The bifurcated theater urban space, operatic entertainment, and cultural politics in shanghai, 1900s 1930s 1

Moreover, although the fact that China’s first modern theater came into existence in Shanghai is hardly surprising, that it was established in the relatively backward Chinese territory r

PART ONE

Spatial Reorganization and Institutional Reform

As the New Stage paved the way, the following three decades witnessed the rapid architectural transformation of local theaters Conventional-style theaters were replaced by more Western-style ones with increasingly large capacities, complex structure, and advanced facilities This drastically changed the physical circumstances of public entertainment life, and exerted profound influences on the evolution of operatic performances in modern Shanghai and beyond Scholars of the architectural history of Chinese theaters to date have mostly focused on the pre-modern era, with research on China’s early modern theaters being fairly inadequate Fragmentary descriptions of theater buildings

1 “Xin Wutai kaimu jisheng” [A record of the spectacular opening of the New Stage],

Xinwen bao [News Daily], October 27, 1908, 3(3)

in early twentieth-century Shanghai can be found in works about popular drama or local history, but they are usually rather loose and vague, sometimes repeating incorrect statements.2 While the architectural innovations of the New Stage are often highlighted, few scholars have investigated systematically the subsequent architectural evolution of local theaters, not to mention the impetuses to that Moreover, although the fact that China’s first modern theater came into existence in Shanghai is hardly surprising, that it was established in the relatively backward Chinese territory rather than the more developed foreign settlements suggests a more complex story than is typically presented

This chapter explores the architectural transformation of commercial theaters in early twentieth-century Shanghai, and probes into the factors and agents that contributed, directly or indirectly, to that course It argues that, other than commercial motivation and foreign impact, the trajectory of local theaters’ architectural evolution was greatly shaped by the city’s semicolonial conditions as well as the local and national political situation during this period.After a brief review of Chinese theater buildings by the late nineteenth century, I examine the colonizers’ influences on both the architecture of local theaters and native ideas about it in late Qing Shanghai The second section analyzes the colonial authorities’ early attempts in promoting the architectural improvement of local theaters, while the following section is devoted to the Lyceum Theater, the most celebrated foreign theater erected by European colonizers in Shanghai, which set a model of modern theater for the locals The fourth section focuses on the establishment of the New Stage and shows that the theater was partially a product of local elites’ political agenda against the rapid expansion of the foreign settlements The fifth section investigates the theaters’ further architectural improvements and limitations during the

2 For example, Ma et al., Zhongguo jingju shi (shangjuan), pp 347-348; Ma et al., Zhongguo

jingju shi (zhongjuan), pp 43-44; Xu Min, Shanghai tongshi: minguo wenhua [A general

history of Shanghai: culture of the Republic of China] (Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe,

1999), pp 102-103, 206-208; Goldstein, Drama Kings, pp 76-79, 212-213; Pang, Distorting

Mirror, pp 150-153

subsequent three decades The last two sections look closely at the interactions between colonial authorities and theater entrepreneurs over architectural issues

in the early Republican period, and illuminate the influences of Chinese anti-imperialist politics on the colonizers’ administration of local theaters

From Temples to Teahouses

Most historians agree that drama emerged from religious rituals It is thus no surprise to find that Chinese theaters have their origin in religious sites Permanent stages for dramatic performances came into existence in some Buddhist temples no later than the Tang Dynasty Throughout the rest of imperial China, the temple persisted as an important space for public theatrical activities.3 The basic layout of a temple-theater (shenmiao juchang 神庙剧场)

in imperial China was as follows: a roofed stage was erected facing the main hall of the temple, and the open ground between them functioned as an auditorium.4 The Song-Yuan era witnessed both the maturation of Chinese drama and significant developments of theater buildings First, the number of temple-theaters increased rapidly during this period, and second, China’s first

pattern of commercial theaters, called goulan 勾 栏 (linked-railings), appeared and thrived in the major cities Built mainly of wood, goulan were

self-contained structures, round in shape, with interiors divided into two parts:

a stage for performances and a sloping auditorium surrounding it from three sides.5 Until the early Ming Dynasty, temple-theaters and goulan served as

the primary sites for public operatic entertainment Whereas the former operated mainly during religious festivals, the latter provided routine performances In late imperial China, operatic performances were also

