It also allows us to under-
stand why the Chinese modern theatre (huaju) which has its roots in the West cannot
completely cut the link with traditional performance. However, it seems most
Chinese modern playwrights who “unconsciously” inherited the traditional way to
perceive did not develop a new modern theory in their dramas. Gao Xingjian is one
of a handful of exceptions.
art Two: On “The Way to Perceive” as Seen in Gao

P
Xingjian’s Dramas
The Ambiguity of Modernity
Gao Xingjian was a Nobel Literature Prize laureate for the year 2000. He is a
French-Chinese writer, essayist, painter, playwright and director of theatre and film.
“Modernity” is a key word that runs throughout his entire body of work. Gao
published in 1981 his first literary theory A Preliminary Examination of Modern
Fictional Techniques, wishing to explain the method of his short stories, which
were misunderstood. Then, Gao started publishing drama. He wrote two plays in
1982, Bus Stop and Signal Alarm that triggered a conflict in China between mod-
ernism and realism. Gao was considered as an “avant-garde” writer and play-
wright and even more so when he published his second monograph about dramatic
theory In pursuit of a modern theater. It should also be noted that because of its
modernist style, Bus Stop was only allowed to be played a couple of times in
China in the 1980s.
In fact, Gao’s works are very different by comparison to contemporary Western
modernists. As Gao said himself: “I never agree with the ‘modernist’ label that
people put on my head…”.5
The difference originates from Chinese literature’s own particular character. In
Chinese novels, there is a long tradition of “describing real” (the reason for that we
use the word “real” is because “reality” as a concept did not exist in Chinese classical
literature), but it was never formed as a concept such as realism. Indeed “describing
real” is quite different from “imitating real” which would be the concept of “reality”.
In the first chapter of The History of the Chinese novel, Lu Xun confirms that the first
Chinese novels came from the notes of imperial annalists who collected the chats
and murmurs on the street.6 Andrew H. Plaks also pointed out the very close relation-
ship between traditional novels and the Great Historical Memoirs (e.g. Shiji).7
5
Gao Xingjian: 《没有主义》 (Without -ism), 台北(Taibei), 联经,2001, p. 115.
6
Lu Xun: 《中国小说史略》 Zhongguoxiaoshuoshilue, in 《鲁迅全集》 (Luxunquanji), Vol. 9,
Beijing, Renminwenxuechubanshe, 1973.
7
Andrew H. Plaks: «Towards a Critical Theory of Chinese Narrative», in Chinese Narrative:
Critical and Theoretical Essays, editor Andrew H. Plaks, New Jersey, Princeton University, 1977,
pp. 309–352.
Similarly, the concept of fiction does not appear until China meets with Western
literature in the late nineteenth century. In other words, the concept of “fiction” in
China cannot be compared with that of Western novels, not only because it is a
mixture of legends, storytelling and popular myths – “collective fiction” – but also
because this “fiction” is not necessarily the opposite to “describing real”.
In fact, in Chinese novels, there is an opening fiction and an opening “describing
real”: traditional novelists probably did not intend to make such a distinction
between what is “fictional” and what is “real” in their novels.
Although Gao is fascinated by Western literature, this tradition is deeply rooted
within him and helps him to later form his own style, especially in Soul Mountain.
Also, Gao is not a modernist against tradition: “The way that contemporary Chinese
literature reacts towards modern literature comes no doubt from the foundation of
its traditional culture”.8
By using this perspective into Gao’s theatre world, we can better understand his
works. For example, a lot of critics considered Bus Stop as the Chinese version of
Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. If we carefully compare those two plays, we can find
that Bus Stop just borrowed the theme “waiting” from Beckett’s but opposes the
latter’s absurdist subjectivity.
In Waiting for Godot, what the two main characters, Vladimir and Estragon, are
waiting for is not Godot whom they do not even know; rather they are waiting just to
waste time. Time and subject (human) are so closely intertwined: even though man can
emancipate himself from God (God is dead), he cannot emancipate himself from time,
the eternal prison. In Bus Stop, the relationship between passengers and time is much
looser: the passengers suddenly realize that 10 years have just passed away during their
conversation while they were waiting at a bus stop for a bus which never arrives.
Finally, the passengers decide to walk together to the city. The absurd disappearance of
those 10 years is of course a metaphor for the 10 years of Cultural Revolution, but in
Bus Stop time is not a prison – on the contrary, it is something precious, continuous.
However, Chinese modern literature and theatre are in some ways the result of its
westernization over nearly 200 years: the Western influence did not only stay on the
surface of it but also has penetrated deeply into it. Moreover, the influence of con-
temporary Western thought has not yet ceased. Gao was affected by Artaud’s and
Brecht’s ideas when he was in China, and he was interested by French contempo-
rary philosophy (e.g. phenomenology) after he settled in France.
The modernity emerges in Gao’s works is first of all a perspective by which Gao
gazes at tradition through the West. As Gao said: “The two Western playwrights
who inspired me most is Brecht and Artaud […] they admire all Eastern theaters.
[…] They make me think: if Western can have the inspiration from Oriental theaters
when they only cast a glance at them; as a Chinese, I have to think about what Ican
get from the traditional drama”.9 Thus, for seeking the fertility of modern drama,
Gao dates back to the origin of Chinese culture.
8
Gao Xingjian: 《没有主义》, op. cit., p. 115.
9
Gao Xingjian: 〈土地、人民、流亡—叶石涛、高行健文学对话〉 (« Literary dialogue between
Ye shitao et Gao Xingjian), in 《高行健─台湾文化之旅》 (Gao Xingjian – a cultural trip in
Taiwan), Taibei, Wenjianhui (文建會出版社), 2001, pp. 123–124.
192 Yingying XIAO
Gao certainly is the playwright most westernized but also the playwright most
deeply soaked in traditional aesthetic, in Chinese contemporary theatre. He under-
stands the West and absorbs it from an Oriental way of thinking and perception to
create his own style. In Gao’s works, this absorption and application are represented
by his expression of perception.
ow to Inherit the Alterity of Cultures Through Their Modes

H
of Thinking and Perception
Many scholars pointed out that Gao was influenced by Brecht in his early dramatic
creation, particularly through the latter’s reference to Chinese opera (xiqu). Henry
Zhao mentioned in his book Towards A Modern Zen Theatre – Gao Xingjian and
Chinese Theatre Experimentalism this point of view. Zhao believes that the differ-
ences and diversities of Chinese opera that appear in Western playwrights’ eyes are
a kind of “displacement of pretextuality” against Stanislavsky’s realist system.
According to Zhao, Gao and other Chinese modernists of the 1980s benefit from
this “unintentionally creative misinterpretation” of Brecht (Zhao calls this Chinese
modernists’ attitude as an “intentional resurrectionary misinterpretation”) for keep-
ing away from socialist realism. “This is not to say that Chinese dramatists imitate
their Western predecessors, but that they fall under similar pre-textual pressures in
their efforts to find support for their new theatre experimentation. That the model of
Western theatre experimentalists happened to be the Chinese national heritage is a
heaven-sent pretext for the Chinese Experimental Theatre”.10
Zhao believes Brecht misinterprets the distancing/alienation effect that the latter
observed from the Chinese opera: “The [Chinese] performer’s self-observation, an
artful and artistic act of self-alienation, stopped the spectator from losing himself in
the character completely, i.e. to the point of giving up his own identity, and lent a
splendid remoteness to the events”.11 Zhao countered Brecht’s conclusion: “Ancient
Chinese drama theorists have never sought to argue for a non-realistic theatre. On
the contrary, verisimilitude was always regarded as the highest achievement. Tang
Xianzu, the greatest of classical Chinese dramatists, insists: ‘The female
impersonators should think themselves as women, and those playing men should
always try to identify themselves with the characters’. ZangJinshu, the complier of
the authoritative An Anthology of Yuan plays (Yuanqu Xuan) argues: ‘Truly excel-
lent can play whatever roles, and always give a vivid portrayal as if they were then
and there, forgetting it is fabrication’. We can see that the advocating of performers’
10
Henry Zhao:Towards A Modern Zen Theatre – Gao Xingjian and Chinese Theatre
Experimentalism, Lndoon, School of Oriental & African Studies, 2000, p. 40.
11
Brecht: Brecht on Theatre, the Development of an Aesthetic, edited and translated by John
Willett, London, Eyre Methuen, 1964, pp. 92–93.
total conversion into their roles – ‘as if genuine’, ‘play the roles as if true’, etc. –
were in fact the consensus among traditional Chinese dramatists”.12
Perhaps Brecht’s conclusion was incorporating some of his own “imagination”
for Chinese opera, but Zhao ignored that Brecht’s observation did not only refer to
the performance but also to the way to perceive. The reason why Chinese opera does
not create “mood” – as Stanislavsky said, a “mood” to empathize spectators – is
because the performance of Chinese opera corresponds to the way to express the
perception of real in Chinese traditional aesthetics: that is to say, the performance
has no intention of representing reality but rather to show the “feeling” of real.
Even if Eastern and Western contemporary theatre learn from and dialogue a lot
with each other, the alterity between cultures means that their starting point was
always going to be different. Gao said he is “an Easterner who digests the western
culture with the Eastern way. Just like the Western artists interested by the Eastern
art, the artworks that they did, are always soaked in the spirit of the West”.13 For
Gao, what an artist needs is not the truth but rather “his own perception and expres-
sion of the real world”.14
That’s why when Gao watched Peter Brook’s play in Paris, he did not approve:
the latter had laid sand over the scene to make the feeling of real. “He [Brook] said
he was looking for the real feeling for the actors when their bodies were in contact
with the soil. This is like a kind of performance on the street in villages and towns.
For me, an Easterner, what matters most is the inner state we reach, not such an
imitative sensation – I call the former chán (zen) state. This mental state of chán
does not refer to religion, but is one of the best states to enter into artistic creation”.15
The opera Snow in August (also called by himself a “total theatre”) that Gao wrote
in 2000 interpreted his “chán state” even through the allusion in the title (Gao puts
together snow and August which could not appear in same time). This is a de-logical
way in chán to remind us not to identify the phenomena we see and the meaning we
understand with “reality” (Tathata). In deeds, this mode of thinking “A is no-A” in
chán implies a “no-coherent” between appearance, meaning and the thing itself. In
this point of view, the chán state that Gao proposes corresponds to the aesthetic idea
of a Chinese traditional opera stage set; as we mentioned, there is only one table and
two chairs which suggest an illimitable space-time. This “no-coherence” between
the actor/performance and the stage also exists between the actor and the
performance.
12
Henry Zhao: Towards A Modern Zen Theatre - Gao Xingjian and Chinese Theatre
Experimentalism, op. cit., p. 38.
13
GaoXingjian: 《对一种现代戏剧的追求》 (In pursuit of a modern theater), 北京(Beijing), 中
国戏剧出版社, 1988, pp. 179–180.
14
GaoXingjian: Aesthetics and Creation, translated by Mabel Lee, New York, Cambria press,
2012, in chapter Another Kind of Aesthetics.
15
Ibid.,p. 180.
194 Yingying XIAO
he Neutral Actor: The Concept of “Between” and of “Another

T
Self”
The Concept of “Between”
Many critics have noted the “neutral actor” as Gao’s principal theatrical theory, but
few comments focus on the relationship between the “neutral actor”, “perception”
and the “between”. Gao’s neutral actor theory is not only enlightened by the “dis-
tancing effect” that Brecht observed in Chinese opera but also by his own compre-
hension of traditional aesthetics, especially of the way to think and perceive.
The neutral actor is, according to Gao, an intermediate state between actor and
role in Chinese opera performances:
Before the actor emerges in the role there is a process that is usually overlooked. If one
analyses traditional Chinese opera performances, this can be seen with greater clarity. In the
actor’s daily life he has a voice, intonation, and bearing that he is accustomed to, so before
entering the role he must first purify himself by cleansing himself of his usual voice, intona-
tion, and bearing and focus his energies on preparing to enter his role. Of course, in realist
performance this process often escapes detection, but it becomes clear by observing at close
range a Peking Opera performer, especially when it is a man acting the role of a woman.
Take, for example, the Peking Opera performance artist Mei Lanfang acting a young
woman or an imperial concubine even after he has turned fifty. As he applies make-up,
warms up, and practices his singing, he is purifying himself, ridding himself of his male
status and entering the state of mind of the neutral actor. […] When the actor warms up by
walking around backstage before going onto the stage, he is cleansing himself of his habits
in daily life and entering a neutral state. At the sound of the gongs and drums, he walks
onstage to the beat, but the process of his change of status is not completed until he faces
the audience, strikes a pose, and speaks with the status of the character. It is only at this
point that he is in the role before the audience. The striking of a pose is of utmost impor-
tance, because it is the first time the actor communicates face to face with the audience.
Aided by his physical and psychological movements, the communication conveys meaning,
namely, “I of this instant am here to make this role presentation of this character for all of
you to see!” A talented actor is able to conquer the audience because he is fully aware of his
own performance and is able to control it.16
This is also “a tripartite relationship” as Gao called it: “this understanding of perfor-
mance art is what I refer to as the tripartite nature of performance: performance lies
in how the relationship of the self, the neutral actor, and the role are managed”.17
Gao points out that the state of the neutral actor is not completed with a single
occurrence but must assist the actor in entering and exiting the role during the entire
performance. This observation has some similarities with Brecht’s “distancing
effect” but at the same time in each idea points to different theatre practices. Brecht
observed the distance between actor and role: he focuses on the two ends of this
distance – actor and role – and this “distancing effect” theory is applied to alert the
16
GaoXingjian: Aesthetics and Creation, translated by Mabel Lee, New York, Cambria press,
2012, in chapter The Potential of Theatre.
17
Ibid., in chapter Dramaturgical Method and the Neutral Actor.
audience to not be involved in the plot. Gao also pays attention to this distance
between actor and role, but he focuses on perception in this “between”.
We must note that “between” existing as a noun first of all refers to a philosophi-
cal thinking. François Jullien mentions the “between” has been overlooked by
European philosophy.18 Because from the perspective of ontology, “between” is nei-
ther “something” belongs to itself nor independently exists – “between” cannot be
determined.
In contrast, the “between” reveals another angle of aesthetics and philosophy in
China to regard to the world. Considering the origin of the character, “閒/间
(between)” means the moonlight through the door, it immediately implies a fluidity,
a passage back and forth – where/by where all coming deploys. Indeed, the
“between” is frequently a formless space that extends indefinitely between the two
polarities. For example, the world is between the sky and earth (between the highest
and lowest) where the breath/energy passes, exchanges, conceives and fertilizes the
life. Besides, the two polarities neither reveal two “entities” formed nor a binomial
subject/object or true/false but rather of two states that turn constantly towards each
other, such as yin/yang, dynamic/apathetic and stretch/release. In other words, the
two polarities are opened to each other, the “between” is a process of this transfor-
mation rather than a fixed dimension.
In his studies of traditional Chinese aesthetics (particularly in painting), François
Jullien considers “between” as an aesthetic perception.19 He quotes Su Shi, the
greatest poet, painter and calligrapher of the Song dynasty, to show the difference of
literati and artisans’ painting of horses. According to Su, artisans only pay attention
to external attributes; the horses they painted lack any “flow” and “momentum”;
while literati paintings reach the spirit and the energy that are the essence of horses.
Jullien indicates the reason for Su Shi to appreciate the spirit and the energy – in
other words, the vitality of “flow” and “momentum”, because they show a “between”.
What is the “between”? “To believe that the most ‘real’ or as we say the most
effective, is not so much res,20 the ‘thing’, but is by where, and do not let yourself to
focus on ‘thing’”.21 Jullien quotes again Fang Xun, the great painter of the Qing
dynasty, to demonstrate this “by where”/“between” where the vitality of flow and
momentum and the spirit and the energy are located.22 The “between”, as an essen-
tial notion of Chinese aesthetics, does not emphasize imitation of real things and
thus avoids objectifying the objects from the beginning.
This painting style developed by this idea of “between” is called xieyi painting.
In the 1960s, Huang Zuolin indicated that Chinese opera actually is a xieyi drama.
Some scholars find Gao’s dramas similar to the practice of xieyi drama.23 However,
18
François Jullien:L’écart et l’entre, Leçoninaugurale de la chaire sur l’altérité, op. cit., p. 55.
19
François Jullie:,L’écart et l’entre, Leçoninaugurale de la chaire sur l’altérité, op. cit.
20
Latin, it means “the thing”.
21
François Jullien:L’écart et l’entre, Leçoninaugurale de la chaire sur l’altérité, op. cit., p. 55
22
Ibid., p. 56.
23
ŁABEDZKA Izabella mentions this point of view of Huang in Gao Xingjian’s idea of theatre,
from the word to the image, Brill, Leiden & Boston, 2008; QUAH Sy Ren also mentions it in Gao
Xingjian and transcultural Chinese theater, Hawai, University of Hawai’i Press, 2004.
196 Yingying XIAO
Huang only proposed the notion of xieyi drama; he did not explain in detail what it
refers to. In fact, what Gao inherits from the xieyi aesthetics is precisely the idea of
“between” and uses it in performance. Gao rolls the “between” out as a psychologi-
cal space on the aesthetic dimension, where Gao tries to explore all possibilities to
feel and perceive real.
The Concept of “Another Self” to Perceive
Gao’s neutral actor not only poses a question of performance but also a question
about who is the subject of perception. It seems, according to Gao, the neutral actor
is neither the ego of the actor nor the ego of the character. Then, who is perceiving,
who is “breathing and focusing his energies” and who is communicating with spec-
tators when actor is in the state of the neutral actor?
Gao also found the state of neutral actor in some Western actors, but “they cannot
have been as fully aware of it as traditional Chinese actors”. The reason for that is
probably because their different way to perceive comes from their culture: Western
actors take the perception itself as an object to observe, considering themselves as
the subject who is fully conscious of their perception – this is actually consistent
with traditional Western philosophy.
Gao’s neutral actor is, in some ways, a theory exploring the process of perception
in performance. Gao is interested by French phenomenology, perhaps because both
are no longer attached to explore the consciousness but try to understand the percep-
tion and no longer to look for who I am but where I am.
Merleau-Ponty pointed out in his Phenomenology of Perception the traditional
Western philosophy is a kind of objective thought: “Objective thought is unaware of
the subject of perception. This is because it presents itself with the world ready
made, as the setting of every possible event, and treats perception as one of these
events. For example, the empiricist philosopher considers a subject x in the act of
perceiving and tries to describe what happens […] The perceiving subject is the
place where these things occur, and the philosopher describes sensations and their
sub-stratum as one might describe the fauna of a distant land—without being aware
that he himself perceives […]”.24 Thus, Merleau-Ponty rethinks this conclusion of
objective thought: am I the real subject to perceive? If “every perception takes place
in an atmosphere of generality and is presented to us anonymously”, then “I cannot
say that I see the blue of the sky in the sense in which I say that I understand a book
or again in which I decide to devote my life to mathematics”.25
So Merleau-Ponty brings this famous viewpoint: “if I wanted to render precisely
the perceptual experience, I ought to say that one perceives in me, and not that I
perceive”. But, what refers to the “one” who “perceives in me”?26
24
Merleau-Ponty:Phenomenology of Perception, translated by Colin Smith, London and New York,
Routledge Classics, 2002, p. 240.
25
Ibid., p. 250.
26
Ibid.
It seems the “one” refers neither to “other” nor to “I” but to another self of “I”.
Merleau-Ponty affirmed our body is not the real subject of perceiving. Even though
all perceptions must be perceived via the body, but “Every sensation carries within
it the germ of a dream or depersonalization such as we experience in that quasi-
stupor to which we are reduced when we really try to live at the level of sensation”.27
Moreover, “this activity [perception] takes place on the periphery of my being. I am
no more aware of being the true subject of my sensation than of my birth or my
death”.28 That is, there is not just only one self during the process of perceiving but
two or even more self which do not refer to the dualism of body/soul but are distin-
guished by the consciousness of existence and the experience of existence. Merleau-
Ponty took again the example of “birth” and “death” to explain that we are not the
real subject which perceives “my birth” and “my death”:
I can apprehend my birth and my death only as prepersonal horizons: I know that people are
born and die, but I cannot know my own birth and death. Each sensation, being strictly
speaking, the first, last and only one of its kind, is a birth and a death. The subject who
experiences it begins and ends with it, and as he can neither precede nor survive himself,
sensation necessarily appears to itself in a setting of generality, its origin is anterior to
myself, it arises sense experience from sensibility which has preceded it and which will
outlive it, just as my birth and death belong to a natality and a mortality which are anony-
mous. By means of sensation I am able to grasp, on the fringe of my own personal life and
acts, a life of given consciousness from which these latter emerge, the life of my eyes, hands
and ears, which are so many natural selves.29
Thus, for Merleau-Ponty, there is another self who is the real perceiving subject:
the perception of this “another self” depends on my body organs but is also detached
from my body. In other words, it makes me feel the experience of perception but
does not make me feel that I am the creator of perception. Merleau-Ponty has
described this experience: “Each time I experience a sensation, I feel that it con-
cerns not my own being, the one for which I am responsible and for which I make
decisions, but another self which has already sided with the world, which is already
open to certain of its aspects and synchronized with them”.30
We can find in Gao’s neutral actor the “another self” whom Merleau-Ponty iden-
tified in the perceiving process. This neutral actor refers first at all to a state of
“between” where the true subject to perceive is neither the self of the actor nor the
self of the role but another self who is attached to the actor’s body and at the same
time detached from the actor – an open awareness who is not only open to himself
but also open to others, the spectators. So, actor and spectators can connect more
directly – not by empathy but by a kind of non-personal perception in this open
state. It’s why Gao said on the stage, it’s not the role that communicates with the
spectator, but the neutral actor communicates with the role and the neutral actor
27
Ibid.
28
Ibid.
29
Ibid., pp. 250–251.
30
Ibid., p. 251.
198 Yingying XIAO
with the spectator.31 From this point of view, the neutral actor proposes “a perfor-
mance that is an enlargement of the actor’s inner mind, and what the audience sees
is not merely the theatre of the play: the performance of the actor is also theatre”.32
But, how do Gao show the “another self” and the actor’s inner mind in this open
state on the stage?
How to Apply the Neutral Actor on the Stage?
The Personal Pronoun
In fact, as both novelist and dramatist, Gao applies many novel techniques to his
dramas. In Gao’s first novel, Soul Mountain, the most remarkable technique is the
narratology of personal pronoun. In this novel, “you”, a vagabond figure, hears of a
mysterious place called Soul Mountain and decides to go. This narrator “you”
begins the first chapter with another narrator “she” whom “you” meets en route. The
two voices “you” and “she” constitute a spiritual world of self and contrast with the
third voice “I” who identifies with the author (a writer in Beijing) who travels in a
real world. The narrators “you” and “she” systematically alternate with the narrator
“I”, chapter by chapter. Gao himself explains the narratology of “you”, “she” and
“I” in the same novel:
You know that I am just talking to myself to alleviate my loneliness. You know that this
loneliness of mine is incurable, that no-one can save me and that I can only talk with
myself as the partner of my conversation.
In this lengthy soliloquy you are the object of what I relate, a myself who listens intently
to me -- you are simply my shadow.
As I listen to myself and you, I let you create a she, because you are like me and also
cannot bear the loneliness and have to find a partner for your conversation.
So you talk with her, just like I talk with you.
She was born of you, yet is an affirmation of myself.33
According to Gao’s idea, the second personal pronoun “you” is the external pro-
jection of “I”, and the third personal pronoun “she” is the shadow of “you” – the
shadow of shadow of “I”. This narratology not only attributes three different per-
spectives to the same ego but also proposes two separate selves “you” and “she”
outside of “I” – this involves a psychological hierarchical change and an enlarge-
ment of the inner mind of ego.
Gao uses this technique of fugitive personal pronouns in most of his dramas to
show how another self perceives the “between” of the ego, between actor and role.
Dialogue and Rebuttal (1992) is a two-act play about two strangers, a girl and a man
who try to dialogue after having sex. But the more they talk, the more they fall into
31
Gao Xingjian: 《没有主义》, op. cit., p. 291.
32
Gao Xingjian: Aesthetics and Creation, op. cit, in chapter Dramaturgical Method and the Neutral
Actor.
33
Soul Mountain, Translated by Mabel Lee, Sydney, Flamingo, 2000, p. 312.
deadlock; finally the two protagonists kill each other. The second act begins with
another conversation between two souls who are looking at their heads. There is a
chán monk who also plays on the same stage without dialoguing with them. In the
first act, when the girl and the man call themselves “I”, their conversation always
drives to dispute, but when they call themselves “you” or “she”, their dialogue tends
to communication and comprehension.
(The stage is white [if possible], in which one sees a young girl and a middle-aged man. A
black overcoat and a travelling tote bag have been thrown to one side; on other side, toward
the back, there lies a bathrobe, which has been tossed down in a heap. At front stage on the
right, a wooden fish has been placed on the floor.)
Girl Finished?
Man Finished.
Girl How was it?
Man Quite good. (Pause.) How about you ?
Girl Not bad. (Pause.) Quite good, I should say.
(Man tries to say something but stops.)
Girl So…
Man What?
Girl Nothing much.
Man Nothing much what?
(Girl smiles slightly.)
Man What are you smiling at?
Girl Nothing.
Man Why are you still smiling?
Girl I’m not smiling.
(Helpless, Man stares at her. Girl avoids his stare and look away.)
Man Is it over?
Girl Isn’t it better this way?
Man Are you always like this?
Girl What?
Man With men…
Girl Of course, you’re certainly not the first one.
(Man is taken aback, then laughs out loud.)
Girl You’re all the same.
Man (Happily.) Do you mean we -
Girl I mean you, you men!
Man (Corrects her) Men and women!
(Both laugh. Girl stops laughing abruptly. Man also stops.)
Man What’s wrong?
Girl Nothing.
Man I’m sorry.
Girl (Coldly) There’s nothing to be sorry about.
(Man walks away and puts on bathrobe.)
Girl If we had known…
Man Speak for yourself.
Girl Hypocrite!
Man But I love you –
(Immediately Girl starts to laugh out loud. Man also laughs heartily. Monk enters slowly
from the right side of the stage. He is bald, wearing a kasaya, a Buddhist robe, and a pair
of straw sandals. With his eyes lowered and his palms clasped, he is chanting “Amitabha
Buddha”!Man and Girl stop laughing.Monk walks to a corner at right stage, turns around
200 Yingying XIAO
until his back is facing the audience, sits down with his legs crossed and starts to beat the
wooden fish.Man and Girl restrain themselves. They both look down, listening carefully to
the continuous beating of the wooden fish.)
Girl (Softly) She doesn’t understand why, why she followed with such a man,
but she followed him anyway, following him to…
Man (Softly) She understands everything, she knew it very well, it’s very sim-
ple and clear, both had the need…
Girl (Softly) No, she only wanted to know if it could happen… She knew it
was possible but not entirely unavoidable…
Man (Softly) Things are bound to happen anytime, anywhere in the world,
when something happens, you’ll just to go along with it and have some fun.
Girl (Softly) He may look eager and willing, but she knows very well that he’s
faking it, if she’d only arched her back and held him off, the whole thing wouldn’t have
happened.
Man (Softly) One minute early or one minute late, it’s all the same. Why put on
an act? Each other34 no different, that’s the way it is.
Girl (Softly) Of course she’d been expecting it, she knew right from the begin-
ning how it would end, but she never thought it would be so sudden, so hasty, and end would
come so fast.
(Monk beats the wooden fish twice.)
Girl Forget it! There’s nothing worth celebrating.
Man I didn’t say anything.
Girl Better keep it that way.35
The monk’s action affects the girl’s and the man’s talk: when they hear the monk
beat the wooden fish, they do not call themselves “I” any more: the girl calls herself
“she”, and the man calls himself “you”. That is, when the first personal pronoun is
replaced by the second personal pronoun and third personal pronoun, the talking
subjects detach from themselves, as another self who perceives and stares their ego
from an impersonal perspective. The change of personal pronoun opens a “between”
not only between the different perceiving subjects for the same ego, where “she”
communicates with the girl and “you” with the man by the perception rather than
words, but also between girl and man who can’t really communicate by conversa-
tion, but when they feel each other in this “between”, they come to understand each
other. Moreover, those “between” are introduced by personal pronouns and opened
in the dialogue, showing not only a kind of psychological tension but also an aes-
thetic tension, which expands in parallel and simultaneously.
The “she” and the “you”, respectively, present the neutral actor’s state of the girl
and the man. In the second act, almost from the beginning, the girl and the man call
themselves and dialogue with “she” and “you”:
Man What are you doing?
Girl Nothing.
[…]
Girl What did you say?
Man Nothing.
34
We changed here the original translation “You and I are no different” to “each other, no different”
according to the Chinese version “彼此彼此”.
35
Gao Xingjian: The Other Shore – Plays by Gao Xingjian, translated by Gilbert C. F. Fong, Hong
Kong, The Chinese University Press, 1999, pp. 83–85.
(The two sit quietly back to back)

