INFORMATION TO USERS This reproduction was made from a copy of a manuscript sent to us for publication and microfilming. While the most advanced technology has been used to pho­ tograph and reproduce this manuscript, the quality of the reproduction is heavily dependent upon the quality of the material submitted. Pages in any manuscript may have indistinct print. In all cases the best available copy has been filmed. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help clarify notations which may appear on this reproduction. 1. Manuscripts may not always be complete. When it is not possible to obtain missing pages, a note appears to indicate this. 2. When copyrighted materials are removed from the manuscript, a note ap­ pears to indicate this. 3. Oversize materials (maps, drawings, and charts) are photographed by sec­ tioning the original, beginning at the upper left hand corner and continu­ ing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each oversize page is also filmed as one exposure and is available, for an additional charge, as a standard 35mm slide or in black and white paper format.* 4. Most photographs reproduce acceptably on positive microfilm or micro­ fiche but lack clarity on xerographic copies made from the microfilm. For an additional charge, all photographs are available in black and white standard 35mm slide format.* *For more information about black and white slides or enlarged paper reproductions, please contact the Dissertations Customer Services Department. Dissertation TU TA/TT IV11 information Service University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 8618792 Kaplan, Randy Barbara THE PRE-LEFTIST ONE-ACT DRAMAS OF TIAN HAN (1898-1968) The Ohio State University PH.D. 1986 University Microfilms International 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 Copyright 1986 by Kaplan, Randy Barbara All Rights Reserved THE PRE-LEFTIST ONE-ACT DRAMAS OF TIAN HAN (1898-1968) DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Randy Barbara Kaplan, B.A., M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 1986 Dissertation Committee: Approved by David Ayers E. Reid Gilbert Dr. Alan Woods John Huntington Department of Theatre Copyright by Randy Barbara Kapl 1986 To My Husband, Randy Bomer, who gave me courage ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I express my deep gratitude to my adviser, Dr. Alan Woods, for his guidance and sensitivity. It is no exaggeration to say that he made possible the completion of this work. I also extend thanks to Dr. David Ayers and Dr. John Huntington, members of my committee who, like Dr. Woods, have known me since my undergraduate studies and inspired me throughout the years, and to Dr. E. Reid Gilbert, who so willingly agreed to become a part of this research project. Thanks are also due to Anne Hsiao, Yi Young, and Nelson Chu for their help with the translations of Tian's dramas. To Dr. Louis Kaplan, Frances Kaplan, Robert H. Bomer, and Joyce Bomer, I express thanks for their never-ending support, and to Sarah Bethany or Jacob Gene I express thanks for whole-hearted cooperation in completing this project. iv VITA September 15, 1952 Born - Bronx, New York 1974 B.A., Theatre, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1974-1975 Graduate Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 1975-1977 Teaching Assistant, Department of Theatre, State University of New York, Albany, New York 1977 M.A., Theatre, State University of New York, Albany, New York 1977-1980 Teaching Associate and Lecturer, Department of Theatre, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1980-1982 Instructor, Department of Dramatic Arts, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama v 1982-1984 Instructor, Department of Speech and Drama, Trinity University San Antonio, Texas FIELDS OF STUDY Theatre History Alan Woods, Roger Herzel, Albert Weiner, Jonathan Curvin Dramatic Criticism John C. Morrow, Donald R. Glancy, Esther M. Jackson Jarka Burian Asian Studies John Huntington, A. C. Scott, Chow Tse-tsung, Maurice Meisner, A. Chen Directing John C. Morrow, Donald R. Glancy, James M. Symons, Edward C. Golden, Albert Pertalion Acting David Ayers, Donald R. Glancy, Amnon Kabatchnik, A. C. Scott Dance and Stage Movement Angelika Gerbes, Raoul Gelabert, Alfredo Corvino, Lynn Dally, Sheldon Ossosky, Odette Blum, Richard Kimble A. R. Nichols, K. S. Chuang vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv VITA V CHAPTER PAGE I. TIAN HAN AND THE RISE OF MODERN CHINESE DRAMA 1 II. "A NIGHT IN A CAPE" Preface 84 Text 98 III. "THE NIGHT A TIGER WAS CAPTURED" Preface 137 Text 152 IV. "BEFORE LUNCH" Preface 195 Text 206 V. "VIEW OP A RIVERSIDE VILLAGE" Preface 240 Text 249 VI. "NIGHT TALK IN SUZHOU" Preface 263 Text 278 VII. "TRAGEDY ON A LAKE" Preface 307 Text 320 VIII. "ECHOES OF AN ANCIENT POND" Preface 357 Text 369 vi i IX. "SHIVERS" Preface 381 Text 390 X. "RETURN SOUTH" Preface 404 Text 