Xixi Zhongyan (Chinese Staging of Western Drama): Through the Prism of Xiqu’s Modernization
ZHAO Jianxin
Abstract:
Xixi zhongyan (Chinese staging of Western drama) holds significant implications for contemporary xiqu (traditional Chinese opera) creation and has emerged as a vital pathway for exploring and actualizing the modernization of xiqu. This practice of xixi zhongyan has broadened the thematic scope of xiqu and advanced the development of its repertoire. At the same time, it has explored new channels for xiqu’s global engagement, offering a localized Chinese articulation of Western canonical drama. The flourishing of xixi zhongyan in theatrical creation stems from dual motivations: externally, it responds to intercultural imperatives within East-West cultural exchange; internally, it fulfills xiqu’s endogenous aesthetic demand for modernization.
Keywords: xixi zhongyan (Chinese staging of Western drama), xiqu, localization, modernization
Xixi zhongyan (Chinese staging of Western drama) refers to the cross-cultural adaptation and transplantation of classic Western dramatic texts within the framework of Chinese theatrical traditions.① This process entails the retention of the basic narrative structure of the source text, while effecting a thorough Sinicization of elements including characters, subject matter, plot development, and socio-cultural context. In other words, while the surface-level storyline and character prototypes are derived from Western dramatic canon, the narrative architecture, characterization, aesthetics, and ethos are completely reconstituted in indigenous Chinese forms.② Xixi zhongyan represents a distinctive and therefore creative phenomenon in the history of modern Chinese theater. Since the early twentieth century, such adaptations have accompanied the vicissitudes of Chinese theater, profoundly shaping its development and trajectory.
Although it may appear to be a matter of thematic adaptation within theatrical production, xixi zhongyan in fact raises critical issues of cultural and aesthetic negotiation in the contemporary context. It engages the multifaceted, dynamic processes through which canonical Western dramatic texts are practiced within Chinese discourse. As such, it embodies a deeper form of cultural intertextuality and dialogical exchange between civilizations. This article
① Strictly speaking, the term “xixi zhongyan” encompasses all Chinese theatrical forms, including both huaju (modern Chinese drama) and xiqu, that result from the adaptation or transplantation of Western canonical theater.
However, due to the fundamental heterogeneity between huaju and xiqu, scholarly discourse on xixi zhongyan typically uses “zhongyan” (Chinese staging) to refer specifically to adaptations within the traditional operatic
arts of China, excluding huaju, which is itself a Western import. In this article, the meaning of xixi zhongyan is context-dependent and may shift accordingly. Most of the Western classics adapted
in Chinese theatre are drama and novels. Given that this article focuses on the phenomenon
of xixi zhongyan, the discussion will primarily center on adaptations of dramatic texts.
② The terms “cross-cultural adaptation and transplantation” and “xixi zhongyan” as used in this article primarily refer to such transformations. However, this definition
does not exclude those cases in which the process of adaptation has not resulted in
complete localization. In some instances, elements such as the original title or character
names may be retained from the source plays.
delineates the history of adapting Western plays in China over the past century. It seeks to take xixi zhongyan as the point of departure for reflections on the two overlapping transformations, namely, the localization of Western classics and the modernization of xiqu, and on the aesthetics endeavors in those transformations.
For the purposes of this study, I refer to such classic Western plays as “source plays” and their Chinese adaptations as “transplanted plays.”
1
In the development of huaju (spoken drama, modern Chinese drama), the adaptation and transplantation of classic Western dramatic texts not only played a foundational role in its emergence but also significantly accelerated its evolution and maturation. It can even be argued that the creative adaptation of Western source plays has constituted a distinct strand within the genealogy of Chinese theater.