Girl (Persistently.) She asks, what did you say?
Man (Wearily.) You say, you didn’t say anything.
Girl She says she clearly heard you say something.
Man (without looking at her.) You ask what did she hear you say?
Girl She says would she ask you if she knew?
Man You say that means you didn’t say anything.
Girl Then she says, Oh. (Turns to face the audience.)
(Girl sits up straight, then she covers her face with her hands, her head lowered.
Man looks at woman’s head.)
Man Then you see a contemptuous face. You say even if you wanted to say
something, you wouldn’t be saying it to her, and you say even if you actually said some-
thing, it wouldn’t have anything to do with her, you’re referring to only means you, which
is no more than your self, you mean you, that self of yourself, keep on troubling you.
Girl She says she’s afraid of silence, she can’t stand people not talking when
they’re face to face with each other, she finds that suffocation. She’s much more afraid of
silence than of death, death is more bearable than not talking to each other like this.
Man You say you, you’re only talking to yourself.
Girl She says she, she’s only left with her memories.
Man You say you, the only way you can get a little bit of comfort is by talking
to yourself.
Girl She says she, the only way she can invoke a little bit of fantasy is through
her memories.
Man You say you, you can feel somewhat relaxed only when you’re talking to
yourself.
Girl She says she, she can see herself clearly only when she’s fantasizing.
Man You say it’s not that you don’t want to get away from your self, but you’re
always talking to yourself, in that way the self will never go away and it’ll never stop haunt-
ing you.
Girl She says only when she indulges herself in fantasies can she empty her-
self of her worries, be carefree and recall her past feelings. Even though they may have been
scary feelings, they still manage to touch her heart.36
On the stage, when the girl and the man call themselves “she” and “you”, they
look at the audience more than they look at each other. In other words, the eye con-
tact happened between actor/character and audience implies a psychological ten-
sion appears between the self of “I” and the self of “she” of the girl, also the self of
“I” and the self of “you” of the man, especially when the two persons say “she says
she” and “you say you”.
Gao thinks that the change of personal pronouns can bring “new perspectives to
theatre” and “how their use can stimulate the performance” in a play especially in
the dialogue of the play: “Generally, what is spoken on the stage is presented in the
first person. Brecht’s narrative plays used the third person to draw the narrator into
the play, but this usage was not introduced into the dialogue. In Peking Opera there
can be asides and interruptions using the third person, but again this is not intro-
duced into the dialogues of the characters. In contemporary plays, Marguerite Duras
has occasionally used the third person, whereas Peter Handke used the second-
36
Gao Xingjian: The Other Shore – Plays by Gao Xingjian, translated by Gilbert C. F. Fong, op.
cit, pp. 123–125.
202 Yingying XIAO
person pronoun not with the roles but simply for the people in the play to direct
abuse at the audience”.37
The Third Eye
In Dialogue and Rebuttal, if “she” and “you” imply the interiorizing neutral actor,
then the monk, who has no lines, contrasts with this dialoguing girl and man and
exteriorizes the neutral actor. The status of neutral actor is going in and going out of
I but is not involved in the perspective of I. In another one-act play of monologist
Between Life and Death, the first play that Gao wrote in French in that a woman
talks about her life especially about her emotional experience, the actor always
keeps the status of neutral actor during all this play. Gao describes himself his idea
for this play:
Between Life and Death, I believe, is the first play to use the third person throughout in the
inner-mind monologue of the protagonist, and moreover, even the dialogue in the play is
presented in the third person. This is not just a simple replacement of the first-person with
the third-person pronoun, and behind all this is the aforementioned performance method.
The woman actor playing the role of the woman protagonist throughout maintains a neutral
actor status on the stage, and she can play the role or not play the role; sometimes she plays
the role and at other times not. When she plays the role she can either fully play it or play it
only to a certain degree, leaving as much as she wants to leave. The role is identical to the
projection of the self in her thinking — that is, it is identical to that other image of the self
in her inner mind. When in dialogue, the neutral actor becomes the narrator and ceases to
play her role. In other words, the narrator instead becomes her role at this point. It is a play
worth watching: apart from the monologue that presents the woman protagonist’s inner
world, the audience also sees the actor playing or not playing, or else playing to a measured
extent—and the beauty of her various performances, simultaneously with the play itself, is
also theatre. Therefore, the actor who plays the female protagonist does not need to be
concerned with the age of the character; it does not matter if it is a young actor or a much
older actor, for as long as the neutral actor status has been grasped then the character can be
presented convincingly on the stage.38
Gao calls also this status as “a third eye”: “If this neutral actor status is affirmed on
the stage, the actor is not the everyday-life I who faces the audience or the everyday-
status I on the stage acting as the equivalent of the character he, and he is highly
focused and mentally prepared as he enters the performance. At this time, the con-
sciousness of self has transformed into a third eye that observes and modulates the
performance of the actor, who has become you and has thus gained an abundance of
freedom on the stage”.39
In fact, the third eye is another essential notion in Gao’s creation. It’s a term
comes from Buddhism, also known as the sage eye: Gao borrows it to express a
lucid attitude to observe oneself. In a conversation with Gilbert C.F. Fong, Gao also
37
Gao Xingjian: Aesthetics and Creation, op. cit, in chapter Dramaturgical Method and the Neutral
Actor.
38
Ibid.
39
Gao Xingjian: Aesthetics and Creation, op. cit, in Chapter The Potential of Theatre.
calls the third eye as a neutral eye or a sage eye, which excludes the subjective sen-
sation, the personal preference and the ethical or political judgment, is not handled
by some a priori value, but just makes a lucid self-observation.40
It seems, in relative to the neutral actor, the third eye is more active. This third
eye does not just propose a mode of theatric practice but also a special way of visual
perception that the ego can be really seen by the eye but outside of the ego. We will
find in a scene of Between Life and Death how the author shows this eye:
Woman (Lifts her head.) She says she’s had enough, she feels drowsy,… (Lies
down)
(The headless woman drifts in front of her and extends an arm to stroke Woman’s
forehead.)
Woman (Startled, she sits up and covers her eyes with her hand.) She see it again,
this time it’s a woman’s eye! It’s floating and appearing in front of her eyes… (Pushes away
the hand.)
(The headless woman draws back her hand.)
Woman (She stands up and thinks deeply, searching her brain.) She doesn’t
know…if…she’s witnessing…her own soul leaving her body?
(The headless woman again holds out her hand and waves it menacingly in front
of her eyes.)
Woman (Staring.) She can even see her own eyes! In these eyes she sees her own
naked body again. (Shakes her head.)
(The headless woman immediately withdraws her hand and recoils.)
Woman (Lowers her head to look at herself, startled.) She saw herself just now,
very clearly, naked, lying down and floating in the nether world: she gradually moved up,
and then she slowly went down…when she was going to sink to the bottom, she floated to
the surface again…she was pushed up…by surge after surge of black waves she couldn’t
touch or feel… from an unfathomable depth…her body moved up again…and then plunged
into a deeper valley of darkness…41
There are actually a series of female figures in this play: the silhouette of a
woman, the nun and the headless woman who are successively present throughout
the monologue of the protagonist, implying another set of bodies outside of the
woman. But the headless woman, as a figure of the woman’s body, is not an object
which receives passively the perception but an active subject. While the woman is
more passive, she is involved involuntarily in the vision that the headless woman
shows her. In the same way, the emotions and amazement the woman feels seem to
come from out of her and make her follow those sensations. In other words, the
woman is not the mistress of her own vision. In addition, the woman’s body is not a
being that is an “a priori” in her own vision. It’s by the eye of the headless woman –
who also is the eye of the woman but out of her – that the woman sees her desiring
and suffering body. This is the third eye.
40
《论戏剧(高行健和方梓勲关于戏剧的对话)》 (On Theater – Dialogue between Gao
Xiangjian and Gilbert C. F. Fong), 台北 (Taibei), 联经, 2010, p. 34
41
Gao Xingjian: The Other Shore – Plays by Gao Xingjian, op. cit., pp. 74–75.
204 Yingying XIAO
References
BAUDELAIRE. 1964. Painter of Modern Life and Other Essays. Trans. and Ed. Jonathan Mayne.
London: Phaidon Press.
BRECHT, Bertolt. 1964. Brecht on Theatre, the Development of an Aesthetic. Trans. and Ed. John
Willett. London: Eyre Methuen.
FOUCAULT, Michel. 1984. What is Enlightenment? In The Foucault Reader, ed. P. Rabinow.
New York: Pantheon Books.
GAO, Xingjian. 1988. 《对一种现代戏剧的追求》 (In Pursuit of a Modern Theater), 北京
(Beijing): 中国戏剧出版社.
———. 1999. The Other Shore – Plays by Gao Xingjian. Trans. Gilbert C. F. Fong. Hong Kong:
The Chinese University Press.
———. 2000. Soul Mountain. Trans. Mabel Lee. Sydney: Flamingo.
———. 2001.《没有主义》 (Without -ism), 台北(Taibei): 联经.
———. 2010.《论戏剧(高行健和方梓勲关于戏剧的对话)》 (On Theater – Dialogue Between
Gao Xiongjian and Gilbert C.F.Fong ), 台北(Taibei): 联经.
———. 2012. GaoXingjian: Aesthetics and Creation. Trans. Mabel Lee. New York: Cambria
Press.
JULLIEN, François. 2012. L’écart et l’entre, Leçoninaugurale de la chairesurl’altérité. Paris:
Galilée.
ŁABEDZKA, Izabella. 2008. Gao Xingjian’s Idea of Theatre, from the Word to the Image. Leiden/
Boston: Brill.
LU, Xun. 1973. 《中国小说史略》 Zhongguoxiaoshuoshilue. In 《鲁迅全集》 Luxunquanji,
vol. 9. Beijing: Renminwenxuechubanshe.
MERLEAU-PONTY, Maurice. 2002. Phenomenology of Perception. Trans. Colin Smith. London/
New York: Routledge Classics.
PLAKS, Andrew H. 1977. Towards a Critical Theory of Chinese Narrative. In Chinese Narrative:
Critical and Theoretical Essays, Plaks, Andrew H, Princeton: Princeton University, .
QUAH, Sy Ren. 2004. Gao Xingjian and Transcultural Chinese Theater. Hawai: University of
Hawai’i Press.
ZHAO, Henry. 2000. Towards a Modern Zen Theatre – Gao Xingjian and Chinese Theatre
Experimentalism. London: School of Oriental & African Studies.
Chapter 13
From Traditional to Contemporary:
Genealogy of Kumiodori in Modern
Okinawan Theatre Called “Okinawa
shibai”
Shoko YONAHA
Introduction
After the annexation of Meiji Japan in 1879, Okinawa(ns) had to face rapidly chang-
ing times as Japan started to have a harsh time in catching up with the Western
technology and civilization. While struggling, Japan was aggressively assimilating
the Western economic and political system to establish a new modern nation. People
in the newly renamed prefecture Okinawa were also under the new dimension of
modernization. The communal sphere of Okinawans must have been undergoing
many changes. So how were the performing arts shifted from the era of the kingdom
to the modern period? During the era of the kingdom, ukwanshin dances (the court
dances) and traditional Ryukyuan musical theatre called kumiodori1 were carried on
by the Shuri castle and prestigious samurai (or yukatchu)class; however, those who
obliged to perform for the sake of the Sho royal family, Chinese representatives
(envoys), Satsuma Han (Clan), and Tokugawa Shogun during the Edo missions had
to find their own way to live. They started to set sail on a new sphere, transmitting
the tradition and blended it into the new forms of theatre. It was possible because the
court dances and kumiodori were valuable Okinawan performing arts. The geneal-
ogy of kumiodori was successfully inherited by a new theatre form Okinawa shibai.2
1
The form is called kumiwudui in Okinawan, but when it was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible
Cultural Heritage Lists in 2010, it was described as kumiodori, so I use Japanese name in this
paper.
2
The definition of Okinawa shibai (沖縄芝居) is that it is a drama in Okinawan dialect which has
two forms such as dialect dialogue play and opera (or musical drama) since the modern period. It
is defined by Akutagawa award-winning writer Oshiro Tatsuhiro on Okinawa Encyclopedia in
S. YONAHA (*)
Independent Theatre Critic, Okinawa, Japan

206 S. YONAHA
How was kumiodori absorbed into Okinawa shibai and regained its genealogy
in the new form? I’ll examine the development of Okinawa shibai from 1879 to
1945 and compare the elements of kumiodori and Okinawa shibai. Kumiodori is
an art form which resembles opera with dialogue (which is made with special
chanting of 8-8-8-6 syllables), music, action, and dance. It was created by the
dance magistrate Tamagusuku Chōkun (1684–1734), and it was first performed to
entertain the Sappōshi (Chinese envoys) in 1719. There are about 80 kumiodori
works including new kumiodori which were created after the abolition of the
kingdom.
In the history of Okinawa, the period from 1879 to the end of WWII in 1945 is
defined as a modern era. Within the scope of 66 years, I’ll follow this periodization
and divide it into three parts in the first chapter.
The Development of Modern Okinawa shibai
(1) The First Period from 1879 to 1906 (Meiji 12 to Meiji 39)
This is a period when the Ryukyu Kingdom became part of Japan, and in the
chaotic transition, the people of Okinawa had to face a completely new era. Some
of the former court performers started to sell their court dances and kumiodori in
Naha around the pleasure quarters of Tsuji, Nakashima, and Watanji. Gradually
they absorbed some new trends from the common people and some new culture
from Japan. Around 1882, they set up a simple stage surrounded by a straw bag
(kamasu), which was called “kamajī shibai”, and the law on the performance was
enforced in the same year. It was in 1891 that a real theatre house, the Nakamō the-
atre, was constructed under the support of the last court’s dance minister (Odori-
bugyō) Oroku. Higa Minoru (1942–2013) describes in his article “A Brief History
of Meiji Okinawan Theatre” (Higa 1982, 276–295) how this period was focussed on
1983. Many historical plays (史劇) are created in Okinawa languages (Uchina-guchi) dialogue
play in the beginning, and later Jidaimono (or Jidaigeki時代劇) are created including some
adapted script from the popular stories. Kageki (歌劇) is also called Ryukyu kageki in which lyrics
(spoken lines) are sung with the folk music and just dialogue part is made with improvisation.
Unlike Western opera which is systematically organized with voice training and professional clas-
sic music which is accompanied with the stories and Takarazuka kagekidan (宝塚歌劇団、started
in 1914) in which girls are trained in the special school to build up the qualities of performers and
their genre of opera/musical repertoires are varied, Ryukyu kageki is a combined drama with sing-
ing, dances, and movement based on Okinawan languages. It embraces the very Okinawan emo-
tional human relations, and songs are popular among commoners. It’s a kind of ethnic/indigenous
popular performance first created in 1910. My definition of Okinawa shibai is introduced to the
Dictionary of Okinawan Folklore (Tōkyo: Yoshikawa-kōbunkan in 2008). I intended that Okinawan
dialect plays should be changed to just dialogue play since 2009; Ryukyu languages have been
designated as endangered by UNESCO.
13 From Traditional to Contemporary: Genealogy of Kumiodori in Modern… 207
kumiodori and the court dances.3 The Nakamō theatre’s sketch vividly shows the old
style of the classical court drama with its stage based on 18 feet square (Sangen
shihō) along with the traditional symbol of a pine tree planted at the centre of the
stage. Audiences of thousands could see the ukwanshin dances there.
In 1892, the Jinshin-za (theatre) was built at Hatamichi (the name of the street,
hata means edge, michi means street) in the vicinity of the Tsuji pleasure quarter,
and this had also a sangen shihō stage, meaning that they mainly performed the
court dances and kumiodori. This is the period when the court dances and kumiodori
started to be appreciated by common people. One thing that should be stressed here
is that this first theatre built at Hatamichi was made by several women (called Anmā
who owned the licenced brothel) in Tsuji, where beautiful girls were selected for
their best dances and songs performed there for about 3 years. However, the theatre
was turned over to an all-male troupe because girls couldn’t continue performing
after having got pregnant from male guests’ special favours on them, and this
Jinshin-za was identified as Ninshin-za (ninshin means pregnancy) so that women
in Tsuji eventually had to withdraw from the stage.4 This, however, illustrates that
the Tsuji pleasure quarter not only carried kumiodori and court dances but played a
transitional role from the premodern to modern in Okinawa. It is also made clear by
Sasamori Gisuke (1845–1915), a researcher from mainland Japan. Sasamori came
to Okinawa soon after the abolition of the Ryukyus and left records of what he had
seen at Tsuji. According to him, women there also performed kumiodori though it
was confined to the inside of Tsuji. He mentions that juris’ dances and kumiodori
were very refined (Sasamori 1894, 342–343).
In addition, the year 1892 should be recognized as the year the “Entertainment
hall regulatory rules” (Prefectural regulation: Article 22) was implemented. The
construction of the theatre, remodelling, and performance were obliged to get per-
mission from the authorities; besides, the entertainer licence tag, offering the spe-
cial guest seats for the inspection of the police, was regulated.5
Furthermore, another record that kumiodori was performed in Osaka in 1893
discloses the first period of modernization in Okinawan theatre based on kumiodori
and ukwanshin dances. Vengeance for Loyalty (“Chūshin Tekiuchi”), Sisters’
Vengeance (“Shimai Tekiuchi”), Gushikawa Legion (“Gushikawa Taigun”), and
Love Destined with Water (“Temizuno-en”)6 were performed.
In this article, Higa divides the period of Meiji Okinawa in three, i.e.:
3
(1) Kumiodori period: 1881/1882–1894 (Meiji 14/15–27)

