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{{Use Oxford spelling|date=December 2024}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
[[File:原野（话剧）.jpg|upright=1.5|thumb|alt=A man leaning into a woman|A 2007 performance of [[Cao Yu]]'s ''[[The Wilderness (play)|The Wilderness]]'' (1932)]]
'''''Huaju''''' ({{zh|t=話劇 |s=话剧|p=Huàjù|l=word drama}}), also known as '''modern Chinese drama''', is a form of spoken-word [[drama]] found through the [[Sinophone|Sinophone world]]. Characterized by naturalistic dialogue as well as realistic make-up, costumes, sets, and lighting, and clear divisions between acts and scenes, it emerged in the 1920s through the application of [[Realism (theatre)|realist philosophy]] to the earlier [[civilized drama]]. Early proponents, such as [[Ouyang Yuqian]], [[Hong Shen]], [[Tian Han]], and [[Cao Yu]], drew on the thought of [[Henrik Ibsen]], [[Anton Chekhov]], and [[Maksim Gorky]] to create a style of drama suited for the modern age. It remained highly formalized, despite efforts to introduce elements of [[Chinese opera]], through the 1960s. Banned in China during the [[Cultural Revolution]], reforms introduced since the 1970s have allowed the rise of ''[[avant-garde]]'' and hybrid forms. ''Huaju'' is also attested in [[Taiwan]] and [[Hong Kong]], where it has evolved separately since the end of the [[Chinese Civil War]].
Popular reception of ''huaju'' has waxed and waned over time, with early works limited to urban audiences and contemporary works finding greater acceptance as audiences have become increasingly exposed to Western culture. Themes have varied, with early works noted for their political content and their emphasis on gender roles. Translation of ''huaju'' began in the 1930s, and has become increasingly common since the 1980s.
==Definition and influences==
''Huaju'' is a form of spoken-word drama. It is characterized by realistic make-up, costumes, sets, and lighting, as well as clear divisions between acts and scenes.{{sfn|Liu|2003a}} Works often employ a [[proscenium]] stage, adapted from Western traditions.{{sfn|MacKerras|2008|p=20}} Depending on location, ''huaju'' may use various languages, with [[Cantonese language|Cantonese-language]] performances common in [[Hong Kong]].{{sfn|Liu|Wetmore|2009|p=323}}
Influences on ''huaju'' have varied. Early forms of spoken-word drama, such as the [[civilized drama]] genre prominent in Shanghai in the 1910s, built upon the [[Chinese opera]], early spoken-word forms, and the Japanese ''[[shinpa]]''.{{sfn|Liu|2003b}} The development of the purely spoken-word ''huaju'' in the 1920s built on the styles established by the civilized drama while introducing higher levels of [[Realism (theatre)|realist philosophy]], drawing heavily from the teachings of playwrights such as [[Henrik Ibsen]], [[Anton Chekhov]], and [[Maksim Gorky]], as well as theorists such as [[Konstantin Stanislavski]].{{sfn|MacKerras|2008|p=9}} At times, specific performances have again drawn on traditional opera, or from the approaches offered by dramatists such as [[Bertold Brecht]].{{sfn|MacKerras|2008|p=9}}
==History==
===Rise===
Traditionally, [[theatre of China|Chinese theatre]] has placed great emphasis on sung performances,{{sfn|Encyclopaedia Britannica, Huaju}} with highly stylized acting prominent in the [[Peking opera|Peking]] and [[Cantonese opera]]s.{{Sfn|Zhong|Zhang|Zhang|1997|p=47}} Western-style spoken-word dramas were introduced in the early 1900s, with the Tokyo-based student troupe Chunliu She performing ''[[Black Slave's Cry to Heaven]]''{{sndash}} considered one of China's first Western-style theatrical performances{{sndash}} in 1907.{{sfn|Liu|2003a}} Upon their returns to China, alumni from this troupe established the civilized drama genre, which blended spoken-word dialogue with operatic performances while incorporating realistic set design.{{sfn|Liu|2003b}}
