Identifying With And Deviating From Civil Society

During the Anti-Japanese War period,The Long-Live-China Theatrical Troupe(hereafter referred to as LLCT),The Central Film Studio Theatrical Troupe(hereafter referred to as CFSTT)and The Central Youth Theatrical Troupe(hereafter referred to as CYTT)were the three most well-known KMT official theatrical troupes in Chongqing.They have their places in the rear's theatrical history of anti-Japanese war for their four Fog Season's performances in public during 1941-1945.This paper is a specific research on LLCT,CFSTT and CYTT.Taking "specialization","socialization" and "marketization" as criteria,the Preface organizes the professionalized performance history of LLCT,CFSTT and CYTT,which clarifies that professionalizing official theatrical troupes in 1940s is a complicated process of freeing themselves from official bondage and seeking mutual recognition with civil society.What's more,LLCT,CFSTT and CYTT achieved their soul as "hidden" recognition with civil society among the process,which became a driving force for these troupes' development.The cultural policy of Southern Division of the Communist Party of China(SDCPC)functioned as a guide during the whole process,but the collaboration of KMT's then theatre policy and management system of departments responsible for official theatrical troupes blocked official theatrical troupes from getting close to the civil society,all of these forced official theatrical troupes to approach the civil society in a "hidden" way.Chapter One deplores why LLCT,CFSTT and CYTT were established and abolished.During the early Anti-Japanese War period,Kuomintang set up many official theatrical troupes to publicize "resist Japanese invaders and create new China".With changes of war situation and internal political situation,KMT took up its dictatorship of "one-party state",which was against "Political Democracy" and "Protection of People's Livelihood".But the professionalized official theatrical troupes got closer to the civil society,so they staged a series of civil plays that seemed to identify with the political state but "challenges" enclosed within,which was the cause for them to be abolished.After the win of the Anti-Japanese War,CFSTT and CYTT were dissolved for their huge loss from performances;LLCT was reserved as a tool to suppress rebellions.Thus the truth was brought out that KMT only took official theatrical troupes as their tools to publicize its party ideology,once the tool was in the suspicion of malfunction,it was to be abolished.Chapter Two discourses upon the "deepening" and "weakening" of official theatrical troupes' professionalization.At the end of the year 1941,LLCT,CFSTT and CYTT went further a lot toward professionalization due to the survival crisis."Professionalization" challenged official theatrical troupes' management system,and deeply "socialized" and "marketized" their mechanism,functions and forms of organization,which was shown in the diversified capital turnover and players' income,in the socialization of theatrical troupes and the professionalization of individual dramatist and player,in the tendency of "civil society" in their plays at the eve of civil war.However,the collaborated restrictions of KMT's then theatre policy and management system of departments responsible for theatrical troupes led to "severe performance shortage" and "huge expenses",and what followed was "the overstaffed"and "the performance loss" which shaped the official theatrical troupes at the late war period.Chapter Three mainly discourses upon whether plays of political mission should be "staged or not" during the late Anti-Japanese War period.In the year 1943,Kuomintang assigned many plays of political mission to official theatrical troupes to publicize and promote Chiang kai-shek's book "China's Destiny".These plays of political mission were mainly divided into two categories:one,plays of Chen Quan of"Zhan Guo Ce Clique",whose representatives were "Wild Rose" and "Blue Butterfly";the other,"Punishing Snide Merchants Plays" of Wang Pingling and Lu Juewu who were KMT's ghost writers."Wild Rose" was criticized by Southern Division of the Communist Party of China for its identification with Kuomintang's political wills.However,its theme of "resisting Japanese invaders and punishing traitors" answered the needs of civilians,thus it was still put on by LLCT in 1943."Blue Butterfly" was resisted by LLCT for their discontent of Kuomintang's fascist management over their troupe.Dramatists and players' attitudes of the troupe toward these two kinds of mission plays displayed that the folk awareness was still penned by a backward concept of country for the need of "resisting Japanese invaders",but Kuomintang's dictatorship would accelerate the emancipation of citizens from the penning.In 1944,KMT arranged CYTT to stage "Punishing Snide Merchants Plays",but this arrangement was denied by CYTT.Different attitudes of LLCT and CYTT toward these two kinds of mission plays showed the complicated progression during which the folk awareness and government's will went through from being entangled to be absolutely against each other.The conclusion part discusses the inspirations that the state-owned theatrical troupes of today can get from the professionalization of those KMT official theatrical troupes:the importance of "pressure of survival" during the professionalization process of official theatrical troupes.If the state-owned theatrical troupes of today couldn't shake off the dependence on government's financial support,they will linger at the "weakening" professionalization,and still are mouthpieces of government's ideology.