In Contemporary Chinese Avant-garde Theater

Avant-garde art is a radical expression of aesthetic modernity in artisticfields. It is a form with strong rebellious spirit and prediction. Characteristics ofavant-garde art are rebellious, innovative, prospect, native and marginal.Avant-garde theatre is a main expression of the Avant-garde art. Chineseavant-garde theatre has passed from imitated West to conscious creation by itselfin these years. Reality paradox, confusion and humanity changes have beenelucidated in the procession of the development of avant-garde theatre. Theartistic style which Chinese avant-garde theatre imitated from West is the waynecessary, because of ten years Great Cultural Revolution in china. But thissituation has been reversed in recent years along with the social environmentchanges. Chinese people have known more and more avant-garde theatreknowledge. Chinese avant-garde dramatists have derived the rich nutrition fromtraditional drama. Chinese avant-garde theatre has taken its own away.Chinese avant-garde theatres have experienced three stages. The first stageoccurred in 1979 - 1986. In this period Chinese avant-garde theatre calledexploration play. Exploration means experiment and seeking the dramatic artown moral character. Chinese avant-garde theatre embarked from "the person",carried the discussion on the human nature, displayed average persons' deeplysurvival condition and soul world versatility. They displayed the conflict betweenthe person and the person, the person and the society, the person and theenvironment, and so on. These conflicts interweaved into one complex subject,which made the people think deeply. On the other hand, they played many kindsof possibilities in artistic exploration. For example, extended the stage language,diversified dramatic structure, adopted the Chinese traditional dramas' factors.The second stage occurred in 1987 - 1989. The Chinese avant-garde theatresslide into a low point in the period. Popular culture made the theatre lose itsaudiences. Chinese avant-garde theatre confronted with challenges. Chineseavant-garde took an active part in discussion of the social culture. Theideological content of avant-garde theatre had four aspects: the ancient sourceseeking; the conflict in spirit and material; the subject of dissimilation and thesubject of lonely. The artistic characteristics of Chinese avant-garde theatre filled with incredible feeling, decreased the play plot, broke the play expression,and overflowed the traditional element.Chinese avant-garde theatres have entered upon its third stage since 1990.Popular culture becomes the mainstream, the market economy has launchedcomprehensively. They enter the people's life and affect the people's survivalcondition, change the people's life style. Now, the popular culture floodseverywhere. The seeing and hearing sense occupy the world and become theleader of the culture. The thought drop away step by step. Chinese avant-gardedramatists make much more attempt to change the existing. They carry thediscussion which revolved the love subject, the paradox subject and therevolutionary subject. They destroy the play expression, overflow traditionalelement, deconstruct the classics, use many parody factors, subvert the theatres'plot and deny the significance of scripts, even the important characteristics.Chinese avant-garde theatre goes ahead of the Chinese drama forever. It ischaracterized by prospect, creative and openness.