3 Liao, Zhongguo gudai juchangshi, p 3

4 Zhou, Zhongguo juchang shi, p 6; Che, Zhongguo shenmiao juchang, p 10

5 For a more comprehensive description of goulan, see Liao, Zhongguo gudai juchang shi, pp

40-51

occasionally provided in huiguan 会 馆 (headquarters of native-place associations) in the cities With a covered stage facing the altar of huiguan deities across the central courtyard, the huiguan-theater was largely similar to

the temple-theater in terms of structure and function.6

As goulan declined after the mid Ming period, commercial operatic

performances gradually moved into restaurants, and later, teahouses From the

mid Qing onward, teahouse-theaters (chayuan juchang 茶园剧场) became the

primary space for commercial operatic performances in Chinese leading cities The teahouse-theater was commonly an integrated two-level structure with a square or rectangular shape It was built of timber and brick, and the roof was supported mainly by wooden crossbeams and pillars rather than walls A few feet above the first floor, a square stage was erected close to one wall, facing the main entrance Behind the stage was located the greenroom, with a huge wooden board separating them Protruding into the hall, the stage had pillars at the corners supporting a concave ceiling The remaining space in the hall served as the auditorium Removable chairs and long benches were arranged upstairs and downstairs, surrounding the stage on three sides, while square tables and teapoy were placed in the most expensive seating areas.7

First appearing in early Qing Beijing, the teahouse-theater did not spread

to Shanghai until the second half of the nineteenth century, when the newly-opened treaty port entered the track toward a great metropolis In 1867, when Peking opera was introduced to Shanghai, two teahouse-theaters, namely Mantingfang 满庭芳 (Full-Court Fragrance) and Dangui Chayuan 丹桂茶园 (Red Cassia Teahouse), were established in the International Settlement, imitating the structure of theaters in Beijing From then on, teahouse-theaters prevailed in Shanghai Facilitated by the boom of local economy and the importation of new technology from abroad, the first-rate

6 See Bryna Goodman, Native Place, City, and Nation: Regional Networks and Identities in

Shanghai, 1853-1937 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995), p 104

7 For a detailed description of the structure of teahouse-theaters, see Liao, Zhongguo gudai

juchang shi, pp 92-96

teahouse-theaters in Shanghai soon surpassed those in Beijing in terms of capacity, facilities, and decor (Figure 1).8 Most theaters had hundreds of seats, and the largest could accommodate more than one thousand spectators.9Modern devices, such as gaslights (and later, electric lights) and electric fans, were adopted by local theaters The decor of some theaters was so luxurious

that, according to one bamboo-branch poem (zhuzhici 竹枝词), the audience

wondered whether they was in the Moon Palace.10

Figure 1 A teahouse-theater in late Qing Shanghai

Source:Wu Youru, Shenjiang shengjing tu [Pictures of the scenic spots in Shanghai]

(Shanghai: huabaozhai shushe, 1999 Originally drawn in the 1880s)

8 “Guan Xingshi liangyan yougan er shu” [An article written after watching Good words that

awaken the world], Shen bao, October 14, 1886, 1

9 Haishang Shushisheng, “Shanghai xiyuan bianqian zhi” [Records of changes of theaters in

Shanghai], three, Xiju yuekan [Theater monthly] 1, 3 (Aug 1928)

10 Chengxi Yanghao Zhuren, “Xiyuan zhuzhici” [Bamboo-branch poems on theater], Shen

bao, July 9, 1872, 2 Bamboo-branch poems were a type of popular literature written by

literati, mostly depicting local customs and scenery They usually had the same form as classical poems but were less rigorous in rhythm and phrasing

However, obvious architectural deficiencies existed in local teahouse-theaters, especially in terms of fire-precaution and hygiene With timber as the primary material, the buildings were hardly fireproof Green rooms were usually rather cramped, filled with members of the troupe as well

as stage props and costumes As a rule, each theater had only one door opening inwards that functioned as both entrance and exit for audiences, and even if there were more doors, only one of them remained unlocked normally That tended to cause a jam when the performances ended The toilets, especially the ladies’ room, in most theaters were extremely simple and crude.11 Despite these defects, by the turn of the twentieth century, the finest teahouse-theaters in Shanghai embodied the highest level of Chinese theater architecture at the time

