A History of Chinese Theatre in the 20th Century I by Fu Jin, and: A History of Chinese Theatre in the 20th Century II by Fu Jin

Abstract

Reviewed by: A History of Chinese Theatre in the 20th Century I by Fu Jin, and: A History of Chinese Theatre in the 20th Century II by Fu Jin Tarryn Li-Min Chun A HISTORY OF CHINESE THEATRE IN THE 20TH CENTURY I. By Fu Jin. Translated by Zhang Qiang. London and New York: Routledge; Beijing: China Social Sciences Press, 04 2020. 330 pp. 22 B/W Illustrations. Hardback, $325.00; Paperback/eBook, $99.95. A HISTORY OF CHINESE THEATRE IN THE 20TH CENTURY II. By Fu Jin. Translated by Zhang Qiang. London and New York: Routledge; Beijing: China Social Sciences Press, 11 2020. 268 pp. 22 B/W Illustrations. Hardback, $160.00; Paperback/eBook, $48.95. In A History of Chinese Theatre in the 20th Century, Fu Jin offers a comprehensive overview of Chinese theatre from 1900 to 2000 that demonstrates both a capacious attitude toward genre and close attention to the influence that political, social, and economic factors have had on content, form, and the lives of Chinese theatre artists. Fu Jin is a leading Chinese theatre historian and critic affiliated with Shandong Normal University and the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, and his Chinese-language work has long been considered essential reading for scholars and students of modern Chinese drama. First published in Chinese by China Social Sciences Press in 2016–2017, this latest work of historiography is no exception, and a new translation series published by Routledge and China Social Sciences Press makes it available in four English-language volumes. The first two volumes were released in 2020, with the remaining two published in 2021. While the scholarship itself is rigorous and insightful, the usefulness of its publication in English is tempered by poor translation and the prohibitive cost of the print editions. The first volume, A History of Chinese Theatre in the 20th Century I (hereafter "Volume I"), is divided in two parts that examine the rise of jingju (Beijing opera) and other xiqu genres, theatrical reform campaigns (xiju gailiang yundong) at the turn of the twentieth century, and shifts in the market for the performing arts during this same [End Page 409] period. One of the most notable and valuable contributions of this first volume is that, although Part I "New Dramas and New Stages" begins with the familiar history of jingju in the late nineteenth century (Chapter 1), Fu Jin does not remain focused on China's best-known xiqu genre for long. Instead, by Chapter 2, he expands his geographic range well beyond Beijing and delves deeply into how "minor genres" (xiao xi), such as flower-and-drum (huagu), "folk minor" (tanhuang), yangge, and laozi, emerged and merged with forms such as chuju (Hubei), huju (Shanghai), chang-xi ju (Changzhou/Wuxi), yueju (Zhejiang), and pingju (Tianjin). Chapter 3 then turns to more overt attempts to "reform" the Chinese theatre among Chinese elites and intellectuals and the rise of "new drama" influenced by Western theatre, a perspective which complements the previous chapter's focus on the grassroots and popular taste. As Fu Jin describes each individual form, he also carefully details a range of different factors influencing its development: performance elements such as instrumentation and role types; changes in the stage apparatus and technology; political control and morality-based censorship; broader changes in urbanization, transportation, and communication; and the roles played by significant individuals. This methodology continues throughout subsequent sections of the book, with each using specific genres to illustrate broader points about the trajectory of theatrical development. Part II, "Updating Concepts and Adapting Theatrical Industry to Market Requirements," comprises three chapters split between Volume I and Volume II, marking a structural difference from the original and making for a rather abrupt conclusion to Volume I. In terms of content, however, Part II offers another important corrective to histories of modern Chinese drama that would draw a straight line from late Qing reformers to the debates on traditional theatre that raged in the early decades of the twentieth century. Instead, Chapter 4 demonstrates the innovation and influence of theatrical "clubs" that emerged through-out China in the early Republican period, such as the Yisu Club in...