The initial introduction of huaju into China occurred primarily through the medium of adaptation and transplantation by early proponents of wenmingxi (civilized plays). Regarded by scholars as a seminal moment in the emergence of huaju, the Spring Willow Society’s 1907 performance in Japan was itself an adaptation. Subsequently, as early huaju began to free itself from the conventions and constraints of wenmingxi, it was again through the adaptation of Western classic theater that it moved toward the establishment of a more coherent and modern theatrical form. Chinese theater practitioners of the period engaged deeply with classic Western texts, producing a large number of adaptations that enriched the repertoire and theatrical practices of huaju, and in doing so, laid fertile ground for the growth of a distinctly Chinese huaju. A notable example of this process is the establishment of China’s modern theatrical directing and rehearsal systems. This development was marked by Hong Shen’s successful production of The Young Mistress’s Fan in 1924, an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan.
Many of the major figures in modern Chinese theater began their creative careers by adapting foreign works. Playwrights such as Hong Shen, Li Jianwu, Cao Yu, Gu Zhongyi, Jiao Juyin, and Chen Mian all engaged with adaptation as an entry point into dramatic composition. Works such as Hong Shen’s Yama Zhao (based on Eugene O’Neill’s The Emperor Jones) and Wang Youyou’s Mrs. Hua’s Profession (adapted from Bernard Shaw’s Mrs. Warren’s Profession) were transplanted and staged. While not all adaptations achieved critical or popular success, this sustained engagement with Western source plays infused the fledgling field of Chinese dramatic literature with new life. Continual imitation and appropriation further consolidated early practitioners’ foundational understanding of dramatic architecture, technique, linguistic expression, and characterization. These practices laid the groundwork for the newly emerging Chinese dramatic literature, enabling the remarkably rapid maturation of huaju in China within merely two to three decades of its introduction. Cao Yu himself reflected on the formative influence of such adaptations in a conversation with young playwrights, remarking:
“As for Western plays, I repeatedly read The Young Mistress’s Fan, translated by Mr. Hong Shen. It was an excellent adaptation, the best performable script at the time. It showed how a single fan, a simple prop, could carry tremendous dramatic significance.” [1]
During his time at Nankai University, Cao Yu was actively engaged with the adaptations—such as Strife (adapted from John Galsworthy’s Strife), Madam (adapted from Lee Dickson and Leslie M. Hickson’s Whose Money?), Winter Night (adapted from Neither Boyce’s Winter’s Night), The Madman (adapted from Molière’s The Miser), and The Young Mistress’s Fan, which inspired his subsequent artistic achievements. His masterpiece Thunderstorm, a masterfully crafted play of refined technique, was like a sudden tempest on a quiet sea that took the Chinese theater world by storm.
During the 1930s and 1940s, particularly in Shanghai during the Isolated Island Period (1937-1941) and the subsequent Japanese occupation period in the 1940s, cross-cultural adaptation and transplantation of Western theater became a prominent and widely embraced practice within the Chinese huaju community. At the time, professional theater troupes relied primarily on two repertoires: original Chinese plays and adapted or transplanted plays drawn from Western sources. Among these troupes, the most long-standing, influential, and artistically accomplished professional huaju troupe in modern Chinese theatrical history, the China Traveling Drama Troupe, relied heavily on such adaptations. Apart from the original works by Cao Yu and Zhou Yibai, a significant proportion of the troupe's repertoire consisted of adaptations by playwrights such as Gu Zhongyi and Chen Mian. Notably, the troupe’s “shoot-the-cannon plays” in 1933, Mei Luoxiang, an adaptation of Eugene Walter’s The Easiest Way by the renowned playwright Gu Zhongyi, became a staple of its repertoire and was performed widely across the country. The works of nearly all Western playwrights who had exerted a significant influence on the Chinese theatrical world at the time had been adapted and transplanted. These canonical works adapted include William Shakespeare’s four great tragedies (Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth), Friedrich Schiller’s Love and Intrigue, Beaumarchais’ The Marriage of Figaro, Molière’s The Miser, Carlo Goldoni’s The Mistress of the Inn, Alexandre Dumas fils’ The Lady of the Camillias (La Dame aux Camélias),
and O’Neill’s Beyond the Horizon. Among the Chinese playwrights engaged in this mode of creative transplantation, Li Jianwu stood out for both the volume and influence of his contributions. His notable adaptations include Wang Deming (from Macbeth), Ashina (from Othello), Rosy Clouds (adapted from Eugène Scribe’s Adrienne Lecouvreur), Good Things Approaching (adapted from The Marriage of Figaro), and The Family of Liars (adapted from Clyde Fitch’s The Truth), as well as a quartet of plays based on works of the French dramatist Victorien Sardou: The Actress Jin Xiaoyu (adapted from La Tosca), Lust Debt (adapted from Séraphine), Messages from the Flower Wind (adapted from Fernande), and Delightful Encounter (adapted from Fedora). Other influential adaptations include Gu Zhongyi’s The Beginning of Man (adapted from Topaze by Marcel Pagnol) and The Way to Wealth (adapted from The Miser by Molière), both of which enjoyed considerable popularity at the time.