Early Administration by Colonial Authorities

Since the 1860s, the vast majority of commercial theaters in Shanghai had been established in the foreign settlements A bamboo-branch poem published

in 1872 depicted, albeit exaggeratively, the prosperity of operatic entertainment enterprise: “Everywhere in the settlements is of pleasure, which

I depict with my pen and ink randomly; the whole street is filled with large and small theaters, while fluting and singing make every night appear to be the Festival of Lanterns.”12 As teahouse-theaters became an increasingly significant public entertainment space for Chinese residents in the settlements, the colonial authorities started to exercise administrative power over them Since most theaters were located in the International Settlement, the following examination focuses mainly on the Shanghai Municipal Council (hereafter SMC), the administrative institution of the Settlement, which was dominated

11 Haishang Shushisheng, “Shanghai xiyuan bianqian zhi,” two, Xiju yuekan 1, 2 (Jul 1928)

12 Chengxi yanghao zhuren, “Xiyuan zhuzhici,” 1

by the British

The colonial authorities differed from the local Chinese government on the perception of commercial theaters Like its predecessors, the Qing court had a paradoxical attitude towards popular operatic entertainment While many from the upper class, including a few emperors, were enthusiastic patrons of drama, the rulers always kept an alert eye on public theatrical activities, viewing them as not only a waste of money but also as potential threats to sociopolitical stability by virtue of their potential for communicating dissent and subversion.13 Therefore, various decrees were promulgated to regulate commercial theaters, concerning their geographical locations, business hours, performances, and spectatorship Some local edicts even prohibited the opening of theaters.14 In contrast, as Barbara Ward suggests, British colonizers hardly considered Chinese opera performance as a political threat to them, so they usually tolerated, and sometimes even encouraged, native operatic activities.15 In 1866, for instance, when the Magistrate of Shanghai tried to intervene in the business hours of theaters in the International Settlement, the SMC proclaimed that they did not feel “justified

in interfering with the innocent and reasonable amusements of the native population in this Settlement, whose interest and liberty is conceived by the Council to be their duty to protect.”16

The SMC managed local theaters largely according to Western modern municipal ideas It started licensing and taxing theaters in the early 1870s.17One key concern of the colonizers was architecture In late imperial China, the government rarely bothered to supervise the buildings of commercial theaters,

13 Goldstein, Drama Kings, p 55; Zhou Ning, Xiangxiang yu quanli: xiju yishixingtai tanjiu

[Imagination and power: an exploration of theatrical ideology] (Xiamen: Xiamen daxue chubanshe, 2003), p 53

14 For related edicts promulgated, see Wang Liqi ed., Yuanmingqing sandai jinhui xiaoshuo

xiqu shiliao [Historical sources of the prohibition of novel and drama in the three dynasties of

Yuan, Ming and Qing], (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1981)

15 Ward, “Regional Operas and Their Audiences: Evidence from Hong Kong,” pp 161-162

16 Shanghaishi Dang’anguan ed., Gongbuju dongshihui huiyilu [The Minutes of Shanghai

Municipal Council] (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2001), Vol 2, p 284

17 Shanghaishi Dang’anguan ed., Gongbuju dongshihui huiyilu, Vol 4, pp 118-119

so few regulations about them can be found European colonizers, however, showed much concern about the architecture of local theaters, particularly with regards to public safety In Europe, special attention had been given to public safety in theater architecture by the mid eighteenth century Experts suggested that theaters be built of non-flammable materials, such as bricks and stone, while retaining the use of timber only in the auditorium for acoustic purposes.18 Nevertheless, disasters still occurred For instance, two leading theaters in London, the Drury Lane Theater and the Convent Garden, burnt to the ground in 1809 and 1856 respectively.19 A book by a German civil engineer published in 1878 records over five hundred “theater fires” that had happened in the European countries.20 The painful experiences at home must have affected the colonizers’ concern with the architecture of local theaters In their view, teahouse-theaters appeared to be fire hazards The woody building material was inflammable, and the inadequacy of exits did not allow for easy emergency evacuation Lanterns and fireworks were commonly used in performances, and many spectators smoked pipes or cigars in the auditorium.21 In addition, the theaters were mostly located in crowded commercial districts, and most spectators visited them in the evening when gaslights were on Though few serious accidents had occurred, temporary disorder caused by a potential fire was not rare.22 The colonial authorities had ample reasons to worry that if a fire broke out during the performances, it would cause heavy casualties