Towards the 1920s, interest in the civilized drama began to wane,{{sfn|Liu|2003b}} and critics began decrying the genre as [[overacting]].{{sfn|Jia|2022|p=269}} Amateur troupes, meanwhile, sought to move away from the highly commercialized civilized genre.{{sfn|Liu|2003a}} Subscribing to the realist philosophy taught by Ibsen and following the [[New Culture Movement]]'s call for reform, these troupes put greater emphasis on naturalistic performances.{{sfn|Liu|2023|p=234}} Many of these early works were direct translations of works by Western playwrights.{{sfn|Encyclopaedia Britannica, Huaju}} Audiences for these performances, which occurred mostly in urban cultural centres such as Shanghai, were limited.{{sfn|Hung|1989|p=150}}
The word ''huaju'' was introduced in 1927 by the dramatist [[Tian Han]], at which time it was used to describe works that relied exclusively only realistic spoken-word dialogue. Although most troupes embraced high levels of realism, some{{sndash}} such as the national theatre movement under [[Yu Shangyuan]]{{sndash}} sought to maintain hybridity in stage performances and thereby retain elements of Chinese culture.{{sfn|Liu|2023|p=234}} Critics of this movement, most of whom were students, decried it as capitulating to feudal norms, and it was quashed by the end of the decade.{{sfn|Liu|2017|p=266}}
The 1930s saw the expansion of ''huaju'' through further Westernization, as well as access to broader audiences.{{sfn|Hung|1989|p=150}} Through the 1930s and 1940s, a variety of playwrights penned new works to be performed as spoken-word dramas. These included [[Ouyang Yuqian]], [[Hong Shen]], Tian Han, and [[Cao Yu]]; the ''[[Encyclopaedia Britannica]]'' describes Cao's ''[[Thunderstorm (play)|Thunderstorm]]'' (1933), a tragedy in four acts, as a high point in performance and story.{{sfn|Encyclopaedia Britannica, Huaju}} During the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]], ''huaju'' troupes travelled to rural areas to promote resistance to Japanese forces; some of these were supported by the government, with the [[Guo Moruo]]-headed Third Section providing support to ten Anti-Japanese Drama Companies.{{sfn|Hung|1989|p=150}}
===After the Chinese Civil War===
====In China====
Following the establishment of the [[People's Republic of China]] in 1949, the [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP) initiated efforts to reform drama, sponsoring a series of "revolutionary and politically correct" ''huaju'' performances as well as the development of a ballet-inspired dance drama genre known as ''wuju''.{{sfn|MacKerras|2008|pp=4–5}} Genres prominent in this period included the [[slice of life]], as represented by [[Lao She]]'s ''[[Teahouse (play)|Teahouse]]'' (1957), and the [[historical drama]].{{sfn|Liu|Wetmore|2009|p=322}} Efforts by civilized drama writers such as Xu Banmei to again reintegrate traditional operatic forms into ''huaju'', under the name ''tongsu huaju'' (popular spoken drama), gained some traction in the late 1950s, but were ultimately futile.{{sfn|Liu|2017|pp=265–270}}
Performances of ''huaju'' continued through the 1960s, with Tian defining the genre in 1957 as "a new dramatic form imported from Europe together with capitalist civilization half a century ago, or created with strong foreign influences".<ref>quoted in {{harvtxt|Liu|2003a}}</ref> By this point, close [[History of Sino-Russian relations|relations between China and the United Soviet Socialist Republic]] had allowed the introduction of [[Stanislavski's system|Stanislavski's system of acting]] into Chinese drama, albeit with some modifications;{{sfn|Liu|2003a}} other influences came from the dramaturgy of Chekhov and Gorky.{{sfn|MacKerras|2008|p=9}} Such emphasis on realism was not universally accepted, with the film director and dramatist [[Huang Zuolin]] calling for a return to traditional conventions as well as the theatrical ideals of Brecht.{{sfn|MacKerras|2008|p=10}}
