Chinese Drama Actor Culture Research (1907-1949)

Past research on the history of modern Chinese drama has mostly emphasized dramatic text and ignored stage presentation. In recent years there has been a shift of attention in the study of drama from dramatists and their works to dramatic trends and performance, and the culturological approach to drama studies has been commonly accepted. Inquiries into the culture of drama actors constitute an important part of the culturological study of drama. Under the disciplinary framework of drama studies, such inquiries focus on a broad range of issues such as the effects of the actors’ status and cultural backgrounds on performance styles, the relationships of acting techniques with drama-production systems and dramatic trends, the interaction of actors with ideology, social life and urban culture, and the reception and dissemination of the culture of actors by the mass audience. These inquiries will help unveil more truthfully the mysteries behind dramatic activities, reconstruct a more genuine and dynamic picture of drama in its various historical phases, and provide a more colorful, multi-dimensional perspective of the history of drama. The study of drama will thus become more thorough, with more depth and detail. It will be capable of shedding more light on the future development of drama as well as on understanding society.The decades between 1907, when modern Chinese drama was born, and 1949, when the People’s Republic of China was founded, witnessed the dazzling evolution of a culture of drama actors in China. This evolution was influenced both by the growth of drama itself as an art form and by social and political changes. During those years a large number of prominent actors appeared like brilliant stars in the night sky. However, these actors have often been hidden out of view in the narratives of traditional histories of drama. This is in part due to the difficulty in preserving the work of drama actors. It is also due to the helplessness of the traditional paradigm of research with regard to the cultural characteristics of this group.The value of the culture of modern drama actors deserves to be fully explored, so that the study of the history of drama can be enriched and brought as close to historical truth as possible with rediscoveries of what was once omitted or erased. This dissertation seeks to conduct original research on the culture of drama actors from the point of view of the culturological study of drama. It uses an interdisciplinary approach which combines the methods of many academic disciplines including drama studies, performance studies, sociology, communication, mass culture, consumer culture, cultural studies, etc. The purpose of doing so is to reestablish, to the greatest possible extent, the genesis, maturation and limitations of the culture of drama actors within the specified half century. The dissertation is ultimately intended to offer a new outlook and open a new path for the future study of Chinese drama.