| In the history of Chinese modern drama, the development of the Professional Drama of Shanghai is significantly representative. Its incipience, thriving and decline during the 1930s and 1940s go well beyond the history of a specific theatrical form in a local area. They serve instead as a micro-history of the development of mass culture in China during that period.In 1933, Tang Huaiqiu founded in Shanghai China's first professional modern drama troupe, the Chinese Traveling Troupe, a new development following in the footsteps of the May Fourth Movement. Shortly after, a batch of other professional drama troupes such as the Amateurs'Drama Society also appeared in Shanghai."Professionalization"subsequently became the catchphrase for the theatrical circles. The formation of a system of professional drama in Shanghai gave rise to an unprecedented boom in the realm of modern drama in that city, helping to create a brilliant group of playwrights, directors and performers as well as an audience of a remarkable size. After the outbreak of the Pacific War and the fall of Shanghai in 1941, weakened political control and intensified commercialization in the concessions of Shanghai resulted in an unusual acceleration of this professionalization process. Drama became a major form of entertainment for the average urban dweller and many famous artists began to emerge, contributing to what some historians call the drama's"abnormal boom"under the extraordinary circumstances of the time.Previous studies on the Professional Drama of Shanghai have been rather inadequate. Some published works are affected by the stereotypes of the day and lay excessive emphasis on the political factors involved. Others either deal with the subject merely from the perspective of the War of Resistance and hence adopt a mere nationalist approach in their discussions, or, due to the constraint of a uniform habit of thinking molded in the linguistic environment of past eras, simply overlook certain critical elements in the development of the drama (such as commercialization). Besides, most studies are singularly focused on textual readings of the plays, with little or no attention to the performance-related aspects.The author of this dissertation believes that the modern drama of Shanghai in the 1930s and 1940s existed primarily as a product of mass culture. Its wax and wane, though affected by factors such as change in the social formation and administration, were primarily determined by the hand of the market. The role of the then clandestine organization of the CPC in the theatrical activities of Shanghai can also be analyzed within this large framework. The current study relies heavily on firsthand documentary sources and draws also on interviews with participants and witnesses to past events in an attempt to clarify some unresolved historical issues. The author has also tried to make balanced use of Western cultural theories, including those on mass culture, and aims to accurately depict the patterns of development in the Professional Drama of Shanghai, the ways in which it became a mass consumer product andaffected the Shanghai urban life, and the role it played in the modernization of China. An attempt is made by the author to remap the theatrical landscape of Shanghai in the 1930s and 1940s.Between Introduction and Conclusion, Chapter One discusses the political and economic backgrounds against which modern drama became a product of mass culture in Shanghai. Chapter Two analyzes the commercial features of the Professional Drama of Shanghai and its productive mechanism, with particular emphasis on the role of the media in the course of its evolution. Chapter Three explores the ways in which the Professional Drama of Shanghai catered to the psychology and esthetic tastes of the urban audience, and assesses its gains and losses in doing so. Finally, Chapter Four, through an examination the theaters, troupes and drama reviews, argues that the Professional Drama of Shanghai possessed distinctive qualities of the public sphere.
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