A Study Of Adaptation Of Shakespearean Plays In Traditional Chinese Operas

Since the turn of the 20^th century when the introduction of Shakespeare plays was initiated in China,the traditional Chinese opera,most conventional form of performance in China,has been enjoying an amazing and increasingly interwoven relationship with Shakespeare plays.This present thesis first combs elaborately through detailed information on traditional Chinese operas that are performed,domesticated and adapted from Shakespeare plays,then analyzes philosophies and techniques that traditional Chinese operas employed in both stage performance and written domestication and adaptation of Shakespearean counterparts,and accordingly discusses the meanings,gains and losses,in the hope of providing valuable summary of experience and practical proposals for further reference regarding prospective performance,domestication and adaptation from western drama or stories into traditional Chinese opera.Part one of the present thesis comprehensively illustrates the evolution of Shakespeare plays on the stage of traditional Chinese opera,divides distinctive phases according to their internal logical characteristics and ups and downs they are subjected to on the stage,and probes into inseparable historical,political and cultural reasons behind it.Part two overviews the principles and techniques exploited in the domestication and adaptation process by means of close textual reading,during which original versions of Shakespeare plays and domesticated written ones are comparatively analyzed.First,Shakespeare plays feature abundant mythological allusions and rational thinking based on philosophic wisdom.Therefore,the former has been removed inevitably while the latter has been replaced with emotional expressions,which are more typical of Chinese traditional operas.Second,adapted and domesticated plays focus more on main characters with marginal plots omitted in contrast to the manifold clues and striking length in original works.Third,shouldering the responsibility of folk enlightenment,Chinese traditional operas integrate conventional ethics and moral standards into the adaptation,which fulfills a smooth translation from the West to the Oriental in terms of cultural meanings.Part three discusses the stage performance of the domesticated and adapted Shakespeare plays from the perspective of visual presentation.Traditional Chinese operas are characterized by hundreds of thousands of years of history and established stage performance procedures,but facing substantially different western stories,some mechanized stage performance formats have to be broken,though passed down from generations to generations.Besides,admittedly,it is understandable and unavoidable to adopt western stage elements and contemporary emerging stage techniques into the domestication and adaptation,which in the first place originates from the mutual merging of two theatre branches.Part four elucidates,on the basis of part two and part three,the meanings,gains and losses of the performance,domestication and adaptation of Shakespeare plays.From the view of theatre spread and inheritance,the domestication and adaption process contributes to not only a wider overseas audience,but also a more diversified range of conventional opera characters as well as theatre-related views and values'making advance with the times.Meanwhile,shortcomings in the process,such as the fading of the spirit of tragicomedy and the absence of reflection on complexity of human nature,can't be ignored,which deserve as much attention from prospective playwrights.The closing part,based on objective facts,summarizes and makes comments on the practical significance and necessity of performing,domesticating and adapting Shakespeare plays into Chinese operas,and presents concrete suggestions on traditional Chinese opera's inheritance and internationalization that the reviving of traditional Chinese opera should be accomplished by making supplements for each other the inheritance of traditional operas and the adoption of novelty in western drama.