Mei Lanfang Studies in Retrospect: Shifting Perspectives in English-Language Scholarship

Abstract

This article explores three waves of English-language scholarship on Mei Lanfang from the 1920s to the present. Based on an analysis of representative works from each period, the author argues that Mei Lanfang studies in English-language scholarship have undergone shifts of perspective resulting in three distinct phases. Researchers of the early period perceived Mei as a representative of Chinese theater conceived of as a system of knowledge with cultural meanings. Researchers of the second period examined Mei Lanfang from the angle of theater studies and saw him as an important artist of Asian theater whose life experience enriched an understanding of that theater in the wider world. Researchers from the third period were mainly influenced by the perspective of “area studies.” They adopted approaches standard in different disciplines to analyze Mei Lanfang’s life, social contribution, and artistic legacy as a Chinese exemplar. All three periods shared an emphasis on understanding Mei in a socio-cultural context. This cross-cultural dialogue allowed for the application of approaches from multiple disciplines to the study of Mei Lanfang. The boundary of Mei Lanfang studies, which was at one time dominated largely by Chinese-language scholarship, was thus considerably broadened during the whole period under consideration.