[[File:National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts (20240120161248).jpg|thumb|alt=A gate with Chinese-language text|The [[National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts]] in Beijing, established in 1951]]
During the [[Cultural Revolution]] that began in 1966, ''huaju'' was branded a "poisonous weed" and banned.{{sfn|Liu|2003a}} In the subsequent decade, most dramatic performances were Peking operas made into "model dramas" that advanced the CCP's propagandic interests. Although some ''huaju'' were performed by the mid-1970s, they were constrained by the government-mandated models.{{sfn|MacKerras|2008|p=5}} ''Huaju'' returned after the revolution, with many early performances condemning the political persecution involved in the Cultural Revolution.{{sfn|MacKerras|2008|p=5}} Zong Fuxian's ''In a Land of Silence'' (1978), for instance, explored the last months of the revolution.{{sfn|Liu|Wetmore|2009|p=322}} Several dramatists, such as Xie Min through his ''Why Did I Die?'', used the post-Revolution reforms to advance ''[[avant-garde]]'' theatre.{{sfn|MacKerras|2008|p=5}} Others, such Sun Huizhu and Fei Chunfang, incorporated elements of Chinese opera into their performances.{{sfn|MacKerras|2008|p=10}}
''Huaju'' has remained a dominant dramatic form in Chinese theatre.{{sfn|Liu|2003a}} Since the 1990s, it has expanded to become a "total performance event".{{sfn|MacKerras|2008|p=2}} At the same time, younger audiences exposed to Western thought have allowed the genre to increase in prominence.{{sfn|MacKerras|2008|p=12}} Influences from foreign forms of theatre have accelerated, a situation that may be attributed in part due to direct exposure to foreign playwrights; for instance, [[Arthur Miller]] directed a Chinese-language production of his ''[[Death of a Salesman]]'' (1949) in 1983.{{sfn|MacKerras|2008|p=11}}
====In Taiwan====
The conclusion of the [[Chinese Civil War]] and establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 was followed by the exodus of some million and a half refugees across the [[Taiwan Strait]]. This brought significant changes to [[Taiwan]], where modern drama{{sndash}} introduced by the Japanese during [[Taiwan under Japanese rule|their rule]] in the 1910s{{sndash}} had not found much of a following. The [[Kuomintang]] government initially used ''huaju'' for propaganda, though it had diversified by the 1960s under the guidance of dramatists such as [[Li Man-kuei]] and her Committee on Spoken Drama Appreciation. Practices expanded through the 1980s, with [[Chin Shih-chieh]] advancing a model that integrated traditional opera.{{sfn|Liu|Wetmore|2009|p=323}}
====In Hong Kong====
Although under [[British Hong Kong|British influence]] English-language drama had long been performed in Hong Kong, as with Taiwan, the most popular form of theatre among Chinese audiences through the early 20th-century was traditional. ''Huaju'' gained some traction in the 1930s, with the years before the [[Japanese occupation of Hong Kong|Japanese occupation]] seeing several patriotic works. The influx of refugees following the Chinese Civil War, again as in Taiwan, brought several playwrights. Through the 1950s, playwrights such as Hu Chun-bin, [[Hsiung Shih-I]], and Lai Kok-bun produced ''huaju'' in [[Cantonese language|Cantonese]]. Since the 1960s, students of universities such as the [[Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts]] (established 1985) have been primary drivers of ''huaju'' production.{{sfn|Liu|Wetmore|2009|p=323}}
==Themes==
===Politics===