(2) Absorbing/imitating the Japanese drama period: 1895–1908 (Meiji 28–41)
(3) Opera (kageki) period: 1909–1912 (Meiji 42–45)
4
Maeda Katsurō, Ryukyu-shibai Monogatari (A Story of Ryukyuan play).1981, 59–60.
5
Ōhno Michio, Okinawa shibai to sono Shuhen (Okinawan drama and its surroundings), 93.
6
The author is Heshikiya Chōbin (1770–1734). This is the only love story kumiodori created in the
era of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The influence of “Love Destined with Water” is so strong that we can
clearly see the influence of this kumiodori in many Ryukyu opera’s love stories. Music, acting style
including classical dancing, and some Ryu-ka (Okinawan poems with 8-8-8-6 syllables) are also
taken into kageki.
208 S. YONAHA
In this period, a play called Temporary Wife (“Uyanmā”) was performed. It was
a symbolic creation as a transitional form from kumiodori to a new drama, in which
a scene of separation between Zaiban (Shuri government official), his native mis-
tress, and their son in Yaeyama Island is visually presented with heartbreaking folk
music. Zaiban and his mistress show their sad separation by dancing. Their projec-
tion of dialogue is quite monotonous, but it’s acknowledged as a remarkable poetic
drama created around 1893. The exact date of the first performance is not yet made
accurate, but fortunately a famous linguist Chamberlain (1850–1935) remembers
having seen this beautiful piece of theatre in Naha in 1893, and he recorded the text
so it is said to be around that year.
In the same year, 1893, the first newspaper, Ryūkyū Shimpō, was published; how-
ever, we can access it from 1898. The first several years’ papers are still missing.
Because of that, from 1879 to 1897, the cradle period of Okinawa shibai is yet to be
sufficiently clarified. The important document is Ryukyu Jyōruri (or Jōruri,
Ryukyuan theatre) by Matuyama Denjurō, in which we can find the names of kumio-
dori and dances performed in 1888.
In 1895, Japan’s victory in the war against China worked for Okinawans to relin-
quish some illusion about China and its power over the Ryukyu Islands. Since then
Okinawan’s assimilation to Japan and Japanese culture has been developed more than
ever. Higa Minoru named this period as an imitative theatre period. His classification
is confirmed by Ōhno Michio. Ōhno emphasizes that Japanese theatre’s imitation was
in its peak in 1906. Kabuki, soshi shibai and shinpa7 had great influence on Okinawan
theatre, and Ōhno’s suggestion is based on the newspapers of that period.8
7
The history of kabuki began in 1603 when Izumo no Okuni, a miko of Izumo Taisha (a shrine
maiden of Izumo Taisha shrine), began to perform a new style of dance drama in the dry riverside
of Kyoto. A classical dance drama kabuki is known for the stylization of its drama and for the
elaborate make-up worn by some of its actors. Kabuki was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible
Cultural Heritage Lists in 2005 (“Kabuki” In Wikipedia, Last modified 8 August 2018. https://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabuki).
Shinpa is a form of theatre in Japan, usually featuring melodramatic stories, contrasted with the
more kabuki style. The roots of shinpa can be traced to a form of agitation propaganda theatre
(Sōshi-geki) in the 1880s promoted by Liberal Party members Sudōō Sadanori and kawakami
Otojirō. Shinpa is characterized as a transitional movement, closely associated with the Meiji
Restoration, whose primary rationale was the rejection of “old” values in favour of material that
would appeal to a partially Westernized urban middle class which still maintained some traditional
habits of thought. Some of the innovations associated with shinpa included shortened performance
times, the occasional reintroduction of female performers to the stage, the use of contemporary
patriotic events as subject matter, and the frequent adaptation of Western classics, such as the plays
of Shakespeare, etc. (“Shinpa.” In Wikipedia, Last modified 6 August 2017. https://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Shinpa).
8
Ōhno Michio did a great deal of research on Okinawan performing arts mainly through the
Okinawan newspapers from 1893 to 1945 (Meiji 26 to Showa 20), and his sincerity is shown in his
act that he donated his hard work’s result of the compile of the article related to Okinawan per-
forming arts to the Okinawa prefectural library and Naha City Museum of History. He mentioned
that the peak of absorbing Japanese theatre into Okinawa was 1906 (Meiji 39) at the panel session
“Okinawa shibai as the world theatre” in the conference of Japanese Society for Theatre held at
Kansai Gaidai University in 2003. He was invited as the commentator of the panel.
During that period, many Japanese theatre forms were copied, and they were
performed in the Okinawan language, not in standard Japanese even when the polit-
ical, educational, social, and economic direction was towards Japan and being
Japanese was a survival method for many as they strived to catch up with modern-
ization. According to Majikina Yūkō (1880–1982), one of the past living cultural
treasures of kumiodori, soshi shibai was produced in 1896 for the first time by the
Ogishima travelling troupe. Their drama “Pistol Robbery” was a big shock for both
Okinawan actors and Okinawan people since their stage was very realistic as they
used artificial red blood to make the audience excite.9 From this performance, we
can find that realism was shipped in to Okinawan theatre.
Okinawan commercial theatre actors were eager to learn Japanese theatre, so
some leaders of the theatre troupe took a boat for Tokyo or Osaka to find out the new
trends there. They positively adapted the stories they had seen and performed in
Okinawan domestic languages, which are viewed as partially deviated from the
standard Japanese. However, in the process of being adapted into Okinawan theatre,
they were transformed into its own unique local style to suit the Okinawan taste. In
those days, realistic acting or staging was beyond Majikina’s imagination since
kumiodori is a form which refrains from realistic representation.
In 1906, many shinpa plays were performed in Okinawa including adapted
Shakespeare plays such as Othello, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of
Venice, and some others such as Mad Daughter, Princess Yuriko, Little Cuckoo
(“Hototogisu”), and A Woman Named Natsuko, Love and Sin (“Ai to Tsumi”) by
Kikuchi Yūho. Those Shakespearean plays, adapted to Japanese production, were
mostly staged by Kawakami Otojirō (1864–1911). Amazingly, hundreds of adapted
(imitated) new dramas were performed at several theatre houses in Naha during the
Meiji era. Those days, Uema Seihin was eager to reform Okinawan theatre just as
Kawakami Otojirō tried with mainland Japanese theatre. Inclining to soshi shibai,
he was intentionally trying to make Okinawan theatre closer to Japanese ones.
However his ambition of reforming Okinawan theatre couldn’t be completed
because of his early death. According to Yano Teruo (Yano 1993, 244), Okinawa
shibai’s form was based on soshi shibai style. As each actor’s individual dialogue
(spoken Okinawan language) was their own creation, the story and its verisimilitude
were crucial.
In summary, we can find that the initial performances of traditional drama kumio-
dori, as well as of court dances, were well accepted by the public audience. However,
gradually a new commercial theatre began to be created by the new taste of the audi-
ence. Travelling kabuki, shinpa, and soshi shibai troupes also came to Okinawa to
entertain Okinawan people. On the other hand, as mentioned above, Okinawan
actors went by ship to mainland Japan to learn modern Japanese theatre. It was
apparent that this cultural exchange brought some different entertainments each
9
This incident is introduced by Yano Teruo (1926–1999) in his book Okinawa Geino Shiwa
(Okinawa: Yōju-sha, 1993, 241–242). However, Yano doesn’t identify the original source Majikina
mentioned in the beginning. Majikina says it led to the reform of Okinawa shibai (Majikina 1987,
464).
210 S. YONAHA
year. At that time, everything must have been a sort of new experience for many
Okinawan people for whom theatre became the centre to absorb a new trend of
information even though most performances were offered in Okinawan languages.
Higa Minoru says that the commercial theatre was the leading cultural drive/dem-
onstration in the Meiji era (Higa 1982, 295). Namely, a quite new cultural represen-
tation was centred on the stage. However, from absorbing and imitating Japanese
culture and trends, Okinawan actors started to recreate their own theatre forms
implanting their feelings and visions into them.
(2) The Second Period from 1907 to 1926 (Meiji 40 to Taisho 15)
This is a period when Okinawan performing artists established their own theatre
forms, Okinawa shibai, Ryukyu history plays, and Ryukyu opera (or musical plays).
After Japan’s victory over Russia in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905),
Okinawa(ns)’ inclination to Japan and Japanese culture became stronger, while the
Japanese government’s political enforcement of the assimilation system intensified
with the confidence of having defeated both China and Russia at war. Accordingly,
Japan strengthened its idea of putting Okinawans under the Emperor-centred sys-
tem. However, as if Okinawa(ns) were trying to resist the status quo and forceful
politics, many kumiodori were performed in 1907. Kumiodori, which were per-
formed about 40 times that year, can be generally perceived as an incredible phe-
nomenon. This amazing event didn’t occur overnight, but a clever framework was
arranged by a few Okinawan intellectuals. The reason why kumiodori received so
much attention can be seen in the following.
Simply put, we can confirm that Ōta Chōfu (1865–1938), a head editor of the
Ryūkyū Shimpō; Higashionna Kanjun (1882–1964), a historian and professor at
Takushoku University; and Iha Fuyū (1876–1945), the father of Okinawan Studies
(or the founder of Okinawan ethnography) positively attempted to enlighten the
Okinawan people about their history, culture, and identity. First of all, there occurred
Human Pavilion Incident (Jinrui-kan Jiken) in Osaka in 1903 when two Okinawan
women were displayed along with the Ainu and indigenous people from Taiwan and
other Asian countries in a show tent at the international exposition held in Ōsaka. Ōta
was the person who strongly agitated people through his articles when this humiliat-
ing incident for Okinawans became apparent to the public. What Ōta claimed was
that Okinawans are unlike the Ainu and other ethnic people but are emperor’s citi-
zens. Eventually those displayed women (juri, at the Tsuji pleasure quarter) were
released through Ōta’s claim, but ironically his accusation turned out to show his
own discriminative thought towards other races. Obviously it was Ōta’s fault that he
could not analyse the situation objectively, rather disclosed his biased views.
However, even after 25 years had passed since Okinawa(ns) became part of
Japan, the incident meant that Okinawans were still not treated as real Japanese. As
one of the Okinawan intellectuals, Ōta’s inner struggle and frustration could have
been strong, and it is no wonder that Ōta expected Iha’s return from Tokyo University.
Needless to say, Okinawan intellectuals were obliged to face their identity and their
own historical and cultural roots.
It was in July 1906 that Iha came back to Okinawa after graduating from Tokyo
University. And the following month Higashionna’s article “Iha Fuyū and Old
Songs” was in the paper, which emphasized the importance of Iha’s study of Old
Songs (“Omoro”) and Ryukyuan languages criticizing Okinawa’s imitative superfi-
cial culture which was taken advantage of by Japan. Ryukyu Orientalism, a sort of
Japanese version of orientalism towards Okinawan as the Japanese did not regard
Okinawan as being a part of Japanese at that time, was poked in through the Ryukyu
archipelago under the control of the Japanese government. Higashionna understood
this critical situation, and he insisted Okinawans would have to grasp the essence of
their history and spirits that their ancestors had left behind.
As if replying to Higashionna, the Ryūkyū Shimpō wrote an editorial with
immense expectation for Iha to bring some pride back to Okinawans. The article of
the Ryūkyū Shimpō was about “The study of Ryukyu history and Iha” (31 October
1906). It was a sort of reaction to the three decades of assimilation policy from the
central government. With cultural values looked down on or eradicated, some
Okinawan intellectuals were looking for a time to rebuild Okinawan’s strong ethnic
pride and identity. Iha’s speech was a striving force for the encouragement of many
Okinawans who had been treated as sub-citizens of Japan (Japanese). The restora-
tion of the ethnic pride and spiritual energy in the minds of the colonized was Iha’s
mission. It was accomplished through his advocacy of the establishment of the eth-
nic identity of an Okinawan as a Japanese who shared the same roots.
His article “About Ryukyuan’s ancestors” appeared on 15 December 1906. In it,
he stressed that Okinawans should be identified as of the same ethnic origin as
Japanese. He mentioned that Okinawans were descendants of Amamiku who came
down from the north part of Kyushu, and they settled down in Amami and Okinawa
main island. It meant that Okinawan ancestors and Japanese were originally from
the same roots. This seemed to enforce the assimilation policy but actually recreated
some source of Okinawan’s pride because it turned them to dig in or look back at
their own history and tradition.
Moreover, Iha wrote an article in Ryūkyū Shimpō (3 December 1906) about the
“National Theatre of Ryukyu”, in which he highly evaluated Tamagusuku Chōkun’s
five pieces of kumiodori saying, “Okinawa’s kumiodori has started with his five
masterpieces and ended with those”. The famous opera composer Wagner was
referred to in commemorating Chōkun’s greatness, and it made people remember
the days when kumiodori was appreciated as national theatre.
This intellectual and cultural rise that the Ryūkyū Shimpō, actually Ōta and Iha,
set to the public had a strong impact. It was no wonder that Okinawa shibai actors
also looked back and dug into their own history and classic kumiodori. After 30
years of experiencing Japan’s assimilation, under an inferiority complex, it was
about time to stand on their own feet. In February 1907, Okinawa troupe
(Okinawa-za) made an announcement in the paper that they were to present classic
kumiodori, with Tamagusuku Seijyū (1868–1945), a highly appreciated kumiodori
actor and master of Ryukyu dance, performing as the main character kuniyoshi-no-
hi-ya of Loyal Man’s Story (“Gishin Monogatari”). With so many kumiodori
212 S. YONAHA
Fig. 13.1 “Ryūkyū shigeki (Ufuaragusuku chuyuden)”; from Makishi (2002)
performed, Ōta wrote some reviews in the paper, and scripts of A Lady of Filial
Piety (“Chuko-fujin”), Master Mekarushi (“Mekarushi”), and Possessed by Love,
Thwarted by the Bell (“Shushin kaneiri”) were introduced in the paper.
On the other hand, Okinawa shibai actors were very eager to learn from the
mainland Japan’s theatre production. They were looking into their own cultural
bases as well, and their challenge continued. Some travelling Japanese shinpa
troupes also came to Okinawa, and kabuki’s famous Vengeance Story (“Chūshingura”)
was performed. On this trend, kyuyō troupe (Kyuyō-za) redesigned their stage like a
kabuki stage with a turning stage (mawari butai) and a stage passage through the
audience (hanamichi) introduced to the theatre in October 1908 for the first time in
Okinawa. The rival Okinawa-za also renewed their stage in January 1909. The
reform of the two theatres meant Okinawan theatre also developed different acts for
the plays and many original history plays, and Okinawan language dialogue plays
were created. Mostly they were some kind of copies of many vengeance kumiodori
stories, but gradually they did some research on Ryukyuan history, and some very
exciting Okinawan history dramas were given birth in 1909. A Story of Nakijin
(“Nakijin yuraiki”) by Tokashiki Shurei (1883–1922) and A Loyal Story of
Ufuaragusuku (“Ufuaragusuku Chuyūden”) by Tokashiki Shuryō (1880–1953)
have been recognized till now (cf. Fig. 13.1). The dialogue of “Nakijinyuraiki”
directly adapted some story lines from kumiodori, A Vengeance of Motobu (“Motobu-
ufunushi”), and some props were taken out of “Gishin monogatari” (e.g. the special
mirror), and marumun characters (comical commoners) were also recreated in the
history plays.
Likewise, a lot of new revenge stories were created after kumiodori’s revival. In
1910, from February to December, 66 Okinawan language dialogue plays were per-
formed. From the title of those plays, it is obvious that most of the stories were
taken out of kumiodori, as Ryukyu Legend, A Model of Piety ( “kōkō-no-kagami”),
Ryukyu Legend Lord Zakimi, Ryukyu History, A Crescent Moon (“Yumihari tsuki”),
etc. History plays clearly reveal similarities to kumiodori stories, especially in the
projection of dialogue plays and their rhythm. Also, some shigeki acting style and
stage direction were influenced by shinpa and kabuki styles.
Along with Okinawan language dialogue plays like shigeki, Ryukyu kageki was
also derived from kumiodori. The influence of kumiodori is well acknowledged by
both Majikina Yūko and Makishi Kochū (1923–2011), distinguished actors and
playwrights from Okinawa. As already described above, Chōkun’s five kumiodori
pieces were/are valued as the best that one of them called “Shushin Kaneiri” is a
love/hatred story of a woman with her obsessive love turns herself into a demon
(oni) and tries to take her beloved one’s life. This girl’s passion is also absorbed to
the female character of A Girl Hando-gwa in Ie-island (“Iejiima Hando-gwa”, a girl
Hando-gwa from Hedona village commits suicide in Iejima Island) created by
Majikina in 1924. Women are the key figures in the modern theatre in Meiji (1868–
1912) and Taisho (1912–1926) eras. However, among more than 70 kumiodori
works, only 2 are related to a love story. Nonetheless, the impact of those 2 kumio-
dori (Possessed by Love, Thwarted by the Bell and Love Destined with Water) is
strong in the history of Okinawan drama.
The birth of kageki was related to the revitalization of kumiodori as the original
of the three masterpieces of Okinawan opera was first made as a dialogue play in the
Okinawan language, and it was even made into a form of kumiodori, too. It meant
Okinawan actors first tried to copy the old style, but gradually they transformed the
style into opera using numerous renowned folk and classic songs adapting them into
specific scenes and accompanied with dances. A notable Ryukyu kageki was “Tumai-
Āka” (A Samurai Youth Named Āka and Umichiru’s Love in Tumai) by Ganeko Yaei
(1881–1943) which was appreciated by many Okinawan audiences for the first time
in the year 1910 (cf. Fig. 13.2). The performance ran for 3 months, and the era of
kageki started with a boom. Audiences, particularly many women who rushed into
the theatre were very excited with the love story. Love was the key symbol which
brought about a new sphere of sense and emancipation from the social morality.
Ironically, the year 1910 was the peak of Okinawan language dialogue plays
when the history plays were the counter source of Ryukyu opera, and during the
next year, about 60 operas were performed. Actors were very conscious of the audi-
ence reaction, and they turned their dialogue plays into opera form. In 1914, the
second well-appreciated opera was created by Iraha Inkichi (1881–1943). It was
Peony in a Deep Mountain (“Okuyama no botan”), in which a low cast girl gives
birth to a high-ranking samurai, but because of the discrimination of her social sta-
tus, she disappears after having saved her beloved one from a difficult situation.
With the female audiences’ enthusiasm, Iraha made a sequel in which her grown-up
son strove to find her to be his true mother and reunited with her but only to find out
her choice of committing suicide is for the sake of her son’s brighter future. In their
214 S. YONAHA
Fig. 13.2 “Kageki (Tumai-Āka)”; actors are Iraha Saeko (Umichiru), Hachiki Masao (Nanny), and
Yoza Chōi (Āka). Source: Ryukyu Geino Jiten (423)
sympathetic response to the mother’s self-sacrificing love, many women shed tears
while identifying with their own lives.
In 1924, a third masterpiece of opera “Iejima-handō-gwa” was performed. This
is also a tragedy of a female that went beyond the existing social norms for the sake
of her true love. She was forsaken by the man she pledged her eternal love, only to
face his betrayal with his cruel deed. She sought revenge for his immoral behaviour
by committing suicide. These three operas are evaluated as the best three with
respective heroin separately destined to either lovesickness or suicidal death. Those
tragic opera demonstrated the search for the possibilities for women to overcome the
social system in order to follow their inner emotions. They showed no hesitation in
going after their true emotions, no matter what the outcome would be. They pursued
their true feelings and ideals with their firm determination. That attitude could have
given a positive message to many women who rushed into the theatre in those days.
Kageki style performance became the mainstream of Okinawan theatre for a cer-
tain period of time. Its form is based on a story, songs, classic and popular folk
music, and Ryukyuan dances. The narratives were adapted from some legends, fic-
tion, and incidents that can actually happen to people.
However soon after the great success of Ryūkyū opera Tumai-Āka in 1910, the
Okinawan leading communication media Ryūkyū Shimpō started to attack the
Okinawan theatre’s trend claiming they are degrading the moral of common people.
The editor insistently attacked the actors’ misconduct of love affairs’ stereotyping
them like seducers or male prostitutes. Ryūkyū Shimpō’s editorial comment (29 July
1910) was that the popularity of kageki would be a threat to the m odernization/
imperialistic policy in a sense that it would cause the slowing down of the assimilat-
ing process by remarkably lowering the standard public morality. Ryūkyū Shimpō’s
attack lasted until 1918, and at that year any kageki advertisement didn’t appear in
the paper. Nonetheless, people’s strong support and love for kageki regained the
power of performance in 1919. Hundreds of kageki seemed to have been produced.
Most of them, however, hadn’t been documented in the forms of texts for the reason
that Okinawa shibai was kuchidate, in which the stories were orally transmitted.
(3) The Third Period from 1926 to 1945 (Showa 1st to Showa 20th)
It was a golden period when Okinawan ethnic performing arts and artists flour-
ished, but it had to face its paradox because of the land battle of Okinawa during
WWII. In this period, especially the 1930s was the golden era for Okinawa shibai
with Sango-troupe (“Sango-za”) and Shinraku-troupe (“Shinraku-za”) competing to
attract audiences. Sango-za was a newly organized theatre troupe headed by
Majikina Yūko, Oyadomari kōsho (1897–1986), Miyagi Nōzō (1906–1989), Higa
Seigi (1893–1976), and Shimabukuro Kōyū (1983–1987). They were highly recog-
nized actors, and the quality of Okinawa shibai from every aspect was at its peak as
Ōhshiro Tatsuhiro, an outstanding novelist and playwright from Okinawa, who won
the Akutagawa Prize,10 says that Sango-za was what Okinawan performing arts
achieved since the Nakamō shibai.11 Okinawa shibai actors were competing with
one another from the beginning of its commercialized theatre activity when they
were running to survive to appeal to new audiences for 66 years. Several theatre
houses were especially constructed around the pleasure quarter. Okinawa shibai
troupes were organized repeatedly, as alliance and rupture. And those actors were
professional Ryukyu dancers and acted in kumiodori as well as Okinawa shibai.
When Majikina organized Sango-za, they performed Surrender of Shuri Castle
(“Shurijō Akewatashi”) at Taisho theatre. It was a history play first written by
Yamazato Eikichi (1902–1989), in the paper in Japanese, and then it was translated
into Okinawan languages by the actors and then performed. Plainly, it was a tragic
history that describes the exact moment of the fall of the castle. The kingdom’s
high-ranking administrators were the master Kamegawa Oyakata (or Ueekata), who
was looking forwards getting help from the Ching dynasty, and the master Giwan
Oyakata who took a different direction towards Meiji Japan. The debate between
them appealed to the audience because the political conflict and decisions which
predetermine its course of history had always been a challenge to the small king-
dom. Eventually forceful Meiji Japan annexed the kingdom using military force.
Unwillingly, the last king Sho Tai and the royal family were forced to move to
Tokyo. This real historical fact happened 50 years earlier moved many Okinawans,
10
The Akutagawa Prize is a Japanese literary award presented semi-annually. It was established in
1935 by Kan Kikuchi, then editor of Bungeishunjū magazine (“Akutagawa Prize” In Wikipedia,
Last modified 28November 2015. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akutagawa_Prize).
11
Ōshiro mentions not only in his book Okinawa shibai no Miryoku (Okinawa: Okinawa taimusu,
1990) but also in several articles: i.e. the concept that the 1930s Okinawan performing arts was its
golden period is commonly accepted.
216 S. YONAHA
and the performance lasted a month. A new type of history drama was a gift of the
Showa period, and Yamazato was one of the intellectuals who went to Tokyo and
learned the new stream of modern arts there. Yamazato wrote several plays, and all
of them were sort of modern plays based on real Okinawan histories performed in
Okinawan languages.
On the other hand, a new Ryukyu opera Love Story in Nakagusuku (“Nakagusuku
jōwa”) was created by Oyadomari Kōsho. It was a love story of a farm girl who
deserts her farmer fiancé after falling in love with a samurai lover who visited the
village. This opera was also a great hit not only because of its beautiful story, rheto-
ric, and melodies but a love triangle of a girl who took the initiative in forsaking her
fiancé. It was a striking story because a girl’s inner feeling went beyond the norm of
society. Some influence or diffusion from the trend of the age, the Taisho democracy
in Japan from 1912 to 1926, could have brought a new love story, too.
Another popular Ryukyuan opera made in this period is Lovely Umbrella (“Aino
Amagasa”) which had only one set, and story was of a quite modern money-oriented
society, and love was described with beautiful songs by Takara Chōsei (1884–1944).
In addition, Shokichi the main figure was taken to Okinawa from Hokkaido when
he was still a teenager. Okinawan society was at its peak for assimilation to Japan
when the mainlanders moved into the island to gain control over the islanders in the
sphere of politics and education. Okinawan prefectural administrators, such as the
governor and the principles of the schools, were from the mainland. So it was no
wonder that the boy from Hokkaido became the main figure in Lovely Umbrella
which was created by Uema Shosei (1892–1955) who belonged to Shinraku-za
organized by Takayasu Kōshun (1888–1952). At that time, Tamagusuku Seigi
(1889–1971) and Nakaima Seiryo (1890–1954) were stars. Sango-za and
Shinraku-za, both Okinawa shibai troupes, competed with each other, and Sango-za
built their own theatre the People’s Theatre (“Kokumin gekijyo”) in 1943. The actors
of Sango-za were proud of having their own theatre, and they were dreaming of
creating further new Okinawa shibai. However, the military surveillance was get-
ting intense as even kumiodori was forced to be acted by Japanese language. Finally
as the devastating war was ending, it was taken over by the Japanese forces as a
storehouse and burnt down in the air raid by the US air force. All of their dreams
were ended by the Pacific War.
During the modern era in Okinawa, hundreds of Ryukyu history plays, Ryukyu
opera, and Okinawan language dialogue plays were performed. Not only Okinawa
shibai but also many Ryukyuan dances were loved by the Okinawan people.
Furthermore, new Ryukyu dances (Zō-odori) were created at the theatre. The main
audience was gradually overpopulated by women compared to the beginning of the
era (Ōhno 2003, 203–204). The reason was the birth of Ryukyu opera and the power
of theatre which was appreciated as a main entertainment and media. The main
actors were all men, and oyama or onnagata (male actors who play female roles)
was always popular among actors. Why didn’t the audience of modern Okinawa
doubt the phenomenon that men kept acting the female role? We had to wait till the
end of the war for the majority of women to act, dance, and sing.
However, one thing I have to point out here is that from 1672 when the pleasure
quarter officially opened in the Kingdom of Ryukyus to the year 1944 when it was
totally destroyed by the US air raid, many women called juri (yūjo or courtesans,
mistresses, and prostitutes) had engaged in traditional Ryukyu music and dances
along with their guests. In the period of modernization, those women who were
mostly invisible became visible, and some of them started to sing, dance, and act on
the stage with professional commercialized Okinawa shibai actors. Although their
performing arts were mainly presented and assumed inside of the pleasure quarters,
some of them like Uema Ikuko (1906–1991), Uezu Fumi (1913–1993), Itokazu
Kame (1915–1991), and Uehara Eiko (1915–1990) were known by the public, too.
Gradually, those talented artists (juri) were getting recognized and appreciated by the
public; however, I have to emphasize again that it was after the atrocity of the land
battle of Okinawa that female performers jumped in the front of Okinawa society.
One memorable thing in this period is that the first Ryukyu Gikyokusyū (collected
kumiodori works and critics) was edited and published by Iha Fuyū in 1929. Because
of this book, kumiodori preservation and performance could further succeed.
From Kumiodori to Okinawa shibai
In this chapter, the genealogy or kumiodori in Okinawa shibai: Ryukyu kageki and
Ryukyu shigeki is discussed. Accordingly, how kumiodori is taken into the form of
Okinawa shibai will be illustrated. There are hundreds of Ryukyu kageki and Ryukyu
shigeki. Among them I’ll compare Chōkun’s masterpiece Shushin kaneiri (cf.
Fig. 13.3) with Iejima handō-gwa (cf. Fig. 13.4). Then I’ll introduce the genealogy
of a revenge kumiodori absorbed into Ryukyu shigeki.
(1) From Kumiodori to Ryukyu kageki
Originally kumiodori and Ryukyu kageki are both musical plays; however, there
are some similarities and differences. Here, some details are examined (see
Table 13.1).
Comparing both Shushin kaneiri and Iejima Hando-gwa, we can see the clear
genealogy in the theme of Iejima-hando-gwa in which main character Handō-gwa
runs after her lover like Yado-no-onna who runs after a beautiful youth Wakamachi.
Also Majikina uses the same ethics that Chōkun brings up in Shushin kaneiri.
However, a big difference is music. Though Chōkun uses 4 classic songs, Majikina
uses around 20 folk songs depending on each scene. And in the climax where
Handō-gwa commits suicide, he brought in an appealing classic song Shukke-bushi.
In the traditional Ryukyu/Okinawa performing arts, the music is carefully selected
from classic and folk songs. The image and theme of those songs are interwoven
with the stories to make appropriate effects. In addition, the audience are familiar
with those songs, and furthermore, the sense of identity/unity between the stage and
the audience could be accomplished.
218 S. YONAHA
Fig. 13.3 “Kumiodori (Shushinkaneiri)”; the girl turns into a demon, but purified by the monks.
Source: RyūkyūGeino Jiten (220)
Fig. 13.4 “Kageki (Iejima handō-gwa)”; the girls are acted by Onnagata. Source: RyūkyūGeino
Jiten (422)
Table 13.1 Element of kumiodori (Shushin Kaneiri) and Ryukyu kageki (Iejima Handō-gwa)
Kumiodori: Shushin kaneiri (Possessed by Love, Thwarted by the Ryukyu Kageki: Iejima Hando-gwa
Elements Bell) (A Girl Hando-gwa in Ieshima Island)
Author and the first Tamagusuku Chōkun (1684–1734) Majikina Yūkō (1888–1982)
performance Performed in 1719 Performed in 1924
Stories Main kumiodori stories are based on old folk stories and history. Most of Ryukyu kageki consist of love stories as seen in the three
Shushin kaneiri’s main figure Wakamachi is a legendary beautiful masterpieces of kageki represent. Iejimahando-gwa is about a girl
youth from Nakagusuku Village who was pursued by a village girl who lives on Hedona Village, falls in love with a married man
(Yado-no-onna) who granted him a night stay on his way to Shuri. from Ieshima without knowing his true identity, and follows him
However, he runs away to Sueyoshi temple and is saved. The girl to Ieshima, but is betrayed and commits suicide. However, her
turns into a demon and is purified by the monks revenge eventually makes the man and his whole family unhappy
It is the only tragic kumiodori which has a tragic rhythm. Most of The protagonist commits suicide so it’s tragic, but eventually she
kumiodori is a well- made play because no matter what conflicts accomplishes her revenge after her own death. In this sense, it has
occur, they end happily the style of a well-made play like kumiodori
Main idea or The idea of Confucianism; duty (giri), filial piety (Koukō), and The main masterpieces of kageki describe love which goes beyond
concept loyalty to the Shuri court are emphasized. Besides, inner feelings the boundaries of class and status. It is a sort of phenomenon of
and passion of people are believed as the spontaneous modernization of the period. Hando-gwa also tries to pursue her
phenomenon of the whole beings of the universe by Chōkun love, going over the boundary and committing suicide
Key ethics A bond of affection (En縁) and love and sympathy (Nasaski情) A bond of affection (En縁), love and sympathy (Nasaki 情), and
pervading in the are pervaded. Dying together (everlasting togetherness) (Chumichi genuine sincerity (Chimu-gukuru肝心) are key ethics
lines of each script – 道) is an important idea in this story. Dying together (everlasting togetherness) (Chumichi – 道) is also
En (縁) is described eight times in the line an important phrase
En (縁) is described 12 times and nasaki (情) 25 times. Also heart
(Chimu肝) phrases appear 26 times
Text(script)/ Written in Ryukyu language (mainly Shuri language), but Written in Ryukyu/Okinawa language (Shuri Naha languages),
languages pronunciation is different. Description and aural presentation have and lines are sung by the characters
13 From Traditional to Contemporary: Genealogy of Kumiodori in Modern…
some gaps Shibai kūchō (Special shibai rhythm and intonation) is

