Secrets of the Chinese Drama

A COMPLETE EXPLANATORY GUIDE TO ACTIONS AND SYMBOLS AS SEEN IN THE PERFORMANCE OF CHINESE DRAMAS by CECILIA S. L. ZUNG. With Synopses of Fifty Popular Chinese Plays and 240 illustrations. PLAY. The Heroic Maid Cheng Yen-tsius Writing a of Explanation. IF I remember rightly, I was taken to the theatre, when I was a child not more than four years old. My interest in the Chinese drama has grown with my years. No matter how heavy my days programme has been I fall under the spell of good plays, especially those in which a tan see p. 37 takes the leading part. Though my friends are not surprised to hear me boasting that there is not a single play in the repertoire of Mei Lan-fang 1f ffi, Chinas most famous female impersonator, and his pupil, Cheng Yen-tsiu H 5 t, which I have not seen, yet they do reprimand me for being so foolish as to continue attending the same performances by the same actors. With such fondness for the theatre I would have written earlier on Chinese drama had I not been overcome by the great difficulty of putting into a foreign language the complicated technique of acting on the Chinese stage, and the feeling of my lack in literary style. To the best of my knowledge no one else has attempted to interpret in English the Chinese stage technique. And now, it is only through the strong encouragement and help of interested friends that I have ventured to undertake this work. Here I wish to make the following acknowledgments and explana tions 1. Most of the material in Part II has been collected by Professor J. S. Chi jf in tU but the gestures were personally demon strated for me by Mei Lan-fang. 2. Dr. Mei has kindly permitted me to use his pictures to illustrate some of the more interesting movements. In addition there are some other movements interpreted by other artists and by myself. 3. I desire to express my gratitude to the firm of T. Chuang, Architects, Shanghai, for the theatre plans see pp. 7-l i which they have drawn for me. 4. The pictures of the musical instruments, stage properties, and painted-faces are reprinted by courtesy of Professor Chi. 5. Because of the unusual length and scope of the technique of Chinese drama it is impractical to treat the subject as a whole. Therefore, I have chosen to emphasize tan only, the role in which I am particularly interested. 6. My hearty thanks are due Professor Lelia J. Tuttle and Miss Jean F. Craig for their indispensable help in the choice of English phrase and idiom, and Dr. Mei and Professor Chi for leading me into a deeper study of the technique of Chinese drama. CKOIUA S. L. Zvvai. Shanghai, China, December, 1936. rerace THE English reading public will certainly greet the appearance of this book on Chinese drama with a warm welcome. The subject dealt with is very interesting, and at the same time very intricate. To the uninitiated foreigner, his first experience in a Chinese theatre will probably be intensely fascinating. But the peculiarities and strangeness which produce the charm, create also an atmosphere of bewilderment. Intelligent appreciation, which gives real delight, will come only when he shall have had his first lessons in Chinese drama, and shall have thus acquired a knowledge of the basic principles guiding the Chinese playwright and the essential features controlling stage production. In setting, plot, and technique, the Chinese drama differs in many respects from that given on the stage of western countries. One fund amental conception t o be noted at the very outset is the fact that the Chinese drama is thought of as having a higher mission than merely to entertain and amuse. It therefore appeals not only to the senses, but seeks also through the avenue of thought and reflection, to expound the meaning of life...