The Contemporary Chinese Historical Drama

Four Studies

Bibliographic Data

ID7529281
AuthorsRudolf G Wagner (0009-0007-2565-5758, corresponding author)
Year1990
Publication date1990-12-31
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenueContemporary Chinese Historical Drama (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherUniversity of California Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1525/9780520337817
OpenAlexW3135312365
ISBN9780520337817
Open LibraryOL50702515M
LanguageEN
Citations received12

China's "Great Leap Forward" of 1958-1961 was a time of official rejoicing over the achievements of Communism, but it was also a time of immense suffering. Growing dissent among intellectuals stimulated creativity as writers sought to express both their hope for the success of the revolution and their dissatisfaction with the Party leadership and policies. But the uneasy political climate and the state's control over literature prevented writers from directly addressing the compelling problems of the time. Rather, they resorted to a variety of sophisticated and time-honored forms for airing their grievances, including the historical drama. Rudolf Wagner examines three of these plays written and performed between 1958 and 1963 in an effort to decode their hidden political and cultural meanings. He also provides a broad survey of the politics of the historical drama in China, suggesting further avenues of inquiry into the relationship between literature and the state

Art · Drama · Literature · Asian Culture and Media Studies · History · 20th century · china · Chinese drama · Chinese drama, history and criticism · Chinese Historical drama · History and criticism · Politics and literature

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