Ghost Opera, Reformed Drama and the Staging of a New China, 1949-1979
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO The Sound of Ghosts: Ghost Opera, Reformed Drama and the Staging of a New China, 1949-1979 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requireents for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in History by Margaret C. Greene Committee in charge: Professor Joseph W. Esherick, Co-Chair Professor Paul G. Pickowicz, Co-Chair Professor Nancy Guy Professor Ari Larissa Heinrich Professor Weijing Lu 2013 Copyright Margaret C. Greene, 2013 All rights reserved. The Dissertation of Margaret C. Greene is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for the publication on microfilm and electronically: ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Co-Chair ________________________________________________________________________ Co-Chair University of California, San Diego 2013 iii DEDICATION Over the course of my studies, I have benefited from the wisdom and advice of many people. My advisors, Paul Pickowicz and Joseph Esherick, deserve the lion’s share of credit for herding me along the path from freaked out first year grad student to reasonably competent PhD candidate. They have been patient with my many missteps along the way, and I will always be grateful for the excellent training, advice, and support I have received from them along the way. One of the treasures of the UCSD Modern Chinese History program is Dr. Ye Wa, who goes above and beyond in helping us sort through historical documents. She first pointed out Li Huiniang to me, and everything flowed from that critical moment. Her generosity in sharing her time and knowledge has been unmatched, and I will sorely miss her keen insights and good humor. My graduate experience would not have been the same without my classmates. From seminar to trips to Stanford to putting our feet up at parties, they have provided good advice, good commentary, and great support. The earliest portion of this work benefitted enormously from the feedback I received from Emily Baum, David Chang Cheng, Jenny Huangfu, Justin Jacobs, Judd Kinzley, and Jomo Smith. Amy O’Keefe has always been a beam of sunny optimism, and her generosity in opening her busy home to me will always be appreciated. Among the broader graduate student community, I have had many people whose friendship has helped keep me on track and provided an intellectual outlet outside of the bounds of the seminar room. I will always cherish time spent with Stephen Mandiberg, William Huber, Brent Haas, and many others, and look forward to continuing our conversations in coming years. From the wider community at UCSD, I have had the distinct pleasure of learning from some of the best and brightest in many fields. Stefan Tanaka has always been a source of support, both emotional and intellectual, and without his sage advice, I probably would not have made it this far. Ari Heinrich has always been generous in sharing time and expertise, as have Suzanne Cahill, Nancy Guy, Todd Henry, Sarah Schneewind, and Lu Weijing. This research was supported by a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad fellowship. In Shanghai, the staff and faculty at East China Normal University were instrumental in allowing me to conduct my research; a conversation I had with Professor Jiang Jin proved the turning point in how I approached this topic. Also in Shanghai, Dr. Gao Jun of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences has been a good friend and wonderful help in securing sources and access to special archives. Amanda Shuman, PhD candidate in modern Chinese history at UC Santa Cruz, has been the best graduate school friend I could have asked for. Without her, I would have been unable to complete this work; she has read every draft of every chapter, offering opinions, corrections, and advice. We have spent many hours chatting on Skype, sweltering in Shanghai, and walking through Berlin’s beautiful Tiergarten, talking about our work, history, and life. She has always been able to tease out the bigger picture from my confused ramblings. Her good humor and encouragement have gotten me over some big hurdles. Simon Carless has been loving and supprotive throughout this process, even when I have been a complete wreck. He’s kept our home on a relatively even keel, even while I was manically writing and editing, and deserves more than a few lines. My canine companions have likewise been great sources of joy, keeping my feet warm during late nights and provided excuses to leave the house on occasion. Professor Sue Fernsebner has been an amazing mentor from my undergraduate days on. She has never steered me wrong, and I am so very appreciative of all the time she has spent on me, and the friendship that has developed over the years. My mum, Renee Hylton, has been a wellspring of intellectual, emotional, and financial support. I wouldn’t be the historian I am today were it not for her influence on a number of levels. This work – my graduate career in general – would not have been possible without the help of so many people, and they deserve more than a sentence or two. I am humbled by and grateful for their support. iv EPIGRAPH One experiences an eternal yet banal sensation in the archive: one feels other hands, the touch of hands across a century. Edvard Radzinsky 向之所欣,俛仰之間,已為陳迹,猶不能不以之興懷;况修短隨化,終期于盡。 