Li Jianwu and Chen Mian, in particular, demonstrated a sustained interest in French melodrama. Their adaptations of melodrama and detective drama exerted significant influence on the Chinese theatrical world. The appeal of these French source plays lays in their well-crafted structures, dramatic tension, and narrative intricacy, qualities that not only attracted audiences but also held a strong commercial potential. For professional theater troupes operating in a market-dependent economy, such characteristics were essential to their survival.
Figures such as Hong Shen, Tang Huaiqiu, and Chen Mian adapted and transplanted Western dramatic classics on the stage, thus deepened their understanding of the artistic principles governing huaju. They actively explored innovations in directing techniques, stage design, lighting, and sound design, thus contributing significantly to the transformation of Chinese huaju from a one-dimensional literary expression into a fully integrated form of stage art. A relatively pure exploration of theatrical art emerged in the troupes’ own specific historical period and in particular occupied regions. These troupes were unable to play at the war frontlines to boost morale during the struggle of national libration, so they turned to the adaptation, transplantation and staging of Western classic drama. They were China Traveling Drama Troupe, as well as the Kugan, Yiguang, and Lianyi troupes during the period of Japanese occupation in Shanghai; the Beiping Drama Society and the Siyi Drama Society during Japanese occupation in Beijing; and the Yinxing Traveling Troupe and Shalong Troupe during Japanese occupation in Tianjin.
In the post-1949 era, the adaptation of Western classics continued to flourish in Chinese huaju, reaching new heights. What was particually striking was the number of variant adaptations of a single Western play, with works of Shakespeare being the most prominent amongst all. Records show that, over the past century, more than one hundred adaptations have been staged in the Chinese mainland, with more than forty additional productions staged in Taiwan since 1949.
2
When compared to xiqu, huaju accommodates intercultural remaking and transplantation of Western canonical works with more facility and ease. Although huaju adaptations have undergone localization in terms of character portrayal and social context, they remain highly consistent with their Western source plays—both in textual paradigms and in stage representation—by virtue of belonging to the same theatrical form. As such, the adaptation process rarely requires a radical reconfiguration of aesthetic particularities and styles. By contrast, transplanting a Western play into xiqu—highly formulated by aesthetic norms—necessitates a comprehensive aesthetic reconstruction. This act of reconstruction entails the transformation of the source plays compliant with the fixed norms of xiqu aesthetics. In this process, the source texts are inevitably subject to varying degrees of misreading or distortion. However, such transformation should not be viewed with undue alarm. Infused with interpretive shifts, xiqu-oriented “reshaping” is a productive attempt to foster dialogue between two distinct theatrical traditions within new socio-cultural contexts, prompting xiqu’s internationalization and modernization. It also is a natural outcome of cross-cultural integration and exchange.