To reduce the danger of fire, the colonizers initiated attempts to promote the architectural improvements of local theaters In March 1877, the SMC

18 Richard Leacroft, Theatre and Playhouse: An Illustrated Survey of Theatre Building from

Ancient Greece to the Present Day (London; New York: Methuen, 1984), p 86

19 Simon Tidworth, Theatres: An Illustrated History (London: Pall Mall Press, 1973), pp

122-126, 148

20 Quoted from William Paul Gerhard, Theaters: Their Safety from Fire and Panic, Their

Comfort and Healthfulness (Boston: Bates & Guild Company, 1900), p 6

21 “Lun xiguan ji yi duopi menhu yifang yiwai” [On theaters’ urgent need to open more exits

to prevent accidents], Shen bao, February 20, 1886, 1

22 Potential fire often resulted in temporary chaos of audiences See, for example, “Kanxi

chijing” [Being terrified in the theater], Shen bao December 28, 1875, 2; April 10, 1876, 2;

March 6, 1877, 3

requested the acting surveyor of the Work Committee, in conjunction with a British architect, to report on the means of evacuation in case of fire in all public theaters in the Settlement, and to draft practical suggestions for improvement.23 Two months later, a report was submitted by Brodie Clark, the acting surveyor of the Work Committee, and Henry Lester, a British architect who was managing one of the earliest foreign building agencies in Shanghai They proposed twelve suggestions regarding fire precautions in teahouse-theaters For example, they recommended that every theater be equipped with two main doors opening outwards, the width of each being no less than two meters; if the side walls were too thick to break down by the crowd in case of emergency, there should be at least one door on each wall; the second floor needed to be reinforced so as to prevent collapse; four solid railing-ladders were necessary, and their width should be no less than one and

a third meters; gas lights should be positioned further away from the wooden blocks than they were then These were probably the first regulations enacted

by the SMC regarding the buildings of local theaters A Chinese-language version, titled “Kanding xiyuan fanghuo zhangcheng” 勘定戏园防火章程 [Survey-based regulations regarding fire precaution in theaters], was soon

published in Shen bao, the most influential local daily newspaper then.24

However, since the regulations were advisory rather than compulsory, and the SMC did not undertake any implementation measure, they were basically disregarded by theater entrepreneurs According to two reports in 1885 and

1893 respectively, few of the regulations had been carried out in local theaters.25

In December 1893, a fire broke out during operatic performances at a temple in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province Hundreds of spectators were killed

23 Shanghaishi Dang’anguan ed., Gongbuju dongshihui huiyilu, Vol 7, p 19

24 “Kanding xiyuan fanghuo zhangcheng” [Survey-based regulations regarding fire

precaution in theaters], Shen bao, June 16, 1877, 2

25 Shanghaishi Dang’anguan ed., Gongbuju dongshihui huiyilu, Vol 8, p 243; Vol 11, p

247

because the temple had only one exit.26 The disaster drew great attention from the SMC Experts were appointed to re-survey the buildings, and a few architectural requirements were added into the licensing conditions for performances: that all lights must be two feet away from wood; that doors must open outwards; and that proper facilities must be available for the audience to escape in case of fire.27 Official letters were sent to entrepreneurs, warning that no licenses would be granted to any theater that failed to meet the requirements.28 The “Chinese Building Rules” promulgated by the SMC in

1901 made even greater demands Classified as “special buildings,” public premises such as theaters, teashops, and stores were supposed to meet architectural requirements stricter than those for ordinary structures To ensure public safety in these buildings, official surveyors were empowered to request the addition of pillars, chocks, or steel frames, the alteration of building materials, and even structural changes when necessary Meanwhile, the buildings were also required to be equipped with proper toilets and suitable arrangements for airflow.29

Nevertheless, the SMC’s regulations had rather limited effect Some innovations did take place Most entrepreneurs renovated the main doors, and some increased the number of exits For example, one teahouse-theater established in 1907 claimed to have six exits.30 However, the architectural of local theaters had changed little by the beginning of the twentieth century Other advancements propitious for fire prevention, such as water supply and electric light, were installed in individual theaters, but that was due largely to

26 “Ningbo huozai huiji” [Collected reports on fires in Ningbo], Shen bao, December 11,