characteristic.
From Showa era some Okinawa shibai were written by Japanese
but translated into Okinawan languages by the actors
(continued)
219
Table 13.1 (continued)
220
Function It was official court drama to entertain Sappōshi (envoys or Entertainment, commercial purpose
diplomats from the Ching dynasty), Sho royal family, and
aristocrats during the kingdom of Ryukyus, but after the abolition
of the kingdom, it became one of commercial classic dramas
Structure The form, i.e. opening, middle, and climax (Jo-ha-kyu序破急) is First it had five scenes, and later the sixth scene was added at the
applied, and it is described in a five-part. It is obvious Chōkun request of the audience who wanted the accomplishment of the
hinted at the structure and idea from Noh “Doujoji” as he cited the girl’s revenge
same Buddhist priest’s spell. The story is similar though its style
focusses on present action. (The whole kumiodori stories take
place as present action)
Stage, theatre A temporary stage of sangen shiho (18 feet square) during the It has been performed at the proscenium stage which has a flower
kingdom of Ryukyus. In the Meiji 20s, Nakamō theatre was also path (hanamichi). Kabuki style stage, which had mawari butai (a
sangen shiho, but it has been performed at the proscenium stage turning stage), was introduced to Okinawa with around 1906
up to now: besides, the National Theatre Okinawa which opened (Meiji 39)
in 2004 offers yongen shiho (24-feet-square) overhang stage, too
Show duration Shushin kaneiri is about 45 min, and the longest vengeance play About 90 min long. It is totally a music drama with dances
(adauchimono) lasts about 3 h included
Style Formalized acting style. Chanting has three types: a strong accent Ryukyu opera has its own style of acting though it’s seemingly
(kyōgin), weak accent (Wagin), and commoner’s accent. Classical naturalistic and realistic. Verisimilitude is required. Ryukyu dance
dances are regulated as dancing movements are necessary movement is included as some kumiodori style is taken into the
scene
Backdrops/curtain Kumiodori has one specific backdrop which describes cranes, Painted 5–6 layers. View of the village, forest, landscape, streets,
turtles, and pine trees. Basically it is an open stage. The stage and inside of the house. Many kinds of scenes are painted on the
regulation is varied as it depicts different scene on the same stage backdrops.
Props are limited and simple such as paper lantern (Teshoku), a Also a thick curtain (Danchō) is necessary for the change of scene
wooden staff the demon carries (Teccho), demon mask (Hannya- Some specific props are used like a wooden gate (Kido) and a
men), huge bell (kane) which a demon (Oni) hangs upside down, small table for drinking and eating
crystal beads (Suisho juju), etc.
S. YONAHA
Actor/characters/ Characters were all acted by aristocrats during the kingdom of During the modern period before WWII, all Ryukyu kageki were
roles Ryukyus. During the modern era before WWII, in Okinawa shibai acted by male actors
male actors acted all roles. At that time, some courtesans at Tsuji Main characters are Hando-gwa, Sendo (waterman), Kanā-hi (a
pleasure quarter acted a female role. After the war, female Ryukyu man who had forsaken the girl), Machi-gwa (a cousin of
dancers take roles of both main characters, Wakamachi and Hando-gwa)
Yado-no-onna (a girl in the remote house) The actors who portray those characters are very important, and
After the recognition of the Japanese intangible cultural treasure they have to sing well. After the war was over, female roles have
in 1972 when Okinawa reverted to Japan, all-male actors officially been acted by female actors
have taken places up to now. However, female dancers still have During the golden period of Okinawa shibai, there were several
kept acting up to now stars who were very popular among theatre-goers, mostly
Onnagata kumiodori disciples are expected to become stars Okinawan women
Costume and Kumiodori costumes are described in the script. Very fabulous Farmers and fishermen’s costumes are like a textile that is woven
make-up costumes are Bingata, silk, etc. Traditional make-up seems sober from the fibres of a banana tree (Basho-fu) and cotton. Simple but
at the beginning of the eighteenth century. Yet, now the supposed clean. Naturalistic tastes are pervaded. Make-up should be simple
natural face make-up is getting louder these days and natural, but it’s getting louder
Music/instrument Music plays an important role in kumiodori since music expresses Several kinds of folk music which carry the lines and music of the
the characters inner feelings and thought. In Shūshin kaneiri, four story are sung.
classic pieces of music are sung and played. Excluding Kins-fushi (Folk songs)
金武節, the rest of three songs Fishi-bushi 干瀬節, Shichishaku- Nakankari-bushi , Irabuaccyamegwa-bushi
bushi 七尺節, Sanyama-bushi 散山節 describe Yado-no-onna’s , Hando-gwa-bushi ,
feelings. Chokkari-bushi , Chiduri-bushi , Shin-
From the main point of kumiodori which stresses Confucianism, totankani-bushi , Shongane-bushi ,
Wakamachi is the protagonist who wins his life and duty, but Yoiyoi-bushi , Ushiushi-bushi , Shimajiri-
music honestly demonstrates that the girl is the central figure. chiduri-bushi , Sakiyama-bushi , Shinnakaza-
Though her possessed love is totally denied, her single-minded ni-bushi , Michinoshima-bushi ,
passion is evoked in the audience’s minds kohama-bushi , Gamakugwa-bushi ,
Instruments are Sanshin, Koto, Kokyu, and drum
13 From Traditional to Contemporary: Genealogy of Kumiodori in Modern…
Tobarumā-bushi , Shukkē-bushi , Sa-sā-

bushi , Sūriagari-bushi
Classic song (Shukke-bushi) is taken into the climax
221
222 S. YONAHA
Fig. 13.5 Kumiodori “Nidō Tekiuchi”; dancing with a drunken Amawari, Gosamaru’s two surviv-
ing children Tsirumatsi and Kamechiyo wait for a chance. Source: Ryūkyū GeinōJiten (223)
(2) From Kumiodori to Ryukyu shigeki

Here, I’ll discuss the genealogy of a revenge kumiodori, Nidō Tekiuchi (or
Gosamaru Tekiuchi) (cf. Fig. 13.5) which was created and performed along with
Shushin kaneiri by Tamagusuku Chōkun in 1719.
Nidō Tekiuchi is a story of two brothers’ revenge of their father, the lord Gosamaru
who was forced to kill himself along with his family and his subjects because of
Amawari, a lord of Katsuren (cf. Fig. 13.6). It’s based on the historical fact of the
Gosamaru and Amawari Revolt in 1458, but some characteristics are made up by
the descendants of Gosamaru and related people. The original story and how it was
woven to the form of kumiodori, and how its genealogy has been represented up to
the present, will be discussed.
Genealogy of Nidō Tekiuchi
The official history of Ryukyu, “Chuzan-seifu” (1701) and “Kyuyō” (1743–1745),

describes that Amawari is a wicked traitor, but Gosamaru was a loyal vassal. The
following is the main story:
The first Sho dynasty succeeded in unifying the Ryukyus but it was, unfortunately,
politically unstable. During the dynasty there were a number of revolts such as the

Gosamaru/Amawari Revolt. For his role in the conquest of the Hokuzan kingdom with Sho
hasshi, a man named Gosamaru was given rule over the central part of the Okinawa
Fig. 13.6 “Amawari
(Makishi Kōchu)”; here
boasts his world after
defeating his opponent, the
lord Gosamaru. Source:
Ryūkyū GeinōJiten (221)
ainland during the reign of King Sho Taikyu (1454–1460). Around that time an ambitious
m
man named Amawari had gained power on the Katsuren Peninsula. King Sho Taikyu
arranged a strategic marriage between Amawari and his daughter Momotofumi Agari, but it
failed to appease ambitions. Amawari informed King Sho Taikyu that Gosamaru, the Aji
(regional ruler) of Nagagusuku, was planning to usurp the throne, and sought permission
from the king to attack Gosamaru. Amawari then planned to attack the king himself. But
Princess Momotofumi Agari and a vassal named Oni Ogusuku (or Uni Ufugushiku) saw
through his plan and Amawari and Katsuren Castle were destroyed.12
Because of this, when Chōkun created this revenge kumiodori, he obviously took
the main story. Still, this is fictionalized in that the child left behind with Gosamaru
was historically only one, but Chōkun makes two boys appear and take their father’s
revenge. Further, their mother should have passed away with Gosamaru but is alive
in the play. According to Dana Masayuki, a history professor at Okinawa
International University, those days historical records are scarce and the fact is still
in the clouds that Confucianism hadn’t been accepted yet, and brothers and relatives
were fighting one another for the ambition of the throne. The mainstream of the
incident was made up by the descendants of Gosamaru and Oni Ogusuku (Uni
Ufugushiku) who could get back to the inside power system of the Kingdom of
Ryukyus after the first Sho dynasty’s fall and Kanamaru (a chief retainer) succeeded
“The Gosamaru and Amawari Revolt.” Accessed 15 November 2015. http://rca.open.ed.jp/

12
web_e/history/story/epoch2/toitu_12.html
224 S. YONAHA
the dynasty in 1470 by conspiracy. Those descendants have recorded Gosamaru as

a royal vassal, but Amawari was a wicked man in their family genealogy, and even-
tually the same story was recorded in the official history. Dana says that Chōkun
took the idea.13
On the other hand, in the Omoro,14 a compilation of ancient poems and songs
from Ryukyu and the Amami Island, the lord Amawari is described as one of good
heroes who are concerned with his people. Further, Suzuki Kota, a kumiodori
researcher, states that Amawari could be a female priestess because in Omoro, Aji’s
words aren’t seen but those of the priestess’s are.15 Nonetheless, the person who first
criticized and redefined the identity of Amawari was Tajima Rizaburo (1869–1931),
a scholar who was the mentor of Iha Fuyū. Tajima wrote A Titular Amawari Kana
(“Amawari kana-to-iheru-Meigi”) in “Okinawa Seinen Kaiho” (The Okinawa Youth
Journal) in 1898. Seven years later, Iha gave a voice to the legitimated story of the
Gosamaru and Amawari Revolt, demonstrating the three Omoro pieces adore
Amawari. His article One Aspect of Amawari (“Amawari-kou”) was introduced in
Ryūkyū Shimpō (22 June 1905). However, looking back at the history of Okinawan
performance, Iha tells that the article hasn’t made much difference to the common
Okinawan’s awareness.
After Chōkun created and performed Nidō Tekiuchi in front of the Chinese
Sappōshi (envoys) in 1719, this revenge story became a favourite of both the royal
family and Sappōshi as it was performed at every occasion more than 25 times of
ukwanshin ceremony. The structure of the play is the archetype of the revenge story;
therefore, Suzuki emphasizes that it is a revenge story of two brothers like the Soga
monogatari (story) based on the real incident of revenge in 1193, which was taken
into Jōruri (a puppet theatre in Japan) and Noh. Suzuki notes that Nido Tekiuchi is
similar.16
Chōkun’s kumiodori, Nidō Tekiuchi, is presented as follows: at the beginning,
Amawari appears with the special music attached with his entrance Aji-tegoto (per-
formed by an instrument without voice). He announces, actually declares, his iden-
tity and his present ambition. Amawari says that he destroyed Gosamaru, his strong
rival, and now he wants to be the king of the Ryukyus. He asks his retainers to go
out to have fun in the field. The second scene is the meeting and separation of
Gosamaru’s two sons Tsurumatsu (Tsirumatsi) and Kamechiyo (Kamiju) and their
mother who hands them the two daggers, relics from their father. Hearing that
Amawari is going out to the field, they decided to take action. In the third scene,
13
Dana mentioned in his keynote “About Amawari’s Revolt” held as a forum “Now, Amawari
is fascinating!” in the brochure of the same title. Okinawa: Naha City Cultural Association,
2007, 10.
14
“Omoro Sōshi.” In Wikipedia, Last modified 1 September 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Omoro_S%C5%8Dshi
15
Suzuki mentioned in the forum “Now, Amawari is fascinating!” 2007, 12. https://blog.goo.ne.jp/
nasaki78/e/3b09053c75fa765d91bad85e3d424b15
16
Ibid., 12.
Amawari comes out with his three attendants, and they enjoy drinking, where a
dancing couple (two brothers) come closer. As intended, Amawari was fascinated
by the two boys’ beautiful dance and asks them to host their drinking. They do this
in order to make them deeply drunken. Amawari, with pleasure, bestows them his
favour giving two boys his own outfit including the sword and the special fan. He
even dances with the boys. Stripped, putting on only his underwear, he is killed.
Pursuing their lifelong call, Tsurumatsu and Kamechiyo happily dance and go
home.
Although Amawari is depicted as an ambitious or vicious Aji, his first
appearance is kingly with a specified movement of Nana-metsuki that he looks
around the space, the world, with strong staring eye movement. He behaves as if
he is the king who controls everything. At the end, he shows his human frailty in
that he’s easily trapped by beautiful dancing boys and gets drunk. This alteration
of Amawari’s draws in the audience. As if the tragic figure such as Oedipus the
king or Macbeth, a man of hubris falls for his fault of humanity. In a short
revenge story, Choken could show the skeleton of the tragedy of the Ryukyuan
hubris of a lord.
After the fall of the Ryukyu Kingdom, still Nidō Tekiuchi was in favour with
the general public, and from there new Okinawashibai, adapted Nido Tekiuchi story,
came out. In 1901, A Loyal Gosamaru (“Gosamaru Gijin-den”) was performed at
Ue-no-shibai (New Entertainment theatre) near Tsuji pleasure quarter. In 1908, The
Defeat of Amawari (“Amawari-seibatsu-ki”) was produced at Ryukyu-za and Shuri
Entertainment theatre. In 1909, The Conquest of Amawari (“Amawariseitōki”) was
performed at Okinawa-za along with real kumiodori, Nidō Tekiuchi. Further, in
1922, Amawari written by Uema Chōkyu (1890–1971) was performed at Shin-
tenchi theatre. In 1934, Sango-za made A Loyal/Righteous Gosamaru
(“Gosamaruchushin-roku”) created with the director Ishikawa Bunichi. It was
Rensa-geki, a hybrid version of the stage and the film. Taira Ryōsho, Majikina
Yūkō, and Miyagi Nōzō played the main roles. All those historical Okinawan plays
are succeeding the general idea of kumiodori that Amawari is an ambitious traitor.
However, some scenes, “Yonabaru’s seashore” out of Amawari by Uema Chōkyu,
were appreciated by Okinawa shibai loving people. It was because a play depicted
characteristics of human Amawari.
Soon after the atrocity of WWII when more than 150,000 Okinawan civilians
were killed in the Battle of Okinawa, Okinawa(ns) had to go through occupation by
the US military forces. During 27 years of occupation from 1945 to 1972, Okinawan
plays were performed many times, and Makishi Kōchu acted a new version of
Amawari written by Kayō Yasuo (a novelist) and further adapted a play by Oshiro
Tatsuhiro in 1956. Because of Makishi’s popularity for his professional talent, the
new literary Amawari was a success though it appeared to be hard for Okinawa
shibai actors to follow Shingeki (literally “New Drama”) style productions since
they had got used to kuchidate. In 1973, the Okinawa actor’s organization (Haiyu-
kyokai) was restarted after reversion to Japan in 1972, and Gosamaru and Amawari
(“Gosamaru-to-Amawari”) was performed. Makishi acted the main role and
226 S. YONAHA
directed the whole play consisting of more than 50 characters. At the turning point
of the age, “Gosamaru-to-Amawari” is occasionally performed.
As can be seen from the above description, the Okinawan historical play Amawari
was repeatedly reperformed in Okinawan society up to the Ryūkyū Shimpō twenty-
first century. A new phenomenon is Gendai-kumiodori (present style kumiodori,
mainly songs and dances in Japanese languages), which was created and has been
produced more than 200 times by junior and senior high school students in Katsuren
where Amawari used to be the lord.
The Gendai-kumiodori, Kimutaka-no-Amawari, which means Amawari with
high spirits for people in Katsuren which I’ve seen twice reminded me of Hamlet
(not Macbeth) since Amawari’s heroic figure and destiny are described not as a vil-
lain/traitor but as a victim of the conspiracy of the king Sho taikyu and Kanamaru
who becomes the king himself. Unlike Hamlet who tries to avenge for his own
father but falls, Amawari tries to become a good lord for the people but is trapped
and killed.
When I had a chance to see Hamlet at the Kronborg (Elsinore) castle in
Denmark in 2006, Eugenio Barba’s outdoor multiethnic Hamlet recalled me of
Kimutaka-no-Amawari which was performed in the castle of Katsuren. As
Katsuren castle was also one of the castles which have been added to UNESCO’s
World Heritage sites list in 2006, like Kronborg castle, I found some similarities
between them, and there came out some possibilities of Okinawan kumiodori as
the world theatre as well as treasure. In 2010 traditional kumiodori was listed as
an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO, and the new and contemporary style
kumiodori has broadened the image or impression of kumiodori, which is the cur-
rent genealogy of Okinawan performing arts. In addition, more than 30 new and
contemporary styled kumiodori have been created and are being performed in
Okinawa now.
Conclusion
From the annexation of the Ryukyu Kingdom in 1879 to the present, the genealogy
of kumiodori has been revolving throughout the complicated modern history of
Okinawa. It has been preserved, reconstructed, and adapted to new forms of
Okinawan plays, multi-cultured, inter-performed, and presented as a challenge
towards the world. Even if the history of Okinawa itself is still striving against the
huge US military presence and the Japanese government’s structural discrimination
against it, Okinawan cultural values are gaining favour from the world which won’t
stop pursuing equality, freedom of speech and expression, and the supreme con-
science of human beings.
Okinawan performing arts in general are evolving and looking back to their own
traditions and culture, striving for re-creation, and trying to communicate with peo-
ple around the world with the pride of being Okinawan.
References
Hazama, Yoshiko. 2002. Eien no tarugane [Tarugane Forever]. Naha: Omoro shuppan.
Higa, Minoru. 1982. Ko Ryukyu no sekai [The World of the Ancient Ryukyu]. Tokyo: San’ichi-shobō.
Hiyane, Teruo ed., 2011. Kindai: Okinawakenshi [Modern Period: Okinawa Prefectural History].
Vol. 5. Naha: Okinawa-ken Kyōiku Iinkai.
Iha, Fuyū. 1911. Ko Ryūkyū [Ancient Ryukyu]. Okinawa: Okinawa kōronsya.
Ikemiya, Masaharu. 1976. Ryukyu Bungaku-ron [Study of Ryukyuan Literature]. Naha: Okinawa
Times.
Kerr, H. George. 2000. The History of an Island People. Boston: Tuttle Publishing.
Maeda, Katsurō. 1981. Ryukyu Shibai Monogatari [A Story of Ryukyu Drama]. Tokyo: Seiji-sha.
Majikina, Yūkō. 1987. Jiden:wagakitashikata. In Majikina Yūkō:Hito to Sakuhin-Jinbutsu hen.
Naha: Majikina Yūkō Hito to Sakuhin Kanko Iinkai.
Makishi, Kochū. 1983. Okinawa shibai 50nen [50 Years of Okinawa Shibai]. Naha: Ryukyu
shimpō-sha.
Makishi, Kochu. 2002. Okinawa shibai to tomoni [Life with Okinawa Shibai]. Naha: Ryukyu
shimpō.
National Theatre Okinawa. 2011. Ryukyu & Okinawa Geino shi nenpyo [Chronology of Performing
Arts of Ryukyu & Okinawa]. Okinawa: National Theatre Okinawa.
Ochner, Nobuko, and Kathy Foley. 2005Spring. Shushin Kani’iri (“Possessed by Love, Thwarted
by the Bell”): A Kumiodori by Tamagusuku Chōkun, as Staged by Kin Ryosho. ATJ 22 (1):
1–32.
Ohno, Michio. 2003. Okinawa-shibai to sono shūhen. Nagoya: Mizuho-shuppan.
Ohtrani, Kimiko. 1981. The Okinawan Kumiodori: An Analysis of Relationship of Text, Music and
Movement in Selection from Nido Tekiuchi. A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Division of
the University of Hawaii, for the degree of MA.
Oshiro, Tatsuhiro. 1990. Okinawa engeki no miryoku [The Charm of Okinawan Drama]. Naha:
Okinawa Times.
Rabson, Steve. 1996, October. Assimilation Policy in Okinawa: Promotion, Resistance, and
‘Reconstruction’. JPRI Occasional Paper No. 8.
Ryukyū Geinō Jiten [Encyclopedia of Ryukyu Performing Arts]. 1992. Naha/Naha shuppan
[Nahapress].
Sasamorri, Gisuke. 1894. Nantō Tanken. Tokyo: Kokusho kankokai.
Yano, Teruo. 1993. Okinawa Geinōshiwa [The History of the Performing Arts of Okinawa].
Okinawa:Yō-ju sha.
———. 2001. Kumiodori e no Shōtai [Invitation to Kumiodori]. Okinawa: Shimpo shuppan.
———. 2003. Kumiodori wo kiku [Hearing Kumiodori]. Tokyo: Mizuki shobō.
Yonaha, Shoko. 2005. Okinawan Drama Its Ethnicity and Identity under Assimilation to Japan. In
Ethnicity and Identity Global Performance, ed. Ravi Chatruvedi and Brian Singleton, 442–447.
Jaipur: Rawat Publication.
Chapter 14
Bangsawan (1870–1940): An Analysis
of Modern Performance Elements
and Its Role as Transitional Link Between
Traditional Malay Theatre and Modern
Malaysian Drama
Zainal Abd LATIFF and Gan Eng CHENG
Introduction
Bangsawan1 has brought in modern performance elements to traditional theatre and

