NANDAN IN THE MING DYNASTY A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN THEATRE MAY 2012 By Yan Ma Thesis Committee: Julie Iezzi, Chairperson Kirstin Pauka Giovanni Vitiello Keywords: Nandan, Kunqu, Ming Dynasy ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the chair of the committee, Professor Julie Iezzi, for her continuous support and guidance of my research. I am grateful to the members of my thesis committee, Professor Kirstin Pauka and Giovanni Vitiello for their help on this thesis. Professor Giovanni Vitiello with immense knowledge in Chinese literature gave me a lot of inspiration and valuable suggestions. I appreciate Professor Kirstin Pauka’s patience and help especially in the writing process. I would also like to thank Professor Elizabeth A. Wichmann-Walczak and Lurana Donnels O’Malley for their help in the early stages of research. Dr. Jintang Luo helped me a great deal in understanding the historical records, for which I am thankful as well. Also, many thanks to Ms. Xiaohui Bao in China, who directed me to appreciate traditional Chinese theatre and encouraged me to pursue a Masters degree in the Dept. of Theatre and Dance at UHM. Last but not least, I dedicate this work to my parents, for supporting and encouraging me throughout my life. i ABSTRACT Nan means male, and dan is the generic name of female roles in xiqu (traditional Chinese theatre). The term nandan refers to a male actor who performs female roles in xiqu. Nandan play an important role in xiqu. In the Ming Dynasty (AD 1368-1644), nandan began to flourish with the rise of kunqu (Kun opera). The flourishing of nandan was related to the policies, philosophical context, and the literati culture of the Ming Dynasty. On the kunqu stage, nandan successfully performed the inner spirits of the characters through internalizing their inner feelings and utilizing sharp acting skills with various performance conventions. Off the stage, the relationship between nandan and the literati was that of a master-servant. Nandan satisfied their masters’ demands in terms of performance and homosexual relations if necessary. At the heart of nandan’s performance both on and offstage was the idea of qing. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………….………i ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………....ii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION……………….………………………………………...1 CHAPTER 2: THE ORIGIN OF NANDAN………………………………………………5 CHAPTER 3: SOCIAL BACKGROUND IN THE EARLY MING DYNAST………...10 3.1 The Restriction on Female Prostitutes………………………………………12 3.2 The Advocacy of Neo-Confucianism………………….................................15 CHAPTER 4: NANDAN IN THE MING DYNASTY..………………………………….23 4.1 The Formation of Kunqu ……………………………....................................26 4.2 Kunqu Troupes……………………………………………………………....33 4.3 Nandan Onstage ………………………………………………………….....41 4.4 Nandan Offstage …………………………………………………………....51 4.5 Homosexuality and the Idea of Qing………………………………………..64 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………..70 APPENDIX: THE TIMELINE OF THE MING DYNASTY…………………………...72 BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………………………….73 iii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The birth, flourishing, and decline of nandan have a close relationship with the development of xiqu. In this paper, I will examine the development of nandan in the Ming Dynasty. I propose to analyze how policies, philosophy, and the literati culture affected nandan both onstage and offstage during that period. In the English-language academic world, there are limited sources about nandan, and they focus on different aspects. In his dissertation “Theatre Performance During the Ming Dynasty,” Grant Guangren Shen described the court theatre, private theatre, and public theatre in the Ming Dynasty, while limited information on nandan was given. Min Tian in “Male Dan: the Paradox of Sex, Acting, and Perception of Female Impersonation in Traditional Chinese Theatre” traces the historical development of nandan: the phenomenon “probably dates back as early as the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 219)” (Tian 3); then “female impersonation once again became significant” in the Ming Dynasty (4); after that, “female impersonation… predominated” in the Qing Dynasty (4). In the book Cross-dressing in Chinese Opera, Siu Leung Li focuses on the analysis of dramatic texts and the feminine qualities of performance valued in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1644-1911). There are also some valuable sources that discuss the actors in jingju (Beijing/Peking opera), a dramatic theatre in which nandan play a very critical role on the stage. In Drama Kings: Players and Publics in the Re-creation of Peking Opera, 1870-1937, Joshua Goldstein describes the formation and development of jingju in the late Qing Dynasty and the “golden era” of nandan in the Republican period, and discusses the lives of some key actors in terms of their methods for earning a living and 1 their status in