Download 01:165:246 Chinese Drama and Performing Arts

01:165:264 Chinese Drama & Performing Arts
Asian Languages and Cultures
Rutgers University
Professor Dietrich Tschanz
Fall 2011
Course Description:
This course is designed as a survey of the Chinese theatrical tradition from its origins through the early 20th
century. The main emphasis of the course is on Chinese drama as a performing art. Therefore, we will read
the dramatic texts specifically for their theatrical aspects and interpret these texts within the context of the
theatrical spaces, situations, and practices of the time when they were written and produced. All readings
are in English.
The course consists of several components:
1. lectures in which I will provide an outline history of Chinese drama from its origins to the
early 20th century
2. analysis and interpretation of dramatic texts (in class)
3. analysis and interpretation of videotaped performances of select acts from our readings (in
class)
4. individual and group exercises in the analysis and interpretation of both dramatic texts and
videotaped performances (in the form of homework assignments)
Course Objectives:
After completing this course, students will be able to:
 name the most important dramatic texts and playwrights of the Chinese theatrical tradition and
provide an outline of the development of Chinese drama
 analyze and interpret Chinese dramatic texts using a variety of methodologies and critical
approaches commonly used in the field of Chinese drama/theater studies
 identify what makes the Chinese theatrical performance tradition unique among the world’s major
performance traditions (Greco-Roman, Indian, Japanese, and Southeast Asian)
 deploy current information technologies to gather, select, analyze, and critically assess information
(primary and secondary sources) related to performances of Chinese/East-Asian theater in the U.S.
 apply standard documentation styles such as MLA or APA to demonstrate that they understand
how and why sources need to be properly cited as part of the research process
The course meets the following Core Curriculum goals:
II: Areas of Inquiry
C: Arts and the Humanities
p. Analyze arts and/or literatures in themselves and in relation to specific histories,
values, languages, cultures, and technologies. (Note: already approved)
The course also meets the following departmental learning goals for East Asian Languages and Area
Studies (214):
Majors will be able to demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the literature and culture of one or more
East Asian countries (China, Japan, Korea); effectively use tools (reference works, etc.) and
technology appropriate to learning an East Asian language; and, analyze issues concerning East
Asia and relate them to other areas in the humanities and social sciences following an
interdisciplinary approach.
Frequency and Place of Meetings:
The class meets twice a week, Mondays and Wednesdays 5th period (2:50 pm - 4:10 pm), in Scott Hall 119.
Instructor:
Dietrich Tschanz
Scott Hall 337
Office hours: Monday 12 noon - 1 pm and by appointment
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Email: [email protected]
Phone: (732) 932-5596 (O)
Class Website:
Sakai (https://sakai.rutgers.edu/portal)
Attendance and Participation:
Attendance and participation in class discussion are important components of this course and can make a
substantial difference in your final grade. Absences can be excused only if you are sick (please provide
doctor’s note) or you observe a religious holiday.
Assignments:
Assignments for this class include: four 5-page papers; one group assignment (including oral presentation
and 10-page research paper); and a number of small homework assignments.
These assignments are due on the date they are listed in the schedule.
Mid-Term:
The mid-term examination will consist of three parts: 1. a section in which you will be asked to list items
for a particular topic 2. a section in which you will be asked to define or discuss certain key terms; and 3.
an essay section in which I will ask you to write on the content, form, or other aspects of the material we
covered in class.
Final:
The final follows the same format as the mid-term. Although it will be not cumulative, there will be certain
questions for which you will have to make connections between later and earlier material.
Grading:
Class attendance and participation: 10%
Homework Assignments: 5%
Group Assignment: 10%
Essay Assignments: 25%
Mid-term: 25%
Final 25%
Required Texts:
Stephen H. West and Wilt L. Idema, trans. Monks, Bandits and Immortals: Eleven Early Chinese Plays.
Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2010. ISBN-13: 978-1-60384-200-6
Tang Xianzu. The Peony Pavilion. Trans. Cyril Birch. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002.
ISBN-13: 978-0253215277
These books will be available at the Rutgers Bookstore in Ferren Mall (opposite of NJ Transit Train
Station). All other texts will be available in electronic format on the Sakai website for this class under
“Resources”.
Course Schedule for 264 Chinese Drama
West/Idema = Stephen H. West and Wilt L. Idema, trans. Monks, Bandits and Immortals
Sakai = Class website on Sakai (https://sakai.rutgers.edu/portal)
Week/Session
Week 1
W 9/7
Th 9/8
Week 2
M 9/12
Main Topic
Reading & Writing Assignments
Introduction
The Chinese Actor and
Actor Training
Gai, Jiaotian. "How I first learned to act" (Sakai)
Video: Excerpts from "Farewell My Concubine" (in class)
The Chinese Stage
Mei Lanfang. "Hegemon King Says Farewell to His Queen."
Please read Scenes 1 through 7 (Sakai)
"Types of Stages from the Yuan Through the Qing Dynasty"
(Sakai)
2
Video: Excerpts from "Farewell My Concubine" (in class)
The Female
Impersonator
Hu Shi, "Mei Lan-fang and the Chinese Drama" (Sakai)
"What the Chinese See in Mei Lan-fang" (Sakai)
"The Origin and Place of the Female Impersonator in the
Chinese Drama" (Sakai)
Senelick, “China Trade” (Sakai)
M 9/19
Mei Lanfang’s U.S.
