Sexual Artifice Through “Transgression”: The Revival of Cross-Gender Performance in Jingju by Huai Bao M.A., Beijing Normal University, 1998 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences © Huai Bao 2015 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2015 Approval Name: Huai Bao Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title: Sexual Artifice Through Transgression: The Revival of Cross-Gender Performance in Jingju Examining Committee: Chair: Willeen Keough Associate Professor Helen Leung Senior Supervisor Associate Professor Peter Dickinson Supervisor Professor Department of English Elizabeth Wichmann-Walczak Supervisor Professor Department of Theatre and Dance University of Hawaii Shuyu Kong Internal Examiner Associate Professor Department of Humanities and Asia Canada Program Kate Swatek External Examiner Professor Department of Asian Studies University of British Columbia Date Defended/Approved: May 11, 2015 ii Ethics Statement iii Abstract This study is about—and beyond—the unprecedented revival of cross-gender performance in theatre, especially the male-to-female cross-gender performance of jingju (Beijing Opera), known as nandan. Through years long pre-investigations of the scene, archival work of its history, and case studies of individuals, this project examines the specificity and universality of the (in)coherences between sense of gender, sexuality, gender identities, gender mannerisms, transgressive desires and cross-gender performance behind the advocate of “historical authenticity” and “the return to the social and cultural norm.” Over twenty informants have contributed to the research with their narratives and observations in the scene. The project ends up with the observation that the transgressive potential of performing out of one’s biological sex is peculiar not only to one individual or one theatrical form, but to humankind in general. The conclusions drawn from the qualitative analysis may subvert some of the prevailing epistemologies of gender and sex. Firstly, there is no singular gendered subject. Gender discourse only exists in a “signifier-and-signified” relation to the subject’s perception of other gendered bodies. Secondly, it is not precise to claim that gender is socially or culturally constructed. Gender is reconstructed or amplified out of its ontological attributes based on biological differences, whose existence should be acknowledged. Reiteration does not precisely “do” gender, but may affect it to some extent, as there is a core sense of gendered self, albeit unsettled oftentimes, which is “inalienable” and “inseperatable.” Thirdly, gender may be performable, as in jingju, while gender performance and gender performativity are interchangeable only when they are not placed in a context to discuss their association with identity. In this sense, incoherence does not only exist between gender, sexuality and desires, but also between gender identities, gender mannerisms and gender behaviours. It may be concluded that gender transgression should not be understood on its own terms, but in a context of all social and cultural regulation and institutionalization that regard the interchangeability of signifiers of maleness and of femaleness as a threat to mainstream perception. iv Keywords: cross-gender performance; gender; sexuality; jingju; theatre; gender transgression v Dedication This is dedicated to my entire family and especially to my poodle, Bowbow, for his full- hearted, abiding companionship, his needing so little and giving so much, and for inspiring me with so many virtues from which I think human beings, who struggle with cynicism and sophistication, should strive to learn. vi Acknowledgements Time has been good to me since my embarkation on the doctoral sojourn at Simon Fraser University. Over the past three years I have received not only external and internal funding, including the prestigious SSHRC doctoral award for 2013-15, but also guidance and inspiration from some of the greatest minds who have crossed my path. Without the support from all these sources, this dissertation would have been impossible. In good conscience, I must give credit where credit is due, to Dr. Helen Leung, an intelligent, courageous and open-minded woman, who has been my senior supervisor throughout this rewarding journey, to Dr. Peter Dickinson, whose profound understanding of gender and performance has deepened mine, and whose thoughtful comments on my manuscript I shall never forget, and to Dr. Elizabeth Wichmann- Walczak, a long-term mentor who has agreed to serve on this committee from a daunting geographic distance. I should not forget to thank Dr. Veronica Strong-Boag, a woman I have always idolized, for letting me work with her on the e-journal, Women Suffrage and Beyond. Her faith in my becoming an outstanding scholar has been one of my greatest assets. I should also mention Dr. annie ross, a great woman and a great friend, whose wisdom on life and death is in my thoughts everyday. I hope and trust that our friendship will last for as long as the sun and moon shall endure. It was my research on immigrant literature that brought me to the award winning writer, Madame Yan Li, who was to become my champion and friend. She also serves as a mentor of survival and integrity, whose creativity has always been a source of inspiration for my work. I should also thank Dr. Kate Swatek and Dr. Shuyu Kong for being my external and internal examiners. Dr. Swatek is an extremely intelligent woman whose friendship I have wanted to pursue since the thesis defence. Without her wise and meticulous edits, I would not have dared to send this manuscript out for publication. vii I must also thank such jingju artists as Sun Peihong, Wen Ruhua, Lin Ruikang, Sui Songlin, Tang Jiahu, Li Yuelan and Song Xiaochuan, who were instrumental during my data collection. They were not only my informants, but also helped me find other informants. I cherish every minute I spent with them. Last but not least, I want to thank everyone at our Department for their flawless work, including but not limited to Dr. Willeen Keough, Ms. Roberta Neilson and Ms. Kat Hunter, and everyone in my family for the love and support that they have given me unconditionally over the years. viii Table of Contents Approval ............................................................................................................................. ii Ethics Statement ............................................................................................................... iii Abstract .............................................................................................................................i v Dedication ........................................................................................................................ vi Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... vii Table of Contents ..............................................................................................................ix Chapter 1. Introduction ............................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2. Cultural Obsession ................................................................................. 12 The Making of China’s National Icon .............................................................. 12 The Rise of an All-Female Utopia ................................................................... 29 National Identity and the Formation of the Gender Aesthetics ....................... 33 Chapter 3. Mao’s “Gender Trouble” ......................................................................... 37 The Downfall of the Cross-Gender Performance Tradition ............................ 37 From Theatre to Reality: Normalization of Female Masculinity ...................... 49 The Production of a Social Taboo .................................................................. 53 Chapter 4. The Revival .............................................................................................. 58 White Faced Gentleman: The Unofficial Return of Nandan ........................... 58 “Natural Selection” in the Aesthetic Regime: The Return of Traditional Femininity ................................................................................................. 68 The Mainstreaming of Drag in Popular Media ................................................ 75 Chapter 5. The New Generation ................................................................................ 79 “Two Spirited” Nandan .................................................................................... 81 The Superior Woman Within .......................................................................... 85 Intersex ........................................................................................................... 87 Occasional Nandan ........................................................................................ 90 Training ........................................................................................................... 94 Frustrations in Life .......................................................................................... 98 Employment Opportunities ........................................................................... 104 Success .......................................................................................................