ABSTRACT

How does one define the “Late Modern Period” in modern Chinese culture? What might be counted as “plays” in this context? Do plays include “Beijing Opera” (jingju) and the myriad forms of “local operas” (difangxi)? What about translated plays? Are we only concerned about Mainland China, or our conceptualization should also include developments in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and other Sinophone locations? Speaking of plays, how can we not be attentive to their performance history in addition to examining them as written texts? These are only some of the many questions I have in the process of thinking through the possibilities and limitations this chapter might present in the context of this handbook on modern Chinese literature.