Women in Traditional Chinese Theater: The Heroine's Play

by Qian Ma, Guan Hanqing (Contribution by), Zheng Guangzu (Contribution by), Xu Wei (Contribution by), Wu Weiye (Contribution by)

Overview

Women in Traditional Chinese Theatre seeks to introduce Western readers to Chinese classical drama as well as investigate how women have traditionally been portrayed on stage by presenting original translations of six plays from the fourteenth to twentieth centuries. Framed with a comprehensive introduction to the Chinese theatre and its representation of women, each play is preceded by an interpretative summary of the plot, and an analysis of each play's theme and significance. The selections in this volume feature women representing the most popular female archetypes in Chinese literature: the paragon of virtue, the stoic sufferer, the faithful wife, the femme fatal, and others. Appealing to both scholars and general enthusiasts of theatre, literature, and women's studies, this book reveals how the cultural constructs of Chinese women are represented in dramatic literature, and how the theatre, in turn, shapes this representation into the cultural perception of women.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781461693956
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	08/17/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	326
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Qian Mais Associate Professor of English at Roanoke College. She received her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Emory University.

Table of Contents

1 Preface
2 Introduction: A Historical Sketch; Plot, Theme, Form, and Style; Chinese Women and Their Representation on Stage
Chapter 3 Injustice to Dou E (Dou E yuan): Guan Hanqing
Chapter 4 Qiannu's Soul Leaves Her Body (Qiannu li hun): Zheng Guangzu
Chapter 5 Mulan (Ci Mulan): Xu Wei
Chapter 6 Spring Pavilian (Lin chun ge): Wu Weiye
Chapter 7 Laughter in a Flour Barrel (Miangang ziao): Tang Ying
Chapter 8 The Girl Who Marries a Princess (Nu fuma): Lu Hongfei
9 Bibliography
10 Glossary of Chinese Characters

Editorial Reviews

Ma clearly describes the preeminent importance of female chastity in the ethical codes of Imperial China, showing how several of the play's heroines, though violating other societal expectations, do so in order to protect their chastity and so ultimately serve the gendered political order. The collection seems most appropriate to women's studies courses since, as a whole, it provides a fascinating overview of representations of women on the xiqu stage.

Asian Theatre Journal - Megan Evans

Ma clearly describes the preeminent importance of female chastity in the ethical codes of Imperial China, showing how several of the play's heroines, though violating other societal expectations, do so in order to protect their chastity and so ultimately serve the gendered political order. The collection seems most appropriate to women's studies courses since, as a whole, it provides a fascinating overview of representations of women on the xiqu stage.--Megan Evans, Victoria University of Wellington "Asian Theatre Journal "

Ma's new anthology of English translations of xiqu (Chinese Opera) plays is a welcome addition to existing resources. ...[the] translations are engagingly readable and provide a fascinating overview of female characters in traditional xiqu.--Megan Evans, University of Hawai'i Manoa "China Review International "

From the Publisher

Ma's new anthology of English translations of xiqu (Chinese Opera) plays is a welcome addition to existing resources. ...[the] translations are engagingly readable and provide a fascinating overview of female characters in traditional xiqu.
— Megan Evans, University of Hawai'i Manoa

China Review International

Ma clearly describes the preeminent importance of female chastity in the ethical codes of Imperial China, showing how several of the play's heroines, though violating other societal expectations, do so in order to protect their chastity and so ultimately serve the gendered political order. The collection seems most appropriate to women's studies courses since, as a whole, it provides a fascinating overview of representations of women on the xiqu stage.
— Megan Evans, Victoria University of Wellington

Asian Theatre Journal