Politics has been a common theme in ''huaju'' from its inception. Works from the Second Sino-Japanese War tended to condemn the Japanese invasion,{{sfn|MacKerras|2008|p=4}} though some{{sndash}} such as [[Xia Yan (playwright)|Xia Yan]]'s ''Sai Jinhua'' (1936), adapted from the life of the [[Sai Jinhua|eponymous woman]]{{sndash}} condemned the Kuomintang government for failing to stop Japan's imperial ambitions.{{sfn|Hung|1989|p=158}} Beginning in the 1950s, works of ''huaju'' were brought in-line with the CCP's political mission, and during the Cultural Revolution CCP propaganda was paramount.{{sfn|MacKerras|2008|p=5}}
Since reform, some playwrights have continued to produce dramas with pro-Party members. Others have distanced themselves from the CCP, with [[Gao Xingjian]] producing works such as ''Alarm Signal'' (1982), which made no mention of the party, and ''The Other Shore'' (1986), which challenged the [[collectivism|collectivist]] philosophy of contemporary China.{{efn|Gao later left China after his works were condemned as anti-socialist {{harv|MacKerras|2008|p=6}}.}}{{sfn|MacKerras|2008|p=6}} Numerous plays critical of the CCP have been banned, though there has been a general trend towards a more ''laissez-faire'' approach since the 1990s.{{sfn|MacKerras|2008|p=7}}
===Gender===
Social reform has been another common theme in ''huaju'', building on the view{{sndash}} advocated, among others, by [[Liang Qichao]]{{sndash}} that such reform is impossible without first being propogated through popular literature.{{sfn|MacKerras|2008|p=18}} Numerous works have dealt with the role of [[women in China]], seeking to improve their status in society. Some, such as [[Hu Shih]]'s ''The Greatest Event in Her Life'' (1919), advocated for women to choose their own spouse,{{sfn|MacKerras|2008|p=7}} and others{{sndash}} such as Guo Moruo's ''Three Rebellious Women'' (1925){{sndash}} depicted them as actively challenging the dominant system.{{sfn|Hung|1989|p=152}} Ouyang Yuqian's ''Pan Jinlian'' (1926) adapted [[Pan Jinlian|the fictional villainess]] of ''[[Water Margin]]'' into a modern woman outspoken against the [[double standard]]s of love and promiscuity.{{sfn|Hung|1989|pp=153–154}} During the late 1930s, women's rights became intertwined with political action against the Japanese, with archetypes such as women intellectuals and warriors becoming commonplace.{{sfn|Hung|1989|pp=155–170}} In the 1950s, the CCP prohibited the performance of plays that promoted [[arranged marriage]]s, advocating instead works that emphasized [[gender equality]].{{sfn|MacKerras|2008|p=8}}
==Translation==
English-language translations of Chinese drama have tended to prioritize traditional opera. Works of ''huaju'' have been translated since the 1930s, with Cao Yu's ''Thunderstorm'' serialized in the Shanghai-based ''T'ien Xia Monthly'' (1936–1937) and the [[Commercial Press]] publishing an [[anthology]] of six dramas titled ''Modern Chinese Drama'' (1941).{{sfn|Liu|Wetmore|2009|p=325}} The [[Beijing]]-based [[Foreign Languages Press]] has published several translated dramas since its establishment in the 1950s. Since the 1980s, several anthologies of ''huaju'' have been published in English, including ''Twentieth-Century Chinese Dramas: An Anthology'' (1983) and ''The Oxford Anthology of Contemporary Drama'' (1997).{{sfn|Liu|Wetmore|2009|p=326}}
==Notable dramatists==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
*[[Cao Yu]]{{sfn|Encyclopaedia Britannica, Huaju}}
*[[Chin Shih-chieh]]{{sfn|Liu|Wetmore|2009|p=323}}
*[[Gao Xingjian]]{{sfn|MacKerras|2008|p=12}}
*[[Guo Moruo]]{{sfn|Hung|1989|p=152}}
*[[Hong Shen]]{{sfn|Encyclopaedia Britannica, Huaju}}
*[[Hsiung Shih-I]]{{sfn|Liu|Wetmore|2009|p=321}}
*[[Lao She]]{{sfn|Liu|Wetmore|2009|p=322}}
{{col-2}}
*[[Ouyang Yuqian]]{{sfn|Encyclopaedia Britannica, Huaju}}