its role as transition link between traditional Malay theatre and modern Malaysian
drama. As mentioned by Laliman Kemad in his book Teater moden Sabah: 1946
hingga 1980-an, the influence of modern theatre to traditional theatre in Malaysia
began at end of the nineteenth century. Bangsawan, a theatre form which came to
Penang in circa the 1870s to the 1880s, can be regarded as the first stage of the exis-
tence of modernity in the form and structure of the existing theatre in the country.
Bangsawan which originated from the Middle East (Persia) has brought together the
elements of modernism from Western countries. These elements are then combined
with traditional elements (Islam and India-Hindu) in the performance structure. The
Western staging techniques in Bangsawan are proscenium arch, painted backdrops
and wings. According to Brandon, Bangsawan troupes were actress-centred, used
Western-influenced drop-and-wing sets and bright costumes and created orchestras
comprising both indigenous and Western instruments.
However, Bangsawan has grown and developed within 70 years, from 1870s to
the 1940s, and is still regarded as a transitional theatre. The nature of Bangsawan is
still bounded to the form and structure of traditional theatre. The form and story of
1
A spoken drama with songs and dances, this popular theatre form closely resembles Western
opera in its use of realistic stage props and elaborate sceneries. Its fascinating stories are taken
from Malay history and folk tales, Arabian romances and Islamic literature (Hikayat), as well as
from various contemporary sources, including the movies. It also features native forms like bida-
lan, pantun, selika and syair, which are recited or sung, together with other songs. It is usually
performed for about 4 h in the evening (Bangsawan, The cultural traditional media of ASEAN).
Z. A. LATIFF (*) · G. E. CHENG

University of Malaya Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

230 Z. A. LATIFF and G. E. CHENG
Bangsawan are still based on imagination and fantasy and questions concerning the
palace and the gods (dewa-dewa) that exist in heaven. Secondly, the characters in
Bangsawan are stock characters which contain many funny elements and for the
purpose of entertainment only. However, no doubt that Bangsawan has played a big
role as an agent to seed further growth of a modern theatre in Malaysia.
Bangsawan as Popular Theatre
In The Cambridge Guide to Asian Theatre, James R. Brandon categorized

Bangsawan as popular theatre. He also stated that sandiwara represents a transi-
tional link between popular Bangsawan and present-day modern drama, while I
would state that Bangsawan represents a transitional link between traditional Malay
theatre and modern Malaysian drama. Bangsawan is considered as popular theatre
with improvised stories to enthusiastic audiences and played for commercial audi-
ences of all ages, status, gender and races. Groups found audience everywhere in the
Malay-speaking world, touring to the Malay Peninsula, Singapore, Java, Sumatra
and Borneo (Kalimantan) in Indonesia and influencing Thai theatre.
Origins and Early Development2
Bangsawan began in Penang in the 1870s with a visit by a group of Parsi theatre
(locally wayang Parsi) performers from Bombay. Wayang Parsi was performed by
mixed male and female performers and staged mythical and romantic stories derived
from India and the Middle East through the medium of the Hindustani language.
Apparently this did not deter local audiences from enjoying it for wayang Parsi
received enthusiastic support from the indigenous Malay, from the Peranakan
groups as well as from a sizeable population of domiciled Indians and members of
the Indian armed forces (Sepoy) stationed in Penang.
Indian cultural impact remains strong in the island, much as was likely in the
early days of British Penang. Parsi theatre consequently found a ready audience due
to its novelty and the absence of any real urban theatre. The initial enthusiasm
appears, however, to have been short-lived. The single Penang-based Parsi theatre
troupe encountered problems which led to its collapse. Items of paraphernalia,
including backdrops and costumes belonging to the defunct group, were purchased
by Mamak Pushi, a local Indian Muslim businessman generally regarded as the
father of Bangsawan.
It appears that someone named Mamak Mashhur established a Bangsawan troupe
in Deli, Sumatra, at about this time and that this same Mamak Mashhur together
with a Penang merchant named Kapitan Ali established Penang’s first Bangsawan
Refer to Ghulam Sarwar (1989). Bangsawan: The People’s Opera. Pulau Pinang (pp. 5 and 6).
2
14 Bangsawan (1870–1940): An Analysis of Modern Performance Elements and Its… 231
group.3 The successful Mamak Pushi troupe, named Kumpulan Pushi Indera
Bangsawan of Penang, was handed over by him to his son-in-law, Bai Kassim.
Mamak Pushi himself remained its “towkay”, and apparently the troupe received
enthusiastic support. It toured extensively and finally died out in Jakarta.
From Parsi theatre’s ashes rose a local adaption known as tiruan wayang Parsi
(imitation Parsi theatre). The Mamak Pushi troupe was the forerunner of many oth-
ers created by the local Peranakan community. Such troupes performed in Bahasa
Malaysia stories directly borrowed or adapted from the wayang Parsi repertoire,
using Hindustani music and wayang Parsi costumes. There seems, however, to have
been one significant difference – effeminate looking males played female roles like
the Onnagata in Kabuki. Women had not yet become involved due to social factors
that in many cultures did not allow for female participation in the theatre.
With Penang as the principal wayang Parsi base, several troupes developed.
These toured Singapore and the Malay provinces, especially Perak and Johore stim-
ulating the development of others while simultaneously inspiring stylistic changes –
utilizing local costumes, music and stories – which led to the eventual consolidation
of Bangsawan as a distinct theatre entity.
It is not known when the term Bangsawan began to be used for this offspring of
the Parsi theatre, but the first troupe to incorporate it into its name seems to have
been the Mamak Pushi troupe. Needless to say there has been speculation on the
etymology and meaning of the term itself. It is commonly believed to have derive
from the two words: bangsa, meaning “race” and wan, meaning “noble”. Together
they connotate the nobility, a sense in which the word continues in contemporary
Bahasa Malaysia. This interpretation and the term itself have fuelled speculation as
to whether or not Bangsawan was a court theatre and whether or not it enjoyed offi-
cial court patronage and support. There persists also a belief that possibly at least
some if its early performers were members of the royalty. While limited evidence
indicates that Bangsawan was performed for nobility in peninsular Malaysia and
even beyond – in Sumatra, Java and Borneo – the exact nature of patronage remains
to be ascertained. Royal houses did in some instances lend the title “royal” to certain
groups – the Royal Zanzibar Opera Company of Singapore, for instance. There is no
indication, however, of more direct involvement by royalty.
3
There is some controversy over who established the first Bangsawan troupe in Penang. The credit
usually goes to Mamak Pushi. Two well-known Penang Bangsawan performers, Mohd Alias and
his wife Aminah Alias, told Ghulam that they had never heard of Mamak Mashhur and attest from
information given by living descendants of Mamak Pushi and Bai Kassim that this father and son
team were responsible for the first Penang troupe.
Bangsawan Street4
Bangsawan theatres were mostly temporary stages constructed out of wood. During
the performing season, these structures were set up at public places and fairs. When
indoor staging became fashionable, existing facilities such as cinema houses, school
halls or community centres were leased.
In Penang, the early permanent theatres were built at Jalan Kuala Kangsar and
Jalan Maxwell and in the two amusement parks, New World Park at Swatow Lane
and Great World Park at Magazine Road. Most of these centres were active until the
outbreak of the World War II. The practice of building Bangsawan theatres in
amusement parks spread from here to the rest of the Peninsula.
Even today, Jalan Kuala Kangsar, situated off Campbell Street and near the
Chowrasta Market, is referred to by the locals as “Bangsawan khei” or “Bangsawan
Street”. In the early 1900s, Malays, Indian Muslims and Baba Chinese flocked to
the theatre there.
The Journey of Bangsawan (1870–1940)
Year Journey
1870 A dramatic troupe from India calling itself wayang Parsi (Parsi theatre) introduced a
new style of theatre to Penang. This group was comprised of Parsi who performed in the
Hindi language
Wayang Parsi stories were adapted from Indian and Arabian tales as well as from
Western drama, such as Shakespeare. Performances depicted the fantasy world of gods
and goddesses. Song and dances were interspersed throughout the plays, and costumes
were ornate and glamorous
1880 Initially, Bangsawan was formed by male actors only
Female actors are allowed to play in Bangsawan with the character, Sri Panggung
By the 1880s, Persian theatre was so popular in Penang that its Hindi songs were sung
by the Indians, Arabs, Peranakan and the Malays. The lyrics of these songs were
changed to Malay in place of the original Hindi songs and were performed in wedding
ceremonies. A lot of the singing groups were established, and one of the groups was led
by Mamak Mashor, an Arab Peranakan. In his performance, Mamak Mashor inserted
short sketches such as Indera Saba. The fame of this group had caused Sultan Mahmud
al Rashid, the Sultan of Deli in Sumatra, to invite him to perform in Deli. Once he
returned from Deli, Mamak Mashor and Kapitan Ali, a businessman, founded a
professional group. Even though they were professionals, at the early stage of its
establishment, this group was only active in Penang
(continued)
Refer to Ghulam Sarwar (1989). Bangsawan: The People’s Opera. Pulau Pinang (p. 11).
4
Year Journey
1885 Bangsawan, a distinctly Malay theatre form, evolved as an offshoot of wayang Parsi.
The first professional Bangsawan group, called Pushi Indera Bangsawan of Penang
(originally named Empress Victoria or Jawi Peranakan Theatrical Company), was
organized in Penang by Mamak Pushi when the latter obtained the properties of an
Indian wayang Parsi troupe that closed down. Mamak Pushi was the first person to
promote the Bangsawan style in Malaya
1900 A lady, Siti Hawa, established a Bangsawan troupe name Indera Bangsawan Yang
Kedua. With this group, Bangsawan began to grow as a business element
1902 Bai Kassim established Bangsawan troupe name Seri Penglipur Lara (Indera Zanzibar)
1903 The first Bangsawan troupe is owned by a Chinese businessman – Yap Chow Tong
Opera (Kuala Lumpur) – and led by Kapitan Bacik. This is also the first group using
troupe name as “Opera”. Kapitan Bacik also established another troupe named Yap
Chow Chong Opera. Both groups only survive for 2 years
1915 Wan Yet al-Kaf established Malay Opera of Malacca (Malacca), featuring Cik Ngur and
Cik Salleh
1916 Malaya Opera of Selangor featuring Mat Pahlawan and Wan Maryam
1920 Reached its peak, golden age
1922 Abu Bakar established Malayan Opera, and Mohd Hussin Gabo established Indera
Bongsu of Pinang
1930 As well as historical or legendary tales, moralistic folk tales (cerita-cerita pengajaran)
comprised part of the Bangsawan repertoire. During the 1930s and 1940s, Bangsawan
performers occasionally depicted stories from contemporary life. At least ten such
stories were performed in Bangsawan in the 1930s
1932 Urdan Singh established Daisy Opera at Kuala Lumpur
1933 Cik Zainab established Seri Zainab Opera at Kuala Lumpur
1934 Alfred established Ruby Opera at Kuala Lumpur
1937 Tengku Ismail established Grand Jubli Opera at Alor Setar
1940 By the 1940s, Bangsawan was experiencing its deteriorating period. Its decline was not
abrupt but rather gradual due to several factors (social, economical and political
situations and also competition from the entertaining media were factors which caused
the fall of Bangsawan theatre)
1936– Last era of Bangsawan. Security problems and sufferings of the World War II as major
1945 factor in the decline of Bangsawan
Bangsawan was used by the Japanese government (1942–1945) as a tool in the success
of their propaganda. The Japanese propaganda is to smear the Western colonialists in
Asia
After the World War II, only five Bangsawan troupes still survived. They are Seri Noran
Opera (Seremban), Grand Noran Opera (Penang), Bangsawan Jenaka Melayu (Kuala
Lumpur), Seri Arjuna Opera (Kuala Lumpur) and Dean Tijah Opera (Singapore).
Nationalism has been raised among the community. Audience wants drama that tells the
stories of real people and not a fantasy or feudalism story
1972 A government-sponsored troupe was recreated, and later PESBANA (National
Bangsawan Art Organization) was founded
Traditional Characteristics in Bangsawan
Traditional characteristic in Bangsawan mainly is improvisation, was the base of

Bangsawan story and was also the dominating element in other traditional theatres
such as mak yong, Menora or shadow play. Bangsawan has no written script but
only a particular synopsis or scenario created by the director or the main actor of the
group appointed as a director.
Stories that are brought by Bangsawan were still tied to the traditional features.
The story line revolved around the adventures, test and hardships suffered by a hero
and heroine before achieving their goal.
Ritualistic elements can still be found in Bangsawan. Every Bangsawan group
has its own bomoh (shaman) who would look after the interest of the theatre spirit
and its group member. Every night before the beginning of performance, the sha-
man will burn incense and appealed to the spirit and a prayer to God so that its
member will be safe and the performance will be successful.
Another traditional characteristic in Bangsawan is the situation when watching
the Bangsawan performance. The audience can eat and drink during the perfor-
mance; there are even titbit sellers in the theatre. The audience can also talk, give
comment, laugh, be sad and even interact with actors.
Compared with traditional theatre and modern drama, Bangsawan has several
unique characteristics, and this uniqueness is the cause that made it a popular the-
atre. These various characteristics are the recipes which were able to fulfil the taste
of its audience in terms of its performance and hearing or emotional powers. The art
components include the arts of acting, vocal and language, movement, emotion,
visual art, repertoire, technical aspect and extra turns scenes. The size of a Bangsawan
troupe traditionally depended upon its wealth, its repertoire and upon how success-
ful it was. This final factor was often determined by the fame of its leading male
(orang muda) and female (seri panggung) artistes.
Bangsawan: Modern Performance Elements
Bangsawan featured characteristics that were distinct from traditional Malay the-
atre. It was highly commercial, heterogeneous and versatile and performed purely
for entertainment. It emphasized variety in the plays and novelty in its staging. It
was promoted through advertisements in the media, had a paying audience and used
a modern proscenium stage.
Performances included a mixture of drama, dance, music, comedy and magical
elements. A typical performance would comprise a full-length play (or three or four
short plays) with songs and instrumental music plus interludes called “extra turns5”
5
After every scene of a Bangsawan performance, the curtain will be lowered. At that time the stage
crew would be busy preparing and arranging the sets and props behind the curtain for the next
inserted between acts. Extra turns consisted of orchestral music, songs, dances,
comedy and novelty acts from a variety of sources including Western theatre and
vaudeville.
New musical themes and melodies were constantly being created by Bangsawan
bandmasters, who adapted popular music of other parts of the world. The latest
dances were also featured, such as the tango, Charleston, foxtrot and waltz.
Stories performed were diverse. A performance could constitute Hindustani and
Arabian fairy tales, a Shakespearean tragedy, a Chinese romance, a Malay story or
an Indonesian play. As the plays were not scripted, audiences relied on stock char-
acters and linear story lines to follow the play.
The modern marketing elements can be found in Bangsawan’s production man-
agement such as commercial function, tickets fee charge, actor salaries, box office,
starring and performance venue which separates the proscenium arch stage and
audience seating arrangement.
Nur Nina Zuhra listed five elements of Bangsawan relevant to modern drama as
below:
1. Bangsawan performers were receptive to influences from the West both in terms
of subject matter and certain staging practices. After the 1920s, Bangsawan was
often referred to as Malay Opera because of its emphasis on songs. Among the
Western-influenced staging practices is the use of the proscenium arch and the
closed curtains at the front of the stage to conceal set changes and demarcate the
division of the play into acts. These practices also became conventions of the
new drama.
2. Whereas in traditional theatre, the story cycles were fixed, Bangsawan perform-
ers used new material for their plays. Some of these Bangsawan plays, especially
those based on indigenous tales, were frequently recomposed, written and pre-
sented in sandiwara style, and occasionally a Bangsawan play was adapted for
modern drama. Modern playwrights also commonly seek new material to draw
upon for dramatic content.
3. Realistic elements entered Bangsawan first in sets and special effects and later in
the content of plays which dealt with contemporary themes.
4. Although Bangsawan had a ritualistic opening ceremony, the theatre was basi-
cally a secular art. For the most part, this has remained the case with the modern
drama through the 1970s.
5. Whereas traditional theatre used regional dialects, Bangsawan started the prac-
tice of using standard Malay which could be understood throughout the country.
Modern drama has continued the practice of using Bahasa Malaysia and, there-
fore, along with Bangsawan, may be regarded as national theatre. Through the
use of standard Malay, Bangsawan was nationalistic in spirit. This spirit was a
scene. At the same time, the audience would not be neglected, but instead they would be presented
with dancing, comedy and singing performance as an entertainment. Some groups presented inter-
esting and amazing acts, such as physical acts (circus, magic show, weight lifting, juggling, acro-
batic) during that time. This scene, performed while the stage is being arranged, is called extra
turns (Abdul Samat Salleh 2006, p. 59).
forerunner of the political nationalism which took hold in Malay after the war.
Nationalism, as a political aim, was a primary factor in shaping sandiwara drama;
nationalistic concerns underlie later modern drama as well.
Furthermore, Abdul Samat Salleh also stated few modern characteristic of
Bangsawan which consists of theatre building; introduced the proscenium stage;
entertainment and commercial; no particular performance structure such as time
and function; various Western musical instruments; a travelling theatre which moves
from one place to another place based on the response of its audience; and its mem-
bers consist of various races.
lements in Bangsawan, Traditional Theatre and Modern

E
Drama
Traditional theatre (Mak

Elements Bangsawan yong) Modern drama
Actor Actress-centred. Star performers 5–6 actors and actresses, Depends on
were idolized each of whom assumed director
Female lead or seri panggung (star several roles in a
actress) was a main attraction of the performance
performance No idolized star
Other stars in a troupe played the
orang muda (the hero), the Jin Afrit
(the evil genie) and the Ahli Lawak
(the comedian)
A troupe’s success depended mainly
on the ability of these stars
Stories Local history, Islamic and Middle Twelve plays which Malaysian
Eastern tales, Indian stories, existed entirely in the playwright
Chinese stories, Western stories, oral tradition
Indonesian and Thai stories,
contemporary stories
Function Entertainment, commercial purpose Ritual, healing Entertainment,
nationalism
Performance Comic sketches in between scenes, No extra turns Drama
structure lively music and songs A formal theatre-
Extra turns or interlude forms of opening (buka
entertainment (music, songs, panggung) ceremony
dances, comic routines), between and a similar one to
scene change close the theatre (tutup
panggung)
Venue A temporary stage Rural areas Theatre venue
Chapter 15–20 chapters per performance No detailed study of the Sandiwara: 1–6
texts of mak yong exists chapters
(continued)

Show 1–2 h or 4 h Between 1 and 3 nights Depends on
duration Can be several nights, depends on director
the audience reaction
Script No script. Improvised and based on No detailed study of the Written script
guide from program meester texts of mak yong exists
Dialogue depends on the intellect of
actors with the understanding of the
story
Sponsor/ Chinese towkays, Arab traders and No entrance fee Depends on
entrance fee the king at the palace producer
Entrance fee required
Backdrops/ Painted. 6–7 layers. View of the No stage decoration or Sets and props
curtain palace, street view, forest, garden, scenery is used mimic reality
yard of poor people and landscape
(rice field)
Props only for palace scene
Special For example, flashing lights No special effect Artistic effect
effect/Tasmat indicated thunder or preceded a depends on
fairy’s entrance and stars, outline script
with flashing light bulbs – sparkled
on stage
Characters/ Stock characters in Bangsawan 1. Pak Yong, male lead No fixed roles
roles plays consisted of fine (halus) 2. Mak yong, female
characters, such as the heroine (seri lead
panggung), hero (orang muda) and 3. Peran or pengasuh,
King (raja), and rough (kasar) male attendant
characters such as the villain, pirate 4. Inang or Dayang, the
or clown female attendant
1. Orang muda, literally “young 5. Tok Wak, the old man
man”, the hero 6. Dewa-dewi, the gods,
2. Seri panggung, the female lead goddesses and spirits
role 7. Bota, Raksasa, Jin
3. Ahli Lawak, the comedians and Gergasi, the genies
4. Raja or Sultan, the King or and ogres
Datuk, a nobleman, someone with a 8. Orang darat, the
title villagers
5. Permaisuri, the Queen, or Datin, 9. Burung and binatang,
or Tok Puan, the Datuk’s wife birds and animals
6. Menteri-menteri, Datuk-datuk or
Ministers
7. Jin Afrit or Raja Jin, the King of
the Genii
8. Orang Pertapaan, the hermits
9. Hulubalang, warriors
10. Dayang-dayang, female
attendants or duenna
Costume and Antagonist: contrast colour and Simple and traditional Contemporary
make-up scary wear
Traditional
(continued)

