Abstract
This chapter is a study of the 1992 and 2011 chuanju adaptations of Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle (written in 1944)—which itself is an adaptation of the fourteenth-century Chinese play Huilan ji (The Chalk Circle)—and their experiments with interfusing traditional chuanju and innovative new techniques to address social problems of present-day China in the spirit of Brecht’s political theatre. These two chuanju adaptations, especially the 2011 adaptation, reflect the progress Chinese artists have made in blending Brechtian theatre and xiqu, traditional xiqu techniques, and new theatre technologies, in creating a theatre experience that is both engaging and resonant with the socioeconomic and cultural realities of present-day China.
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Notes
- 1.
Hu Chengdu is a chuanju playwright and actor. I interviewed him in May 2016 at his home in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and appreciate his help.
- 2.
Yang Xiao is a well-known playwright who is particularly good at writing comedy. His adaptation was performed by the Chongqing Chuanju Company and runs for approximately two hours.
- 3.
Chivalrous swordsmen (侠, Xia) in Chinese culture “refers to a group of people with martial arts skills who act bravely for a just cause and is willing to sacrifice him or herself to rescue those who are in distress and help those in poverty. Chinese xia culture is entrusted with humanistic pursuit of social justice, virtues and conscience and became a unique Chinese cultural image” (see http://www.csstoday.com/Item/5580.aspx, May 17, 2018).
- 4.
The 2011 chuanju adaptation The Chalk Circle is an expansion of both the initial 50-minute version developed in 2008 for the closing ceremony of the “Germany and China: Moving Ahead Together” event and the 20-minute version performed for German National Pavilion Day at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo (see X. Yang, Huilan ji, Lecture 6). The performance success of the initial two versions facilitated the subsequent two-hour version.
- 5.
This discussion draws upon my 2016 interview with Hu Chengde who shared with me his interpretation of the socialist principle of “to each according to his contribution.”
- 6.
I have saved my discussion of the love story of Grusha and Simon in Brecht’s original play, and Du Juan (Grusha) and Xin Peng (Simon) in Chinese chuanju adaptation for this chapter because Chen Yong’s huaju adaptations of the Brechtian play are mostly faithful to Brecht’s script with only minor changes. My focus in the chapter on Chen Yong’s adaptations is on her portrayal of the female characters. That why I did not analyze Azdak in the chapter on Chen Yong’s adaptation. Moreover, chuanju’s adaptation of Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle made more significant changes and localization in order to fit for the xiqu’s (including chuanju) dramaturgy, role type, conventional performance style, and Chinese audience’s habitual reception.
- 7.
I refer to Huang Yushun’s article in 2013; and Yang Shusen’s textbook Logic Accomplishment and Research Capacity (Hefei: Anhui People’s Publishing House, 2006).
- 8.
Based on Hu Chengde’s interpretation reflected in his adaptation and his explanation given during the interview.
- 9.
The discussion of Hu Chengde’s script of the chuanju adaptation in this section is based on Hu Chengde’s book, Song Cry Life: Scripts and Essay Collection (Hong Kong: Tianma Book Company, 2006).
- 10.
Fujing (副净) is a painted-face role whose primary function is movement, although he can sing too if the actor happens to be a good singer too.
- 11.
Zhang Qian (Thousand Zhang) and Li Wan (Ten Thousand Li) in Hu’s The Chalk Circle are frequently used names for court orderlies in traditional xiqu plays. They have a ring of money to them, for example, 1000 yuan, 10,000 yuan.
- 12.
Zhan yanzi (展言子) means a jingle or a two-part allegorical saying in colloquial language and derived from daily life.
- 13.
For more about chivalry in Chinese history, culture, and literature, especially in connection with Moheism, see Xue Baicheng; Luo Jiahui; Lu Di; Liu Feibin; and Huang QuanYan.
- 14.
Robber Zhi’s story is contained in chapter 29 of Chuang-tzu (Zhuang Zi). It criticizes Confucius’s hypocrisy and fraudulence.
- 15.
Kaikou huo (开口货) in the Sichuan dialect means a child.
- 16.
“Listening to the advice of others, having enough to eat” is a Chinese proverb. It means that as long as one is good at listening to the advice of others, one can live a better life.
- 17.
The two plays tell a similar story of succession to the throne through courtly intrigues.
Works Cited
Hu, Chengde. 2016. Personal Interview, Chengdu, May 9.
IOCO Kultur im Netz. 2012. “The highlight of Germany’s yearlong celebration of Chinese culture will be the European premiere of the Sichuan Opera [Chuanju] The Chalk Circle [Huilan ji] during the International May Festival of 2012” (Als Höhepunkt des Kulturjahres Chinas in Deutschland feiert die Sichuan-Oper Der Kreidekreis bei den Internationalen Maifestspielen 201Europa-Premiere), May 31. https://www.ioco.de/tag/sichuan-opera/. Accessed August 9, 2017.
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Mencius. 2015. Mencius. Trans. David Hinton. Berkeley: Counterpoint.
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Xia, Jing. 2015. “Chuanju huilan ji jingyan yangcheng” [Chuanju Huilan ji Stunning in Guangzhou (Yangcheng). Chongqing ribao [Chongqing Daily], May 11.
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Yang, Xiao. 2017b. Email Correspondence with Author, July 4.
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Zhang, W. (2020). Concentric Circles: Two Chuanju Reinterpretations of The Caucasian Chalk Circle as The Chalk Circle. In: Chinese Adaptations of Brecht. Chinese Literature and Culture in the World. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37778-6_4
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