Chinese Adaptations of Brecht

Chinese Adaptations of Brecht PDF Author: Wei Zhang
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030377784
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
This book examines the two-way impacts between Brecht and Chinese culture and drama/theatre, focusing on Chinese theatrical productions since the end of the Cultural Revolution all the way to the first decades of the twenty-first century. Wei Zhang considers how Brecht’s plays have been adapted/appropriated by Chinese theatre artists to speak to the sociopolitical, economic, and cultural developments in China and how such endeavors reflect and result from dynamic interactions between Chinese philosophy, ethics, and aesthetics, especially as embodied in traditional xiqu and the Brechtian concepts of estrangement (Verfremdungseffekt) and political theatre. In examining these Brecht adaptations, Zhang offers an interdisciplinary study that contributes to the fields of comparative drama/theatre studies, intercultural studies, and performance studies.

Chinese Adaptations of Brecht

Chinese Adaptations of Brecht PDF Author: Wei Zhang
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030377784
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 210

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book examines the two-way impacts between Brecht and Chinese culture and drama/theatre, focusing on Chinese theatrical productions since the end of the Cultural Revolution all the way to the first decades of the twenty-first century. Wei Zhang considers how Brecht’s plays have been adapted/appropriated by Chinese theatre artists to speak to the sociopolitical, economic, and cultural developments in China and how such endeavors reflect and result from dynamic interactions between Chinese philosophy, ethics, and aesthetics, especially as embodied in traditional xiqu and the Brechtian concepts of estrangement (Verfremdungseffekt) and political theatre. In examining these Brecht adaptations, Zhang offers an interdisciplinary study that contributes to the fields of comparative drama/theatre studies, intercultural studies, and performance studies.

"A Friend from Far Away"

Author: Yiyuanfang Qiao
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
In the theatre field, Bertolt Brecht could be counted as a representation of cross-cultural phenomenon. His Verfremdungseffekt theory, Marxist beliefs and wide application of Chinese elements made him a significant stop for every person in theatre who has a passion for Chinese culture. For this reason, I am studying Brecht as a representative innovator who adapted the Eastern Asian elements, especially those from China, into his work, to illustrate this cultural phenomenon and the artistic achievement of his works as well. As an old saying in the Confucian Analects, "Isn't it delightful to have friends coming from far away?", Brecht is like an old friend of China even though he never went to there. Since his works have been introduced into China from 1930s to 1940s, research of Brecht experienced ups and downs through the different political eras. Even now, Brecht's theory and practice still has a deep impact on the Chinese drama. I particularly focus on Brecht's works toward China, and try to illustrate them based on the former research from the European and American scholars as well as from Chinese scholars. I will clarify the Chinese traditional philosophy as the foundation of the whole thesis as well as the beginning of the first chapter, and analyze the Chinese-styled abstraction of Brecht's poetry. In Chapter Two, I will illuminate the interaction between Brecht and traditional Chinese opera based on Huang Zuolin's research. In addition, I will clarify the long-term misunderstanding that Chinese drama had for Brecht. In Chapter Three, I will focus on A Good Woman of Sichuan and The Caucasian Chalk Circle as representations to interpret the relationship between Brecht's and the original versions as well as the Chinese philosophy that Brecht's version has employed. Finally, the conclusion contains not only the summary, but also the possibilities for Brecht research in the future. Hopefully my work could balance both the objective truth and my personal thoughts, and contribute to the ones who may need them in the future.

Brecht and East Asian Theatre

Brecht and East Asian Theatre PDF Author: Anthony Tatlow
Publisher: Hong Kong University Press
ISBN: 9789622090682
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
This book contains unique information about Bertolt Brecht and East Asian theatre. It focuses in particular on China and offers first and detailed accounts of important Brecht productions from those directly involved. Hence it grants remarkable insight into the problems of modern Chinese theatre and its relationship to Western theatre and into possible future developments. The book also throws light on Brecht's work and suggests ways of 're-producing' Brecht in the West. It consists of papers presented at a Hong Kong conference by distinguished Western critics (John Willett, Klaus Volker) and prominent practitioners of the theatre in China - directors (Huang Zuolin, Chen Yong), stage designers, translators and scholars. There are also accounts of Brecht productions in Japan and India, which form a stimulating contrast with the Chinese experience. With a wealth of practical examples, the book enables us to appreciate how theatre develops within different social structures. Presenting examples of cultural affinity and cultural disjunction, it also makes a useful contribution to intercultural study.

