Books Received
Rent from DeepDyve- Books Received
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This book deals more deeply with musicological issues, but the text will have interest for theatre scholars. The two essays that are most pertintent are "Shao Binsun and Huju Traditional Opera in Shanghai" by Jonathan Stock and Shao Bisun, and "Grace Liu and Cantonese Opera in England: Becoming Chinese Overseas" by Tong Soon Lee. All the essays look at the importance of individuals in contributing to and articulating a field of performance. The essay on Shao Bisun clarifies the impact of jingju and wenmingxi (Western-influenced plays) in early twentieth-century in Shanghai. Extensive quotes from interviews about teaching and learning practices deal with the modernization of opera during the 1930s and 1940s up to and including the Cultural Revolution of 1966–1976. Tong Soon Lee's argues that Grace Liu's work in the Liverpool Cantonese Opera Society is cultural self-realiztion: "Practicing Cantonese Opera in the diaspora, then, is not merely a leisurely indulgence, but also a creative way of expressing different opportunities of being Chinese" (p. 136). The essay adds to understanding of diasporic performance practices. Other essays, focused on music and film, will be of interest to those researching minorities (Islamic, Mongolian, etc.), class, and regional differentials in Chinese arts of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Google Scholar
This text attempts a playable English translation of a zaju play. It includes a short introduction to zaju with a synopsis of the play, the translation, and an appendix that discusses "Padding Words in Zaju." The introduction hopes that this work might be produced for performance on a Western stage, but the results are mixed. The text does give a clear idea of the plot and the introduction clarifies limited aspects of zaju performance.