With regard to xiqu, the modernization process that began in the early twentieth century has found one of its most direct and effective aesthetic expressions in the cross-cultural adaptation and transplantation of Western classic dramatic texts. Since the 1914 performance of Killing the Elder Brother and Marrying His Wife (Sha xiong duo sao), a Sichuan Opera adaptation of Hamlet, performed by Wang Guoren and his troupe in Ya’an, Sichuan, the practice of reinterpreting foreign masterpieces through Chinese xiqu has persisted for over a century. In recent years, this trend has continued with productions such as the Yu Opera Miss Julie (adapted from August Strindberg’s eponymous play), the Yue Opera Aspiration Sky High (adapted from Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler), and the Anhui Opera The Psycho (adapted from Shakespeare’s Macbeth). Particularly since the era of Reform and Opening-Up, cross-cultural adaptation within the field of xiqu has gained significant momentum. During that period, the adaptation of a wide array of Western canonical works—diverse in aesthetic style and spanning extensive historical periods—resulted in a remarkably rich spectrum of xiqu stagings. Not only have such adaptations challenged the conventional principle of “three-pronged development” of modern, traditional, and adapted operas in terms of themes, they have also served as important endeavors in the ongoing effort to explore and advance the modernization of xiqu.
The cross-cultural adaptation and transplantation of Western theater into xiqu constitutes, in the truest sense, a mode of xixi zhongyan, as the medium of adaptation is no longer the imported art form of spoken drama but rather authentically indigenous traditions of xiqu.
The practice of xixi zhongyan through the medium of xiqu can be broadly divided into two historical phases: the first spanning from 1914 to 1949 during the Republican Era, and the second beginning in 1986 and continuing into the present.
The first phase exhibits four salient characteristics.
First, in many cases, the adaptation and transplantation of the original Western plays were first undertaken by huaju productions. After achieving critical acclaim and box office success, the huaju adaptations were subsequently followed by xiqu adaptations. For instance, the Yue Opera Filial Daughter’s Heart, performed by Fu Quanxiang in the 1930s, drew upon Shakespeare’s King Lear, a play already adapted multiple times into huaju. Similarly, in 1947, the Shangyi Huju Troupe—led by Ding Shie, Xie Hongyuan, and Gu Yuezhen—premiered the new play The Knot of Harmony (He he jie), adapted by Ye Zi. Notably, its source play, Oscar Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan, had already been successfully staged as a huaju production The Young Mistress’s Fan by Hong Shen more than two decades earlier. This pattern of “testing the water” in the huaju market reveals a measured approach within the xiqu community toward engaging with Western theater.
Second, the genres in this first wave of xixi zhongyan exhibited a distinct imbalance, with yueju from Zhejiang, yueju from Guangdong, Shanghai opera as front runners in the adaptations. Yueju from Zhejiang represents the regional opera genres that emerged in the early 20th century. Yueju from Guangdong represents those that had greater exposure to foreign cultures due to their coastal locations. Shanghai opera combined both characteristics. Unlike major traditional genres such as Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera, newer regional forms like Shanghai Opera and Yueju from Zhejiang were less rigid in their use of conventions. Moreover, given Shanghai Opera’s frequent focus on shizhuangxi (modern-costume dramas), these newer genres did not necessarily adhere strictly to xiqu conventions for staging in the process of adaptation and transplantation. According to extant records, only one case of xixi zhongyan was produced in Peking Opera during the Republican Era: Jiao Juyin’s 1948 Forging Love, based on Romeo and Juliet. This imbalance persisted until the 1980s, as China’s Reform and Opening-Up policy deepened; major traditional genres like Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera, rooted in richer cultural traditions, began to engage more actively with Western classics. This period witnessed a notable increase in cross-cultural adaptations and transplantations within these major genres.
