Novelty of Lin Zhaohua’s play “All people are Hamlets”

The “Hamlet 1990” directed by Lin Zhaohua represents a variant of the Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”. The title of the play hints to the spirit of creative search and novelty, characteristic for the theater era of the 1990s. It was a specific socially transformative period, when “various Soviet-style creative positions were sacrificed” and china moved towards independent thinking and development of social reforms. It is possible that “Hamlet” performed in 1990 reflected these trends in social transformations, which led to the director’s interpretation and restructuring of Shakespeare’s play based on new views and independent aesthetic perception. “Revenge is a scene, a story” and the director acts as the storyteller; it is up to him how this story will be told. In accordance with methodology of the formal school, the author conducts a reconstruction of this play and analyses the scenic texts from the perspective of modern Chinese theater, as well as from the position of director’s style. “Hamlet 1990” directed by Lin Zhaohua became a new word in theatrical arts. In an open scenic space, the connection between the actors and the viewers is not unidirectional, but is two-way; there is an effect of transfer of psychological payload and emotional interaction between them.

Svetlana A. Serova on Life, Science and Chinese Traditional Theater

The names of specialists in Russian Sinology associated with independent research area are rare. This short list includes Svetlana A. Serova, a sinologist, theater historian, and theater expert, who devoted her academic endeavor to Chinese traditional theater. Deep historical roots of the Chinese theater, specifics in the simultaneous coexistence of dozens of its regional varieties, completely different from Western aesthetic views, stage embodiment and perceptions of this theatrical art — these are just some of the common features inherent in the genre of traditional theater. In Svetlana A. Serova’s seven monographs Chinese theater consistently appeared in its most diverse forms. Among them are genres of Beijing musical drama Jingju and Kunshan drama Kunqu (both became popular nationwide), acting skills and stage art, creative views of playwrights who influenced the development of Chinese theater as a whole, historical retrospectives up to the ancient ritual origins of the theater, parallels with Western theater, etc. It is obvious, that even the most objective and impartial scientific work is the result of not only professionalism, but also the personality of the scientist, his worldview. But when we deal with such a subtle and ephemeral matter as art, the author involuntarily steps at the avant scène, being forced to pass all the material through himself. Therefore, our interest in a researcher of such magnitude as Svetlana A. Serova is dictated not by a common interest, but rather by a need to understand her life values, providing additional opportunity to obtain more holistic view of her heritage.

THEATRICAL LIFE IN CHINA

Based on the study of the problem of Chinese theater and musical art of the country, the original culture of the people is revealed. The problem of studying the worldview system of ancient China as the basis for the emergence of musical tradition has interested many scholars, because it influenced the cultural life of the East. Philosophical views influenced both theatrical life and the musical art of the country. Thus, China's cultural traditions were based on ancient Chinese philosophies: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Special attention was paid to education, especially aesthetics, in China. Music education played an important role in Chinese culture. Confucius emphasizes the comprehensive development of man, while emphasizing the morality of the individual. Thus, the theatrical art of China is distinguished by cultural unity and originality. Musical load played a big role. The Chinese worldview is based on the vision of nature as a living organism. The first sprouts of musical and theatrical art appear. XII-XIII centuries marked the birth of Chinese opera. Chinese theater was fully popular. The musical side of classical theater is characterized by an inseparable unity of sound, word and dance. The range of images, moods, techniques of acting is characterized by a certain type of melody, rhythm, composition of the orchestra. The subject of ancient theater and musical art of China is interesting and not fully studied, which necessitates further development in the study of this issue. Performing skills were subject to a system of vocal skills. Yes, important were: language, temperament, the nature of singing. The storyline has always been built on plots in which good always wins over evil. Thus, an optimistic mood in everything. Thus, Chinese opera singing synthesized the traditions of folk song and classical opera with European bel canto. It is also important to possess not only the voice but also the body. There were special schools that taught the culture of jumping, running, spinning wheels, and so on. Such theater groups have been involved in educating the skills needed for theater since childhood.

Дальневосточные зарисовки Александра Яковлева

Alexandre Yakovlev was a famous Russian painter, graphic and theatre artist, a graduate from the Imperial Academy of Arts and a member of the “World of Art”. In 1917 by the order of the Academy (material collection to decorate interiors of the Kazanian railway station) Yakovlev went to Beijing, then he traveled a lot throughout China, Mongolia and Japan. He explored Chinese and Japanese theaters, as a result he made many ethnographic sketches, portraits and photographs. He arranged the exhibition of his drawings in Shanghai (in 1919). Finding out about the revolution in Russia he emigrated to France. Since 1919 he lived in Paris. He showed multiple works of Far Eastern cycle at personal exhibitions in Paris (Barbazanges Gallery, 1920 and 1921; together with V. Shuhaev), London (Grafton Gallery, 1920) and Chicago (Art Institute, 1922). In 1922 the pub-lisher Lucien Vogel published an album Drawings and paintings of the Far East, which included 50 reproductions of Yakovlev’s Far-East cycle (the book was designed by Shuhaev). At the same time the artist produced an album on the Chinese theater with accompanying text by a Chinese author Zhu Kim-Kim. In 1931–1932 Yakovlev took part in the “Yellow Cruise” arranged by the “Citroen” company. From this expedition he brought some new series of drawings. At the end of the cruise he presented his artworks in Paris and at foreign exhibitions. This background of the artist’s life is subject to be studied better in Russia.

Shaping Forces, Networks, and Local Influences

This chapter surveys the historical context of the 1920s renaissance of Chinese opera theaters in the United States, including social, economic, cultural, and political forces of nation-states that helped shape the Chinese theater network linking China, the United States, Canada, and Cuba. It represents an important shift of the discourse of American musical history from the traditional focus of Atlantic World to that of the Pacific, presenting Chinatown theaters of North America as products of complex transnational forces. It also considers the symbolic significance of language and the impact of transnational network. The chapter therefore challenges the traditional characterization of the Chinese theater community as recalcitrant, demonstrating the many ways in which Chinese and Chinese American performers, owners, and patrons were active participants in the cultural milieu of North America in this period.