420 AFTERWORD 447 BIBLIOGRAPHY 459 CHAPTER ONE Tian Han and the Rise of Modern Chinese Drama In 1968 one of the giants of the modern Chinese drama movement died unnoticed in prison, a victim of one of the many vicious purges against literary figures that was instigated by Jiang Qing and her cohorts during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Eleven years later, in a commemorative ceremony in Beijing, Tian Han's"'" name was formally restored to honor, and his lifelong contributions to Chinese drama and theatre were acknowledged by the Chinese government and his surviving colleagues. Although the far-reaching effects of Tian Han's pioneering efforts The pin-yin system of romanization, which is the official system of romanization used by the People's Republic of China, is the system that will be used throughout the dissertation. Pin-yin was developed by the Chinese in the late nineteen-fifties as a means of rendering Chinese pronunciation more accurately than the previously used Wade-Giles system of romanization. In August, 1977, pin-yin was adopted by the Third United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographic Names as "the standard international method of romanization for Chinese place names." Since that time pin-yin has also been adopted by most Western scholars, universities, and news agencies for Chinese romanization. See Frederic M. Kaplan, Julia M. Sobin, and Stephen Andors, Encyclopedia of China Today, Updated Edition (Fairlawn, New Jersey: Eurasia Press, 1980), pp. 249-50. 1 2 during the nineteen-twenties, when he first began to write dramas, have been applauded by Tian's countrymen, they have been merely noted by Western scholars, whose interests in modern Chinese drama have tended to focus more extensively on the relationship between political ideology and the performing arts in Maoist and post-Maoist China. The goals of this study, therefore, are to expand the body of modern Chinese dramatic literature to which English speaking scholars and students have access by providing translations of nine one-act dramas written by Tian Han between 1920 and 1930 and to demonstrate wherein those works are significant and successful as adaptations of Western- style dramatic technique. The nine works under consideration, which include: "A Night in a Cafe" (1920), "The Night a Tiger Was Captured" (1921), "Before Lunch" (1921), "View of a Riverside Village" (1927), "Night Talk in Suzhou" (1927), "Tragedy on a Lake" (1928), "Echoes of Ancient Pond" (1928), "Shivers" (1929), "Return South" (1929), are characterized as "pre-leftist" because Tian completed them prior to joining the Chinese Communist Party and formally embracing Marxism as the guiding philosophy behind 3 his dramatic writing. The merit of the study can be demonstrated by placing Tian Han in the context of the history of modern Chinese drama, a survey of the scholarly work in English that addresses the subject, and a discussion of Tian's life and contributions to Chinese drama. The history of modern Chinese drama can be roughly divided into four major periods. The first period, which lasted from 1790 to 1911, represents the establishment and subsequent development of what has come to be known in the West as classical or traditional Beijing opera. In 1790 the fourth Qing emperor, Qian Long (r. 1736-95), issued invitations to numerous regional acting companies to travel to Beijing and perform on the occasion of his eightieth birthday. The most popular of the traveling acting troupes, those from Anhui Province, excelled in acrobatics and 2 popularized er-huang. a type of orchestration which is still used in Beijing opera. After the conclusion of the Emperor's birthday festivities, four Anhui companies, the San-qing, Chun-tai, Si-xi, and He-chun, remained in the capital city. By the 1820's all four were well established, and a fifth Anhui company, the Song-ju, had been formed. With the exception of the He-chun, which disbanded in 1850, the Anhui companies flourished and commanded substantial For a brief discussion of Beijing opera music, see A. C. Scott, Traditional Chinese Plays, Vol. I (Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1967), pp. 9-11. 4 3 followings until the demise of the Qing Dynasty. By 1911 when the Manchus were overthrown and the Chinese Republic was founded, the highly conventionalized Beijing opera or 4 ping-xi, had matured fully. The system of dividing roles into sheng (male), tan (female), zhou (clowns), and qing (painted face) categories and complex sub-categories, detailed color symbolism, and formalized choreography and orchestrations were established. Although great actors, notably Mei Lan-fang, would make innovations in performing Beijing opera throughout the twentieth century,5 jing-xi is truly a product of the preceding era. Although the second period started tentatively, it eventually became a time of intense, almost frenzied, activity and innovation.