The period from 1985 to the present marks a new phase in xiqu’s engagement with Western classics, one characterized by unprecedented breadth and depth in thematic scope and the alignment of cultural ethos. A surge in the adaptation of Western dramatic classics occurred almost simultaneously among major xiqu genres such as Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera as well as among various regional genres. Prominent adaptation productions include the Peking Opera The Prince of Qi’s Dream (based on King Lear), and the Kunqu Opera Blood-Stained Hands (adapted from Macbeth). Given their broader audience base and greater cultural influence, these major xiqu genres set influential precedents, encouraging further experimentation across other regional genres.
The third defining characteristic of xixi zhongyan is its chronogical development over the course of more than a hundred years: an early boom, a mid-century hiatus, and a later resurgence. The early boom occurred during the Republican Era between the 1930s and 1940s, a period in which Peking Opera had reached a zenith of artistic refinement, while numerous regional genres matured rapidly. These conditions provided fertile ground for adaptation, reflecting xiqu’s vitality and openness to dialogue with Western theatrical traditions. The resurgence occurred in the post-Reform Era. As China’s Reform and Opening-Up progressed and international cultural exchange intensified, the practice of xixi zhongyan—discontinued for over thirty years—was reactivated and has since experienced a vigorous revitalization. In contrast, the intervening decades from 1949 to the mid-1980s were marked by far-left political movements and an closed-off cultural climate, during which xixi zhongyan nearly disappeared. Only two documented examples existed in this thirty-year span: the 1962 Shanghai Opera productions of The Young Mistress’s Fan①[2] and Madam Butterfly.
Finally, the fourth feature concerns the evolving selection of source plays. Initially dominated by Shakespearean plays, the repertoire of adapted works gradually expanded to encompassing various genres and styles in Western classics. Before 1949 and during the first decade following the Reform and Opening-Up, Shakespearean plays dominated as the primary source texts for xixi zhongyan practices. Notably, the inaugural China Shakespeare Festival held in 1986 marked a significant moment, with xiqu adaptations of Shakespearean works in the spotlight. Five productions stood out: the Peking Opera production Othello, the Kunqu Opera Blood-Stained Hands, the Yue Opera (from Zhejiang) The Twelfth Night and The Winter’s Tale, and the Huangmei Opera production Much Ado About Nothing. This dazzling display testified that
① According to Fu Jin’s book A History of Chinese Theater in the Twentieth Century, in early 1963, a symposium on xiqu work was convened in the capital city by the Ministry of Culture, the China Theatre Association, and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture. At the meeting, delegates were provided with a detailed document that catalogued so-called “problematic plays” staged in June and August 1962 across three cities: Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanjing. Notably, The Young Mistress’s Fan was prominently listed among them.
xiqu relcaimed its vitality once liberated from the long-standing constraints imposed by the far-left sociopolitical climate.
From the Republican Era to the present day, Shakespeare has remained the most prominent and enduring source for xiqu adaptations of Western theater. Based on a preliminary survey, there have been at least four Chinese adaptations of Hamlet since 1914. In addition to the aforementioned Sichuan Opera Killing the Elder Brother to Marry His Wife, these include the 1941 Shanghai Opera Usurping the Throne and Stealing the Wife (Qie guo dao sao) in Shanghai, the 1994 Yue Opera The Prince’s Revenge (Wangzi fuchou ji) also in Shanghai, and a Peking Opera version of the same title produced by the Shanghai Jingju Theatre Company. Macbeth has inspired at least six xiqu adaptations, all produced after the onset of the Reform Era, including the 1986 Kunqu Opera Blood-Stained Hands by Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe, the 2001 Yue Opera (from Guangdong) General Malong by Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe of Shaoxing, the 2001 Cantonese opera A Hero Betrays the Nation in Guangdong, the 2010 experimental Sichuan opera Lady Macbeth by Chengdu Chuanju Company, the 2015 small-theater Kunqu Opera Her Husband by Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe, and the 2018 Anhui opera The Psycho by the Anhui Huijing Opera Troupe. In addition to these examples, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and The Merchant of Venice have also served as frequent source plays for xiqu adaptation.