*[[Tian Han]]{{sfn|Encyclopaedia Britannica, Huaju}}
*[[Xia Yan (playwright)|Xia Yan]]{{sfn|Hung|1989|p=157}}
*[[Xiong Foxi]]{{sfn|Hung|1989|p=152}}
*[[Yu Shangyuan]]{{sfn|Liu|Wetmore|2009|p=321}}
*[[Yuan Changying]]{{sfn|Hung|1989|p=152}}
{{col-end}}
==Explanatory notes==
{{notelist}}
==References==
{{reflist|20em}}
==Works cited==
{{refbegin|40em}}
*{{cite encyclopedia
|title=Huaju
|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Britannica
|url=https://www.britannica.com/art/huaju
|date=1 July 2005
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906020259/https://www.britannica.com/art/huaju
|archivedate=6 September 2015
|accessdate=1 December 2024
|ref={{SfnRef|Encyclopaedia Britannica, Huaju}}
}}
*{{cite journal
|jstor=189364
|title=Female Symbols of Resistance in Chinese Wartime Spoken Drama
|last1=Hung
|first1=Chang-Tai
|journal=Modern China
|date=1989
|volume=15
|issue=2
|pages=149–177
|doi=10.1177/009770048901500202
}}
* {{cite journal
|doi=10.1515/jcfs-2022-0002
|url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/jcfs-2022-0002/html
|title=Zheng Zhegu and Performances in Early Chinese Film
|date=2022
|last1=Jia
|first1=Binwu
|journal=Journal of Chinese Film Studies
|volume=2
|issue=2
|pages=261–276
|doi-broken-date=3 December 2024
}}
*{{cite book
|doi=10.1093/acref/9780198601746.001.0001
|title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance
|date=2003
|chapter=Huajü (Hua Chü)
|last=Liu
|first=Siyuan
|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780198601746.001.0001/acref-9780198601746-e-1854
|editor1-last=Kennedy
|editor1-first=Dennis
|isbn=978-0-19-860174-6
|ref={{sfnRef|Liu|2003a}}
}}
* {{cite book
|doi=10.1093/acref/9780198601746.001.0001
|title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance
|date=2003
|chapter=Wenming Xi (Wen Ming Hsi)
|last=Liu
|first=Siyuan
|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803121742820
|editor1-last=Kennedy
|editor1-first=Dennis
|isbn=978-0-19-860174-6
|ref={{sfnRef|Liu|2003b}}
}}
*{{cite journal
|jstor=20638826
|title=Modern Chinese Drama in English: A Selective Bibliography
|last1=Liu
|first1=Siyuan
|last2=Wetmore
|first2=Kevin J.
|journal=Asian Theatre Journal
|date=2009
|volume=26
|issue=2
|pages=320–351
|doi=10.1353/atj.0.0043
}}
*{{cite journal
|doi=10.1017/S030788331700058X
|title='Spoken Drama (''Huaju'') with a Strong Chinese Flavour': The Resurrection and Demise of Popular Spoken Drama (''Tongsu Huaju'') in Shanghai in the 1950s and Early 1960s
|date=2017
|last1=Liu
|first1=Siyuan
|journal=Theatre Research International
|volume=42
|issue=3
|pages=265–285
}}
*{{cite book
|jstor=10.3998/mpub.12254299.18
|doi=10.3998/mpub.12254299
|title=Realisms in East Asian Performance
|chapter=The "Deep Realism" of Style: From Michel Saint-Denis to Huang Zuolin
|date=2023
|isbn=978-0-472-07642-0
|editor-last1=Nakamura
|editor-last2=Saltzman-Li
|editor-first1=Jessica
|editor-first2=Katherine
|last1=Liu
|first1=Siyuan
|pages=233–251
|publisher=University of Michigan Press
|url=https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/121789
}}
*{{cite journal
|jstor=27568433
|title=Tradition, Change, and Continuity in Chinese Theatre in the Last Hundred Years: In Commemoration of the Spoken Drama Centenary
|last1=MacKerras
|first1=Colin
|journal=Asian Theatre Journal
|date=2008
|volume=25
|issue=1
|pages=1–23
|doi=10.1353/atj.2008.0012
}}
*{{cite journal
|doi=10.1386/ac.9.1.46_1
|journal=Asian Cinema
|volume=9
|issue=1
|last1=Zhong
|first1=Dafeng
|last2=Zhang
|first2=Zhen
|last3=Zhang
|first3=Yingjin
|title=From Wenmingxi (Civilized Play) to Yingxi (Shadowplay): The Foundation of Shanghai Film Industry in the 1920s
|year=1997
|pages=46–64
}}
{{refend}}
{{Modern drama}}
[[Category:Performing arts in China]]
[[Category:Culture of the Republic of China (1912–1949)]]
[[Category:Theatre of China]]