Musical The number of instruments in the Limited musical No limitation,
instrument/ musical ensemble or orchestra instrument depends on
orchestra varied from troupe to troupe. New Three instruments: the script
instruments could be added if the three-stringed spiked
bandmaster so wished. By the fiddle (rebab), a pair of
1930s, the Bangsawan orchestra double-headed barrel
consisted of Western instruments drums (gendang) and a
such as the violin, trumpet, pair of hanging gongs
trombone, saxophone, flute, clarinet, (tawak-tawak or
piano, guitar, drums and maracas. tetawak)
Non-Western instruments included
the Malay rebana and the Indian
harmonium and tabla, which were
first used in the Parsi theatre
The bandmaster relied on a
repertoire of musical pieces or lagu
to evoke mood, establish characters,
convey ideas or accompany action
in the plot of the story. The songs
comprised popular musical genres
which accompanied social dancing
among the various ethnic groups in
Malaya. In Malay stories, Asli
music was used in sad songs, Inang
in the garden scenes and Joget in
fighting scenes. In Western stories,
the slow waltz was played during
sad scenes; the quick waltz, foxtrot,
and quickstep in garden scene; and
the march in fighting scenes
Rehearsal The play itself was never rehearsed Rehearsal without script Rehearsal with
in full beforehand script
Language National language, Bahasa Malaysia Bahasa Malaysia Bahasa
Malaysia or
English
Conclusion
Bangsawan, as a transitional theatre, was a unique theatre form which consists of

elements of traditional theatre and modern drama. The traditional elements in
Bangsawan can be summarized in no written scripts but a particular scenario cre-
ated by actors, stories tied to traditional features such as adventure, ritual elements
such as prayer to God for successful performance and safety of performer and the
open interaction between performer and audience.
The modern elements in Bangsawan can be summarized in staging practice, the-
atre building, commercial function, cast salaries, language, script, realistic elements
in technical aspects, function, idolized star and musical instruments.
Bangsawan has brought joy (entertainment function), meaning (story of history

and contemporary life) and new vision of theatre (modern elements). It acts as a role
to preserve the characteristics of traditional cultural and agent to push forward a
traditional theatre form to modern era. Each dynasty has its moment of glory and
decline, same as Bangsawan. But it wrote the important page for the history of
Malaysian theatre, and it may return one day in new transformation form.
References
Abdul Rahman Napiah. 1987. Drama moden malaysia: Perkembangan dan perubahan. Kuala
Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
Abdul Samat Salleh. 2006. Acting Aspect in Bangsawan Theatre. Kuala Lumpur: National Culture
and Art Dept., Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage Malaysia (KEKKWA).
ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information. 1986. The Cultural Traditional Media of ASEAN:
Essays, Bibliographies, Glossaries, Directories. Manila: ASEAN Committee on Culture and
Information.
Brandon, James R. 1976. Brandon’s Guide to Theatre in Asia. Honolulu: University Press of
Hawaii.
———. 1993. The Cambridge Guide to Asian Theatre. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ghulam Sarwar. 1989. Bangsawan: The People’s Opera. Pulau Pinang.
———. 1992. Panggung semar: Aspects of Traditional Malay Theatre. Petaling Jaya: Tempo
Publishing.
———. 1994. Dictionary of Traditional South-East Asian Theatre. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford
University Press.
Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof. 2005. The Encyclopedia of Malaysia: Performing Arts. Kuala Lumpur:
Editions Didiers Millet.
Jit, Krishen. 1986. Membesar bersama teater/terjemahan, Nor Azmah Shehidan. Kuala Lumpur:
Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
Kamaluddin Abd. Rahman. 2007. Teater Melayu: suatu risalah pemikiran Melayu. Kuala Lumpur:
Laliman Kemad@Ahmad. 2006. Teater moden Sabah: 1946 hingga 1980-an. Kuala Lumpur:
Mana Sikana. 1995. Drama Melayu moden. Shah Alam: Penerbit Fajar Bakti Sdn. Bhd.
———. 2006. Drama Melayu tradisional, moden dan pascamoden. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan
Bahasa dan Pustaka.
Mohamad Nazri Ahmad. 2000. Seni persembahan drama Melayu moden. Kuala Lumpur:
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Nanney, Nancy Kathleen. 1992. An Analysis of Modern Malay Drama. Shah Alam: Biroteks, ITM.
Othman Daya. 1980. Bangsawan. Kuala Lumpur: Kementerian Kebudayaan, Belia and Sukan.
Rahmah Bujang. 1975. Sejarah perkembangan drama bangsawan di Tanah Melayu dan Singapura.
Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
Tan, Sooi Beng. 1993. Bangsawan: A Social and Stylistic History of Popular Malay Opera.
Singapore: Oxford University Press.
Chapter 15
Assimilation of Asia: On Okawa’s Revenge
and Nayotake
Yasushi NAGATA
Tradition and the Modern Theatre
In the history of Japanese theatre, there are many examples that clearly indicate its
modernization, and one of these is an attempt in which “tradition” in traditional
theatre and classic works are used as the material to create the “modern” theatre.
These processes of assimilation and adaption are temporarily called the “adaption
of tradition into modern theatre”. Processes of assimilation and adaption seem to
have been developed in earnest from the 1950s to 1970s. Using dramaturgy in mod-
ern theatre, the traditional elements in Japanese traditional performing arts, classic
works, legends, and myths have been actively assimilated and adapted into Five
Modern Noh Plays, written by Yukio Mishima; Tetsuji Takechi’s sequential attempts
to “modernize” Kabuki; the Japanese folktale dramas written by Junji Kinoshita in
the 1950s; dramas written by Yoshiyuki Fukuda, Matsuyo Akimoto, and Ken
Miyamoto in the 1960s; and dramas written by Makoto Sato, Tadashi Suzuki, and
Takuro Endoin the 1970s. However, the motives of these writers and dramatists dif-
fered from each other, as did their methods and their materials. These processes of
assimilation and adaption were believed to have occurred due to the anxiety of these
writers and dramatists about the identity of Japan and Japanese culture, along with
their desire to support Japan’s reconstruction after World War II. These writers and
dramatists often looked towards the larger whole of Asia and Japan’s relationship to
the continent Asia and held Japan accountable for its colonialism and invasion.
These anxiety and desire were thought to be intensively reflected in the adaption of
tradition into modern theatre.
It should also be stated that the adaption of tradition into modern theatre was
occurring not only after World War II but also actually began before World War
II. For example, “Nihon Gekijyo (Nichigeki in abbreviation)”, which was put under
the control of the Takarazuka in 1935, was a representation of this trend in the
Y. NAGATA (*)
Graduate School of Letters, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan

242 Y. NAGATA
1930s. This theatre was used as the base for Ichizo Kobayashi, the founder of the
Takarazuka, to expand his activity into Tokyo, and was the first grand entertainment
facility with a capacity of 3,000 audiences that was constructed in East Asia.
Kobayashi devised the concept of “national theatre” in those days and planned to
provide all walks of life with theatrical performances as a “sound entertainment”, at
a low price and for a short period of time. Toyokichi Hata, who was highly familiar
with the Western showbiz world, served as the first art director and initially focused
on Radio City Music Hall in New York as their model. In pursuit of a combined
style of plays, dances, music, and movies, he organized special dance groups and
entertained audiences with movies and stage performances at the same time. The
dancers were gender-free, without the categorization of male and female parts,
unlike the Takarazuka, and showed ensemble performances. Nichigeki’s perfor-
mance was initially centred on American-style shows, such as precision dancing
and jazz and tap dancing, but gradually shifted its focus to “Japanese ethnic dances”,
as Japan moved further into colonialism. They came to perform traditional dances
that had long been preserved in remote islands away from the Japanese mainland,
such as Ryukyu, the Yaeyama Archipelago, and Amami Ōshima Island, and over-
seas colonies, such as Korea, Taiwan, and Yap Island.
Hata took a leadership position as the organizer of the Toho Dancing Team (Toho
Buyo Tai), asking the team to study dances in these regions and then attempting to
commercialize the dances. In 1938, the Toho Dancing Team held dance perfor-
mances in 28 European cities. Based on this experience, Hata thought that Japan
must develop dances based on Japanese poetic sentiments and lifestyles – although
these dances were accompanied with orchestral music – and he began to study eth-
nic dances in Japan. Regarding this point, Hata said, “I believed that the Japanese
people must have our own ethnic dances, but I did not want to believe that the
majority of so-called Japanese dances, which could not be traditionally separated
from the attractiveness of gay quarters, were today’s ethnic dances in Japan.
Therefore, I thought that we should create new Japanese dances based on these so-
called ethnic dances, which were extremely active, apart from all narrow-minded
conventions. I asked the members of the Toho Dancing Team to study the moves,
music, and costumes of dances from Taiwan, Korea, Ryukyu, Yaeyama, Hyuga,
Satsuma, Hida, and Tohoku, and recommended that the Toho Dancing Team per-
form these dances at the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater and the Nihon Gekijyo”.1 As a
matter of course, Asian ethnic dances were not always based on “tradition”.
However, many Asian ethnic dances performed in Tokyo were adapted from the
“traditional” dances of these regions. Based on the adapted “traditional” dances,
these “new dances of the Japanese” were created.
Naturally, this new focus of attention to Japanese ethnic dances that give out an
exotic atmosphere was a mechanism to create a strong awareness of Asian commu-
nity togetherness. The colonialism in those days was inseparable from the formation
of Japan’s nationalism and those combinations of diverse cultural elements consti-
1
Toyokichi Hata: Research on ethnic dances in Japan, Research on ethnic dances in Japan edited
by Isao Saya, Toho Dancing Team, Toho Shoten, 1943, pp. 2–3.
15 Assimilation of Asia: On Okawa’s Revenge and Nayotake 243
tuted “Asia” as a structure for cultural creation. This kind of hybridism was also
reflected in theatrical drama trends. Needless to say, Japan’s colonial rule of other
Asian areas was intended to integrate its neighbouring countries, on the basis of the
principle of “One Asia”, as postulated by Tenshin Okakura (1862–1913). This ideal
vision emphasized the homogeneity of Asia and worked as a slogan to promote
colonialism, with a focus on the solidarity based on Asian cultural similarities. This
slogan was also the exact opposite of another ideology that Japan espoused in its
path to modernization: “Quit Asia and join the West”. Generally speaking, this
vision was first presented by Yukichi Fukuzawa (1835–1901) as a justification for
the fast-paced Westernization of modern Japan. Behind the ideal lay the concept
that Japan should look to the West as its perfect role model for development and
Asia as a less advanced model from which to break away and exceed. As our coun-
try went ahead with imperialism, arguments over its tolerance towards foreign cul-
ture expanded to the whole of Asia. For example, Kokutai no Hongi (The Essence of
the National Polity), which was published in 1937, argues that now that Japan has
absorbed Western culture, it should be committed to creating a better national cul-
ture in the world as its next step. It is important that racial assimilation was included
in the vision. In this new situation, there emerged the ideology that, because
Japanese people were traditionally assimilated with other Asian peoples, it was
quite natural that they assimilate themselves to those peoples today as well and that
there would be no room for racial and ethnic discrimination. However, it is widely
known that this idea, friendly to racial hybridism, was enormously disparate from
the sheer reality of colonialism.
This type of hybridity was observed not only in revues performed by the Toho
Dancing Team but also in the Shingeki (new wave theatre dramas) performed during
the same period. This paper examines Okawa’s Revenge (1941), written by Kaoru
Morimoto, and Nayotake (1944), written by Michio Kato, as significant cases of the
“adaption of tradition into modern theatre” in Japan during World War II, and eluci-
dates the role of “Asia” in dramaturgy in Japan during the same period. The direc-
tion of the relationship between Japan and Asia in the former drama is opposite to
that in the latter drama.
Translation of Traditional Theatre
Kaoru Morimoto (1912–1946) was born in Osaka and exhibited his talent for writ-
ing drama when he was a college student. After being a main member of a coterie
magazine, drama writing, he went to Tokyo and was actively involved in the
Bungakuza theatre group as a drama writer. Among all his works, Onna no Issho, or
A Woman’s Life, is most successful. It has been performed more than 1,000 times
since its first performance in 1945. It is one of the best known long-run theatre dra-
mas in the history of Japanese theatre since the end of the World War II. This paper
discusses Morimoto’s dramas about Asia from his works written in the 1940s and
examines how these were adapted from their Asian originals.
244 Y. NAGATA
The 1940s was the time when Japan’s colonialism was expanding through Asia
during the establishment of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Japanese
theatre dramas, along with other art and entertainment fields, were expected to be in
line with this national policy. The Bungakuza was relatively free from politics, not
an anti-establishment, left-wing theatre group. Therefore, Morimoto basically fol-
lowed this national policy in his theatre activities. Some of his works at that time
dealt with Asia, and Morimoto’s attitude towards Asia can be observed through
these dramas. These works, though seemingly following the national policy, exhibit
Morimoto’s understanding of Asia in a very delicate way. Morimoto’s ambivalent
attitude towards Asia can be recognized in the dramas Okawa Adauchi or Okawa’s
Revenge (1941), Mokyo-Jo or A Mokyo Woman (1941), Benguet Doro or The
Benguet Road (1942), and Onna no Issho or A Woman’s Life (1945). These were
adaptations of Asian materials into Japanese “Shingeki”, new wave theatre dramas.
Okawa’s Revenge was adapted from an Okinawan traditional theatre play. A Mokyo
Woman was a dramatization of a traditional Chinese legend. The Benguet Road was
about great efforts by Japanese immigrants and the Japanese Army in the Philippines.
Finally, A Woman’s Life dealt with a Japanese family engaged in trade with China.
This paper focuses on Okawa’s Revenge (1941), set in Ryukyu, currently known as
Okinawa, and inspects how Morimoto adapted Asian materials.
Okawa’s Revenge was a dramatization of the Ryukyu’s dance suite, Okawa’s
Revenge on the Enemy. Ryukyu’s dance suites were musicals performed at court.
They were created for the purpose of entertaining “sakuhoshi”, messengers of the
Ming dynasty in China, who brought messages from the Ming Emperor. These tra-
ditional dance suites were thought to be created by Tamagusuku Chokun in 1917.
Okawa’s Revenge on the Enemy was a revenge story reportedly created by Kudeken
Baychin in 1799.
The original story is as follows: Okawa, the leader of a local ruling family in the
Ryukyu dynasty, dies in a rebellion plotted by the leader of another local ruling fam-
ily, Tancha. Okawa’s military commander Murabaru runs away in exile. Then, his
wife Ototaru and Murabaru’s mother come into the story. Ototaru plans to pretend
to be a nursemaid and enter Tancha’s castle to retrieve the Okawa’s newborn son,
Torachiyo, who was robbed by Tancha. Murabaru tries to stop her, but Ototaru
doesn’t listen and goes to Tancha’s castle. Tancha is sceptical about her identity,
suspecting that she may be related to Tancha and demanding that she tell him
Murabaru’s whereabouts. Ototaru responds with determination. The way she talks
back enchants Tancha’s heart. In the end, Tancha finds out Ototaru’s identity as
Murabaru’s wife. Ototaru dances in front of Tancha and seduces him. In an
unguarded moment, Ototaru gets back Okawa’s son. Tancha runs after them but is
killed by Murabaru.
When translating this dance suite into a modern musical drama, Morimoto
defines the relation between Japan and Ryukyu, reflecting the ideals of the Greater
East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. For example, one of the military commanders says
something to the effect that Ryukyu lays more emphasis on its relationship with
Japan than that with China. He says the following:
Our dynasty is surrounded by the ocean, with paradise birds flying in the mountains and
flocks of sheep roaming in the field. It’s a land of everlasting summer. However, our land is
small and the number of the people is also small. We never know when we are attacked by
other countries. Therefore, our dynasty has barely maintained its status as a legitimate
nation only because our neighbor Ming has given a nation status to our kings for genera-
tions. However, our current king has been deeply attached to the Yamato state, the nation of
the rising sun. He has sent messengers to the nation to deliver his congratulations or grati-
tude when such occasions arose. At times, he has been blessed with an honor to dispatch a
group of musicians to play brilliant Ryukyu musical pieces in front of the Majesty.
These lines represent that Ryukyu feels more kinship with Japan than with China.
The history of Ryukyu was that of double reign. The dynasty was ruled by Ming,
while at the same time following the rule of the Satsuma domain in Japan after it
was invaded by this domain. Ryukyu became part of Japan as a prefecture only after
the Meiji Restoration. After World War II, Ryukyu was occupied by the United
States before it became a prefecture of Japan again in 1972. The reason why
Morimoto added the lines above is obvious; it was in response to the national policy
of demonstrating Japan’s power to make Asia prosper as a whole.
Morimoto also includes the character of a magistrate from the central govern-
ment of the Yamato dynasty at the end of the play. Murabaru, who is also a magis-
trate, kills Tancha while exhibiting his dance performance to him. This event does
not affect the reception of the magistrate from Japan at all. He arrives in Ryukyu
safely. Ryukyu is depicted as a nation that devotes its song and dance to Japan.
Given these connotations, is this theatre play simply in line with the national policy
of praising the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere?
In the original dance suite, Okawa’s Revenge on the Enemy, the interaction
between Ototaru and Tancha is pivotal. Ototaru deals with her enemy Tancha fairly
and squarely. She is depicted as a strong-willed woman who talks back determinedly
to Tancha’s threat. In his adaptation, however, Morimoto describes Ototaru as a
rational, as well as strong-minded, woman. Although the interaction between
Ototaru and Tancha here is again the most appealing part of the story, she handles
Tancha’s cross-examinations with logic. This exchange of logical arguments is sim-
ilar to typical dramas in the West. Tancha presses Ototaru by ordering her to tell him
Murabaru’s whereabouts. She answers, “I have no idea. I heard he was killed in the
battle”. Tancha, not convinced by her answer, continues, “That’s just what people
say”. Ototaru says, “I’m only a lowly nursemaid. I’m not part of regular people, so
I don’t know”. Tancha never gives up. He says, “Tell the truth and feel better”. She
answers, “I wouldn’t have come to the castle all alone if Murabaru had been stron-
ger. I may have a grudge against him, yes, but how should I defend him?” Ototaru’s
logical argument gradually beats Tancha. Ototaru’s quality is represented by logical
argument, which is able to outdo a male. On the other hand, in the original dance
suite, although Ototaru is a strong-willed woman, she captures Tancha’s heart by
dancing in front of him. Indeed, the original depicts her quality as the beauty of a
woman dancing femininely, as well as strong-mindedness.
Thus, Morimoto depicts this female character as a rational woman suitable to the
drama, which can be defined as a modern drama. This fact represents Morimoto as
246 Y. NAGATA
a modern drama writer. Furthermore, this is the kind of female character that often
appears in Morimoto’s dramas. Other typical examples are two characters in A
Woman’s Life. One is the protagonist Shige, who manages trade with China. The
other is Kei Nunobiki, who is adopted by the Tsutsumi family.
Morimoto also introduces symbolic elements into his play. Murabaru’s comrades
rush to Tancha’s castle for battle. Murabaru, left alone, delivers a monologue just as
Hamlet does and is about to enter the castle after his comrades. Then, Ototaru
appears. Although she is actually captured within the castle, unable to physically
appear in front of Murabaru, he hears her voice as an auditory hallucination. This
theatrical method implies Morimoto’s absorption of the modern Western drama.
Moreover, there are essential differences between how song and dance are used
in Morimoto’s work as compared to the original. For the most part, he uses Ryukyu
music only in the final scene. This scene is also a complete original by Morimoto.
Tancha reveals his plot to Ototaru. He plans to entertain a magistrate from Yamato
with dancing and then kill him while he is enjoying the entertainment. Murabaru,
disguised as a traveling vendor, offers to dance for the magistrate. He dances before
Tancha and kills him. In the original dance suite, dancing symbolizes feminine
beauty that seduces Tancha. In Morimoto’s work, on the other hand, it is a theatrical
trick that conceals an attack of revenge. It also greatly helps to create a key dramatic
scene. Two seemingly conflicting elements, revenge and dancing, coexist in the
same scene, with the revenge being executed amidst the feeling of exaltation pro-
duced by dancing.
These points reveal that Morimoto fully absorbed Ryukyu’s dance suites.
Murabaru, disguised as a traveling vendor, sings a song. The song is the same as the
one used in the original. Although the depictions of Ototaru are somewhat different
between the Morimoto’s work and the original, both versions obviously place the
scene of questioning and rebuttal between Tancha and Ototaru at the centre of the
plot. Morimoto adds the framework of a modern drama to the original. He also
incorporates the idea of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere as a prologue.
The reason why Morimoto could know Ryukyu’s dance suites in such detail is
probably because the Japanese people had assimilated sufficient information about
Ryukyu’s dance suites before World War II. Ryukyu’s dance suites had actually
been performed since the Meiji period2, and three Ryukyu theatre companies were
said to have existed in Osaka in 1940.3 Before 1940, the influence of the “Ryukyu
traditional performing arts festival” on Japanese people, sponsored by the Folklore
Association of Japan, seemed to be greatest. The festival was held on May 30 and
31 in 1936 at Nippon Seinenkan in Tokyo. In the festival, traditional Ryukyu per-
2
According to Yushitaka Marumaya, an “Okinawa play” was performed at Kadoza in Osaka from
July 23 to August 8 in 1893, in which the performers were invited from Okinawa owing to the
endeavour of Shinshichi Sawano, the entrepreneur, Osaka No Okinawa Kiko written by Yushitaka
Marumaya, 2000, Bungeisha.
3
Yoshiki Sakai: Acceptance of Okinawa performing arts in Japan proper during the Showa period
before World War II, Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Vol. 19, Nagoya City University,
July 2005, pp. 41–42.
forming arts centring on classical musicals were performed. According to Mariko

