The Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Drama

This condensed anthology reproduces close to a dozen plays from Xiaomei Chen's well-received original collection, along with her critical introduction to the historical, cultural, and aesthetic evolution of twentieth-century Chinese spoken drama. Comprising representative works from the People's Republic of China, the collection encapsulates the revolutionary rethinking of Chinese theater and performance that began in the late Qing dynasty and vividly portrays the uncertainty and anxiety brought on by modernism, socialism, political conflict, and war.

Chosen works from 1919 to 1990 also highlight the formation of Chinese national and gender identities during a period of tremendous social, cultural, and political change and the genesis of contemporary attitudes toward the West. PRC theater tracks the rise of communism in China, juxtaposing ideals of Chinese socialism against the sacrifices made for a new society. Post-Mao drama addresses the nation's socialist legacy, its attempt to reexamine its cultural roots, and postsocialist reflections on critical issues such as nation, class, gender, and collective memories. An essential, portable guide for easy reference and classroom use, this abridgement provides a concise yet well-rounded survey of China's theatricality and representation of political life. This work has not only established a canon of modern Chinese drama but also made it available for the first time in English in a single volume.

Xiaomei Chen is professor of Chinese literature at the University of California at Davis. She is the author of Occidentalism: A Theory of Counter-Discourse in Post-Mao China and Acting the Right Part: Political Theater and Popular Culture in Contemporary China; editor of Reading the Right Text: An Anthology of Contemporary Chinese Drama; and coeditor of East of West: Cross-cultural Performance and the Staging of Difference. Her book Staging Chinese Revolution: Founding Fathers, Red Classics, and Revisionist Histories of Twentieth-Century China is forthcoming from Columbia University Press.