The first English-language anthology that traces the centuries-long evolution of Chinese thought on theater and performance

In Shanghai in the early twentieth century, a hybrid theatrical form, wenmingxi, emerged that was based on Western spoken theatre, classical Chinese theatre, and a Japanese hybrid form known as shinpa. This book places it in the context of its hybridized literary and performance elements, giving it a definitive place in modern Chinese theatre.

First Published in 2009. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Routledge Handbook of Asian Theatre is an advanced level reference guide which surveys the rich and diverse traditions of classical and contemporary performing arts in Asia, showcasing significant scholarship in recent years. An international team of over 50 contributors provide authoritative overviews on a variety of topics across Asia, including dance, music, puppetry, make-up and costume, architecture, colonialism, modernity, gender, musicals, and intercultural Shakespeare. This volume is divided into four sections covering: Representative Theatrical Traditions in Asia. Cross-Regional Aspects of Classical and Folk Theatres. Modern and Contemporary Theatres in Asian Countries. Modernity, Gender Performance, Intercultural and Musical Theatre in Asia. Offering a cutting edge overview of Asian theatre and performance, the Handbook is an invaluable resource for academics, researchers and students studying this ever-evolving field.

Using the concept of theatricality to study Water Margin and Journey to the West, this study illustrates how writing and reading in early modern China became fused with a theatrical imagination in response to destabilizing social and political forces.

A detailed account of the cultural history of the Chinese diaspora, with a focus on the performers and audiences who were involved in the making of Chinese performing cultures in Southeast Asia. Focusing on five different kinds of theatre troupes from China and their respective travels in Singapore, Bangkok, Malaya and Hong Kong, Zhang examines their different travelling experiences and divergent cultural practices. She thus sheds light on how transnational mobility was embodied, practised and circumscribed in the course of troupes’ travelling, sojourning and interacting with diasporic communities. These troupes communicated diverse discourses and ideologies influenced by different social political movements in China, and these meanings were further altered by transmission. By unpacking multiple ways of performing Chineseness that was determined by changing time-space constructions, this volume provides valuable insight for scholars of the Chinese Diaspora, Transnational History and Performing Arts in Asia.

Investigating more than 70 key concepts relating to the performing arts in more than six non-European languages, this volume provides a groundbreaking research tool and one-of-a-kind reference source for theatre, performance and dance studies worldwide. The Companion features in-depth explorations of and expert introductions to a select number of performance-related key concepts in Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Yorùbá as well as the Indian languages Sanskrit, Hindi and Tamil. Key concepts—such as Furǧa فرجة in Arabic, for example, or Jiadingxing 假定性 in Chinese, Gei 芸 in Japanese, Ìparadà in Yorùbá and Imyeon 이면 in Korean—that defy easy translation from one language to another (and especially into English as the world’s lingua franca) and that reflect culturally specific ways of thinking and talking about the performing arts are thoroughly examined in in-depth articles. Written by more than 60 distinguished scholars from around the globe, the articles describe in detail each concept’s dynamic history, its flexible scope of meaning and current range of usage. The Companion also includes extensive introductions to each language section, in which internationally renowned experts explain how the presented key concepts are situated within, and are constitutive of, distinct and dynamic epistemic systems that have different yet always interlinked histories and orientations. Offers a fascinating insight into the unique histories, characteristics, and orientations of linguistically and culturally distinct epistemic systems related to the performative arts Contains extensive cross-references and bibliographies An invaluable research tool and one-of-a-kind reference source for scholars and students worldwide and across the humanities, especially in the fields of theatre, performance, dance, translation, area and cultural studies An accessible handbook for everybody interested in performance cultures and performance-related knowledge systems existing in the world today. This volume provides an invaluable research tool and one-of-a-kind reference source for scholars and students worldwide and across the humanities, especially in the fields of theatre, performance, dance, translation and area studies, history (of science and the humanities) and cultural studies.

The Routledge Companion to Philosophy and Music is an outstanding guide and reference source to the key topics, subjects, thinkers and debates in philosophy and music. Essential reading for anyone interested in philosophy, music and musicology.

In Kunqu: A Classical Opera of Twenty-First-Century China, Joseph S. C. Lam offers a holistic and interdisciplinary view on kunqu, a 600-year-old genre of Chinese opera that is being fashionably performed inside and outside of China. He explains how and why the genre charms and signifies Chinese culture, history, and personhood. As the first comprehensive and scholarly book on kunqu written in English, the book not only discusses the genre in cultural and historical terms but also analyzes its shows as performative, cultural, social, and political communications. It approaches the genre from several perspectives, ranging from those of performers and producers to those of casual audience, dedicated connoisseurs, and scholarly critics. Lam also employs a judicious blend of Chinese and international theories and methods. Through this comprehensive study of kunqu, Lam has established the significance of the genre not only in the sphere of Chinese music, but also among the cultural heritage and performing arts at a global level. “This work would be of terrific interest to amateur kunqu performers and to kunqu supporters. It will also be an essential reference work for scholars conducting research not only on kunqu, but on all forms of Chinese opera, particularly as they are being performed contemporarily.” —Nancy Guy, UC San Diego; author of Peking Opera and Politics in Taiwan “It is the first book-length work devoted to studying kunqu opera from historical and ethnomusicological perspectives. At the same time, the study engages various sociocultural theories and methods of humanities studies. It will be a significant addition to the scholarships of ethnomusicology, Chinese cultural history, Chinese drama, and theater/performance studies.” —Yung Sai-shing, National University of Singapore