Performing the Socialist State offers an innovative account of the
origins, evolution, and legacies of key trends in twentieth-century
Chinese theater. Instead of seeing the Republican, high socialist,
and postsocialist periods as radically distinct, it identifies key
continuities in theatrical practices and shared aspirations for the
social role and artistic achievements of performance across eras.
Xiaomei Chen focuses on the long and remarkable careers of three
founders of modern Chinese theater and film, Tian Han, Hong Shen,
and Ouyang Yuqian, and their legacy, which helped shape theater
cultures into the twenty-first century. They introduced Western
plays and theories, adapted traditional Chinese operas, and helped
develop a tradition of leftist theater in the Republican period
that paved the way for the construction of a socialist canon after
1949. Chen investigates how their visions for a free, democratic
China fared in the initial years after the founding of the People's
Republic, briefly thriving only to founder as artists had to adapt
to the Communist Party's demand to produce ideologically correct
works. Bridging the faith play and "antiparty plays" of the 1950s,
the "red classics" of the 1960s, and their reincarnations in the
postsocialist period, she considers the transformations of the
depictions of women, peasants, soldiers, scientists, and
revolutionary history in plays, operas, and films and examines how
the market economy, collective memories, star culture, social
networks, and state sponsorship affected dramatic productions.
Countering the view that state interference stifles artistic
imagination, Chen argues that theater professionals have skillfully
navigated shifting ruling ideologies to create works that are
politically acceptable yet aesthetically ingenious. Emphasizing the
power, dynamics, and complexities of Chinese performance cultures,
Performing the Socialist State has implications spanning global
theater, comparative literature, political and social histories,
and Chinese cultural studies.
General
Imprint: |
Columbia University Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
February 2023 |
Authors: |
Xiaomei Chen
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152mm (L x W) |
Format: |
Hardcover - Trade binding
|
Pages: |
384 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-231-19776-2 |
Categories: |
Books >
Arts & Architecture >
General
|
LSN: |
0-231-19776-4 |
Barcode: |
9780231197762 |
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