Chinese Opera: Images and Stories (review)

Reviews 549 third volume, this first volume in itselfis interesting and useful regardless of whedier one agrees totally with the philosophical assumptions. Having read it, I look forward to the next two volumes. Tan Sor Hoon University ofHawai'i at Mänoa Sor-Hoon Tan is a senior tutor with the National University ofSingapore, currently doing researchfor her doctoral degree at the University ofHawai'i. She is working on a dissertation comparing classical Confucianism and thephilosophy ofJohn Dewey. m Siu Wang-Ngai with Peter Lovrick. Chinese Opera: Images and Stories. Vancouver: University ofBritish Columbia; Washington: University of Washington Press, 1997. xiii, 239 pp. Hardcover $45.00, isbn 0-7748-0592-7. Although he is currendy a practicing Hong Kong attorney, it seems much more likely that Siu Wang-Ngai will leave his mark in history through his contributions to the field ofvisual art. Since 1981 Siu has focused his creative energy, and his camera lens, on the documenting oflive xiqu (Chinese music drama) performances . Taking advantage of the fact that many of China's most popular and respected xiqu companies frequendy travel through Hong Kong on tour, Siu WangNgai has been able to capture on film a broad range ofxiqu forms, plays, and stage artists. A member of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, Siu's work has been featured in recent years in gallery exhibitions in Hong Kong and abroad (p. ix). It is only now, however, through the publication of Chinese Opera: Images and Stories, that a large international audience will finally gain access to the art ofSiu Wang-Ngai and die xiqu stage. In the Acknowledgments, Siu writes that from 1981 until the present the photographer has shot over thirty thousand photos oflive xiqu performances (p. ix). Included in diis publication are one hundred and eighty of these. Chinese Opera: Images and Stories is more than just a collection ofcolorful, action-packed photographs , however. It is a work that tries to capture the drama and energy ofthe xiqu stage through visual images as well as written text. Working with Siu on this© 1998 by University pUDlicati0nwas the University ofToronto's Peter Lovrick, aprofessor ofEnglish and a historian of Chinese performing arts. In addition to helping Siu lay out and organize the photographs for the publication, Lovrick has written text that gives readers a historical background to the xiqu tradition as well as accounts of the nuofHawai 'i Press 550 China Review International: Vol. 5, No. 2, Fall 1998 merous play scenes depicted in Siu's photos. Lovrick's clear and interesting writing style complements the strength and spirit of the photographic images and effectively serves to give context to Siu's visual images. In chapter 1, Lovrick gives a general overview of the history of theater in China. In his second chapter, the history and some characteristic features of thirteen of China's more than three hundred and fifty regional xiqu styles, including the well-known chuanju and Guangdong yueju forms and the lesser-known qinqiang and chaoju traditions, are briefly outlined. Although chapter 3 is titled "Conventions," Lovrick also provides a description of the instrumental makeup ofmost xiqu orchestras, as well as information on the general layout ofthe physical stage and the dramatic character-classification (jiaose) system. The vivid photographs of the actors and musicians and the detailed drawings of the instruments that accompany Lovrick's text serve to demonstrate just how sophisticated and diverse the visual and aural performance languages of the xiqu stage actually are. Chapters 4 through 12 constitute the main body of the publication. Included in these nine chapters are plot synopses of fifty-five plays including The Legend of the White Snake (Baishijuari), Night Flight (Ye ben), The Haunting ofZhang Sanlang (Huozuo Sanlang), and Peony Pavilion (Mudan ting). Because supernatural beings, scholars, and the daughters of wealthy Mandarins appear throughout the traditional xiqu repertoire, Siu and Lovrick have chosen to organize the photographs in this section of the book according to the main dramatic character(s) in each play. The titles of these nine chapters are: "Heavenly Beings," "Emperors and Their Ladies," "Generals and Warriors," "Scholars and Officials," "Wealthy Families," "Common Folk: Those Who Are Ruled," "The Religious," "Outlaws," and...