Kiyomura, the programs consisted of Ryukyu’s dance suites (such as Syushin
Kaneiri, Nido Tekiuchi, Mekarushi, and Hanauri No En), 6 Ryukyu classical dance
songs (including Kagiyade Huubushi), and 17 Ryukyu classical dances (including
Rojin Odori).4 On the 29th of the same month, one day before the festival, the pro-
grams were previewed, and on June 6 and 7, the programs were performed in
Wakayama and Osaka, respectively. The point to note here is that on May 28, one
day before the preview, this festival was broadcast nationwide over the radio by the
Tokyo Central Broadcasting Channel, and several Ryukyu’s dance suites – includ-
ing Nido Tekiuchi – were broadcast on the air. Shinobu Orikuchi, a famous folklor-
ist, commentated during the entire program.
Orikuchi visited Okinawa in 1921 and 1923, and he found the archetype of “peo-
ple living in the era of the Manyo-shu (the oldest anthology of tanka)”. Orikuchi had
been deeply concerned with Ryukyu and Ryukyu dances throughout his life. He
wrote about Ryukyu’s dance suites,5 explained the form of traditional Ryukyu
dances,6 and referred to people in Okinawa as his “fellow countrymen”.7 Orikuchi
assisted with the performance of Ryukyu traditional performing arts in Tokyo in
order to restore and activate these artistic traditions. After the performance, Orikuchi
wrote, “Fortunately, the performance was extremely successful. You, the people of
Okinawa Prefecture, do not worry yourselves about the future of Ryukyu traditional
performing arts. I would appreciate it if Ryukyu’s dance suites could be restored on
this occasion. Songs and dances in Okinawa are living in the audiences. My plea-
sure is based on the success of this solidarity”.8 Orikuchi exchanges opinions with
Iha Fuyū, a pioneer in Okinawa Studies. Iha thought that Okinawa was not in Japan,
so the identity of Okinawa should be kept. Orikuchi also mentioned that the com-
parison of Ryukyu’s dance suites with Noh and Kabuki was meaningless, saying, “It
is reasonable to consider that the foundation for Ryukyu’s dance suites had already
existed at the beginning of the Edo period (1603–1868). Therefore, Ryukyu’s dance
suites cannot be said to be the imitation of Kabuki, which had advanced into the
middle of the Edo period. Noh songs were used as models for literature written by
Chokun Tamagusuku (1684–1734), but Noh songs were not directly adapted in
Ryukyu’s dance suites. … In sum, Noh was useful only for the purification of
Ryukyu’s dance suites, but Noh was not actually incorporated into Ryukyu’s dance
suites”.9 Iha published Kochu Ryukyu Gikyokushu in 1929, greatly contributing to
the research about and creation of Ryukyu’s dance suites. Orikuchi also wrote Nubui
4
Mariko Kiyomura: Ryukyu dances as revues—A form of the performance of Okinawa dances in
Japan proper before World War II, Studies of Okinawa Arts and Culture, Bulletin, Research
Institute of Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts, 2007, pp. 1–31.
5
Shinobu Orikuchi: Story of Ryukyu’s dance suites, Shinobu Orikuchi Complete Works Vol. 17,
March 1967, Chuokoron, p. 411.
6
Shinobu Orikuchi: Three elements in Okinawa dances, Ibid., p. 416.
7
Shinobu Orikuchi: For the performing arts of fellow Okinawa, Ibid., p. 418.
8
Yoshiki Sakai: The book shown before, p. 59.
9
Shinobu Orikuchi: Before Ryukyu’s dance suites, Kochu Ryukyu Gikyokushu, 1929, Shunyodo.
248 Y. NAGATA
Kuduchi, a Ryukyu dance suite, but it was not written until 1946, after World War
II.
Morimoto wrote Okawa’s Revenge in 1941, during a time in which Ryukyu
dances and dramas were positively performed in Japan. Although Morimoto did not
have direct contact with Orikuchi, both were concerned about Okinawa. As men-
tioned previously, the Yamato dynasty is clearly mentioned at the beginning and
ending parts of Okawa’s Revenge. Therefore, Okawa’s Revenge seems to reflect the
national policy at that time, when only these two parts are taken into consideration.
This is because Bungakuza – a theatrical company to which Morimoto belonged at
that time – flexibly corresponded with the national policy, unlike the other left-wing
theoretical companies of Shingeki. Shiro Horie wrote about Morimoto’s dramas
that “the backgrounds of Morimoto’s two dramas (Okawa’s Revenge and Mokyo-Jo)
was ‘battle,’ due to the political situation at that time. If such a subject was not
adopted into the drama, the drama would not be allowed to be performed. (Omission)
Therefore, I feel that I might understand the reason why Morimoto could do nothing
but compromise with the restrictions at that time”.10
From the perspective of dramaturgy, the Yamato dynasty – which may be an
indicator of the subject of colonialism – is mentioned only at the beginning and end-
ing parts of Okawa’s Revenge, and the Yamato dynasty is not related to the story of
Okawa’s Revenge at all. Therefore, the Yamato dynasty can be considered to func-
tion as an overall framework. Morimoto wrote about this drama: “If this drama is
printed, the printed drama is not pleasurable to read. However, please read this
drama for reference. A typical broadcast play may be created from such a drama.
Based on this drama, I want to write flexible, complicated, deep, and comprehensive
musicals”.11 Namely, Morimoto wrote this drama as a formal experiment in an effort
to renovate Japanese theatre. Morimoto might have created this drama after thor-
oughly studying Ryukyu’s dance suites. Therefore, a Ryukyu dance suite might be
reconstructed in this drama using the dramaturgy of the modern theatre. In this
drama, Ryukyu’s dance suites are modernized with reverence through the vivid por-
trayal of a self-supported woman.
Japan’s Cultural Old Layer
Another direction pursued by Japanese drama during World War II is examined

through the study of a drama written by Michio Kato. Michio Kato was born in
1918, and he began theatrical activities when he was a university student. During
graduate school, Kato wrote Nayotake (1944), which was his first drama. In 1944,
Kato took up a new post in New Guinea as an interpreter for the Imperial Japanese
Army. After World War II, he resumed his theatrical activities and lectured at a
10
Shiro Horie: Radio writer Kaoru Morimoto, Morimoto Kaoru No Sekai supervised by Ichiro
Inui, New National Theatre Foundation, 1999, p. 89.
11
Kaoru Morimoto: Autograph manuscript of Kaoru Morimoto, Morimoto Kaoru No Sekai, p. 129.
university. Kato’s students in the university include Keita Asari and Takeshi Kusaka,
who were the founding members of the Shiki Theatre Company, and Kato became
the spiritual leader of this company after his suicide in 1953.
The subject of Nayotake, Kato’s first drama, was adapted from Taketori
Monogatari (The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter), which is said to be Japan’s oldest
story written in hiragana characters. Nayotake describes the background of The Tale
of the Bamboo Cutter, in which a fictitious character is assumed to be the “writer”
of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. Ishinoue Fumimaro, the fictitious character,
knows that his friend Kiyohara has fallen in love with “Nayotake”, who lives in a
bamboo grove and promises to assist with the success of Kiyohara’s attempt at
courtship. Fumimaro also knows that Otomono Miyuki, a chief councillor of the
state and the enemy of his father, has also fallen in love with Nayotake. Fumimaro
himself becomes fascinated with Nayotake as well. When Otomono Miyuki attempts
to marry Nayotake, Fumimaro and Kiyohara obstruct the marriage by circulating a
rumour about the relationship between Otomono Miyuki and Nayotake in the capi-
tal, and Fumimaro behaves like a mad man. In Fumimaro’s fantasy, an exchange of
marriage vows at a ceremony with Nayotake is performed. After returning to reality,
Fumimaro goes to the bamboo grove to meet Nayotake. However, Taketori No
Okina – an old man who harvests bamboo and has found Nayotake in a bamboo –
admonishes Fumimaro, telling him that Nayotake exists only in his dream. After
Fumimaro has met Nayotake again, Nayotake says to Fumimaro that she cannot
love him anymore, and she sets forth on a trip towards the moon. Two months later,
Fumimaro now lives in the eastern country, and he narrates that he has already writ-
ten the story of Nayotake before the curtain falls.
Michio Kato wrote this drama in the period between the autumn of 1943 and the
spring of 1944. He confessed that he wrote this drama in order to “wipe off his
mental uneasiness” and to “leave the evidence of his life in writing”, although he
knew that he would be taking up a new post in Southeast Asia as an interpreter
within a few months prior to the completion of the drama.12 Therefore, Kato’s aim
of writing this particular drama differs from Kaoru Morimoto’s aim of writing his
own series of dramas. In this drama, Kato creates a fictional writer of The Tale of the
Bamboo Cutter – the actual writer of which is actually unknown – and the character
in his drama writes The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter in order to compensate for his
unfulfilled love for Nayotake. Therefore, this drama can be read as Kato’s “will”, in
which the “story” earns an eternal life in the real world beyond the death of
Nayotake.
After writing Nayotake, Michio Kato became the spiritual pillar of the Shiki
Theatre Company. At that time, Kato had significant knowledge about modern
French theatre. In particular, he repeatedly mentioned the great effect that Jean
Giraudoux had on him, and he also closely studied dramas of Giraudoux.13 Kato
said, “Jean Giraudoux has entirely occupied my heart since that time. I had always
carried with me the books of dramas written by Giraudoux, such as Electre, Song of
12
Michio Kato: Michio Kato Complete Works II, Seidosha, 1983, p. 289.
13
Michio Kato: Jean Giraudoux To Sonosekai—Hito to sono sakuhin, Hayakawashobo, 1953.
250 Y. NAGATA
Songs, Siegfried, and Ondine. Nayotake was only one of the monuments of my
growth at that time”.14 It is true that there are many similarities between Nayotake
and Ondine. For example, the main character in each drama falls in love with a spirit
beyond the terrestrial world, the story develops due to the madness of the main
character, and each contains poetic descriptions of the natural world. Many people
have studied the relationship between Nayotake and Ondine.
In addition to the great influence by Jean Giraudoux, Nayotake has The Tale of
the Bamboo Cutter as its original source, as mentioned previously. Michio Kato
used The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter as a motif with which to create Nayotake.
Moreover, Nayotake describes its main character Fumimaro’s admiration of classi-
cal literature. In this drama, the father of Fumimaro remonstrates about Fumimaro’s
excessive attention to classical literature, and in response to this remonstration,
Fumimaro says, “Father, I will surely be an excellent scholar. Please allow me to
create poetry. If a ‘teacher of poetry and history’ only recites the words of Chinese
classics of Confucianism, everybody can be the teacher. What will happen if the
teacher aggressively exhibits his knowledge of poem and history? Such book learn-
ing is nothing else but decoration. Even if a person gorgeously wears two unlined
kimonos made of red figured silk, the person without a spirit is the castoff skin of a
cicada. Myself and my colleagues oppose the weak-kneed trend of this age, and
attempt to regain the vigorous and true ‘heart’ of Japan”.15 Fumimaro then presents
the Manyo-shu to his father, claiming that it is the most interesting book. Fumimaro
also says, “Father, I understand the importance of the lessons of the three historical
records of ancient China and the five classics of the Confucianism. Chinese poetry
by Li Tai-po is extremely useful for me. However, I cannot presume my future after
fractionally reciting Chinese history and Confucianism and imitating the technical
skills of Chinese poetry during the Tang dynasty”.16
Nayotake does not only express an admiration for classical literature in general,
but rather praises the poetic world of classical literature in Japan in contrast to the
classical literature of China, such as the Chinese classics of Confucianism, the three
historical records of ancient China, and Chinese poetry by Li Tai-po. By negatively
citing the values of Chinese classics, Nayotake indicates the superiority of the clas-
sical literature of Japan. A similar expression of this belief can be seen in other parts
of Nayotake as well. For example, in the Third Act, students have a conversation
before the examination of Chinese classics: “The Aoi Festival has just started, but
how ridiculous it is to study Chinese classics for the examination while reciting
Chinese classics. I am sure that Ouyang Xiu will not be adopted for the examina-
tion. … Ouyang Xiu’s Discourse on the Spring and Autumn Annals is too easy to
study”.17 Nayotake attempts to describe the establishment of The Tale of the Bamboo
Cutter in Japan’s natural and traditional spirit by diminishing the values of Chinese
14
Michio Kato: One route, Michio Kato Complete Works II, Seidosha, 1983, p. 25.
15
Michio Kato: Nayotake, Michio Kato Complete Works I, Seidosha, 1983, p. 48.
16
Ibid., p. 49.
17
Ibid., p. 88.
classics imported from China and labelling Chinese classics as “outside” of Japanese
culture.
It is worth noting that, during this era, what Kato could rely on was the world
created by Giraudoux in his dramas and the spirit of Shinobu Orikuchi, particularly
The Book of the Dead. Kato said “In the season of ‘dark death,’ The Book of the
Dead written by Shinobu Orikuchi particularly captured my heart. That might be the
single novel that overwhelmed my youth. I worried about the poor imagination in
Japanese novels and poems, so the appearance of The Book of the Dead rescued me,
like an oasis in a desert”.18 Kato also said, “When I hovered between life and death
at a field hospital in New Guinea, in which death was very close, the fantasy of
death in that book strangely gave me a sense of relief. It might be said that I inti-
mately sympathized with the world of death through The Book of the Dead”.19
Therefore, we can clearly understand how important the existence of Orikuchi was
to Kato.
The subject of Orikuchi’s The Book of the Dead was taken directly from Japanese
history. In this book, a woman named Iratsume steps into a temple – forbidden for
women – as if she had been invited by the departed soul of Prince Otsu and subse-
quently falls in love with Prince Otsu. Iratsume draws a mandarin chart on a sheet
woven with lotus fibre while calming down Prince Otsu’s soul. Thus, The Book of
the Dead is an illusionary tale, in which a spiritual exchange between the living and
the dead is poetically portrayed using the history of the Nara period (710–784) as its
background. This book is not related to other Asian countries aside from Japan, but
a poetic mixture of Japanese history and spirit captured Kato’s heart and helped him
to live when he hovered between life and death.
Many researchers have already studied Orikuchi’s The Book of the Dead. Kumiko
Ishikawa argues that Orikuchi attached importance to the “sadness or pathos of
things”, but Atsutane Hirata (1776–1843) exalted the “Japanese spirit”; the thought
of Orikuchi is in contrast to that of Hirata. According to Ishikawa, the “sadness or
pathos of things” existed at the centre of the study of ancient Japanese literature and
culture by Norinaga Motoori (1730–1801), who was at the core of Orikuchi’s edu-
cation. Ishikawa said, “All things existing in the world are ‘sad or pathetic.’ If you
do not know the ‘sadness or pathos of things,’ you will lack for ‘sympathy’”.20 The
“sadness or pathos of things” was at the heart of the aesthetic concept of Japanese
literary arts during the Heian period (794–1185) and represents a deep, introspec-
tive, and delicate feeling that arises from nature and life. Norinaga Motoori is said
to find the essence of the “sadness or pathos of things” in The Tale of Genji.
According to Ishikawa, human nature as described or represented by Norinaga in
The Tale of Genji is that of “regretfulness”, i.e. “weakness”, and a person containing
weakness is affirmed in The Tale of Genji. Ishikawa mentioned that “weakness is the
change of one’s true nature in the relationship with others, i.e. one’s non-identity.
18
Michio Kato: With The Book of the Dead, Michio Kato Complete Works II, Seidosha, 1983,
p. 356.
19
Ibid., p. 356.
20
Kumiko Ishikawa: Yowasa To Teikou No Kindai Kokugaku, Kodansha, 2009, p. 13.
252 Y. NAGATA
The “sadness or pathos of things” was gradually relegated to the past, and the
“Japanese spirit” was converted into loyalty to Japan”.21 In other words, Shinobu
Orikuchi explained the “sadness or pathos of things” and affirmed “weakness”,
while Michio Kato advanced the concept of the “sadness or pathos of things” to the
idea of a crossing between life and death, which was his unique recognition.
In Nayotake, the heroine Nayotake is described as a passive woman. At a lovers’
tryst when their desires are fulfilled at last (in the Fourth Act), Nayotake asks
Fumimaro, “What can I do to make the happiness of this reencounter continue eter-
nally?” Fumimaro firmly answers, “We should live while mutually believing our
loves”. However, Nayotake feels anxiety and says to Fumimaro, “Do you say that
we can become much happier than now? Nothing will happen to us in the future. We
cannot be happier than we are right now”.22 Nayotake doubts whether her life is
over, because all the happiness has come to her at once. Fumimaro tells Nayotake,
“True happiness will come to us in the future, so we should set forth on a trip toward
the eastern country.” Nayotake replies, “We cannot love each other deeper than we
do right now, so I cannot follow you to go to the eastern country”. Since Nayotake
can only live in the bamboo grove, she cannot follow Fumimaro’s love, and she runs
out of energy at last.
In this drama, the female character of Nayotake does not argue equally with a
man, but she realizes that she is incompetent in the face of the transcendental power
beyond her, and she follows the transcendental power without fighting against it.
Nayotake says, “Nothing exists behind us. Nothing exists in front of us. We have
nothing else but happiness at this moment”.23 All that Nayotake can do is to live in
the absolute sense of time, which means that this moment is everything. The idea of
Nayotake positively understanding the “weakness” of herself, who does not know
what to do, is expressed in this drama. Therefore, the character of Nayotake differs
from that of a strong woman described by Morimoto in Okawa’s Revenge, a woman
who logically confronts a man. The heroine Nayotake is not a typical woman in the
modern Western theatre, who logically finds her own way in order to realize her own
opinion, but Nayotake suffers from a conflict between men about herself. After hav-
ing won Fumimaro’s heart, Nayotake finally decides to withdraw herself.
Assimilation and Elimination of Asia
This paper compared dramas written by Kaoru Morimoto and Michio Kato during
World War II, based on their relationship to traditional works. A Ryukyu dance suite
was translated into Okawa’s Revenge as a modern drama. Similarly, The Tale of the
Bamboo Cutter, which is said to be an oldest tale in Japan, was translated into
Nayotake as a modern drama. Morimoto deeply familiarized himself with the
21
Ibid., p. 20.
22
Michio Kato, Nayotake, 1983, p. 126.
23
Ibid., p. 124.
introduction and performance of Ryukyu and ethnic dances at that time in Japan
proper and turned musicals into dialogic plays in the modern Western theatre.
Women described in the dialogic plays were powerful, self-supported individuals,
who could argue equally with men. These self-supported women often appear in
Morimoto’s works, such as Asako and Maki in Migoto Na Onna, Mrs. Suwa and her
second daughter Mina in Hanabanashiki Ichizoku, and heroine Kei in A Woman’s
Life, in particular. These women do not rely on men and are instead mentally inde-
pendent of men, capable of arguing equally with men. Kato also turned The Tale of
the Bamboo Cutter into a modern drama. However, a logical dialogue was not taken
as the theme of the drama. The story of the drama was instead based on a Giraudoux-
like fantasy. A woman described in the drama is modest and does not deny transcen-
dental power. The women described by Morimoto contrast with the descriptions
provided by Kato’s works. The former possesses a marked individuality specific to
modern Western theatre, while the latter possesses a sensitivity specific to Japan.
The marked individuality and sensitivity were observed when Japanese theatre was
modernized, and modern Japanese dramas have continuously described not only
Western-like women who equally argue with men but also typical Japanese women.
This mutual description is considered to be characteristic of modern Japanese
theatre.
Both Morimoto and Kato were influenced by the works of Shinobu Orikuchi. In
the 1930s, Orikuchi attached a great importance to the maintenance and renovation
of Ryukyu culture, so he was positively involved in the realization of the perfor-
mance of full-scale Ryukyu dances in Japan for the first time. The effect of this
performance on the Japanese people at that time was great, so Orikuchi had laid the
foundation for the wide acceptance of Ryukyu traditional performing arts, and
Morimoto’s works were born under these circumstances. In the case of Kato, the
spirit of Orikuchi – The Book of the Dead in particular – affected his views about
life and death. In Kato’s Nayotake, there is a section that is deeply connected to
Orikuchi’s recognition of Japan’s cultural old layer. The above-mentioned female
image is connected to Japan’s cultural old layer.
Kunio Yanagida was Shinobu Orikuchi’s teacher. However, unlike Yanagida’s
scientific positivism-like folklore, Orikuchi’s folklore is said to attach a great impor-
tance to intuition and realization. Junji Kimura argues, in his Shinobu Orikuchi, that
“Yanagida’s folklore might be established based on the construction of nationwide
identity of ‘Japan,’ and might attempt to evaluate the Emperor system within
‘Japan.’ Orikuchi’s folklore differs significantly from Yanagida’s folklore. Orikuchi
understood Shinto (a general term for the activities of the Japanese to worship all
the deities of heaven and earth) in moral law, and Orikuchi’s folklore contained
‘non-identity,’ which might fundamentally deny the process of modern state
formation”.24 It is known that Orikuchi strongly opposed the war at that time. This
may be because Orikuchi acknowledged the diversity of Japan’s cultural old layer
and the plurality of Asian culture.
24
Shunji Kimura: Shinobu Orikuchi—Ikidoru Kokoro, Kodansha, 2012.
254 Y. NAGATA
The difference between Yanagida’s folklore and Orikuchi’s folklore may be con-
nected to the difference in perspective between Morimoto and Kato towards Asia. In
Morimoto’s drama, the advancement of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere,
conforming to the national policy at that time, is considered to be described from the
colonialism-like viewpoint. In Morimoto’s drama, Ryukyu is described in harmony
with Japan proper. In contrast, Kato’s drama compares traditional Chinese culture
to traditional Japanese culture, and by diminishing traditional Chinese culture, tra-
ditional Japanese culture is praised. Therefore, exclusive description is demon-
strated in Kato’s drama, and an exclusive perspective towards Asia is seen in Kato’s
drama, even though Japanese classical literature is used as its subject. In contrast,
harmony between Asia and Japan is described in modern Western theatre, just as in
Morimoto’s drama.
However, Morimoto’s drama might be undesirable from the perspective of
Orikuchi. Morimoto introduced a Ryukyu dance suite into a modern drama by uti-
lizing its forms, rules, and tradition, taking advantage of his sophisticated knowl-
edge of modern drama in the West. This obscured the difference between Ryukyu
and Japan and concealed the history between Ryukyu and Japan that needs to be
remembered. No doubt, Morimoto’s splendid dramas are equipped with sophisti-
cated language, a carefully built story structure, and an excellent experimental use
of music. However, when Morimoto’s drama is considered to be a Japanese drama
using Asia as its subject, it does not describe Ryukyu, as it is from the perspective
of Ryukyu. Ryukyu is described as cultural otherness.
The two dramas discussed in this paper are examples of tradition being translated
into modern theatre. These dramas sufficiently exhibit the general perspective
towards Asia at that time. These dramas also contain many contrasting elements
which were carried over to the “adaption of tradition into modern theatre”, which
has been practised in various forms since the 1950s, after World War II. Subsequently,
fertile avant-garde dramas called underground dramas have flourished since the
1960s.
References
Kaoru Morimoto: Autograph Manuscript of Kaoru Morimoto, Morimoto Kaoru No. Sekai, 129.
Mariko Kiyomura. 2007. Ryukyu Dances as Revues-A Form of the Performance of Okinawa
Dances in Japan Proper Before World War II, 1–31. Studies of Okinawa Arts and Culture,
Bulletin, Research Institute of Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts
Michio Kato. 1983. Michio Kato Complete Works II, 289. Seidosha.
Shinobu Orikuchi. 1929. Before Ryukyu’s Dance Suites. Kochu Ryukyu Gikyokushu, Shunyodo.
———. 1967, March. Story of Ryukyu’s Dance Suites. Shinobu Orikuchi Complete Works Vol.
17, 411. Chuokoron.
Shiro Horie. 1999. Radio Writer Kaoru Morimoto, 89. Morimoto Kaoru No Sekai, New National
Theater Foundation.
Shunji Kimura. 2012. Shinobu Orikuchi-Ikidoru Kokoro. Kodansha.

