英文摘要
|
Lin Xiantang was an important leader in the unraveling of the modern history of the Taiwanese nationalistic movement at the beginning of the 20th century, from the establishment of petition movements by the Parliament, the Taiwanese Culture Association, People's Party to local self-governing associations. He strove to get political rights for Taiwanese people and also advocated for changes in society and culture, encouraging the masses to read newspapers, watch films, listen to music, and also watch new plays (Wenhuaju, Xinju) with their intrinsic cultural consciousness. Yet, Lin Xiantang's concept of culture was not entirely the same as that of the Taiwan Culture Association or the People's Party; he often took in traditional theatre and folk activities. This had to do with his family traditions, and it also stemmed from his cultural upbringing.In the diary left by Lin Xiantang, ”Mr. Guanyuan's Diary”, there are many records of his theatre going. The content is very brief, often not even mentioning the theatre (location of the play), the theatre troupe, the play or the actors. He also rarely mentions his thoughts on the plays, only expressing enthusiasm about the cultural performances by Wufeng's ”Yi Xinhui” and how he often participated in the post-performance theatrical discussions. He held the traditional rational view that ”plays possess no benefit”, yet he was tolerant and had a local elite's sympathy towards popular religious performances and religious offerings at temples. Not only did he not oppose these religious activities, he often participated in them.”Mr. Guanyuan's Diary” reflects theatre's role among the ranks of the literati as well as in society and is worth pondering. The plays that cultured persons participated in had as their objective a reformation of society and culture and an elevation of the theatrical arts. However, the fashion and influence they created was only called upon by a few people (like Zhang Weixian). What's more, cultural authors mastered the result of this discourse. From a theatrical perspective, the importance of ”Mr. Guanyuan's Diary” no longer lies in providing important information about Taiwanese theatrical activities but in showing the state of Taiwanese theatre during the Japanese Era; it corroborates Taiwanese popular theatre's basic model, the rich and influential families' role within it, Taiwanese nationalistic movements in modern times as well as aspects of the lives of activists in the New Culture People´s Movement in relation to theatre. These are the most valuable aspects of ”Mr. Guanyuan's Diary's” sections on theatre.Through Lin Xiantang we can observe the coexistence in literati circles of the continuation of tradition and the absorption of modern culture. This is also the basic attitude of traditional society and the masses in their contact with theatre.
|