A STUDY of the PLAYS of CHEN BAICHEN by CHAN Lai-Yam
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A STUDY OF THE PLAYS OF CHEN BAICHEN By CHAN Lai-Yam Aileen A thesis submitted for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY at the School of Oriental and African Studies University of London 1991 1 ProQuest Number: 10672605 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10672605 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 ABSTRACT Chen Baichen ^ % (1908 - ) was one of the most prolific playwrights in China during the 193 0s and 194 0s, which was the golden age of modern Chinese drama. His plays range from the most serious and pathetic to the fantastic and farcical, drawing material from legends, historical events, current and contemporary issues. The object of this study is to investigate the range and quality of Chen's plays, and thence to identify those characteristics which he shared with other modern Chinese playwrights and those peculiar to him. This thesis consists of six chapters. The first two are of introductory nature, giving an idea of the objective and methods used in the study, as well as some background information on Chen's life and his playwriting career. Chapters three to five carry the main emphasis of the thesis, dealing with Chen's plays written during different stages in his life. Each chapter is devoted to one period, and detailed analysis of Chen's plays is preceded by a general review of his plays written during the period. Nine plays, which are representative of Chen's development, are selected for detailed discussion. These plays reflect the wide range of Chen's works, which embraced the historical play, satirical comedy and serious drama. Heed is taken of the realistic aspects, as well as 2 the aesthetic values of the plays, but the playwright's power of dramatic expression is given the main attention in the analysis. In addition, comparisons between Chen's plays and other plays written during the same period are drawn wherever appropriate, so as to give a fairer euse.5iTne.nt ol Chen's plays. The concluding chapter, Chapter 6, sums up the characteristics of Chen's plays and assesses Chen's place in the history of modern Chinese drama. Chen was unique in his creation of a wide range of high quality plays, especially during the 193 0s and 1940s when he enjoyed most creative freedom. But like most of his fellows, Chen's prolific period was followed abruptly by long years of quiescence. Creative freedom was smothered by contraints (external and internal), and Chen's greatest success in playwriting still lies in his pre-1949 works. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................. , 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......... 5 CHAPTER 1: Introduction.. ............................ 6 CHAPTER 2 : Background 2 6 CHAPTER 3: Plays written before the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War (1930-1937) 77 Fenhewan ............................ 84 Guizi hao and Dafenavu zhi xi ........... 94 Jintiancun ................................ 119 CHAPTER 4: Plays written after the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1949) .......... 148 Luanshi nannu ................... 156 Dadi huichun............ ................... 182 Suihan tu ..................... ........... 204 Shengguan tu ................... 232 CHAPTER 5: Plays written after 1949 ............ 262 Dafeng qe ................................. 266 CHAPTER 6: Conclusion ................................ 296 APPENDICES: A. Main biographical data of Chen Baichen .. 303 B. List of plays by Chen Baichen ..... 3 07 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................ 310 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my supervisor Professor David E. Pollard, who first introduced the plays of Chen Baichen to me in 1980, for his guidance and his careful reading of the draft of this thesis. I also thank my other supervisor Dr. Ma Sen for his advice and encouragement. I am grateful to the Central Research Fund of the University of London for providing me a grant to enable me to travel to Nanjing and to interview Chen Baichen in August, 1981. I am also grateful to Mr. Chtn Baichen for his co-operation and assistance; to Mr. Dong Jian and Mr. Gu Wenxun of Nanjing University for their help in the collection of material; and to the Library of Nanjing University for giving me access to their resources. Finally, I wish to thank my husband Tai-hing, without his support this study would never have been finished. 