[reader said]
The World Significance of Mei Lanfang’s Drama
——Reading “Mei Lanfang and the International Stage of the 20th Century” by Tian Min
Author: Liu Zhen (curator and researcher of Mei Lanfang Memorial Hall)
Editor’s note
Mei Lanfang is China’s greatest dan actor and one of the greatest actors on the global theatrical stage of the 20th century. About Mei Lanfang’s books, from memoirs to biographies, from video to comics, scholars, writers, and artists have written about the artist’s personal charm and artistic style in different genres and from all angles. The newly published “Mei Lanfang and the International Stage of the 20th Century” published in the Overseas China Studies Series projects the attention to Mei Lanfang’s three overseas visits. Although this book is a theoretical work, it depicts Mei Lanfang’s life and art very vividly. In particular, the author makes Mei Lanfang’s visiting performances as a whole and systematically from the “20th century international stage”. In-depth thinking and research are rare.
1. Mei Lanfang’s “Inexhaustible” is not only for the audience, but also for scholars
The well-known saying “A thousand readers make a thousand Hamlets” not only includes the differences in reading and understanding among readers, but also reflects the complexity and ambiguity of Shakespeare’s character Hamlet. In the 20th century, Mei Lanfang (1894-1961) led Chinese Peking Opera performing arts to achieve great beauty. Different praise and criticism. Japan, the United States, and the Soviet Union were all world powers at that time, and Mei Lanfang’s performance abroad was finally set in these three countries, and the sensation of the performance itself was resounding throughout the world. But how do you view the exchange and dialogue between Mei Lanfang’s performance and the world‘s theater, what impact does Mei Lanfang’s performance have on the international stage in the 20th century, and how do people in various countries recognize, accept, replace, misappropriate and interpret Mei Lanfang and Chinese opera? , Since Mei Lanfang’s first visit to Japan in 1919, this kind of attention, evaluation and research has been inexhaustible. Mei Lanfang has become a “keyword” that is unavoidable and unavoidable in the world drama discourse in the 20th century.
Mei Lanfang’s “Unspeakable” is not only for the audience, but also for scholars; not only domestically, but also overseas. Overseas attention and research on Mei Lanfang have never ceased. In the theoretical exploration of time and space in the 21st century, Mr. Tian Min’s research achievement “Mei Lanfang and the 20th Century International Stage: The Positioning and Replacement of Chinese Drama” (hereinafter referred to as “Mei Lanfang and the 20th Century International Stage”) is particularly worthwhile. We recommend and understand. This is a theoretical work. The author does not focus on the performance process of Mei Lanfang’s visit to Japan, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Although the legend and sensation of this process are very dramatic, they are also described in this book. The collision and change of the recipient’s dramatic thoughts and theatrical concepts brought about by his performance, and the ability to systematically and deeply think and study the performance of Mei Lanfang’s trip to the Three Kingdoms from the “20th century international stage” as a whole and height can be described as rare. This is a theoretical work, but it depicts Mei Lanfang’s life and art very vividly. Mei Lanfang’s art and thoughts continue to carry out sincere exchanges and open dialogues with subsequent recipients and followers. It can be seen that Mei Lanfang Fang’s enduring influence.
Stills of Mei Lanfang
Fragments of Mei Lanfang’s filming of the movie “Hauniguan” in the Soviet Union
Mei Lanfang and Soviet art master Stanislavsky
Mei Lanfang’s performance of “Thorn Tiger” in New York
2. Mei Lanfang “came to Japan with the essence of Chinese art”
Foreign literature and comments on Mei Lanfang have been excavated and translated over time. Mei Lanfang has visited and performed in Japan, the United States, and the Soviet Union. The spans are large, and the cultural and linguistic differences are large, belonging to three languages. , which is a big challenge for researchers. The author Tian Min’s language foundation is Chinese, and he has many years of overseas experience in the English-speaking world, but to fully understand Mei Lanfang’s “international stage”, he has experienced more than ten years of polishing.