Toyokichi Hata. 1943. Research on Ethnic Dances in Japan, 2–3. Toho Shoten.
Yoshiki Sakai. 2005, July. Acceptance of Okinawa Performing Arts in Japan Proper During the
Showa Period Before World War II. Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 19: 41–42
(Nagoya City University).
Index
A Bangsawan, 88–90, 94, 227–237

Abhinaya, 117 Beijing opera, 5, 42, 104, 109, 129, 130, 132,
Abhjnan Shankuntalam, 120 136, 141, 143, 151, 160
Adaptations, 10, 15, 19–21, 27, 69, 71, 74, 88, Bharat Muni, 117
116, 129, 130, 132, 135, 140–142, 147, Boria, 87
153, 154, 157, 158, 160–163, 169, 206, Both Are Timid Guys, 147
242, 243 Brecht, 75, 129, 139, 142, 187, 189, 190,
A Doll’s House, 19, 21, 34, 47, 139 192, 199
Agha Hashra Kashmiri, 123 Bungakuza, 241, 242, 246
Ahārya Abhinaya, 119
Alterity, 185–188, 190–191
Ambiguity, 188–190 C
Amir Khusro, 115 Cai Zengjie, 158
Another self, 192–196, 198 Cantonese opera, 78, 80, 104
Antonin Artaud, 187, 189 Cao Yu, 49, 153–156, 159, 162
A Pure Evening Feast (Chunjie de yeyan), Cathay Theatre, 154
155–157 Chang Wo-chun (1902–1955), 44
Arth, 118 Charles Wilkes (1798 – 1877), 103
Arts Theatre of Singapore Chen Duxiu 陳獨秀, 66, 81
(新加坡艺术剧场), 112 Cheng Yanqiu, 160
The Association of Earth and Moon Cheung Wai-yin (張維賢, 1905–1977), 42,
(Towolhoe: 土月會 1923-1932), 28 44–46, 50–52, 54, 56
The Association of Theatre Arts Chinese Artistic Theatre Society (Zhongguo
(Keugyesul Hyophoe: 劇藝術協會 yishu jushe), 155
1920-1923), 28 Chinese Books and Magazines Corporation
Astor Theatre 普慶戲院, 80 (Zhongguo tushu zazhi gongsi), 158
Asuras, 118 Chinese calligraphy, 132, 176
A third eye, 200–201 Chinese Theatre Movements (The), 150
Avant-garde experimental theatre, 141 Chinese tight dresses (旗袍Chi Pao), 134
Ayurveda, 117, 120 Chitose Beiha (1855–1918), 16
Chokun Tamagusuku (1684–1734), 204, 245
Chunliu she 春柳社 (Spring Willow Society),
B 145, 165
Bae Guja (裵龜子:1905-2003), 36 Chunyang she 春陽社 (Spring Sunshine
Baihua (vernacular language), 157 Society), 70
Bangsal, 87

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6046-6
258 Index
Civilization New-Drama Troupe (开明新剧 G

团), 109 Gabogeongjang (The Joson’s Modern
Classic period, 116 Reformation), 23, 24
Classical, 13, 14, 74, 81, 89, 119, 120, 124, Gailiang xiju zhi jihua (改良戲劇之計畫), 76
130, 142, 147, 166, 168, 186–188, 190, Gao Xingjian, 185–201
205, 218, 245, 248, 252 Genealogy of Kumiodori, 203–224
Classics, 33, 71, 129–143, 171–178, 182, 187, Gilt (Du jin), 153–155
194, 204, 206, 209, 211, 212, 215, 218, Girish Chand Ghosh, 122
219, 239, 248 Global, 129, 133, 140–142
Comic romance, 138–139 Globalization, 83, 130, 142
The Contemporary Legend Theater, 133 Grammar (Wenfa) (The), 160
Conventional Drama Training Center Great National Company, 121
(正劇傳習所), 45 Guan Xinyi (关新艺), 112
Gubbi Theatre Company, 121
Guo Lantian, 154
D Gwangdae (Korean actors before
Dabus, 87 modernization), 25
Daily of the Republic (Minguo Ribao), 157
Dasrupak, 120
Datong Corporation, 157 H
Dharma, 118 Hainanese opera, 104
Dialectics, 109, 116, 129, 143 Hakka opera, 141
DiaoRujun, 159, 160 Ham Seduk (咸世德:1915-1950), 32
Dikir barat, 87 Hamlet, 59, 98, 207, 224, 244
Dinner (Wancan), 156 Hanabusa Ryugai (1872–1906), 20
Displacement, 190 Hanamichi, 12–14, 210, 218
Drain Inspector’s Report, 123 Henan Bangzi, 141
Dramatic Performance Act, 122, 124 Heopyeulsa (協律社), 25, 26
History of French Literature, 149, 150
History of Mr. Bolisong’s Travel (Bolisong
E xiansheng de lüxing ji) (The), 158
Eastern Times (Shibao) (The), 147 Hokkien opera, 104
Edward Said, 133, 140 Homogenizing, 142
Engeki-kairyo-kai (Theatre Reform Hong Haesong (洪海星:1893–1957), 31, 33,
Society), 13 34, 36
Essays on Theatre, 146 Hong Shen 洪深, 72
Eugene Labiche, 145–162 Hou Yao, 49, 56
Eugene Sribe, 146 Huajiju (burlesque), 147, 148
Evolution Society 進化團, 73, 74, 77 Huaju (spoken drama), 64, 151, 183, 188
Experimental drama, 252 Huaju 話劇, 64, 151, 165, 166, 183, 188
108 Heroes: Tales from Water Margin,
129–133
F Hu Shi, 56, 60, 81, 82, 145, 146,
Fake with Joy (Huan tian xi di), 157 152, 156
Fashions, 2, 76, 142 Hyun Chul (玄哲:1891∼1965), KAPF
Fifth Veda, 117 (Korea Artista Proleta Federatio
Five methods 五法 (hands, eyes, heart, in Esperanto), 29, 30
footwork, methodology), 132
Foucault, M., 136, 187
Four Gon-Fu 四功 (singing, reciting, acting, I
fighting), 132 Ibsen, 4, 19–22, 31, 34, 47, 51, 58, 81, 95,
French Literature ABC, 149 138, 139, 145–148
Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams, 136 Ichikawa Danjuro IX (1838–1903), 12–14
Fukuchi Ochi (1841–1906), 14–20 Ichikawa Kumehachi (1846–1913), 16
Index 259
Ideologies of the Raj, 122 La Poudre aux yeux (Sands Bewildering

Iha Fuyū, 208, 209, 215, 222, 245 People’s Eyes), 150–159, 162
Ihm Sunggu (林聖九) (1887–1921), 26, 27 Law Grass Society (Qiancaoshe), 157
Ii Yoho (1871–1932), 15 Le Chapeau de paille d’Italie (The Italian
I-Lien Drama Society (艺联剧团), 113 Straw Hat), 151
Intercultural theatre, 129, 130, 136, 139–142 Lee Gisae (李基世:1890?–1930?), 27
Ito Hirobumi (1841–1909), 11–14, 17 Lee Kwangrae (李光來:1908–1968),
Izawa Shuji (1851–1917), 10 32, 34
Le Voyage de Monsieur Perrichon, 157–162
Lin Chen (林晨), 112
J Little Theater Movement, 46
Jaejakgughoe (制作劇會), 37 Liu Musen, 158, 159
Jean Giraudoux, 247, 248 Liu Renxin (刘仁心), 112
Jianhe 健鶴, 76 Liveness, 143
Jing Qian (静倩), 111 Li Xinke (李星可), 112
Jingju, 130, 132, 142, 167, 169, 179 Local, 14, 26, 36, 45, 75, 77, 78, 83,
Jonas Daniel Vaughan (1825–1891), 87, 88, 105, 106, 109–112, 122,
103, 104 129, 130, 132, 141, 143, 153, 207,
Journey to the West, 140 228, 229
Junji Kinoshita, 239 Lokdharmi tradition, 124
Lord McCauley, 121
Lu Jingruo 陸鏡若, 71
K Luo Dazhang (罗大章), 112
Kaiming yanju wui 開明演劇會 (Liberal Lu Xun (鲁迅), 188
plays-performing club), 67
Kalam Hamidi (Oct. 24,1936-), 90, 92, 93
Kalidasa, 120 M
Kamakiri-za (螳螂座), 57 Macbeth, 223, 224
Kaoru Morimoto (1912–1946), 239–252 Mahabharata, 87, 116, 139
Kaoru Osanai, 46, 52, 58, 59 Main peteri, 87
Kathakali, 141 Makyung, 87
Kawakami Otojiro (1864–1911), 15, 19, 21, Manyo-shu, 245
42, 206, 207 Measure for Measure, 129–143
Kawatake Mokuami (1816–93), 13 Menora, 87, 232
Keechak Vadha, 123 Metamorphosis, 101–113
Kim Jarim (1926–1994), 37 Mianzi (face), 161
Kim Jinsoo (金鎭壽:1909–1966), 32 Michel Foucault’s Discipline and
Kim Wujin (金祐鎭:1897–1926), 28, 29, 31 Punish, 136
Kim Youngpal (1904-?), 30 Michio Kato (1918-1953), 239–252
King Lear, 141 Ming Fong Theatrical Company (民烽劇團),
Kirloskar Sangeet Natak Mandal, 121 46, 50–52, 56, 58
Krida, 118 Ming Fong Theatrical Study Group (民烽演劇
Kuda kepang, 87 研究會), 46
Kudeken Baychin, 242 Modernity, 2–4, 6, 9, 12, 41, 101–113, 115,
Kumiodori, 203–224 116, 118–124, 141, 148, 151, 167,
Kuo Pao Kun (郭宝琨) (1932–2002), 113 185–201, 227
Modernization, 1, 9–38, 63, 64, 68, 76, 83, 87,
115–124, 129, 133, 147, 148, 150,
L 165–183, 185–186, 203, 205, 207, 212,
Lacan’s psychoanalysis, 136 215, 217, 239, 241
Lady of the Camellias (The), 145, 150 Modern-Spoken-Chinese New Drama Society
La Fontaine, 159 (白话新剧社), 107, 109
La Jeunesse (Xin qingnian), 60, 81, 82, 145, Modern-Spoken-Chinese Theatre Company
147, 148 (仁声白话剧社), 108, 110
260 Index
Modern theatre, 1, 4–6, 13, 20, 32, 37, 38, 70, P

88, 99, 121, 124, 146, 147, 150, 151, Pan Chuanlin, 157
153, 154, 156, 162, 188, 211, 227, 228 Park Hyunsuk (1926-present), 37
Monthly Magazine of Novel Park SeungHee (朴勝喜:1901-1964), 28,
(Xiaoshuoyuebao), 149 29, 38
Mori Ogai (1862–1922), 13, 18, 21 Parsi theatre, 120–124, 228, 229, 236
Morita Kan’ya (1846–1897), 11 Peacock Screen (Kongque ping), 160, 161
Mubiaoxi 幕表戲 (synopsis play), 74 Peking opera, 67, 69, 72, 79, 132, 192, 199
Mustapha Kamil Yassin, 89, 90, 94–96, 98 People’s Theatre, Cha Bumsuk (1924-2006),
Muwaixi 幕外戲 (interludes), 71, 74, 89, 28, 36–38, 152, 214
90, 232 Perception, 5, 45, 76, 83, 92, 119, 185–201
Performance studies, 129, 132, 142
Peter Brook, 88, 139, 191
N Pioneer of Literature and Arts (Wenyixianfeng)
Nakamura Nakazo III (1809–86), 11 (The), 156, 160
Nakamura Sojuro (1835–89), 11 Popular Modern-Spoken-Chinese Theatre
Nanyang new drama (南洋新剧), 111 Company (通俗白话剧团), 108
National College of Dramatic Arts, 153, Prayog, 118
156, 159 Problem plays, 138–139, 147, 154
National tradition, 142 Psychoanalysis, 136
National Wind & Fantasy Scenery Ensemble
(国风幻景班), 107
Natyashastra, 117, 119, 120 Q
Neel Darpan (Indigo Mirror), 122 Qingping Theatre 清平戲院, 80
Neutral actor, 192–201 Quju (amusing play), 157
New Culture Movement (China), 109, 145 Qu Yuan 『
( 屈原』), 47, 60
New Drama Comrades Society 新劇同志會
(Xinjutongzhihui), 71
New Moon (Xinyue), 152, 154 R
New Moon Bookstore Race Between the Tortoise and the Hare
(Xinyueshudian), 152 (Guitujingzou) (The), 159
New Moon Society (Xinyueshe), 152 Ramayana, 87, 116
New North (Xin Beifang), 158 Randai, 87
New People Society 新民社, 73 Reality, 32, 63, 109, 111, 113, 124, 136, 140,
Nihon engei kyokai (Japan Performing Arts 153, 183, 186, 188, 191
Society), 18 Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), 147
No Name Society (Weiming she), 158 Retheatricalization, 130, 133–134, 136,
Nostalgia, 142 141, 142
Rodat, 87
Ryoujin-za (獵人座), 46, 56
O Ryukyu history plays, 208, 214
Okinawan drama, 205, 211 Ryukyu kageki (opera), 204, 211, 215–220
Okinawan identity, 208, 209
Okinawa-shibai (play), 203, 223
Onnagata, 13, 14, 214, 216, 229 S
Onoe Kikugoro V (1844–1903), 11 Saba, 87, 230
Orientalism, 133, 140, 209 Sada-yakko (1872–1946), 12, 19
The Oriental Theatre (Dongyang Keukjang: Sa-mil Theatre (「三一劇場」), 52
東洋劇場), 36 Sandiwara plays, 89, 94
The Orphan of Zhao (赵氏孤儿), 185 Sands Bewildering People’s Eyes (Miyan de
Original Theatrical Company, 121 shazi), 147, 156
The “Other”, 97, 140, 195 Satyendra Nath Tagore, 122
Ouyang Yuqian 歐陽予倩, 64, 68, 69, 71, 73, Seng Kong Theatrical Study Group (星光演劇
76, 145, 156 研究會), 44–46, 50, 56
Index 261
Senior Celebrity Goodwill Society Takarazuka, 239, 240

(耆音善社), 106 The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, 247
Seth Pestonji Framji, 121 The Tale of the Bamboo-Cutter, 247, 248,
Shaharom Husain (Nov. 04, 1919-Oct. 14, 250, 251
2008), 90 Tamagusuku Chokun, 209, 217, 220, 242
Shakespeare, 13, 19, 21, 33, 59, 71, 94, 129, The Tempest, 142
133–142, 169, 206, 207, 230 Temporary Modern-Spoken-Chinese Drama
Shen Yanbing 沈雁冰, 76 Society (临时白话剧社), 107
Shi Huafu (Chen Linrui), 160 Tenshin Okakura (1862–1913), 241
Shiki Theatre Company, 247 Teochew opera, 104
Shingeki, 19, 20, 22, 41–44, 47, 49, 51, 53–60, Theater Magazine (Xiju zazhi), 158
223, 241, 242, 246 Theatre Arts Studies (Keugyeul Yeonguhoe) in
Shinjin-za, 51, 52, 58 the 1930s, 30–35
Shinobu Orikuchi, 245, 246, 249, 251, 252 Theatricality, 130, 134, 136, 142
Shinpa 新派 (New school of theatre), 70 Third Space, 142
Shishi xinxi 時事新戲 (new drama on current Throw down Your Whip (Fangxia ni de
affairs), 66 bianzi), 153
Shizhuang xinxi 時裝新戲 (new drama in Thunderstorm (Leiyu) (The), 153
modern costumes), 67 Tian Han 田漢, 44, 68, 71, 82, 111
The Silver World (銀世界:1908), 26 Tianlusheng 天僇生, 66
Sima Qian, 147 Toho Dancing Team, 240, 241
Sinpa, 26, 27, 29, 36, 38 Tongji Hospital (同济医院), 106
Small Birds (Xiao niao) (The), 160 Toyokichi Hata, 240
Smoke Bomb (Yanmudan), 154 Tsubouchi Shoyo (1859–1935), 13, 14, 18
Song Chunfang, 145–152, 154, 155, 157, Tsukiji Little Theatre (築地小劇場),
159, 162 31, 42
Soshi Theatre, 14–16
Spring Willow Society (Chunliu she),
68, 165 U
Spring Willow Theatre 春柳劇場 (Chunliu Ulek mayang, 87
juchang), 71 Usman Awang (July 12-November 29,
Stanislavsky, 5, 186, 190, 191 2001), 98
Stories of the Burlesque People (Huaji
liezhuan), 147
Stratification, 115, 116 V
Stylization, 4, 129, 130, 132, 136, 143, 206 Vedic period, 116
Sudo Sadanori (1867–1907), 15, 206 Visual effects, 133, 177
Sung Young (1903-1978), 30
Susumu Nakayama (中山侑, 1905-1959), 45,
46, 51 W
Waiting for Godot, 189
“Walking as a dwarf” (「走矮子功」), 132
T Wang Xiaonong 汪笑儂, 67
Taihoku Drama Group 「 ( 臺北劇集団」), 51 Wang Zhongsheng 王鍾聲, 70
Taihoku Theatre Group 『 ( 臺北演劇集団』), Wayang kulit, 87
51, 58 Wenmingxi (文明戲), 71, 72, 165
Taiwan Art Research Group (『台湾藝術研究 Wenmingxi (civilized drama), 71,
会』), 52, 53 72, 165
Taiwan Governor-General Railway (鐵道旅館 Wenyou hui 文友會 (Literary friends
演藝廳), 46, 56, 57 club), 67
Taiwan Literary Arts (『台湾文藝』), 52 Westernization, 63, 72, 74
Taiwan People News (『台湾民報』), 43, 44, Women Kindness Society (女界慈社), 107
47, 49 Wongaksa (圓覺社), 26
Taiwanese opera, 141 Wu Kun-huang (1909–1989), 46, 52, 53
262 Index
X Yoon Paeknam (尹白南:1888–1954), 27

Xiamen Popular Education Company (廈門通 Yoshiyuki Fukuda (1835–1901), 239
俗教育社), 44, 56 Youth Encouragement Society (青年励志社),
Xia Zengya 夏曾佑, 66 108, 111
Xinju (new drama), 166 Youth Encouragement Study Society (青年励
Xu Gong-mei (1901–?), 49, 50, 56 志学社), 108, 110
Xu Xiaotian 徐嘯天, 71 Yukichi Fukuzawa, 241
Yukio Mishima, 239
Y
Yahudi Ki Ladki, 123 Z
Yan-Feng Theatrical Company (炎峰劇團), 45 Zeng Xiaogu 曾孝谷, 69, 70
Yang Zheng School (养正学校), 107, 110 Zhai Seng Tennis Club (摘星網球會), 44–46
Yoda Gakkai (1833–1909), 11, 14–17, 19 Zheng Zhenduo 鄭振鐸, 76
Yoo Chijin (柳致眞:1905-1974), 32–35, 37 Zheng Zhengqiu 鄭正秋, 73, 78

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Yasushi

ISBN 978-981-13-6045-9 ISBN 978-981-13-6046-6 (eBook)

© The Editor(s) and, if applicable, The Author(s) 2019

Essay on Indian theatre insightfully looks at the evolving relationships between

General Editor, World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre, Don Rubin

1 Introduction: Modernization of Asian Theatres ������������������������������������ 1

Part I Process of Asian Theatre Modernization

Part II Problematics of Asian Theatre Tradition

Ravi CHATURVEDI is Professor and Director of the School of Media and

Shelby K. Y. CHAN is an Associate Professor at the School of Translation, The

Gan Eng CHENG is currently pursuing Master of Performing Arts in Malaysian

Kun-Liang CHIU was Professor of Taipei National University of the Arts, Taipei,

Performance Space and Sacred Space, Audience and Believers: Anthology of

Gilbert FONG is the Provost of Hang Seng Management College. He graduated

Solehah ISHAK is Professor of Theatre Arts at the Faculty of Film, Theatre and

theatres seeing them within the socio-economic-political-cultural spectrums which

Zainal Abd LATIFF is a former Associate Professor of Drama and Theatre, at the

Meewon LEE is Professor of Korea National University of Arts in Seoul, Korea.

LO Shih-Lung is Assistant Professor in the Department of Chinese Literature at

Mitsuya MORI is Professor Emeritus at Seijo University, Tokyo. He was the

Yasushi NAGATA is Professor of Theatre Studies, Graduate School of Letters,

Iris Hsin-chun TUAN is Professor in the Department of Humanities and Social

research (2012–2013) in the Department of English and Fairbank Center at Harvard

YANG Ming is a PhD candidate of Asian Theatre at the University of Hawaii at

aesthetics of Kunqu as embodied in these practical works of theatre. His research

Shoko YONAHA is a Drama Critic and Researcher in Okinawa. She has completed

YU Weijie An academia of theatre studies (MA, Shanghai Theatre Academy, China,

© The Editor(s) and, if applicable, The Author(s) 2019 1

To better understand this phenomenon, we first have to separately investigate the

© The Editor(s) and, if applicable, The Author(s) 2019 9

The First Attempt at the Modernization of the Arts

Katsureki Performances by Ichikawa Danjuro IX

Yoda Gakkai and Soshi Theatre

Fukuchi Ochi and New Kabuki

“Tokutomi Soho talks”, Waseda Bungaku[Waseda Literature], 1906, No. 2, p. 61.

Tsuchiya Takao, economics professor at Tokyo University, has re-evaluated

No scholar of economics has hitherto followed Tsuchiya’s evaluation of Ochi, who

Hanabusa Ryugai’s Theatre Activities

Without doubt, the limitation of his activities is apparent, starting as an apprentice of a

What Is the Modernization in Korea?

© The Editor(s) and, if applicable, The Author(s) 2019 23

hiring scheme based on individual talent, prohibition of early marriages, allowing

The Modernization of Korean Theatre

The Western-Style Indoor Theatre

The New Sinpa Theatre of the 1910s

Theatre Group ‘Renovation (Hyuksindan:革新團)’ and produced a play titled

The Students’ Groups and ‘Towolhoe’ of the 1920s

Theatre of Social Realism

 he Achievement of Realistic Theatre by ‘Theatre Arts Studies

Number Author Play Director Period Act

Number Author Play Director Period Act

Number Author Play Director Period Act

 ommercial Theatres in the 1930s and War Time Propaganda

K.-L. CHIU (*)

© The Editor(s) and, if applicable, The Author(s) 2019 41

Shingeki and Its Modernity in Taiwan

 hingeki in Taiwan and the Relationship Between Japan

popularized in Taiwan,19 and the playing of tennis became a pleasure or a status

Dramas as Shingeki Published in the Taiwan People News

 hinese Contemporary Dramas Performed in Taiwan

new versus old, as well as permissiveness versus constraint. For example, in Fu

movement”, and “A brief description of the shingeki movement in Taiwan”, which

Position of Cheung Wai-yin in the Shingeki History in Taiwan

In the history of shingeki in Taiwan, Cheung Wai-yin is considered to be a very

1 Introduction: Modernization of Asian Theatres �� 1

Part I Process of Asian Theatre Modernization

Part II Problematics of Asian Theatre Tradition

The First Attempt at the Modernization of the Arts

Katsureki Performances by Ichikawa Danjuro IX

Yoda Gakkai and Soshi Theatre

Fukuchi Ochi and New Kabuki

Hanabusa Ryugai’s Theatre Activities

What Is the Modernization in Korea?

The Modernization of Korean Theatre

The Western-Style Indoor Theatre

The New Sinpa Theatre of the 1910s

The Students’ Groups and ‘Towolhoe’ of the 1920s

Theatre of Social Realism

he Achievement of Realistic Theatre by ‘Theatre Arts Studies

ommercial Theatres in the 1930s and War Time Propaganda

Shingeki and Its Modernity in Taiwan

hingeki in Taiwan and the Relationship Between Japan

Dramas as Shingeki Published in the Taiwan People News

hinese Contemporary Dramas Performed in Taiwan

Position of Cheung Wai-yin in the Shingeki History in Taiwan

Appendix 1: Productions of Taiwan Shingeki in the 1920s

Appendix 2 Plays Published in Taiwan People News

Reform of Traditional Opera

Spring Willow Society

Acculturation and Civilized Drama

Direct Routes to Reality

Quotidian Speech and Dialect

Western Costumes and Natural Acting

Realistic Stage Sets

Modernization and Traditional Theatres

“Modern”, Scripted Sandiwara Plays

Plot and Narrative Structures of Sandiwara Plays

Modern Drama: The Realistic, Sitting Room Plays

Plot, Theme and Narrative Structure of Realistic Plays

Conclusion: Modernity Versus Tradition

Act I: The Birth (1913–1917)

Act II: The Infant (1918–1927)

Act III: The Growth (1927–1937)

Epilogue: An Unfinished Journey Towards Maturity

New Methodology of Learning

Parsi Theatre: A New Wave of Modernity

108 Heroes: Tales from Water Margin

c omplicated storyline of the original novel. In the performance program, it says:

Measure for Measure by Retheatricalization

Plot Analysis and Performance Review

Problem Play or Comic Romance

Representation of the Classics Adaptation

Social Function and Literary Value of Eugene Labiche’s Plays

ranslations of Eugene Labiche’s La Poudre aux yeux