Three paradigms of reforming traditional theater in the twentieth century

Abstract

book not only an ideal tool for classroom use but also a must-read for anyone interested in Chinese theater, literature, and history, specialists and non-specialists alike. The book opens up the way for new histories of gesture and acting conventions in local opera that similar case studies will hopefully address further. Given its main focus on the textual renditions of the script and its illuminating discussions of acting conventions and choreography, the book provides an excellent basis and point of departure for studies exploring the musical aspects of the opera, as well as the more medium-specific aspects of the film. Professor Idema is the author of an impressive range of academic studies and annotated translations. As mentioned in the Preface, he began his career as a student of modern and contemporary Chinese literature focusing on the reform of professional storytelling in early 1950s PRC, but soon afterwards his interests shifted toward traditional vernacular literature. His work testifies to how fruitful it is to think across conventional periodization, shedding light on how and why the stories of the past endure and continue to matter in the present. The Metamorphosis of Tianxian pei, finally, makes a compelling case for translation: it shows that translation ought to be valorized even more by publishers and by academic institutions as a fundamental component of scholarship and knowledge production about Asia.