In the 1990s, xixi zhongyan has shifted its Shakespeare-heavy taste in selecting source plays for adaptations. Since that time, Chinese xiqu practitioners have increasingly turned to a broader range of Western theatrical traditions, ranging from ancient Greek tragedy to European modernist theater. Notable among the most influential figures in this new wave of adaptation are Luo Jinlin, Wu Hsing-kuo, Sun Huizhu, and Xu Fen. Luo Jinlin, a professor at the Central Academy of Drama with deep familial roots in Ancient Greek theater and art, is a noted specialist in classical Greek theater. Over the past three decades, he has explored aesthetic and spiritual affinities between the tragic gravitas of ancient Greek drama and the impassioned, heroic sensibility of northern Chinese xiqu forms such as Hebei Bangzi Opera and Ping Opera. His successful adaptations include Medea, Thebes City, and Legend of Two Cities (adapted from The Oresteia).① Sun Huizhu, a professor at the Shanghai Theatre Academy, has been deeply immersed in European and American theater cultures for many years and possesses extensive experience in international theatrical exchange. While he has worked with Peking Opera, his most influential adaptations have been created in xiqu genres that originated south of the Yangtze River, particularly Yue Opera, whose melodic softness and lyrical range lend themselves well in the Henrik Ibsen’s plays. Sun’s major works include Aspiration Sky High (Xin bi tian gao, based on Hedda Gabler) and The Lady from the Sea (Hai shang furen, based on Ibsen’s play of the same name). Living in the remote southwest China, Xu Fen had a greater preference for O’Neill’s penetrating exploration of human interiority. Xu adapted Desire Under the Elms into the Sichuan Opera Raging Tides of a Sea of Desire (Yuhai kuangchao), which has since been recognized as a contemporary classic within the genre in the post-Reform Era. In Taiwan, important contributions have come from Kuo Hsiao-chuang and Wu Hsing-kuo’s Contemporary Legend Theatre. Wu Hsing-kuo stands out as a figure of experimental innovation. Since his landmark 1986 Peking Opera adaptation of Macbeth, titled The Kingdom of Desire, Wu has continued to push the boundaries of xiqu form. Over the past three decades, his work has attained unprecedented scope and depth. Recently, Wu adapted King Lear into a Peking opera solo performance, and, more remarkably, transformed Samuel Beckett’s absurdist masterpiece Waiting for Godot into a Peking opera of the same title. Both productions garnered critical acclaim and provoked intense interest within the Chinese mainland xiqu circles. While Wu’s experimental methods have also generated considerable controversy, his pioneering endeavors to revitalize xiqu through intercultural adaptation deserve both recognition and respect.
3
Since the 1980s, the adaptation and transplantation of Western classics into Chinese xiqu has represented both a continuation and a development of the creative practice that emerged in the early twentieth century. These two periods share similar socio-cultural contexts and exhibit commonalities in terms of repertoire selection and aesthetic pursuits. At the same time, differences in their respective historical circumstances gave rise to distinct creative styles. A critical examination of this century-long phenomenon of xixi zhongyan can offer valuable insights for contemporary xiqu creation and development.
One of the most important contributions of xixi zhongyan during this period has been its challenge to the conventional principle of “three-pronged development.” It is a new endeavor in addition to reworked traditional plays, newly written historical plays, and modern-themed plays. Cross-cultural adaptation introduces a fourth dimension, thereby expanding
① Luo Jinlin’s approach to xixi zhongyan carries a certain distinctiveness. In his adaptations, the social settings of the source plays are not fully localized; character names, place names, and even the titles of the plays are often retained from source plays. Nevertheless, Luo undertakes substantial modifications in narrative structure, character relationships, and thematic emphasis, adjustments that align more closely with Chinese aesthetic sensibilities and facilitate expression within the operatic medium. As such, his adaptations of ancient Greek tragedies into Hebei Bangzi Opera and Ping Opera still fall, in a strict sense, within the category of xixi zhongyan.
