Works of Dong Haikan

Author: Huang Tianji, edited by Dong Shangde
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-10-01
Features: Professor Dong Meiqian, a renowned expert in the history of Chinese literature and theater, passed away over 20 years ago. However, his profound knowledge, distinctive research personality, and noble character have always been praised by the academic community. Professor Dong's achievements are multifaceted. After the victory in the Anti-Japanese War, he devoted his main efforts to researching ancient Chinese theater, and this book aims to provide an evaluation of his work. From the perspective of cultural anthropology, observing the development of Chinese theater represents an innovative approach in Professor Dong's research on the history of theater. The book On Theater can be considered a dialectical record of Professor Dong's research on the evolution of theater. Everything from puppets, Guo Lang, acrobatics, martial arts, shadow plays, slapstick, to face-paints, masks, costumes, and stage sets—all are subjects he explored. He almost comprehensively examined every aspect of the history of theater, contemplating their origins and destinies; why they came into being? Why did they fade away? According to Professor Dong's plan, he first tackled difficult and ambiguous issues in the history of theater through a "divide and conquer" approach, treating small topics as major ones, thereby solving the challenges and mysteries of theater history. This is the series of achievements we see in On Theater; then, building on this foundation, he elaborately discussed the historical evolution of Chinese theater.