In 1919, Mei Lanfang’s first overseas visit to Japan was a historic event, and there were a lot of reports and comments from Japan, including the 15-person “Pin Mei Ji” compiled and published by the owner of Huiwen Hall. Scholars of the “Kyoto School” famous for opera literature, such as Naoki Kano, Masako Aoki and others. As a country of the East, Japanese history and culture have deep roots with Chinese history and culture. Since modern times, Japan has learned from the West and gradually moved towards modernization. The distance from China has increased significantly, and the Japanese cultural trend of thought is faced with a choice. The essence of it came to Japan” (Murata Ue language), which has caused different evaluations in the Japanese cultural circles, theater circles, and critic circles. More than 20 critics, including Hefeng, Masaru Aoki, Hunan Naito, Kiichiro Kanda, Koji Hamada, Kanya Morita, Xiaoyao Pingnai, Tensui Kubo, and Umeyuki Ogami, excavated the review literature. Their evaluation of Mei Lanfang is based on Japan’s cultural trend of thought and the development of drama. On the one hand, Japan is absorbing and assimilating Western culture on a large scale; It is because of the long and complex historical and cultural relationship between Japan and China that the Japanese people are familiar with and interested in Chinese customs, which have deeply rooted and flowed into the blood of the Japanese. The Japanese’s interest in traditional Chinese drama was an important part of the “Chinese taste” complex in that era, and it was also the premise and foundation for understanding and evaluating Mei Lanfang. Japanese novelist and literary critic Shutaro Nanbu watched Mei Lanfang’s performance during his short stay in Beijing in 1923, and in 1924 he watched Mei Lanfang’s “The Burial Flower of Daiyu” at the Tokyo Imperial Theater. To the exaggerated Peking Opera performance, Nanbu Shutaro believes that Mei Lanfang’s portrayal of the heroine is no longer a traditional pure Chinese opera. His facial expressions, eyes, body movements and other skills fully demonstrate the heroine’s character and personality. Emotions have become modern, realistic and psychological. The Empire Theater has enabled “Mei Lanfang to gain a new experience, and he is no longer the same person he once was on the Chinese stage.” What Nan appreciates is the pure and authentic feeling of watching Mei Lanfang’s performance in China, he is impressed by the graceful movements of Mei Lanfang’s fair and slender fingers and the subtle look in his charming eyes, while he is impressed by the graceful movements of Mei Lanfang’s fair and slender fingers and the subtle look in his charming eyes. expressed disappointment with the phenomenon of Chinese culture that is traditional and westernized.
Japan has a large number of sinologists, who have rich knowledge and in-depth understanding of Chinese history, culture, religion and art. Mei Lanfang’s performance in Japan has aroused enthusiastic responses among these scholars, which is embodied in “The Story of Plum”. Among them, Sinologist Naito Hunan has seen Mei Lanfang’s performance in China. He believes that Kunqu Opera is more beautiful and elegant than Peking Opera, and he likes Mei Lanfang’s Kunqu Opera performance better than Peking Opera performance,” Mei Lanfang’s Kunqu Opera performance is more beautiful and elegant than Peking Opera. The theatrical performance represents the revival of something that is in decline in China.” (Naito Hunan’s “About Mei Lanfang”, see “Mei Lanfang”) The book pointed out that Naito Hunan’s respect for Chinese culture is because “Japan’s duty is not to introduce Western civilization, pass it on to China, and make it popular in East Asia. To carry forward, it is to make Japanese civilization and Japanese taste (Nihon no shumi) popular all over the world, and because the East Asian countries take China as the largest, so the fulfillment of Japan’s vocation must take China as the main object.” Only if other sinologists have a deeper understanding of the research and ideological background, can they truly understand their evaluation and evaluation purpose, and cannot stop at the literal meaning of Chinese characters, let alone take them out of context.
A pioneer of modern Japanese theater and one of the main advocates of the reform of traditional Japanese theater, Ryo Tsubouchi conducted a comprehensive study of Kabuki to find the true essence of the “self” of Japanese national drama. After watching Mei Lanfang’s performance in Japan in 1919, Pingnai Xiaoyao wrote three articles expounding his views. He believed that Mei Lanfang’s art acted as an antidote for the already poisoned Japanese theater industry for the excessive use of skills in Japanese theater. The soda water, Mei Lanfang’s art, as the stone of his mountain, maintains a pure and simple oriental atmosphere. He examines the early history of Kabuki and the female form (gandan), especially after seeing Mei Lanfang’s performance, and believes that the female form should not disappear. In Tian Min’s view, Mei Lanfang’s experience in Pingnai has transformed him from an active advocate of radical reform to a proponent of returning to the origins of Japanese theater and preserving the true tradition of Kabuki.
