大衛(wèi)·亨利·黃

1、lUnit 8lDavid Henry HwangI. Introduction to Chinese American DramasI. Introduction to Chinese American DramasPear Garden in the WestPear Garden in the West1. Chinese Opera comes to America1. Chinese Opera comes to AmericaOn October 8, 1852, at the height of the Gold Rush, a troupe of twenty Chinese

2、male and female jugglers performed in San Franciscos 2000 seat American Theatre. On October 20, at the same theater, Tung Hook Tong troupe presented the first classical Chinese operas. This marked the beginning of flourishing of Chinese American performing arts of modern America. Chinese opera stage

3、d in San Francisco from 1852 to the 1880s differed little from those staged in China at that time. 2. Guan Gongs image was in the heart of every Chinese 2. Guan Gongs image was in the heart of every Chinese immigrant in Chinatown.immigrant in Chinatown. He was the hero and the spiritual sustainer of

4、 the touring theatrical troupes and of the immigrants they served, esp., the seamen, the railroad workers and migrant farm workers, then a major part of the Chinese Community in America.Guan Gong in Chinese Opera3. Mei Lan-Fang: Peking Opera Superstar 3. Mei Lan-Fang: Peking Opera Superstar in Ameri

5、cain AmericaMei Lan-fang, the greatest modern Chinese actor of female roles, introduced Peking Opera to the Western world and America where it was virtually unknown. He excelled in the roles of heroic young women and gave fresh impetus to the struggle to emancipate Chinese women. His 1930 tour to Am

6、erica brought world recognition to Chinese Opera and greatly enhanced the status of acting profession. He performed in Washington, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and other cities. Mei Lan-Fang in the traditional play Mei Lan-Fang in the traditional play The Drunken The Drunken ConcubineConcubine;

7、the actor plays the role of Yang Yuhuan, ; the actor plays the role of Yang Yuhuan, Emperor Minghuans favorite concubine who, after being Emperor Minghuans favorite concubine who, after being rejected, drowns her sorrows in alcohol. rejected, drowns her sorrows in alcohol. 4. During the period betwe

8、en the Jazz 4. During the period between the Jazz Age and World War II, Chinese opera Age and World War II, Chinese opera played a most active role in America played a most active role in America from San Francisco to New York.from San Francisco to New York. New York Chinatown became the main Chines

9、e opera centre, entertained and encouraged more than 15000 Chinese immigrants. For a century from 1850 to 1950s, Chinese opera was performed almost every night somewhere or other in America.5.5. By the mid-1950s, almost all the opera houses became cinemas. Because the younger generation of American-

10、educated Chinese American found more entertainment in radio, T.V. and the theatres of the larger society in all their rich verity. Chinese operas role as almost sole entertainment and educational and community center in the Chinese American communities ended.II. New era of II. New era of Chinese Ame

11、rican Chinese American dramasdramas1. During the period from 1852 to 1950s, Chinese opera developed a lot, but the images in the plays of Chinese themes in America are always the misunderstanding of the west. The characters in Chinese dramas are ridiculous Chinese servants, pretty Chinese dolls, mys

12、terious detectives and so on, who speak poor English. They are ugly, funny and cunning. 2. Only from the mid-1950s, Chinese American dramas got new developments and features because the rise of ABC (American Born Chinese) dramatists.Representative works:Representative works:1) The music play which i

13、s adapted from 1) The music play which is adapted from C. Y. Lees (C. Y. Lees (黎錦揚(yáng)黎錦揚(yáng)) novel ) novel Flower Drum Flower Drum SongSong ( (花鼓歌花鼓歌) became successful. This ) became successful. This is the unique Chinese American play which is the unique Chinese American play which is performed on Broad

14、way by 1960s.is performed on Broadway by 1960s. 2) The plays of the Chinese American 2) The plays of the Chinese American dramatists who began their writing career dramatists who began their writing career from 1970s:from 1970s:Diana W. Chou(Diana W. Chou(戴安娜戴安娜周周): ): An Asian Man of a Different An

15、 Asian Man of a Different ColorColor,1981 (,1981 (一個(gè)白皮膚亞洲人一個(gè)白皮膚亞洲人) )Darrell H. Y. Lum(Darrell H. Y. Lum(林洪業(yè)林洪業(yè)): ): Oranges are LuckyOranges are Lucky, 1981 (, 1981 (橘子是幸運(yùn)的橘子是幸運(yùn)的) )Laurence Yep(Laurence Yep(勞倫斯勞倫斯葉葉): ): Pay the ChinamanPay the Chinaman, 1990 (, 1990 (中國中國雇工雇工) )Genny Lim(Genny Lim

16、(林小琴林小琴) :) :PigeonsPigeons, 1986 (, 1986 (鴿子鴿子), ), Paper Paper AngelsAngels, 1991 (, 1991 (紙?zhí)焓辜執(zhí)焓?), ), Bitter CaneBitter Cane，1991 (1991 (苦甘苦甘蔗蔗) )Frank Chin(Frank Chin(趙健秀趙健秀):):The Chickencoop ChinamanThe Chickencoop Chinaman,1972 (,1972 (雞雞屋華人屋華人), ), Year of the DragonYear of the Dragon,1974

