Drama Kings: Players and Publics in the Re-creation of Peking Opera, 1870-1937

385 Pages·2007·19.988 MB·English

by  Joshua Goldstein

Drama Kings
The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous
contribution to this book provided by the Asian Studies
Endowment Fund of the University of California Press
Foundation.
Drama Kings
Players and Publics in the Re-creation
of Peking Opera, 1870–1937
Joshua Goldstein
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
Berkeley • Los Angeles • London
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University of California Press
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University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
© 2007 by The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Goldstein, Joshua, 1965–
Drama kings : players and publics in the re-creation
of Peking opera, 1870–1937 / Joshua Goldstein.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN978-0-520-24752-9 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Theater—China—Beijing—History. 2. Operas,
Chinese—China—Beijing—History. 3. Mei, Lanfang,
1894–1961. I. Title.
PN2876.B37G652007
792.0951'156—dc22 2006036179
Manufactured in the United States of America
15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is printed on Natures Book, which contains
50% post-consumer waste and meets the minimum
requirements of ANSI/NISOZ39.48–1992 (R1997)
(Permanence of Paper).
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
Part One. (Re)Framing the Genre,
1870–1919
1. Late Qing Institutions of Peking Opera 17
2. From Teahouse to Playhouse 55
3. The Experimental Stage, 1895–1920 89
4. May Fourth Realism and Qi Rushan’s Theory
of National Drama 134
Part Two. Peking Opera to
National Drama, 1920–1937
5. Landscape and Figure, Nation and Character 175
6. The Limits of Reform 209
7. The Gendering of National Culture, Or,
The Only Good Woman is a Man 237
8. Nationalization through Iconification 264
Epilogue 291
Notes 297
Bibliography 335
Index 355
Illustrations
Additional illustrations, keyed to the chapters of this book, and a
glossary of Chinese characters, are posted at http://www-ref.usc.edu/
~jlgoldst
1. Tan Xinpei 25
2. The Four Famous Dan,from Northern Pictorial 42
3. Lithograph of teahouse brawl, by Wu Youru 59
4. Teahouse floor plan 64
5. Guangxu-era teahouse 65
6. Seating at the Reform Customs Theater 82
7. Mei Lanfang in contemporary dress as title character in
Deng Xiagu 120
8. Mei Lanfang in contemporary dress as Li Renfen in
A Thread of Hemp 121
9. Mei Lanfang in (new) ancient costume in The Goddess
Scatters Flowers 124
10. Mei Lanfang in (new) ancient costume as in A Thousand
Pieces of Gold for a Smile 125
11. Shang Xiaoyun as Bojidi inModengjia Girl 166
12. Advertisement for Mei Lanfang cigarettes 203
13. Chart of dan roles from late Qing to the Republic 248
vii
14. Xun Huisheng as Li Feng in Meilong Town 253
15. Cheng Yanqiu as Zhang Huizhu in Tears on a Barren
Mountain 261
16. Mei Lanfang riding with Mayor James Rolph in
San Franscisco 274
17. Mei Lanfang at reception in Hawaii 274
18. Mei Lanfang receiving honorary doctorate from
Pomona College 275
19. Set of stamps commemorating Mei Lanfang, 1962 293
Acknowledgments
As with many other aspects of my life, my karmic debts as an academic
are beyond my capacity to summarize in these acknowledgments, much
less actually repay. I would have to begin, however, with my mentors and
classmates at the University of California, San Diego. Joseph Esherick
and Paul Pickowicz demonstrated patience bordering on the masochistic
when they decided to accept a fidgety welfare advocate into their pro-
gram with the hope of making him into a Chinese historian. I’m still hop-
ing to become one some day, and continue to rely on their advice and
scholarly acumen in pursuing that goal. Dorothy Ko opened intellectual
doors for me that I would never have thought to look behind and has
provided insights from a conceptual plane that I am occasionally able to
glimpse but will never be able to attain. Takashi Fujitani was incredibly
generous with his time, energy, and guidance, particularly during some
unexpectedly trying moments. Masao Miyoshi, James Holston, George
Lipsitz, Lisa Lowe, and Suzanne Cahill were great teachers who helped
me form the basic ideas behind my research.
As important as these mentors were in training me, my classmates
were even more so in sustaining me. Conversations with Madeleine
Yue Dong and Michael Chang have been invaluable, and both of them
have tried their best to save me from intellectual embarrassment. Sue
Fernsebner, Xiao Zhiwei, Andrew Morris, Eric Cazdyn, Elena Songster,
Cecily McCaffrey, Liu Lu, Mark Eykholt, Wang Liping, and Julie
ix