Tian Min’s research perspective can penetrate deep into the real context of Japanese history, culture and dramatic art, truly enter the Japanese academic discourse system, and view Mei Lanfang and his Chinese Peking Opera as the “other” based on the Japanese cultural standpoint and analytical perspective. , rather than the simple imagination and speculation of the Chinese. From the perspective of a novelist and critic, from the perspective of a sinologist, and from the perspective of a dramatist, the topics discussed, analysis and evaluation of Mei Lanfang will be different. It has been carefully sorted out, distinguished, and discussed in different categories, so that people can have a clearer and more consistent grasp of the Japanese cultural trend of thought and dramatic trend of thought in this period.
3. Mei Lanfang’s art “is much more meaningful than we expected”
If there is no real understanding of the background of the publication, it is difficult to fully understand the author’s (reviewer’s) meaning only literally. This book’s understanding of Mei Lanfang and the international stage of the 20th century must be observed in the context of big history. Whether Japan, the United States or the Soviet Union, they all focus on the current history, Geopolitics, ideology, cultural change, artistic trend of thought, theatrical concept, and then analyze the cultural psychology and historical motives of the country’s acceptance of Mei Lanfang’s stage art from the cultural background, and explore why the three countries attach importance to it, why the media continue to report, and the public The deep-seated reasons why (audience) relished it.
By fully grasping foreign literature, objectively describing and explaining in detail the language context and historical and cultural background of each scholar and critic, we can accurately capture the original intention of foreign scholars for Mei Lanfang’s criticism. With the development of American theater in the 1920s, “the latest reality that the sun of realism is setting, an expanding and intensifying anti-realist context, and a growing inner need for self-assessment and self-correction, is giving birth to a This makes it easier for the American theater world to accept a certain non-Western and non-realistic drama context, and the Chinese traditional drama represented by the greatest actor Mei Lanfang is the representative of this kind of drama.” American artists and critics criticized their own The starting points are not the same, but alienation from realism is a general trend, and this dramatic context is the background and historical context of Mei Lanfang’s American performances. The author Tian Min is in the United States, so his excavation and introduction of American critics and American literature are particularly informative.
The background of Mei Lanfang’s invitation to visit the Soviet Union is that in 1934 the Soviet Union held the first Congress of Soviet Writers, at which the government officially established “socialist realism” as the basic method of Soviet literature and art. Mei Lanfang was in the Soviet Union. The critical moment for a fundamental change in the political and cultural context came to the Soviet Union, and this was also the background in which Soviet dramatists and critics commented and divided.
Mei Lanfang’s visit is an important symbol of the world significance of her performance, especially in the country where she goes, the influence of recognition, replacement, appropriation, interpretation and functional reorganization produced by critics and drama theorists in various countries is far beyond the single influence of drama. And become a culture shock wave. There are many Japanese scholars cited above, as well as scholars from the United States and the Soviet Union, not only have many commentators, but also have a high status in the theater and art circles of various countries. The trip to the Soviet Union was even more so. Not only the Soviet Union itself, but also scholars and artists such as Brecht in Germany and Gordon Clay in the United Kingdom were deeply influenced. Tian’s work discusses many scholars, theorists and artists, including dramatic thoughts and viewpoints, and the special chapters focus on Meyerhold and Brecht. On April 14, 1935, at the symposium of Mei Lanfang’s performance of the Soviet Union for Foreign Cultural Relations, Meyerhold spoke highly of Mei Lanfang’s performance, “Dr. Much bigger. Now we are left with amazement or ecstasy.” Here, Tian Zhu disagrees with the core concepts of Meyerhold’s drama theory, uslovnost and uslovnyi, which are translated as “hypothetical” in Chinese, and thinks it is more accurate The Chinese translation of ‘ should be “routine” and its related “routine” and “stylized”, which are based on Pushkin’s discourse on dramatic art. Meyerhold’s stylized theater aims to make performance the center of stage art and give the audience full freedom of imagination. The concept of stylized theater runs through his entire artistic career. What Meyerhold cherished most about Mei Lanfang’s performance art was the program and form. Tian Zhu compares Meyerhold’s avant-garde and modernist theatrical discourse with Mei Lanfang’s performance art in many ways, and believes that although the two seem to have similarities in technique, there are essential differences between the two. Meyerhold re-emphasizes and replaces this apparent similarity with a radically different perspective: “Different from Meyerhold’s theoretical discourse, which devalues and excludes inner experience, the actor’s inner experience of the character is It is crucial in Chinese opera.” The concept of the grotesque is the foundation of Meyerhold’s dramatic aesthetics, and the concept of beauty is the foundation of Mei Lanfang’s dramatic aesthetics. Meyerhold’s grotesque concept does not exclude beauty, but unlike Mei Lanfang’s art which seeks harmony and perfection by turning ugliness into beauty, Meyerhold’s drama aims to maintain the balance and contrast between opposites, between ugliness and beauty With tension, it is not about turning ugly into beauty, but emphasizing the existence of ugliness as a prerequisite and necessity. Meyerhold’s famous quote: “Beauty’s worst enemy is beauty” best reflects his point of view.
