An Anglophone Historiography of Vietnamese Theatre John Dean
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ABSTRACT Understanding the Dragon’s Theatre: An Anglophone Historiography of Vietnamese Theatre John Dean Grote, M.A. Mentor: David Jortner, Ph.D. Anglophone scholarship on Vietnamese theatre has a complex history; its authors range from British and American explorers to current day Asian theatre scholars. The evolution of English-language scholarship on Vietnamese theatre is directly tied to the historical events experienced by these authors. The purpose of this thesis is to detail this scholarship and examine the historiographical developments used in analysis of the theatre. Much like other areas, the Anglophone historiography on Vietnamese theatre shifts with the research interests of the authors and their approaches to writing. This study, which discusses the evolution of these writings, demonstrates how knowledge on Vietnamese theatre is produced and disseminated to the English-speaking world. Understanding the Dragon's Theatre: An Anglophone Historiography of Vietnamese Theatre by John Dean Grote, B.A. A Thesis Approved by the Department of Theatre Arts Stan C. Denman, Ph.D., Chairperson Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Baylor University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Approved by the Thesis Committee David Jortner, Ph.D., Chairperson DeAnna Toten Beard, Ph.D. Xin Wang, Ph.D. Accepted by the Graduate School August 2016 J. Larry Lyon, Ph.D., Dean Page bearing signatures is kept on file in the Graduate School. Copyright © 2016 by John Dean Grote All rights reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... vi DEDICATION .................................................................................................................. vii CHAPTER ONE ..................................................................................................................1 An Anglophone Historiography of Vietnamese Theatre .........................................1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................1 Problem and Research Question ..............................................................................2 Methodology and Literature Review .......................................................................4 CHAPTER TWO .................................................................................................................9 Adventures and Learning (Pre 1955) .......................................................................9 CHAPTER THREE ...........................................................................................................29 Scholarly Beginnings (1955-1994) ........................................................................29 CHAPTER FOUR ..............................................................................................................51 Globalization (1995-2015) .....................................................................................51 CHAPTER FIVE ...............................................................................................................76 Conclusion .............................................................................................................76 APPENDIX ........................................................................................................................79 Appendix A ............................................................................................................80 BIBLIOGRAPHY(Alphabetical) .......................................................................................81 Books .....................................................................................................................81 Book Chapters ........................................................................................................83 iv Book Chapters ........................................................................................................83 Discography ...........................................................................................................84 Dissertations ...........................................................................................................85 Encyclopedias ........................................................................................................86 Journal Articles ......................................................................................................86 Newspapers and Magazines ...................................................................................89 v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would first like to express my sincere gratitude to my thesis advisor Dr. David Jortner for his continuous support of my research, his patience, motivation, and insight. His guidance was key in the completion of this thesis. My theatre knowledge has grown exponentially in the past two years thanks to Dr. Jortner and the rest of the theatre faculty at Baylor University. I would also like to thank the rest of my thesis committee: Dr. DeAnna Toten Beard and Dr. Xin Wang for their encouragement, intriguing questions, and insightful comments. Finally, I am grateful to my family for their patience and understanding throughout the process of my research. My wife, Mai, and my daughter, Anabelle have been a constant source of rejuvenation throughout this project with their continued love and support. My parents, Vernon and Shirley, have also been a guiding light throughout my life by instilling in me the desire to be a life-long learner. vi DEDICATION To Mai and Anabelle vii CHAPTER ONE An Anglophone Historiography of Vietnamese Theatre Introduction Anglophone scholarship on Vietnamese theatre has a complex history; its authors range from British and American explorers to current day Asian theatre scholars. The evolution of English-language scholarship on Vietnamese theatre is directly tied to the historical events experienced by these authors. These changing viewpoints on Vietnamese theatre evolved within a complex culture. The earliest writers, in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, primarily made personal observations about theatrical events within the larger context of their diplomatic or commercial visits. It is not until after the fall of French Indochina in 1954 that dedicated scholars began to discuss the specific styles and influences of Vietnamese theatre with the Anglophone world. Currently there are several scholars who delve deeper into the relationship between Vietnamese theatre and its representation to the rest of the world. This study looks at the differing perspectives on Vietnamese theatre amongst Anglophone writers and discusses how these writings converge with the larger relationship between Vietnam and the Anglophone world. Although this work will focus on Anglophone scholarship, it is important to remember that Vietnam has been heavily influenced by two non-Anglophone nations, China and France. Due to one thousand years of Chinese rule, Vietnam displays many of the same Confucian teachings as its neighbor to the north. The Vietnamese theatrical 1 form of tuong, which was taught to the Vietnamese by the Chinese tuong master Ly Nguyen Cat (who was captured during the Tran dynasty) (1225-1400), displays many similarities to jingju opera such as elaborate costumes and makeup. The French colonization (late 1800s-1954) of Vietnam also had tremendous influence, especially on language and architecture. The French were also primarily responsible for influencing the more modern theatre forms know as cai luong (reformed theatre) and kich noi (spoken theatre) in the early twentieth century. Problem and Research Question The main aim of this work will be to create an Anglophone historiography of Vietnamese theatre. The meaning of the word “historiography” is often ambiguous and depends on the context in which it is used. Historiography, as noted by French scholar Michel de Certeau, is a paradox of the terms history and writing that attempts to connect “the real and the discourse.”1 For the purposes of this study, “historiography” is defined not only as the writing of history but also investigating the means and intent of historical discourse. There is a plethora of research available in English on Asian theatre in books, journal articles, and various other sources. However, the research on Vietnamese theatre is severely lacking when compared to the theatre scholarship on other Asian countries such as Japan, China, and India. For example, the first significant publication written by an Asian theatre scholar which includes Vietnam is Faubion Bowers’ Theatre in the East: A Survey of Asian Dance and Drama, published in 1956. Bowers dedicates under five 1 Certeau, Michel de. The Writing of History. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1988), xxviii. 2 pages of his 360-page book (around 1%) to Vietnamese theatre. Even Greenwood’s recent and comprehensive, Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre devotes 17 of its roughly 800 entries (around 2%) to Vietnamese theatre. This relative number of entries correlates to the world influence of Vietnam and its place of importance amongst scholars. Also, this lack of theatre scholarship on Vietnam, when compared to other Asian countries, creates an opportunity for Asian theatre scholars to fill in the gaps. This study attempts to fill one of the gaps in Vietnamese theatre scholarship. There are several reasons why there has not yet been an Anglophone historiography of Vietnamese