Official and unofficial dramaturgs: dramaturgy in China

Abstract

Dramaturgy is a hard-to-define word to begin with, even in Germany and other parts of Europe. It is even more bewildering in China. That is why there is still no commonly accepted Chinese translation of the word in mainland China, nor such a position as a formally and clearly defined dramaturg in any theatre company. For those Chinese with some knowledge of Western languages and cultures, the word can mean three related yet quite different things: 1) theatre studies; 2) approaches to, structures and techniques of playwriting; and 3) the work of a dramaturg, a profession not yet clearly established in China. Two fairly well known and studied Western books in China’s theatre circles, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s Hamburg Dramaturgy and William Archer’s Playmaking, in their Chinese translations, have not helped in clarifying the word, let alone promoting the related profession. The former book, which is in fact an anthology of papers on theatre theory and criticism, as its Chinese title Hanbao Juping (Hamburg drama review) indicates, is no longer a relevant use of the word “dramaturgy” as discussed in this book. The latter book, whose Chinese title Juzuo Fa literally meansMethods of Playwriting, really refers to one of the two meanings of the word today. Yet Archer did not use the word “dramaturgy” in his title. The most important third meaning, the focus of this book, however, has not been seen in any Chinese-language books so far. In the People’s Republic of China (PRC), beginning in October 1949, the governmenthas set up many state theatre companies in which the choice of plays is of the utmost importance, especially in terms of dramatic themes. Therefore dramaturgy was badly needed from the very beginning of those theatre companies. By the same token, it was badly needed by the new regime eager to overhaul the entire theatre system. Without knowing the term “dramaturgy,” or the exact meaning of the word, they usually set up an office or a department called the Artistic Office or Office of Artistic Creation, into which they assigned playwrights, directors, and critic/editors. In a large state theatre company, such as the Beijing People’s Art Theatre, ShanghaiPeople’s Art Theatre, or China Youth Art Theatre, each with about a hundred or more people in total, this office/department is always the smallest group, compared to the other two major office/departments – the actors’ group and the group of designers and shop workers.