the thematic field of xiqu creation and offering new resources for contemporary repertoire development. From a market perspective, the increasingly globalized cultural context has diversified tastes and expectations of audiences. Accordingly, it is imperative to broaden the thematic horizons of xiqu and approach its development with greater openness. Chinese xiqu bears the dual responsibility of preserving its indigenous heritage while drawing creatively from the theatrical achievements of other world cultures, including Shakespeare, Ibsen, Chekhov, and O’Neill. Over the past few decades, numerous successful adaptations have become signature works in their respective troupes, including Blood-Stained Hands by the Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe, The Kingdom of Desire by Taiwan’s Contemporary Legend Theatre, and Raging Tides of a Sea of Desire and Lady Macbeth by Chengdu Chuanju Company. These productions have come to represent exemplary cases of xixi zhongyan, and such successes warrant careful study and systematic reflection to provide useful models for current efforts that foster innovation and stylistic renewal in Chinese xiqu. Moreover, Western theater’s deep engagement with psychological complexity and human interiority offers narrative and dramaturgical dimensions not always readily available within xiqu structures. Through the adaptation of Western works, xiqu can enhance its literary value and modernize its approach to character development and dramatic conflicts, thereby contributing to its creative transformation and innovative development.
Second, xixi zhongyan has opened new venues for the global circulation of Chinese xiqu, creating opportunities for fuller engagement with world theater and participation in international cultural discourse. How to produce xiqu works that retain their cultural distinctiveness while embodying universal themes and humanistic values is a question for artists committed to the global dissemination of Chinese traditional culture. Over the past century, xiqu artists have laid an important foundation in this regard by creatively adapting Western classics. In recent years, nearly all of the most influential xixi zhongyan productions have participated in major global theater festivals. Although these adaptations originate from Western sources, their sociocultural contexts and characterization have been thoroughly localized and Sinicized. As a result, these productions are intelligible and accessible to both Chinese and international audiences, reflecting shared moral and emotional concerns across cultures. In this way, xixi zhongyan represents a meaningful endeavor through which an ancient Eastern art form integrate itself into the global cultural system and undergo internationalization. By summarizing the creative patterns of such adaptations, we can leverage xiqu’s rich aesthetic resources to present globally recognizable stories in distinctly Chinese forms. International audiences will better understand and appreciate China. The recognition of the creative patterns also facilitate the communicaiton and intergration between traditional Chinese culture and global cultural currents. In doing so, xiqu serves as a platform for promoting the global influence of China’s cultural heritage.
Third, xixi zhongyan has proven an effective approach to disseminate Western dramatic classics and facilitate the study and popularization of Western theatrical culture. These cross-cultural adaptations are able to maintain the philosophical and ideological depths of the original plays while rendering them accessible to general audiences through distinctive Chinese cultural elements. In xixi zhongyan, Western theatrical traditions gain wider circulation in China through new forms and expressions.
Xixi zhongyan constitutes a distinctive mode of modern expression in xiqu. Initiated over a century ago, this creative endeavor remains a dynamic and evolving force. Xiqu is fundamentally different from Western theater, given that xiqu is a highly formulated art of singing and dancing, shaped by classical Chinese aesthetics, and characterized by its unique stylized conventions of stage design. As a result, when a Western play is adapted into xiqu, the transformation must adhere to the aesthetic logic of xiqu to avoid risking an awkward hybrid of spoken drama and singing. Conversely, the conventions regulating singing and dancing in xiqu are not immutable; during the process of adaptation and transplantation, mechanical adherence to tradition or formal stagnation is undesirable. The relationship between innovation and tradition, transformation and inheritance, must be conceived dialectically, as interdependent and mutually embedded rather than mutually exclusive. The history of over a hundred years of creative practice amply demonstrates that the adaptation of Western canonical plays into xiqu can serve as a method for advancing xiqu’s modernization, no less effective than the cretion of new modern ones.