17、(,1974 (龍年龍年), ), AIIIEEEEE! An Anthology of Asian American AIIIEEEEE! An Anthology of Asian American WritersWriters,1974 (,1974 (哎呀！美國亞裔作家文集哎呀！美國亞裔作家文集), ), The Big The Big AIIIEEEEE! An Anthology of Chinese American and AIIIEEEEE! An Anthology of Chinese American and Japanese American LiteratureJa

18、panese American Literature,1991 (,1991 (大哎呀！美國華裔大哎呀！美國華裔和日裔文學(xué)文集和日裔文學(xué)文集) )III. David Henry HwanglIntroduction to David Henry HwangIntroduction to David Henry HwangBorn in Los Angeles in 1957, David Henry Hwang is the son of immigrant Chinese American parents; his father worked as a banker, and his mo

19、ther was a professor of piano. Educated at Stanford University, from which he earned his B.A. in English in 1979, he became interested in theater after attending plays at the American Conservatory in San Francisco. By his senior year, he had written and produced his first play, FOB (an acronym for f

20、resh off the boat), which marked the beginning of a meteoric rise as a playwright. Hwang attended the Yale University School of Drama from 1980 to 1981. Although he didnt stay to complete a degree, he studied theater history before leaving for New York City, where he thought the professional theater

21、 would provide a richer education than the student workshops at Yale. David Henry HwangDavid Henry HwangChronologyChronologyl1957Born on August 11 in Los Angeles, California.l1975-1979Attends Stanford University, graduates with a B.A. in English.l1978First play, FOB, produced at Stanford.l1979Teache

22、s at a high school in Menlo Park, California.l1980-1981Attends Yale University School of Drama.l1980Wins Obie Award for FOB.l1981he Dance and the Railroad and Family Devotions produced in New York City.FOBFOB1983The House of Sleeping Beauties and The Sound of a Voice produced off-Broadway; publishes

23、 Broken Promises: Four Plays; awarded Rockefeller Fellowship.1984Awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.1985Awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship.1986Rich Relations produced off-Broadway; As the Crow Flies produced in Los Angeles.1987My American Son, a television drama, airs on Home Box Offi

24、ce.l1988M. Butterfly produced on Broadway and wins the Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, John Gassner Award, and Tony Award; establishes the American Playwrights Project; 1000 Airplanes on the Roof produced in Vienna, Austria.l1989Publishes 1000 Airplanes on the Roof.l1990Publishes FOB a

25、nd Other Plays.l1991Bondage produced.l1992Face Value and The Voyage (libretto for opera) produced.l1997Seven Years in Tibet (screenplay for film).IV. Analysis of IV. Analysis of M. ButterflyM. Butterfly1. Brief introduction to the play1. Brief introduction to the playIn 1988, when M. Butterfly was p

26、roduced on Broadway, David Henry Hwang achieved astonishing commercial success as well as widespread acclaim. His awards for this play include the Outer Critics Circle Award for best Broadway play, the Drama Desk Award for best new play, the John Gassner Award for best American play, and the Tony Aw

27、ard for best play of the year. By the end of 1988, Hwang was regarded by many critics as the most talented young playwright in the United States, and since then M. Butterfly has been staged in theaters around the world. Movie: Movie: M. Butterfly M. Butterfly Song Liling acted by John Lone Song Lili

28、ng acted by John Lone French diplomat GallimardFrench diplomat Gallimard and Song Lilingand Song Liling2. The Story of the play2. The Story of the playThe play is based on a bizarre but true story of a French diplomat who carried on a twenty-year affair with a Chinese actor and opera singer, not rea

29、lizing that his partner was in fact a man masquerading as a woman. The diplomat apparently became aware of the deception only in 1986, when he was charged by the French government with treasonit transpired that his companion had been an agent for the Chinese government, and had passed on sensitive p

30、olitical information that he had acquired from the diplomat. This almost unbelievable story stimulated Hwangs imagination, and from it he created a drama that plays with ideas on a grand scale and manages at the same time to be witty and entertaining. Weaving into the play many parallels with, and u

31、ltimately ironic reversals of, Puccinis opera, Madame Butterfly, Hwang explores the stereotypes that underlie and distort relations between Eastern and Western culture, and between men and women. 3. Major themes of the play3. Major themes of the playM. Butterfly explores Western stereotypes concerni

32、ng Asians and the preconceptions affecting national, racial, and East-West tensions and issues of gender and sexual identity. Hwang has described his play as a “deconstructivist” revision of Madama Butterfly, and critics have asserted that Hwangs dismantling of dominant Western notions of race and g

33、ender exposes these ideas to scathing critique. Hwang utilizes such postmodern theatrical techniques as nonlinear narrative, direct address to the audience, and unique staging to dramatize the intersecting discourses of race, gender, nation, and sexuality that infuse his play. On one level, the work

34、 functions as an examination of the phenomenon of “Orientalism,” which encompasses a broad spectrum of Western attitudes, prejudices, and stereotypes regarding Asian people, cultures, and nations. 4. Critical reception4. Critical receptionM. Butterfly remains Hwangs greatest popular and critical suc

35、cess, and has sparked ongoing debate over its socio-political implications in regard to gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, nationhood, and imperialism. Academics have embraced M. Butterfly as a postmodern text that aims to deconstruct received notions of race, gender, and sexuality. Critics of the play have typically fallen into two camps: those who applaud Hwangs deconstructive gender-bending text and his examination of East-West