The Caucasian Chalk Circle

The Caucasian Chalk Circle PDF Author: Bertolt Brecht
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 140816101X
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
This Student Edition of Brecht's classic dramatisation of the conflict over possession of a child features an extensive introduction and commentary that includes a plot summary, discussion of the context, themes, characters, style and language as well as questions for further study and notes on words and phrases in the text. It is the perfect edition for students of theatre and literature. Brecht projects an ancient Chinese story onto a realistic setting in Soviet Georgia. In a theme that echoes the Judgment of Solomon, two women argue over the possession of a child; thanks to the unruly judge, Azdak (one of Brecht's most vivid creations) natural justice is done and the peasant Grusha keeps the child she loves, even though she is not its mother. Written in exile in the United States during the Second World War, The Caucasian Chalk Circle is a politically-charged, much-revived and complex example of Brecht's epic theatre. This volume contains expert notes on the author's life and work, historical and political background to the play, photographs from stage productions and a glossary of difficult words and phrases. It features the acclaimed translation by James and Tania Stern with W. H. Auden.

Adapting Western Classics for the Chinese Stage

Adapting Western Classics for the Chinese Stage PDF Author: Shouhua Qi
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315446146
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description
Adapting Western Classics for the Chinese Stage presents a comprehensive study of transnational, transcultural, and translingual adaptations of Western classics from the turn of the twentieth century to present-day China in the age of globalization. Supported by a wide range of in-depth research, this book Examines the complex dynamics between texts, both dramatic and socio-historical; contexts, both domestic and international; and intertexts, Western classics and their Chinese reinterpretations in huaju and/or traditional Chinese xiqu; Contemplates Chinese adaptations of a range of Western dramatic works, including Greek, English, Russian, and French; Presents case studies of key Chinese adaptation endeavors, including the 1907 adaptation of Uncle Tom’s Cabin by the Spring Willow Society and the 1990 adaptation of Hamlet by Lin Zhaohua; Lays out a history of uneasy convergence of East and West, complicated by tensions between divergent sociopolitical forces and cultural proclivities. Drawing on disciplines and critical perspectives, including theatre and adaptation studies, comparative literature, translation studies, reception theory, post-colonialism, and intertextuality, this book is key reading for students and researchers in any of these fields.

Brecht and China

Brecht and China PDF Author: Huang Zuolin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 26

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Book Description


Bertolt Brecht

Bertolt Brecht PDF Author: John Fuegi
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521282451
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
Covers Brecht's day-to-day work as a theatre director telling how he worked with actors and how his productions were actually put together in rehearsal.

The Poetics of Difference and Displacement

The Poetics of Difference and Displacement PDF Author: Min Tian
Publisher: Hong Kong University Press
ISBN: 9622099076
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
Intercultural theater is a prominent phenomena of twentieth-century international theater. This books views intercultural theatre as a process of displacement and re-placement of various cultural and theatrical forces, a process which the author describes as 'the poetics of displacement'.

Intercultural Aesthetics in Traditional Chinese Theatre

Intercultural Aesthetics in Traditional Chinese Theatre PDF Author: Wei Feng
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030406350
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 287

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Book Description
This book traces the transformation of traditional Chinese theatre’s (xiqu) aesthetics during its encounters with Western drama and theatrical forms in both mainland China and Taiwan since 1978. Through analyzing both the text and performances of eight adapted plays from William Shakespeare, Bertolt Brecht, and Samuel Beckett, this book elaborates on significant changes taking place in playwriting, acting, scenography, and stage-audience relations stemming from intercultural appropriation. As exemplified by each chapter, during the intercultural dialogue of Chinese and foreign elements there exists one-sided dominance by either culture, fusion, and hybridity, which corresponds to the various facets of China’s pursuit of modernity between its traditional and Western influences.

Paper Revolutions

Paper Revolutions PDF Author: Sarah E. James
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262046563
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 397

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Book Description
The experimental practices of a group of artists in the former East Germany upends assumptions underpinning Western art’s postwar histories. In Paper Revolutions, Sarah James offers a radical rethinking of experimental art in the former East Germany (the GDR). Countering conventional accounts that claim artistic practices in the GDR were isolated and conservative, James introduces a new narrative of neo-avantgarde practice in the Eastern Bloc that subverts many of the assumptions underpinning Western art’s postwar histories. She grounds her argument in the practice of four artists who, uniquely positioned outside academies, museums, and the art market, as these functioned in the West, created art in the blind spots of state censorship. They championed ephemeral practices often marginalized by art history: postcards and letters, maquettes and models, portfolios and artists’ books. Through their “lived modernism,” they produced bodies of work animated by the radical legacies of the interwar avant-garde. James examines the work and daily practices of the constructivist graphic artist, painter, and sculptor Hermann Glöckner; the experimental graphic artist and concrete and sound poet Carlfriedrich Claus; the mail artist, concrete poet, and conceptual artist Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt; and the mail artist, “visual poet,” and installation artist Karla Sachse. She shows that all of these artists rejected the idea of art as a commodity or a rarefied object, and instead believed in the potential of art to create collectivized experiences and change the world. James argues that these artists, entirely neglected by Western art history, produced some of the most significant experimental art to emerge from Germany during the Cold War.