There are three major systems of drama in China, and the protagonists of these three systems intersected in Mei Lanfang’s performance in the Soviet Union in 1935. The original concept of Brecht’s theoretical system, “the effect of alienation,” had an important impact on the world. , whose theory is greatly inspired by Mei Lanfang’s performance and Chinese drama. Tian Min made a key study on Brecht and believed that before seeing Mei Lanfang’s performance, the basic idea of Brecht’s epic drama theory had already been formed, and the core concept of epic drama “distancing effect” had been established. Understanding Mei Lanfang’s art and Chinese drama in the context of Chinese history, culture, art and drama, and then discovering his “distancing effect” in it, but based on his own theories on Mei Lanfang’s art and Chinese performance A replacement process. In Frye, displacement is to make myths and stories more appropriate to a plausible context, while in Brecht, displacement is to place those familiar stories or fables into another unfamiliar context, making them become alienated or unfamiliar. “Self-observation” is one of Brecht’s main views. He believes that Chinese actors “observe themselves” in their performances, emphasizing the importance of performers’ conscious control in their performances. Tian Zhuo believes that “Chinese actors’ performances are related to the audience’s intimacy and empathy, not the other way around.” The prosperity of Chinese theater actually depends on the audience’s familiarity with them. “Assuming that the audience is not familiar with art, If you can’t understand art and its content, how can the “alienation effect” come from?” The reason for Brecht’s performance with Mei Lanfang, the “misreading” of Mei Lanfang by Brecht’s theory, is also a domestic issue. A topic that has been covered by many scholars. However, unlike the “misreading” caused by some scholars who are more deduced from the meaning of the word itself, Tian Min has a mother tongue background to understand Mei Lanfang’s art and Chinese performances, and he is able to use it in a wider Brecht theoretical context and context. Analyzing their similarities and differences, the deduction of this “misreading” is undoubtedly more in line with Brecht and the Western theoretical discourse system. Through investigation, Tian Min believes that in Brecht’s interpretation of Chinese performance art, “Chinese performance has obviously been replaced, transformed and utilized into a kind of method that can legitimize Brecht’s own theoretical expectations, investments and predictions. Means. After completing the replacement in a truly Brecht-esque functional reorganization, the famous Chinese actor Mei Lanfang, who performed for Soviet socialist audiences, was reshaped.”
4. Mei Lanfang makes Chinese drama truly enter the world drama stage
Every time Mei Lanfang goes abroad, it is not only a personal performance of Mei Lanfang, but also an important cultural activity and social concern in China. Before and after his performance abroad, the public attention that he aroused is the whole society. Tian Zhu pays attention to Mei Lanfang and the international stage of the 20th century, that is, Mei Lanfang’s performances in Japan, the United States, and the Soviet Union. The background before the visit is also the influence after returning to China. This research structure has built a bridge of international and domestic communication and influence, and can more dynamically, objectively and completely reflect Mei Lanfang’s historical environment and influence. Domestic research in this regard is convenient and has many achievements. However, reading Tianshu still admires the author’s collection and mastery of literature, especially the organic existence of this content in Mei Lanfang’s international stage as a whole. Logic. This content is particularly prominent in the chapter on visiting the Soviet Union. Mei Lanfang was invited to visit the Soviet Union itself. Different from previous visits, it had more national cultural and ideological considerations. This invitation was supported by the Chinese government at that time, but the opera circle, cultural circle and media public opinion launched an open discussion. The benevolent Wise man, there are many lawsuits. Tian Zhu discusses the debate on the ideology and social tendencies of Chinese drama, the debate on the relationship between the form and content of Chinese drama, the debate on Mei Lanfang’s disguise as a woman, and the debate on the symbolism of Chinese drama. Including Lu Xun, Tian Han, Fang Zhong, Du Heng, Xia Zhengnong, Zhang Mingqi, Zhou Yan, Wang Guangqi, Zheng Boqi, Han Shizhen, Ai Siqi, etc. participated in the debate on these issues, from which we can see the complicated background of Mei Lanfang’s visit to Suzhou. Mei Lanfang’s overseas visits are very important. As a representative of traditional Chinese culture, Tian Zhu’s research can also be said to have opened up the international and domestic relationship between Mei Lanfang, who is active on the international stage. It is the four countries, including Mei Lanfang’s nationality, so that the internal and external background of the visit will be clearer and clearer, and it will be easier to judge and evaluate Mei Lanfang’s performance abroad from an overall and objective perspective.