Tour of 1930
Mei Lanfang. "Hegemon King Says Farewell to His Queen."
Please read Scenes 8 and 9 (Sakai)
Chi Ju-Shan. "A Brief Consideration of the Outstanding
Peculiarities of the Old Chinese Drama" (Sakai)
VCD: Excerpts from Mei Lanfang's performance of
"Hegemon King Says Farewell to His Queen" (1957) (in
class)
W 9/21
Group 1: Critical review of Mei Lanfang's New York
performances in 1930
The Origins of Chinese Theater
Huangpu Chongqing, “Nuo Theatre in Guizhou Province”
Local Opera Traditions
(Sakai)
in Rural Areas
"Chronological Chart of the Different Elements in Chinese
Theatre" (Sakai)
W 9/14
Week 3
Essay 1: Analysis of Queen Yu's Character in "Hegemon
King"
Week 4
M 9/26
W 9/28
Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) Theatre
Guan Hanqing. "Lord Guan Goes to the Feast." Please read
Between Ritual and
Acts 1-3 (Sakai)
Theatre
Dale Johnson. "The Poetic and Musical Structure of the
Yuan Variety Play" (Sakai)
Read Act 4 of "Lord Guan Goes to the Feast" (Sakai)
Cont.
Group 2: Critical review of the performance of David Henry
Hwang’s play M. Butterfly (1988)
Week 5
M 10/3
W 10/5
Yuan Stage and
Performance Practices
Courtroom Plays
“Zhongli of Han Leads Lan Caihe to Enlightenment.” Please
read all four acts in West/Idema, pp. 291-313.
Guan Hanqing. "Moving Heaven and Shaking Earth: The
Injustice to Dou E." Please read Prologue and Acts 1-2 in
West/Idema, pp. 9-24
Week 6
M 10/10
Cont.
Guan Hanqing. ""Moving Heaven and Shaking Earth: The
Injustice to Dou E." Please read Acts 3-4 in West/Idema, pp.
24-36
W 10/12
Love Comedy
Week 7
M 10/17
Love Tragicomedy
Group 3: Bertolt Brecht and Chinese Drama
Guan Hanqing. “The Beauty Pining in Her Boudoir: The
Pavilion for Praying to the Moon.” Please read all four acts
of the play in West/Idema, pp.83-104.
Bai Pu. “The Autumn Nights of the Lustrous Emperor of the
Tang: Rain on the Wutong Tree.” Please read all four acts of
the play in West/Idema, pp. 113-154.
3
W 10/19
Love Tragedy
Review for Midterm
Week 8
M 10/24
W 10/26
Essay 2: The Relationship between Individual and Family in
Chinese Drama
Ma Zhiyuan. “Breaking a Troubling Dream: A Lone Goose
in Autumn over the Palaces of Han.” Please read all four acts
of the play in West/Idema, pp. 161-194
Midterm Exam
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) Theatre
Brief Review of Mid-term
Southern Plays (Nanxi)
Gao Ming (1305-1368). The Lute. Please read the Prologue
and Scenes 19, 20, and 24 (Sakai)
Week 9
M 10/31
Cont.
Gao Ming. The Lute. Please read Scene 28 (Sakai)
Video: Excerpts from a performance of Scene 28 (in class)
W 11/2
Cont.
Gao Ming. The Lute. Please read Scenes 34 and 36 (CP 163170)
Group 4: Critical review of Sidney Howard and Bill Irwin’s
adaptation of Lute Song (1946)
W 11/9
Ming Dynasty Marvel
Tale Plays (Chuanqi)
Cont.
Tang Xianzu. The Peony Pavilion. Please read Scenes 1-3, 78
Tang Xianzu. The Peony Pavilion. Please read Scenes 9, 10,
and 12.
DVD: Excerpts from the New York production of The Peony
Pavilion (in class)
Video: Performance of "Pursuing the Dream"
Week 11
M 11/14
Cont.
Tang Xianzu. The Peony Pavilion. Please read Scenes 14, 16,
23, 24.
W 11/16
Cont.
Week 10
M 11/7
Essay 3: The Use of Imagery in Chinese Drama
Tang Xianzu. The Peony Pavilion. Please read Scenes 28, 35,
36, 48, 53, and 55.
Group 5: Critical Review of Chen Shi-zheng's New York
Production of The Peony Pavilion (1999)
Week 12
M 11/21
W 11/23
Week 13
M 11/28
W 11/30
Week 14
M 12/5
W 12/7
Xu Wei. “Mulan.” (Sakai)
Late Ming and Early
Wu Weiye. “Spring Pavilion.” (Sakai)
Qing Variety Play
Thanksgiving Recess.
No Class.
Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) Theater
Hong Sheng. The Palace of Eternal Youth (Sakai)
Love Tragicomedy
Hong Sheng. The Palace of Eternal Youth (Sakai)
Cont.
Cont.
Cont.
Hong Sheng. The Palace of Eternal Youth (Sakai)
Hong Sheng. The Palace of Eternal Youth (Sakai)
Group 6: Western Perceptions of Traditional Chinese Drama
Week 15
M 12/12
Fr 12/23
Review & Conclusion
Final Exam
Friday, December 23, 2011, 12 noon-3:00 pm
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