1893, 2

27 Shi Meiding ed., Shanghai zujie zhi [A gazetteer of the foreign settlements in Shanghai]

(Shanghai: Shanghai shehui kexueyuan chubanshe, 2001), p 574

28 Shanghaishi Dang’anguan ed., Gongbuju dongshihui huiyilu, Vol 11, p 252.

29 “Gonggong zujie gongbuju zhongshi xinfang jianzao zhangcheng” [Chinese building rules

by the Municipal Council of the International Settlement], Shanghai zujie zhi, ed Shi,

pp.708-712

30 “Xinkai Chungui Chayuan” [Newly-opened the Spring Cassia Teahouse], Shen bao,

August 22, 1907, 7

the entrepreneurs’ initiative rather than the SMC’s requirements.31 At least four local teahouse-theaters burnt down in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, killing several people and wounding many.32 The ineffectiveness of the colonizers’ attempts was hardly surprising, because many regulations were too demanding for teahouse-theaters, and more importantly, the SMC’s architectural management was fairly relaxed in practice More often than not, the entrepreneurs made perfunctory efforts to deal with the authorities’ requirements.33 Few theaters met all the SMC’s regulations, but no evidence shows that any theater was refused a license because of architectural deficiencies

The SMC’s relaxed administration should be attributed less to its inefficiency than to the city’s semicolonial conditions Shu-mei Shih points out that, as opposed to formal colonialism that ruled mainly through fear and coercion, semicolonialism complicated the sociopolitical environment in the colony and left more room for competitions and negotiations between the colonizers and the colonized.34 Local theaters were of economic significance

to the colonial authorities According to resolutions passed by the SMC in

1870 and 1871, every commercial theater in the Settlement had to pay a

deposit of fifty yuan when it opened and a license tax of five yuan per

business day.35 In addition, as a prominent public entertainment space, the theater often helped promote the commercial prosperity of the surrounding district.36 Rigid administration might cause theaters to move to the French

31 For instance, water supply facilities had been available in the foreign settlements since the early 1880s In a meeting on March 20, 1885, however, the SMC decided not to request local

theaters to equip themselves with these utilities Shanghaishi Dang’anguan ed., Gongbuju

dongshihui huiyilu, Vol 8, p 243

32 Aili Laoren, Tongguang liyuan jilue, pp 97-98, 143; Kanwairen, Jingju jianwen lu [Sight

and hearing about Peking opera] (Hongkong: Taiping chubanshe, 1973), pp 131-133

33 Aili Laoren, Tongguang liyuan jilue, pp 26-27

34 For a more thorough discussion on the difference between semicolonialism and formal

colonialism, see Shu-mei Shih, The Lure of the Modern: Writing Modernism in Semicolonial

China, 1917-1937 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001), pp 371-376

35 Shi ed., Shanghai zujie zhi, pp 327, 521

36 For instance, Yao Gonghe attributes the prosperity of Wu Malu (the Fifth Avenue, now the Guangdong Road) in the International Settlement to the establishment of the Full-Court

Fragrance in 1867 Yao Gonghe, Shanghai xianhua [Gossip about Shanghai] (Shanghai:

Concession or the Chinese territory, which would entail economic losses for the Settlement In other words, the economic competition among the three sections of the semicolonial city restrained the SMC’s architectural management of local theaters

Personal networks and relations constituted another important element that might have interfered with the SMC’s administration Among the entrepreneurs were staff members of the local government or colonial institutions, compradors, gangsters, and famous actors Many of them had broad connections with various social and political forces, including colonial officials.37 In addition, local theaters often hired Western merchants as their agents.38 The agents thus had a vested interest in the theaters’ business, and the former would communicate and negotiate with the SMC on behalf of the latter whenever necessary.39 Given the limited population of foreign residents

in late Qing Shanghai, those agents might have exerted considerable influence

on the colonial administration In fact, some agents were themselves staff members of the SMC For instance, J Cooper was a member of the SMC in

1894 while serving as the agent of a local theater.40 Such complex personal relationships between theater entrepreneurs and the colonizers, which was partially a consequence of semicolonialism, must have impeded the SMC’s implementation of the architectural regulations for theaters

Nonetheless, the implications of the SMC’s early administrative attempts should not be underestimated The ordering of space, as Michael Tsin suggests, has always been intrinsic to the business of government, for it “serves to

Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1989), p 10

37 Ma et al., Zhongguo jingju shi (shangjuan), pp 261-262 Tu Shipin ed., Shanghaishi

daguan [A grand view of the city of Shanghai] (Shanghai: Zhongguo tushu zazhi gongsi,

1948), part two, p 44

38 The agent’s nationality was often indicated on the theater’s signboard, as a ward against the local government’s interference Consequently, a letter from the County Magistrate to the British Consul in 1866 requested the ban of the practice Shanghaishi Dang’anguan ed.,

Gongbuju dongshihui huiyilu, Vol 2, p 283

39 For example, in November 1984, when the SMC requested local theaters to make architectural reforms according to the licensing conditions, a few foreign merchants replied as agents of the latter.Shanghaishi Dang’anguan ed.,Gongbuju dongshihui huiyilu, Vol 11, pp

252, 257

40 Ibid

manipulate the visual representation of power, define the site of its application, and enable its circulation.”41 The SMC’s architectural administration of theaters, the primary public entertainment space for the locals, was of considerable significance to the reproduction of its municipal power Meanwhile, through surveying local theaters and promulgating relevant regulations, the colonizers introduced new administrative notions and produced a body of knowledge regarding modern theater architecture, especially pertaining to public safety The significance of knowledge production in the history of European colonialism has been thoroughly discussed by scholars, some even holding that “in certain important ways, knowledge was what colonialism was all about.”42 In late Qing Shanghai, the knowledge production of theater architecture by SMC created a dichotomy between the “superior” colonizers and the “inferior” locals, which helped legitimize the former’s governance over the latter

Moreover, the SMC’s administration changed native ideas about theater buildings and therefore contributed to the architectural transformation of Chinese theaters in the long run The regulations enacted by colonial experts disseminated the concept of public safety and provided the locals with a new vocabulary to reexamine the teahouse-theater Before the promulgation of the

“Survey-based regulations regarding fire precaution in theaters” in 1877, few locals paid attention to architectural issues of teahouse-theaters From the 1880s on, a number of articles regarding the architectural deficiencies of local

theaters were published on the front page of Shen bao, suggesting that more

exits be installed.43 In March 1897, Tianyi Chayuan 天仪茶园 (Heavenly Ritual Teahouse) was destroyed by fire at night, probably the first case of theater fire in Shanghai Though it happened outside of business hours and

41 Michael Tsin, “Canton Remapped,” in Remaking the Chinese City, ed Esherick, p 19

42 Nicholas B Dirks, foreword to Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge: The British in

India, by Bernard S Cohn (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996), ix

43 See, for example “Xiguan yi duoshe bianmen shuo” [On that theaters should install more

exits], Shen bao, July 3, 1881, 1; “Lun xiguan ji yi duopi menhu yifang yiwai;” “Xiguan yi jinfang yanhuo shuo” [On the prohibition of fireworks in theaters], Shen bao, August 16, 1890,

1

hurt no audience members, Shen bao published a long article several days later,

which presented a comprehensive discussion about fire precautions in theaters Besides the increase of exits, the author advised entrepreneurs to rearrange the position of gaslights or replace them with electric lamps, and to install fire hydrants on both sides of the stage.44 In the following month, several local gentlemen petitioned the Mixed Court of the International Settlement to force local theaters to equip themselves with fire hydrants.45 There should be little doubt that these opinions were more or less influenced by the SMC’s administration Therefore, despite the entrepreneurs’ disobedience, the SMC’s regulations about fire precaution, for the first time, provoked the local’s desire for and vision of architectural modernity of theater, which exerted profound influence on the later material improvements of local theaters Yet, the colonizers’ impact was far greater than that The Lyceum Theater, the most celebrated foreign theater established by the colonizers in modern Shanghai, provided the locals with an accessible model to imitate

The Lyceum Theater: A Western Model

The colonizers’ enthusiasm for theatrical entertainment was no less than the locals The population of colonizers in Shanghai was quite small in the early years In 1843, only twenty-six foreigners residents registered with the British Consulate Though the number was still under 150 in 1850, theater enthusiasts had staged the first amateur performances by the end of that year.46 During the following decade, the explosion of Chinese population in the settlements brought the colonizers tremendous business opportunities, and numerous

44 “Xiyuan fanghuo shuo” [On the fire precautions in theaters], Shen bao, March 29, 1897, 1