The so-called “influence” means to act or change in an indirect or invisible way. Mei Lanfang’s international influence, firstly refers to Mei Lanfang’s performances abroad, direct comments from critics and artists in the country, and media reports; subsequent effects. The former is the focus of Tian’s research and the focus of this article’s analysis, such as the research on Meyerhold, Brecht, Eisenstein, Tailov, Barba, Stark Young, Pingnai Xiaoyao, etc. It is a kind of understanding, collision, communication and fusion of ideas and concepts; the latter is more of an acceptance and expression of artistic practice. De and Tian Zhu also devoted a section to analyzing “Mei Lanfang’s Influence on American Dance”.
With Mei Lanfang’s performances in Japan, the United States, and the Soviet Union as its core, this is a comprehensive discussion of Mei Lanfang’s performances abroad and the background of his visits, his understanding of Chinese dramas in the visiting countries, the status quo of dramas in the visiting countries, and the exchanges and acceptances arising from the performances. , influence and domestic reactions in China, etc., the focus is on the collision and fusion of the drama concept of the visiting drama elites caused by Mei Lanfang’s performance. An important point of the author is that no matter who the recipient is, they have their own historical position and judgment position. They all start from their own reality. This is a real communication, not one-way. With you, with me, it becomes a subtle built-in, a new driving force and resource for drama development. Tian Zhu explained and answered these questions surrounding Mei Lanfang’s performance with documents and strong arguments. This discussion reveals the true nature of “influence”, which is recognition, acceptance and applause, and may be a kind of negotiation, replacement, and applause. Appropriation and functional reorganization are not the result of a single straight line, but a subtle variation of moisturizing things. For us who are accustomed to either, this research method and research attitude not only inspires us methodologically, but also helps us. Change our dualistic thinking patterns. Therefore, the research content of Tian Zhuzhi, especially his restoration and interpretation in his own shoes, allows us to see the profound insights of Meyerhold, Brecht, Eisenstein, Naito Hunan, Pingnai Xiaoyao, Stark Young, etc. The fusion and replacement of understanding and self-stance. The identity of the author Tian Min has duality, and this duality itself also has the “replacement” of identity, which will increase the “other” perspective of looking at the problem, and it will also better highlight his unique understanding and judgment on the problem, and it is more likely to establish An objective and pluralistic cognitive system, this is where it should be meticulous, comprehensive and dialectical, and where it should be profound and in-depth.
Finally, we conclude this review with Eugenio Barba’s evaluation of Mei Lanfang in the 1980s, head of the International Society for Dramatic Anthropology. He believes that the influence of Mei Lanfang has penetrated into the thoughts and ideas of contemporary drama through Stanislavsky, Tailov, Tretykov, Eisenstein, Meyerhold, Dohring, Brecht, etc. in practice. “Mei Lanfang’s influence is ubiquitous in the history of potential theatre. The inspiring energy of the cross-dresser has had a cross-cultural impact that still subtly influences our skills and vision to this day.”
(All pictures in this version are provided by Mei Lanfang Memorial Hall)
“Mei Lanfang and the International Stage in the 20th Century: The Positioning and Replacement of Chinese Drama” by Tian Min, Jiangsu People’s Publishing House
“Guangming Daily” (August 04, 2022 11th edition)
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