Modern Chinese Spoken Drama
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Summary
Editor's review
In the editor's view, the book's core value lies in its balance between historical narrative and aesthetic analysis. The author not only documents in detail the activities of milestone troupes such as the Spring Willow Society and the South China Society, but also focuses on how playwrights including Cao Yu, Xia Yan, and Tian Han integrated Western dramatic forms with Chinese social reality and traditional operatic aesthetics to create a modern theatrical language with national characteristics. The interpretations of classic works such as *Thunderstorm* and *Teahouse* move beyond purely literary analysis, placing them against the broader backdrop of cultural transformation and political upheaval and revealing drama's special function as a 'social forum.'
Compared with similar surveys, the book's highlight is its dedicated discussion of changes in stagecraft (direction, acting, stage design) and its in-depth examination of the debates over the popularization and nationalization of drama. This makes it more than a literary history and establishes it as an interdisciplinary study of cultural history. The sources are cited rigorously and the narrative is clear; though academic in nature, the language remains readable, offering readers a vivid and profound cross-section for understanding China's modern cultural transformation. For readers who wish to go beyond reading classic scripts and gain a deeper understanding of the role drama, as a comprehensive art and social phenomenon, has played in China's modernization, this book provides a solid cognitive framework and rich lines of thought.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- University humanities students and researchers interested in the history of modern Chinese literature and drama
- Drama enthusiasts who wish to systematically understand the entire process of Chinese drama's introduction, integration, and localization
- Industry professionals engaged in playwriting, directing, or criticism who need historical perspective and theoretical reference
- General readers concerned with China's modern cultural transformation who wish to observe social currents through an artistic medium
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking only light entertainment stories or appreciation of contemporary play scripts
- Complete beginners who need an extremely simplified introductory guide or a heavily illustrated popular reader
Reading tips
- Readers may combine the book with scripts or performance recordings of the classic plays it discusses, analyzing them side by side to deepen understanding
- Pay particular attention to the discussions in each chapter of the 'encounter between China and the West' and the 'search for national form,' which are the core issues running through the entire book
- The book can be read alongside works on modern Chinese literary history by scholars such as Qian Liqun to establish a more three-dimensional historical framework
About the publisher
Jilin University Press is a comprehensive university press based in Jilin Province, China. Its publishing covers university textbooks, academic monographs and general-interest titles, with common categories including inspirational growth, foreign literature, mystery and detective fiction, history and classic works. The database contains 171 titles, including representative books such as Don Quixote, Jane Eyre, Selected Works of Chekhov, The Moon and Sixpence, The Lady of the Camellias, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Family Instructions of Master Yan and The Sorrows of Young Werther, spanning foreign literary classics and traditional Chinese texts. Its author resources include Chinese and foreign figures such as W. Somerset Maugham, Yan Zhitui, Lü Siming and Ba Jin, as well as editors and authors such as Study Group and Zhang Ying. The press has developed a certain character in introducing foreign literary classics and compiling traditional readings, balancing adolescent reading with academic popularization. As public information is limited, the above focuses on the publishing directions reflected in its database titles.
Contents
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About the author
Huang Ying is an author about whom limited public information is available. Only two works by this author are known, dealing respectively with the compilation of excavated texts and with the study of modern Chinese drama. The first, a historical volume, offers a collected commentary and modern translation of the day-book (ri shu) from the Qin bamboo slips of Fangmatan, aimed at readers interested in ancient mantic and manuscript culture. The second, classified as theoretical writing, discusses issues in modern Chinese drama and is intended for students of theater history and literature. The two works span quite different fields, one focused on the interpretation of pre-Qin excavated materials and the other on modern dramatic theory, suggesting that the author has engaged with both ancient texts and modern drama. In the absence of biographical details, the author's education, positions, and academic background cannot be confirmed; readers may instead turn to these two works to understand the author's research interests and approach to writing.
