Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-cjp7w Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-22T07:12:59.187Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

From Teahouse to Playhouse: Theaters As Social Texts in Early-Twentieth-Century China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 March 2010

Joshua Goldstein
Get access

Extract

The qing court had a love-hate relationship with popular drama. From the Qianlong emperor (r. 1736–95) to the Empress Dowager Cixi (1835–1908), several Qing rulers were renowned for their doting patronage of popular opera, yet the state was far from sanguine about drama's social effects, viewing public theaters with great suspicion. Theaters, in the eyes of the authorities, were notorious hangouts for ruffians, slackers, gamblers, and insurgents, providing these roustabouts with the ideal environment in which to scheme and swindle. In addition to waging campaigns to censor and weed out “seditious passages” from popular dramas (Guy 1987, 92), emperors throughout the Qing dynasty issued dozens of edicts regulating the construction, location, and clientele of commercial theaters. In rural areas, especially in times of unrest, local authorities often canceled scheduled performances for fear that such occasions offered gangs and secret societies prime opportunities for stirring up trouble (Mackerras 1972, 37). Urban theaters were no safer. According to popular lore, even the Kangxi emperor was cheated by hoodlums when he ventured into a public theater during one of his legendary outings disguised as a commoner (Liao 1997, 80). Yet in spite of their reputation for breeding disorder and moral vice, commercial theaters—commonly known as teahouses (chayuan)—increasingly thrived, and in this new social space, the genre of Peking opera came into full flower during the last century of the Qing dynasty.

Type
Articles
Information
The Journal of Asian Studies , Volume 62 , Issue 3 , August 2003 , pp. 753 - 779
Copyright
Copyright © The Association for Asian Studies, Inc. 2003

