Abstract

This paper aims to discuss the development of the female theater in Beijing's theatrical circles during the period of 1912 -1918, based mainly on drama criticisms published in Shuntian-Shibao 順天時報. According to the information gleaned from this newspaper, female actors began to appear on the stage of Chinese opera in 1907, thanks to the disaster relief work organized by the civil society in Beijing. In the same year, a touring circus located in the concession area of Beijing hired a female opera troupe from Tianjin as a way of attracting audience, and added the female theater to their program at night. After 1912, the ban on the public performance by women was lifted and female actors eventually stepped on Beijing's opera stage officially. Afterwards, the Beijing government segregated the performance of male and female actors, resulting in the growing popularity of female-led drama. Taking advantage of the circumstances, female actors not only developed a variety of roles, but also pushed their performance to a higher level. The female actors were more suited than the male actors in the role of dan's (旦 female roles), especially in huadan and zhengdan, winning the approval of the critics and the support of the audience. From 1915 to 1917, the female theater climbed to the top of the Beijing theater, leaving other forms of drama in its wake. However, because of the traditional social contempt for female actors, they never won the respect they deserved. Having to work under great pressure, they were often unable to sustain a long performance life like the male actors. Frequent replacements of new and old female actors alike made it impossible for the female theater to develop in a systematic way, which came to its ultimate decline in 1918. Based on the information from Shuntian Shibao, this paper captures the activities of the female actors in Beijing's theatrical circles from 1912 to 1918, forming a unique chapter in the history of Chinese drama that is made up exclusively of female actors, and deserves to be remembered for that very reason.

 

Link to publication in Airiti Library