Date of Award
2017
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Social Sciences
First Advisor
Shi, Xia
Area of Concentration
History
Abstract
This thesis looks at the development of modern Chinese theater in the twentieth-century, both as a theatrical genre and a literary historiographical category. By moving chronologically through various theatrical reform attempts by intellectuals across the political spectrum, this thesis discusses the politicization of Chinese theater, the development of hybrid mixtures of Chinese and European theater, and the creation of historiographical periods and categories. Additionally, discussing what is and is not considered a “modern” genre of theater dissects the modernity in twentieth-century Chinese culture as a post-colonial notion. After Western theater entered the Chinese consciousness in the mid-nineteenth century, Chinese dramatists began adopting and appropriating Western theatrical conventions like spoken dialogue as a modernization project. In the process, the modern versus traditional binary become established. This thesis argues that modernity in Chinese drama was the result of the disruptive appearance of Western theater, which caused Chinese intellectuals to re-categorize and rethink earlier notions of theater and its potential, turning the stage into a place where modernity could be rehearsed and performed for the masses. Intellectuals and politicians saw the creation of a modern theater for China as crucial for modernizing the Chinese citizenry, but they struggled to develop a precise way to make a modern, while still distinctly Chinese theater.
Recommended Citation
Sanford, Samantha, "IN SEARCH OF A MODERN, CHINESE THEATER: THE POLITICS OF PERFORMANCE IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY" (2017). Theses & ETDs. 5419.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/5419