王羲之 Time present and time past Are both perhaps present in time future, And time future contained in time past. If all time is eternally present All time is unredeemable. What might have been is an abstraction Remaining a perpetual possibility Only in a world of speculation. What might have been and what has been Point to one end, which is always present. Footfalls echo in the memory Down the passage which we did not take Towards the door we never opened Into the rose-garden. My words echo Thus, in your mind. But to what purpose Disturbing the dust on a bowl of rose-leaves I do not know. Other echoes Inhabit the garden. Shall we follow? T.S. Eliot v TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page………………………………………………………………. iii Dedication……………………………………………………………………… iv Epigraph……………………………………………………………………... v Table of Contents……………………………………………………………. vi List of Abbreviations………………………………………………………… viii List of Figures……………………………………………………………….. ix List of Tables………………………………………………………………… x Vita…………………………………………………………………………. xi Abstract of the Dissertation…………….…………………………………… xii Introduction: Demons and Wonders ……………………………………….. 1 From a Woman in Green to a Revolutionary Ghost ……………….. 10 The Project …………………………………………………………. 12 The Weaving Maid as Labor Hero: Reforming Drama in the Early PRC, 1949-1952 ……………………………………….…………………………. 16 Herding the Bureaucracy: Banning Operas, 1950-1952 …………… 21 Laying the Foundation: the Early Discussion on Superstition and Mythology …………………………………………………………. 24 A Right and A Duty: The Preservation of Traditional Subjects …… 30 The Model Worker Weaving Maid: Nationalism and Traditional Opera ………………………………………………………………. 33 Freezing the Repertoire: the Impact of Bans and Intellectual Debates ……………………………………………………………. 45 The Ghostless Ghost Play: Ma Jianling and the Reform of Opera, 1953-1958 …………………………………………………………….......... 51 Writing a Revolution: Ma Jianling and the Reform of Qinqiang ….. 53 The Ghostless Ghost Play: Wandering West Lake …………………. 56 “The Results are Not Good”: Intellectuals’ Response to Wandering West Lake …………………………………………………………… 64 When a Ghost is Not a Ghost: Popular Science and Drama ………… 72 Old Trees Blooming: The Hundred Flowers Movement ……………. 75 Putting the Ghost Back Into the Ghost Play: Ma’s 1958 Wandering West Lake …………………………………………………………… 89 vi Perfecting Perfection and Leaping the Leap: Meng Chao, Li Huiniang, and the Continuing Reform of Drama, 1958-1962 …………………………….. 97 A Leap Forward for Revised Drama ……………………………… 101 In the Shadow of Famine: Historical Drama, Ghost Opera, and the Leap …………………………………………………………….. 108 From Radical Intellectual to Traditionalist: Meng Chao……………. 113 A Ghost Bodhisattva: The Genesis of Li Huiniang …………………. 118 Making Perfection Even More Perfect: The Reception of Li Huiniang …………………………………………………………. 123 The Troublesome Ghosts of 1963 …………………...……………………… 143 Not a Trace of Art: The Cultural Revolution, 1963-1976 …………………. 171 Cultural Politics: Sharp Left Turn Ahead ………………………….. 173 Holding Their Tongues: Festivals and the Theatre World, 1963-1964…………………………………………………………... 175 Poisonous Weeds: the Opening Salvos of the Cultural Revolution .. 187 The Suffering of the Human World: 1966-1976…………………… 208 Conclusion: Other Echoes in the Garden ………………………………….. 218 Engineering Escape ………………………………………………... 222 The Empty Coffin: the Many Lives of Phantoms …………………. 228 Glossary……………………………………………………………………. 235 References…………………………………………………………………... 239 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Chinese Communist Party – CCP General Administration of Press and Publication – GAPP Guomindang - GMD People’s Republic of China – PRC Shanghai Municipal Archives – SMA State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television – SARFT viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3.1: “The commune is like a gigantic dragon”……………………………. 109 ix LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1: Shanghai Performance Statistics, 1950-1958 …………………………... 46 Table 1.2: Number of Plays Performed by Two Major Shanghai Peking Opera Troupes ………………………………………………….. 48 Table 3.1: Plays Performed in Shanghai, 1953-1962 ……………………………….