A Study On The Activities Of Shanghai's Peking Opera During The Reigns Of Tongzhi And Guangxu

A Study on the Activities of Shanghai's Peking Opera during the Reigns of Tongzhi and GuangxuAccording to the basic sequences of historical development,this dissertation thematically summarizes certain important issues of the activities of Shanghai's Peking Opera during the Reigns of Tongzhi and Guangxu.This dissertation has five chapters.It reads as follows.Chapter One is a study on the historical changes of Peking Opera House in Shanghai.The famous "Four Opera House" for Shanghai's Peking Opera are "Dangui","Jingui","Tianxian",and "Daguan" Opera House.The history of their changes is a concentrate reflection of the history of Shanghai's Peking Opera during the Reigns of Tongzhi and Guangxu.The first three sections respectively study the four Opera houses.The last section describes certain small Opera Houses.Chapter Two focuses on the management of Opera Houses.It was based on the unit of each Opera House that Shanghai's Peking Opera realized its innovational development and actors carried on their performances.Moreover,Shanghai's modern characteristics fully revealed themselves in the management of Opera Houses.The first section discusses the unified management system of Shanghai's Opera Houses and theatrical troupes.It also describes the development of the challenging system against famous performers.The second section is about the publicity and promotional activities of the Opera Houses.They consciously took full advantages of modern media,which was a distinguished difference between Shanghai's Peking Opera and that of Peking.Focusing on the prohibitions and performances of "Erotic Operas",the third section surveys the game of prohibition and anti-prohibition attitudes among officials,literates,and Opera Houses.This section also provides a preliminary answer for a question which has confused many scholars in the past,that is,why Peking Opera was more prosperous in spite of more prohibitions.Chapter Three surveys the historical development of Shanghai's Peking Opera, which competed and combined with other operas on stage and finally formed a distinguished style which was described as "all rivers run into sea".The three sections respectively analyses Peking Opera's combining process with Kun Opera,Hui Opera and Dapper Opera. Chapter Four studies the origination,development and evolvement of Colored Lantern Opera and Continuing Grand Opera.These two innovations were defined as the founding symbols of the School of Shanghai's Peking Opera.Served as indispensable signs of Shanghai's Peking Opera,their appearance reflected Shanghai's modern characteristics.Chapter Five analyses the creative features of new scenarios of Shanghai's Peking Opera.The first section analyses the creation of new history operas.The second section discusses the creation of meliorated Peking Operas.One undeniable fact is that more classic works were produced in new history operas,which absorbed merits from traditional operas and loaded spirits of the age.Meanwhile,taking political propagandizing as the first goal,meliorated operas were doomed to fail in the aesthetic aspect.