According a report of the fire, it broke out at around 1 a.m., and only one tea-waiter was

skilled “Huozai xiangji” [Detailed records of the fire], Shen bao, March 26, 1897, 3

45 “Xiyuan fanghuan” [Prevention of accidents in theaters], Shen bao, April 15, 1897, 3

46 G Lanning and S Couling, The History of Shanghai: Part I (Shanghai: Kelly & Walsh, 1921), p 429

Western “adventurers” landed in Shanghai By 1865, the number of foreigners had increased to about 5,600, the vast majority of them hailing from Europe and America.47 The increase in foreign population drew professional troupes from abroad to visit the settlements.48 The earliest Western theaters in Shanghai were mostly refitted godowns that often had costly decorations but short lives Yet almost all of them had grandiose-sounding names such like the Theater Royal and the Olympic Theater, clearly hoping to conjure up visions

of their famous namesakes in Europe.49

The year 1866, which saw the construction of the first local teahouse-theater, proved to be a watershed in the history of Western theatrical activities in Shanghai as well For one thing, the two earliest troupes, the Ranger and the Footpad, merged into the Amateur Drama Club, the most influential Western troupe based in modern Shanghai For another, a provisional committee was appointed by the Club to investigate the feasibility

of a permanent theater The project was finally deferred due to financial problems Instead, another godown-theater, named the Lyceum Theater, was established in the following year on the Yuanminyuan Road (now the Huqiu Road) in the International Settlement, at a cost of 6,000 taels of silver Though the designer, William Kidner, was a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects managing a building company in Shanghai, the theater had a fairly simple structure and a capacity of only 500-600 Timber constituted the main building material, and interior lighting was by means of either candles or oil lamps.50 The facilities for fire prevention were so inadequate that no local insurance agent would agree to insure the building.51 Unsurprisingly, the

47 Wu Guilong, “Lun wanqing Shanghai waiqiao renkou de bianqian” [On the changes of the

population of foreign residents in late Qing Shanghai], Shi lin, 4 (1998): 67-74

48 For a detailed examination of foreign troupes that visited late Qing and Republican Shanghai, see Chun-zen Huang, “Travelling Opera Troupes in Shanghai: 1842-1949” (PhD diss The Catholic University of America, 1997)

49 J H Haan, “Thalia and Terpsichore on the Yangtze: A Survey of Foreign Theatre and

Music in Shanghai, 1850-1865,” Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic

Society, 29 (1989): 177-182

50 J H Haan, “Thalia and Terpsichore on the Yangtze,” 182-183

51 “Waiqiao yule shihua: ‘Lanxin’ liushinian” [A historical account of foreign residents’

theater was destroyed by a fire four years later

However, the history of the Lyceum Theater did not end there Instead, subsequent developments made it become the only foreign theater worthy of its name in late Qing Shanghai Soon after the fire, the Committee of the Amateur Drama Club issued a prospectus for the building of a new theater At

a cost of about 25,000 taels of silver raised from Western residents, a new Lyceum Theater was established beside the original site, and presented its first show on January 27, 1874.52 Notwithstanding the same designer, the building progressed revolutionarily (Figure 2) The tragedy of the fire must have been a good lesson, and the abundant funding made various improvements possible

As soon as the theater was opened, a detailed description of its architecture

was published in The North China Daily News, the most influential English

newspaper in China then It claimed that, with a capacity of about 700 persons, the spatial arrangements of the theater were carefully studied, and its facilities were adequate and scientifically designed In terms of public safety, “the means of access to all parts of the house are ample and direct, and are well calculated to meet a rush in case of fire panic.”53

Although the theater was still by no means comparable with contemporaneous grand theaters in Europe, it came to be celebrated by Western colonizers and visitors as a symbol of the superiority of European civilization Soon after the theater’s opening, a Chinese operatic troupe was invited to stage performances in it An advertising article asserted that since

“[t]he discomfort and désagréments of native theaters” have deterred most

Westerners from patronizing them, it was an excellent idea to bring Chinese operatic performance into the new Lyceum, “a place so well adapted for such purposes” of “the novelties of entertainment.”54 The theater was also

entertainment: sixty years of the Lyceum], Shanghai yanjiu ziliao [Sources for research on