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

List of References

Anderson, Marsten. 1990. The Limits of Realism: Chinese Fiction in the Revolutionary Period. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Sen, Chen. 1990. Pinhua baojian (Precious mirror for judging flowers). Reprint, Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe.Google Scholar
Cheng, Weikun. 1996. “The Challenge of the Actress: Female Performers and Cultural Alternatives in Early Twentieth-Century Beijing and Tianjin.” Modern China 22(2):199–227.Google Scholar
Chow, Tse-Tsung. 1960. The May Fourth Movement: Intellectual Revolution in Modern China. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bingsui, Dlng. 1977. Beijing Tianjin ji qita (Beijing, Tianjin, and other things). Taibei: Rongtian yinshuguan.Google Scholar
Goldstein, Joshua. 1999. “Mei Lanfang and the Nationalization of the Peking Opera, 1912–1930.” positions: east asia culture critique 7(2):337–420.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yanqi, Gui. 1930. “Gu wu ji” (An aficionado's record of errors). Xiju yuekan 3(4)(September).Google Scholar
Guy, Nancy. A. 1995. “Peking Opera as ‘National Opera’ in Taiwan: What's in a Name?” Asian Theatre Journal 12(1):85–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guy, R. Kent. 1987. The Emperor's Four Treasuries: Scholars and the State in the Late Ch'ien-lung Era. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Xlsan, Hou. 1996. Beijing lao xiyuanzi (Beijing's old theaters). Beijing: Zhongguo chengshi chubanshe.Google Scholar
Shang, Huang. 1984. “Jiao hao” (Calling “hao!”). In Huang Shang lun ju zawen (Huang Shang's miscellaneous essays on drama). Chongqing: Sichuan renmin chubanshe.Google Scholar
Jiang, Jin. 1998. “Women and Public Culture: Poetics and Politics of Women's Yue Opera in Republican Shanghai, 1930s-1940s.” Ph.D. diss., Stanford University.Google Scholar
Juyin, Jlao. 1985. Jiao Juyin xiju sanlun (Essays of Jiao Juyin). Beijing: Zhongguo xiju chubanshe.Google Scholar
Karl, Rebecca. E. 2002. “‘Slavery,’ Citizenship, and Gender in Late Qing China's Global Context.” In Rethinking the 1898 Reform Period: Political and Cultural Change in Late Qing China, edited by Karl, Rebecca E. and Zarrow, Peter. Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ciming, Li. 1988. Yueman tang ju hua (Talking of the chrysanthemums of Yueman Hall). In Qingdai Yandu Liyuan shiliao (Qing-dynasty sources on Beijing's Pear Garden), edited by Ciji, Zhang. Vol. 2. Beijing: Zhongguo xiju chubanshe.Google Scholar
Fusheng, Li. 1977. Zhonghua guoju shi (History of Chinese national drama). Taibei: Tianyi chubanshe.Google Scholar
Hongchun, Li. 1982. Jingju chang tan (Lengthy musings on Peking opera). Beijing: Zhongguo xiju chubanshe.Google Scholar
Qichao, Llang. 1999. “Lun xiaoshuo yu qun zhi zhi guanxi” (On the relationship between fiction and the government of the people). In Liang Qichao quanji (The complete works of Liang Qichao), edited by Gang, Yang and Xiangyi, Wang. Vol. 2. Beijing: Beijing chubanshe.Google Scholar
Ben, Llao. 1997. Zhongguo gudai juchang shi (A history of China's ancient theaters). Zhengzhou: Zhongguo guji chubanshe.Google Scholar
Mackerras, Colin. 1972. The Rise of the Peking Opera, 1770–1870. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Lanfang, Mei and Jichuan, Xu. 1987. Wutai shenghuo sishi nian (Forty years of life on the stage). Beijing: Zhongguo xiju chubanshe.Google Scholar
Chi, Ming, ed. 1990. Zhongguo Jingju shi (A History of Chinese Peking opera). Vols. 1–2. Beijing: Zhongguo xiju chubanshe.Google Scholar
Mitchell, Timothy. 1991. Colonising Egypt. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Naquin, Susan. 2000. Peking: Temples and City Life, 1400–1900. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Yuqian, Ouyang. 1990. Zi wo yan xi yi lai (My acting career). Taibei: Longwen chubanshe.Google Scholar
Rushan, Qi. [1933] 1964. Mei Lanfang you Mei ji (Diary of Mei Lanfang's U.S. tour). In Qi Rushan quanji (The complete works of Qi Rushan), edited by Qi Rushan Xiansheng yi zhu bian yin weiyuanhui. Vol. 2. Taibei: Chongguang wenyi chubanshe.Google Scholar
Rushan, Qi. 1964a. Guoju mantan (Musings on national drama), vol. 1. In Qi Rushan quanji (The complete works of Qi Rushan), edited by Qi Rushan Xiansheng yi zhu bian yin weiyuanhui. Vol. 3. Taibei: Chongguang wenyi chubanshe.Google Scholar
Rushan, Qi. 1964b. Xi jie xiao zhang gu (Anecdotes of the theater world). In Qi Rushan quanji (The complete works of Qi Rushan), edited by Qi Rushan Xiansheng yi zhu bian yin weiyuanhui. Vol. 4. Taibei: Chongguang wenyi chubanshe.Google Scholar
Ravel, Jeffrey. 1993. “Seating the Public: Spheres and Loathing in the Paris Theaters, 1777–1788.” French Historical Studies 18(1):184–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taimou, Shen. [1934] 1988. Xuannan ling meng lu (Record of scattered dreams in Xuannan). In Qingdai Yandu Liyuan shiliao (Qing-dynasty sources on Beijing's Pear Garden), edited by Ciji, Zhang. Vol. 2. Beijing: Zhongguo xiju chubanshe.Google Scholar
Yusheng, Sun. 1928a. “Shanghai xiyuan bianyao zhi, 1” (Record of changes in Shanghai theaters, 1). Xiju yuekan 1(1)(June).Google Scholar
Yusheng, Sun. 1928b. “Shanghai xiyuan bianyao zhi, 2” (Record of changes in Shanghai theaters, 2). Xiju yuekan 1(2)(July).Google Scholar
Youru, Wu. [1908] 1983. Wu Youru huabao (Treasury of Wu Youru's drawings). Vol. 3. Shanghai: Shanghai guji shudian.Google Scholar
Daoren, Xiao Tiedi. [1804] 1988. Ri xia kan hua ji (Record of gazing at flowers beneath the sun). In Qingdai Yandu Liyuan shiliao (Qing-dynasty sources on Beijing's Pear Garden), edited by Ciji, Zhang. Vol. 1. Beijing: Zhongguo xiju chubanshe.Google Scholar
Nong, Xing. 1930. “Shuo Jianchang” (Regarding the prop man). Liyuan gongbao, 8 March.Google Scholar
Foxi, Xiong. 1932. Xie xi yuanli (Principles of play writing). Beijing: Zhonghua shuju.Google Scholar
Ke, Xu, ed. [1917] 1986. Qing bai lei chao (Unofficial records from the Qing). Vol. 11. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju.Google Scholar
Mojian, Yang. [1842] 1988. Menghua suo bu (Collection of the essence of dreams). In Qingdai Yandu Liyuan shiliao (Qing-dynasty sources on Beijing's Pear Garden), edited by Ciji, Zhang. Vol. 1. Beijing: Zhongguo xiju chubanshe.Google Scholar
Weng, Yi. 1931. “Wutai shang zhi qingjie yundong” (The movement to clean up the stage). Xiju yuekan 3(9)(January).Google Scholar
Jian, Zhang. [1919] 1982. “Gengsu Juchang yu shehui jiaoyu zhi guanxi” (Improve Customs Playhouse and its relation to educating society). In Jingju gaige de xianqu (Pioneers of Peking-opera reform), edited by Naixiang, Chen. Nantong: Jiangsu renmin chubanshe.Google Scholar
Jiliang, Zhang. [1829] 1988. Jin tai can lei ji (Diary of the tear-soaked golden stage). In Qingdai Yandu Liyuan shiliao (Qing-dynasty sources on Beijing's Pear Garden), edited by Ciji, Zhang. Vol. 1. Beijing: Zhongguo xiju chubanshe.Google Scholar
Jianxi, Zheng. 1931. ”Hao!” (Bravo!). Xiju yuekan 3(5).Google Scholar
Lishui, Zheng. 1990. “Tianjin de xiyuan” (Tianjin's theaters). Tianjin wenshi ziliao (Sources of Tianjin culture and history), edited by Tianjin shi weiyuanhui wen shi ziliao weiyuanhui. Vol. 51. Tianjin: Wenshi ziliao chubanshe.Google Scholar
Huabin, Zhou. 1993. Jingdu gu xilou (Old theaters of the capital). Beijing: Haiyang chubanshe.Google Scholar
Yibai, Zhou. 1933. Zhongguo juchang shi (A history of Chinese theaters). Shanghai: Shangwu yinshuguan.Google Scholar
An, Zhuo. 1931. “Shanghai xiyuan sanshi nian cangsang lu” (Shanghai theaters: Thirty years of changes and vicissitudes). Liyuan gongbao, 24 January.Google Scholar