Shakespeare and traditional Chinese drama : Shakespeare in Chinese culture : a comparative study in cultural materialism

Abstract

Ever since Shakespeare was introduced into China at the beginning of this century, he has exerted a persuasive influence upon Chinese theatre and culture. During the process of transplanting into Chinese culture, the dramatist has also undergone some transformations, with his works interpreted and reshaped by the Chinese from the perspective of their own cultural tradition. This thesis is an attempt to explore systematically and deeply the nature and significance of the interaction between Shakespeare and traditional Chinese drama and that between the dramatist and Chinese culture. The first part of the thesis is a brief parallel study of Shakespeare's plays and traditional Chinese drama, discovering some basic differences and similarities between the two types of drama in tragedy, comedy and general artistic characteristics such as the mixture of tragedy and comedy, deployment of time and space, characterization, poetic qualities and the use of imagery, etc, and tracing the differences back to the related cultural contexts. This parallel study serves as a basis to develop the central argument of the thesis. Part II examines the nature and significance of the interaction between Shakespeare and traditional Chinese drama, beginning with a brief survey of the introduction of Shakespeare into modern China and looking particularly at the impact of Shakespeare upon traditional Chinese drama in academic, theatrical and literary circles and the consequences of such an impact. This part also investigates the metamorphoses of Shakespeare on the Chinese stage and discusses the achievements of some Shakespeare productions presented in the form of traditional Chinese drama. Other transformations of Shakespeare's plays on the Chinese stage and the significance of all these sinicized Shakespeare productions are also examined. Part III explores the interaction between Shakespeare and Chinese culture, discovering the widespread and profound influence of the dramatist on Chinese culture in many aspects and the use of Shakespeare in the country as a means of constructing cultural meaning. It also analyzes what factors operate culturally, socially and historically in the process of the assimilation of Shakespeare and explores the multiple perspectives of the Chinese on the dramatist which form the general Chinese vision of Shakespeare.

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