5 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Among contemporary Chinese playwrights, Chen Baichen is one who has gained little notice from scholars and critics in the east and west. Before the 198 0s, apart from occasional mentions in those works of modern Chinese literary history and biographical dictionaries (1), there has been little account of the life and works of Chen Baichen, let alone detailed analysis. These accounts are invariably sketchy and incomplete, and serve only to give some superficial impressions of the features of Chen Baichen's plays. However, tribute has often been paid to the productiveness of Chen Baichen during the 193 0s and 1940s, and to his talent and skill in writing satirical comedies, though no deep and thorough discussion has ever been attempted. Among these accounts, those written by biographers such as Su Hseuh-lin (Su Xuelin) and H.L. Boorman are more noteworthy. Chen Baichen is summed up as one who "excels in keeping strictly to his theme, • s*. Ty (1) These include Wang Yao , Zhongguo xinwenxue shigao 1951, vol.l, p.270, and vol.2, p . 164; Liu Shousong Zhongguo xinwenxue shi chugao , 1956, vol.2, pp. 171-175; Ting Yi, A Short History of Modern Chinese Literature, 1959, pp.238-239? Sima Changfeng Zhongguo xinwenxue shi SL , 1978, vol.2, pp.280-281; Su Hseuh-lin, 'Present Day Fiction and Drama in China', in Jos Schyns et al., 1500 Modern Chinese Novels and Plays, 1948, p.LI; Howard L. Boorman, Biographical Dictionary of Republican China, 1967, pp. 217-218; and Lin Manshu , Cheng Hai and Hai Feng f zhongguo dangdai zuoi ia xiaozhuan , 1976, pp.76-77. 6 and amid much, movement there is always order in his 'mise en scene'" (2); and who "was successful in combining convincing characterization with crisp dialogue, in organising a crowded stage, and in leading his audiences directly to the point. While there was always an obvious moral to his story, he retained a sense of humour." (3) In contrast to the above, the accounts given by literary historians appear meagre and vague. The following comment of Ting Yi (Ding Yi)T§) is typically dogmatic: " ...... show the playwright to be one who sees things through the eyes of the people and analyses and handles the characters and plots from a revolutionary viewpoint. His writings are fraught with healthy sentiments rather than melancholy and sentimentalism." (4) Exceptions can nevertheless be found in the accounts given by Wang Yao and Sima Changfeng, who have respectively touched upon certain points of interest which may deserve further exploration. Chen Baichen is regarded as the "pioneer of satire and exposure", and his plays are described as "though written with the strong intent to satirize and expose, are well endowed with artistic (2) Su Hseuh-lin, 'Present Day Fiction and Drama in China7, p.LI. (3) Boorman, Biographical Dictionary of Republican China. p.218. (4) Ting Yi, A Short History of Modern Chinese Literature. p.238. 7 techniques, since they have to undergo the trial of being performed and facing the scrutiny of the audience" (5). The "highly flavoured dialogue, explicit themes, and educational function" of Chen's plays, as well as the playwright's "boldness to face up squarely to reality" (6) are also spotted. But the highest tribute has not come from such literary historians and biographers. It is found in D.E. Pollard's paper of 1974, in which Chen Baichen is referred to as "the man with the most extensive comic arsenal", and one of those playwrights who "can best represent the range and quality of modern China" (7). This indeed is a great recognition of Chen Baichen's achievement in modern Chinese theatre, and is the first of its kind pronounced. It also indicates some directions for further studies on Chen. However, despite such mentions, up to the end of the 1970s, no sign of a deeper study on the plays of Chen Baichen was seen. It was not until recent years that the situation began to change, as exemplified by the publication of (5) Sima Changfeng, Zhongguo xinwenxue shigao, p.164. (6) Wang Yao, Zhongguo xinwenxue shigao, p.164. (7) D. E. Pollard, 'Li Chien-wu and Modern Chinese Drama', Bulletin of The School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 1976, vol.39, part 2, p.387. The paper was first presented in a conference held in U.S.A. in 1974. 8 Twentieth-century Chinese Drama (8) in the West and a number of works on Chen Baichen published in The People's Republic of China. In the former, Chen Baichen's play of 1939, Luanshi nannu (Wartime Men and Women) was translated and included. It is the first of Chen's plays translated into a Western language. The translator and editor of the anthology, E. M. Gunn, holds Chen Baichen in high regard. Chen is referred to as one whose works during the War of Resistance "include some of the liveliest social satire in Modern China." (9) His play, Luanshi nannu, "remains among the most memorable of the war period" (10).