Abstract
Through a dialogical—although sometimes insufficient—encounter with Western theatre, traditional Chinese theatre is argued here to have been compelled to transform its aesthetics. The result is either generation of productive and probably lasting new aesthetic paradigms, problematic narcissism, or an uncritical imposition of Western aesthetics. The fundamental issue involved in this is an emphasis on self-subjectivity, based on thorough and thoughtful appreciation of both Chinese and Western traditions. Starting from this premise, the Chinese can find an appropriate place between tradition and modernity, China and the world. To push further ideas in previous chapters, the conclusion offers an analysis of Tangshahui Handan Meng (The Shakespearean Handan Dream), a collaborative work between Jiangsu Kun Opera Theatre and British artists, to celebrate the quatercentenary of the death of Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu. It contends that this co-production signals a shift of intercultural appropriation strategy since the current reign of Xi Jinping, during which China explicitly valorizes cultural confidence and cultural expansion.
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09 January 2021
The book was inadvertently published with a few incorrect sentences. The corrections have now been carried out as follows:
Notes
- 1.
For a detailed introduction and critical analysis, see Wang Xiaoying’s work (X. Wang 2018).
- 2.
In her article Joubin also discusses Britain’s motivation and strategies of globalizing Shakespeare in 2016 (Joubin 2019). However, this is not the focus of my discussion here.
- 3.
‘Kunju’ and ‘kunqu’ are both used in Chinese to name Kun opera, with various preferences. In this book kunju is used to be consistent with other such as chuanju and jingju.
- 4.
Interestingly, though Miguel de Cervantes also died in 1616, the Chinese state seemed not so interested in juxtaposing him with Tang Xianzu. This is probably not only because he is not a dramatist, but also because he commands a little less international cultural capital than Shakespeare.
- 5.
According to its official website, the Nanjing Week ‘is a series of promotional events for Nanjing organized by Nanjing Municipal Committee and Nanjing Municipal Government under the guidance of the state strategy “Chinese Culture go global” as a way to help “Nanjing go global”.’ Since 2015, ‘a world-renowned city will be chosen each year as the site for a series of cultural exchange events’, and the week with London took place during September 19–25, 2016, when Ke Jun’s troupe took advantage of the government’s support. See http://www.nanjingweek.com//brand/.
- 6.
Mary Mazzilli also offers the critique that, since it is ‘reliant on academic funding and the support of institutions with strong political links, such as the Confucius institute, this project [namely, the Shakespeare-Tang Project in Leeds] is not totally immune to cultural and political agendas of using the arts and theatre as a form of promotion of soft power’ (Mazzilli 2019, 290). She also observes that ‘some strong political and economic global interests affect cultural exchange and artistic creations’ (Mazzilli 2019, 297). But for national cultures to thrive or exchange, it is almost impossible to be solely financially independent. One way or another, political or economic interests will interpolate themselves.
- 7.
Fu Jin is the chief proponent of xiqu preservation among Chinese scholars. According to him, the twentieth century xiqu has undergone three major impacts: from the dominant West in the New Culture Movement, during Mao’s regime, and in the post-Mao era that has been marked by experimental plays. All of them intended to ‘reform or even replace the historical Chinese theatrical culture with Western theatre,’ which has led to the consequence that ‘tradition exists in the form of fragments’ (Fu 2008, 334). Thus, under such circumstances, preservation should be prioritized over ‘excessive innovation blind to specific circumstances and objects’ (Fu 2008, 112).
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Feng, W. (2020). Conclusion. In: Intercultural Aesthetics in Traditional Chinese Theatre. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40635-6_6
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