When the West Meets Chinese Performing Arts: Miscomprehension, Stimulation & Fascination

10.7021/PAJ.200507.0017

Jean-Marie Pradier

Jingju ； Chinese performing arts ； misunderstandings ； opera ； tragedy ； Jesuits ； Voltaire ； travel writings ； Paul Claudel ； Mei Lan Fang ； Meyerhold ； Soviet performing arts ； Eisenstein ； Lee Strasberg ； Eugenio Barba

臺灣戲專學刊

11期（2005 / 07 / 01）

17 - 35

英文

The human communication is often riddled with misunderstanding. When Western thinkers and artists first came into contact with Chinese performing arts, their attitudes and writings are often founded on these ”misunderstandings”. Some of these misunderstandings are based on a misinterpretation of the theme or content of the plays. Western thinkers or artists are usually ill informed or lacked the education necessary to understand the specific cultural nuances in Chinese performing arts. Early Western thinkers and artists are often focused on specific aspects and they do not make any effort to understand the language and culture of the art. Other misunderstandings are derived from the application of ethnocentric aesthetic rules, principles, and categories like ”Tragedy” or ”Opera” to non-Western performing arts. The inappropriate application of the term ”Opera” or ”Tragedy” to Chinese performing arts also contributed to Western misunderstanding of this new and strange art form, resulting in a surface understanding of the emotion that the performance was intended to invoke. The situation, however, changed for the better in the 20(superscript th) century. Many important Western theater artists in the 20(superscript th) century have came to appreciate the true nature of Chinese performing arts and became inspired or influenced by talented Chinese performers like Mei Lan Fang. Mei Lan Fang's mastery of the art motivated these Western theater artists to incorporate Chinese training techniques into their own methods of training. The efforts made by Mei Lan Fang and other Western theater artists to promote and educate people in Chinese performing arts have sparked renew interest and a deeper understanding of the language and culture behind the mystery.