an ever-changing society. Peking Opera and Mei Lanfang, by Wu Zuguang, Huang Zuolin, and Mei Shaowu, describes the life and the artistic career of the icon Mei Lanfang, a male jingju performer in the first half of the 20th century who specialized in the portrayal of female roles. In my study, I will examine the art and life of nandan onstage and offstage in the Ming Dynasty. I will first trace the origin of nandan, then look at the social background in the early Ming Dynasty (AD1368-1487). After that, I will describe nandan in the kunqu troupes. I will focus on the formation of kunqu in the mid-Ming Dynasty (AD 1488-1572), the kunqu troupes, the acting skills and performance criticism of kunqu nandan, and their relationship with the literati in the late Ming Dynasty (AD 1573-1644). I will make good use of both historical records and writings by modern scholars in Chinese and English. Among them, two studies are especially important. Grant Guangren Shen’s “Theatre Performance during the Ming Dynasty” discusses the general theatre performance, performing troupes, and the stages in the Ming Dynasty. For my project, it is especially useful to find out historical writings on kunqu, actors, and their relationship with the literati in the Ming Dynasty. Among the many historical sources that I use, Pan Zhiheng’s Study of Qu (Pan zhiheng quhua), written by the dramatist Pan Zhiheng (AD 1556-1622), is crucial especially for its discussion of the performance of nandan in the Ming Dynasty. As a talented poet of the Ming Dynasty, Pan Zhiheng had a carefree lifestyle. He traveled and made friends with writers and artists, and wrote down his observations on theatre in the Wanli period (AD 1573-1620) when kunqu was very popular. His book is significant because this is the only book in which there are detailed descriptions of the theory of performance as well as critiques of many actors’ performing 2 skills in the Ming Dynasty. Unless otherwise specified, all translations of historical sources cited in this thesis are my own. In some cases, I could not access primary sources. The primary sources that are quoted in the second sources are given in the footnote. Additionally, I use a comparative methodology. In a macro perspective, the Ming Dynasty is the first period that nandan began to flourish. Compared to the previous periods, there are more records on nandan in the late Ming Dynasty. Therefore, I will discuss reasons that provided opportunities for nandan to develop as well as the factors that affected the flourishing of nandan through different social and philosophical contexts. On a micro level, I will compare nandan in the two types of kunqu troupes, commercial troupes and private, in terms of performing conditions as well as in terms of the nandan’s relationship with the literati. Also, I will compare critiques of the acting skills of nandan with those of their female counterparts. Through these comparisons, I will draw a weaving pattern of the network between nandan and various aspects in terms of theatre, troupes, female actors, and the literati. Therefore, investigating nandan in multi- dimensional layers is also an important methodology for this thesis. As the first systematic and detailed English-language study of nandan in the Ming Dynasty, this thesis is important. Its coverage of both the onstage skills and the offstage lives of the nandan, as well as its analysis of reasons for the flourishing of their art and the close relationships between nandan and the literati in terms of the social and philosophical contexts in that period further increases the value of this thesis. However, this is a preliminary study of nandan in the Ming Dynasty. In the PhD dissertation, I plan to expand the issues of nandan to the later periods from the Qing Dynasty to the modern society. Therefore, more time and efforts are needed for collecting profound and solid 3 evidence to support my new arguments. Also, a deeper understanding of both Asian and Western theatre theories will help me provide more creative arguments. 4 CHAPTER 2 THE ORIGIN OF NANDAN The origin of xiqu can be traced to shamanism, as well as the music and dance in the ancient period (Wang G. 6). “The anthology of poetry known as Elegies of Chu (Chuci) shows strong connections with shamanism, especially the part referred to as ‘Nine Songs’ (‘Jiuge’)” (Mackerras 8). According to Nine Songs, which dates from between 329-265 BC, both female and male shamans wore gorgeous costumes while singing and dancing, in order to entertain and impersonate the gods (9). Later, entertainers followed the style of shamans to entertain mortals instead of gods using singing, dancing, and witty language or satire (Feng Y. 14-15). Prior to the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), there are some records on male entertainers dressed as women. During the Three Kingdoms Period (AD 220-265), Emperor Cao Fang (AD c. 240-254) appreciated the performance of Liaodong Yaofu (Female Demon from Liaodong) in which male jesters impersonated females (Chen S.