The evolving selection of Western source plays in xixi zhongyan reflects the deepening of international cultural exchange and Chinese theater practitioners’ expanding understanding of Western dramatic traditions. For instance, Shakespeare’s Hamlet was adapted into xiqu as early as 1914, whereas Macbeth was not adapted until 1986, a delay of seventy-two years. This disparity is not accidental. Rather, it reflects differences in how the two plays align, or fail to align, with the thematic and ethical structures of traditional Chinese opera. Hamlet is reinterpretable through xiqu’s familiar
moral frameworks, loyalty versus betrayal, virtue versus evil, making it more accessible to Chinese audiences. Macbeth, by contrast, centers on a protagonist of profound psychological complexity. The hidden human grandeur within his spiritual essence, as well as the process by which this grandeur is ultimately consumed, is rarely depicted in traditional xiqu. Consequently, the aesthetic appreciation of the psychological complexity among Chinese audiences continues to evolve in a gradual process. It was not until 1986, in a climate of intellectual liberation, that Macbeth as a complex character could be fully understood and appreciated in China. Chinese theatre practitioners to broke the traditional thematic boundaries of xiqu, enabling the character to be reimagined in a distinct form on the Kunqu Opera stage.
Indeed, many challenges in xixi zhongyan remain unresolved. Continued experimentation and critical refinement are necessary to chart the optimal path for the integration of Chinese and Western theatrical aesthetics.
First, the creation of xixi zhongyan is a multi-dimensional, multi-layered, and multi-phase process of artistic transformation. It implicates deep cultural integration and civilizational dialogue, placing high demands on the creators. In my view, it entails three levels of cultural code-switching: first, textual translation at the linguistic level; second, intertextual dialogues at the cultural level; and third, theatrical language transformation at the dramaturgical level. These three levels increase in complexity as they move from page to stage. They require that the canonical status of the source play be preserved, while ensuring that the adaptation achieves meaning through formulated expressions appropriate to xiqu. Only when executed with precision and appropriation can this process result in works of artistic excellence. Yet while the number of xixi zhongyan productions has grown steadily over the past century, few have achieved canonical status. The primary reason, I suggest, lies in the deficient handling of these three levels of cultural code-switching.
In addition, the protagonists of Western source plays adapted in xixi zhongyan are predominantly complex and nuanced figures rooted in Western cultural contexts. This stands in contrast to the aesthetic logic of xiqu, which relies on fixed role categories (hangdang), stylized facial patterns (lianpu), and grouping or categorizing of characters. Due to the difficulty of establishing one-to-one correspondences, appropriate modifications and innovations in the design and arrangement of role categories are necessary, sometimes even require the breaking of conventional role boundaries. The use of formulated performance in xiqu for characterization, whether to remove conventions or remodel and deveop them, also demands thoughtful deliberation.
References:
[1] Cao, Yu. “Cao Yu: On Reading and Writing with Playwrights.” Play Monthly, No. 10, 1982.
[2] Fu, Jin. A History of Chinese Theatre in the Twentieth Century, Beijing: China Social Sciences Press, 2017.
This article was published in Chinese in 2024.
Zhao, Jianxin. “Xixi Zhongyan (Chinese Staging of Western Drama): Through the Prism of Xiqu’s Modernization.” DRAMA Journal, no. 1, 2021, pp. 133–40, https://doi.org/10.13917/j.cnki.drama.2021.01.010.
The English translation of this article was published in the second volume of TheaComm, an E-Journal of Theater Arts Communication in October, 2025. DOI.org (Crossref), http://doi.org/10.22191/theacomm/volume2/article4.
Translator: Xinyi Tai
Proofreaders: Chenqing Song, Xi Wang