Shanghai], ed Shanghai Tongshe (Shanghai: Shanghai shudian, 1984), p 488

52 Rev C E Darwent, Shanghai: A Handbook for Travellers and Residents (Shanghai: Kelly

and Walsh, 1904), pp 152-53

53 “The New Lyceum,” The North China Daily News, January 29, 1874, 95

54 The North China Daily News, March 13, 1874, 235

applauded by English handbooks of Shanghai as part of the Europeans’ achievement in their “model settlement” in the Orient A handbook published

in 1904, for example, declared that the theater was “in every way suitable for its purpose.” Moreover, it was “the only theater in the East high enough for the stage scenery to be lifted up to the flies; in all others it has to be rolled up.”55

Figure 2 The auditorium of the new Lyceum Theater

Source: Li Xiao ed., Shanghai huaju zhi [A chronicle of the spoken drama in

Shanghai] (Shanghai: baijia chubanshe, 2002), album, p 30

To the locals, the new Lyceum Theater formed a striking contrast with teahouses Since the ticket prices were considerably high, only wealthy Chinese could afford to patronize it.56 Impressed by its elaborate architecture,

55 Darwent, Shanghai, p 152

56 In late-Qing Shanghai, the price for the best seats in the finest teahouse-theaters was about one silver dollar In contrast, the prices of the early foreign godown-theaters in the 1860s were three Mexican silver dollars for the best seats and two for the rest The ticket prices of the Lyceum Theater were by no means cheaper Haishang Shushisheng, “Shanghai xiyuan

bianqian zhi,” one, Xiju yuekan 1, 1 (Jun 1928); Haan, “Thalia and Terpsichore on the

some articulated their admiration of the theater, and hence dissatisfaction with local ones, especially in terms of public safety This was best illustrated by an article in 1897, which read: “When talking about the danger (of fire) in teahouse-theaters of Shanghai, one can’t help being filled with dread … I therefore admire more the perfection of the foreign theater….The whole building was built with iron material, and not a single post, crossbeam, or pillar is wood Hung from the ceiling, all gaslights were distant from people

In addition to the main door, exits were available in the four directions of the theater.”57 Meanwhile, it was suggested by many that local theaters should imitate the new Lyceum and install more exits

The new Lyceum Theater stood safely for more than half a century, until the building was sold in 1929.58 Managed by the Committee of Amateur Drama Club, it ran as a self-sufficient private institution Although the first Secretary of the Committee, R W Little, chaired the SMC from 1879 to 1880, there is no evidence of any institutional connection between the Committee and the Council In fact, disagreements and conflicts occurred more than once between them In 1894, the SMC denied the Committee’s request to build a public toilet near the theater, stating that it should be the latter’s business because almost all of its users would be the theater’s patrons.59 In 1922, when the SMC requested the Lyceum to renovate its architecture and facilities, the Committee declared that they did not conceive of themselves to be obligated

to conform to the SMC’s suggestions In reaction, the SMC closed the theater forcibly until repairs and alterations were made.60 Notwithstanding, both the SMC and the Committee participated in the knowledge production of theater

Yangtze,” p 183 The Mexican dollar was one of the currencies that started to be used in Shanghai in the mid nineteenth century Its value fluctuated, but was almost equivalent with Chinese silver dollars in the second half of the nineteenth century

57 “Xiyuan fanghuo shuo.”

58 In the next year, the Committee of Amateur Drama Club established a more advanced theater on the South Maoming Road in the French Concession and renamed it as the “Great Lyceum Theater.” “Waiqiao yule shihua,” pp 489-490

59 Shanghaishi Dang’anguan ed., Gongbuju dongshihui huiyilu, Vol 11, pp 429-430

60 G Lanning and S Couling, The History of Shanghai: Part II (Shanghai: Kelly & Walsh, 1923), p 448

architecture in late Qing Shanghai While the former’s administration provided an architectural vocabulary that embodied the spirit of Western

“reason,” “science,” and “humanism,” the Lyceum Theater run by the latter brought the locals genuine experience of “modern theater.”

The New Stage: A Nationalistic Initiative

By the beginning of the twentieth century, all preconditions for the construction of a modern Chinese theater had been available in Shanghai Regulations promulgated by the colonial authorities provided building guidance, new building materials and technology had been introduced, and a ready-made model was accessible as well The year 1908 saw the birth of the New Stage in Shanghai Nevertheless, it was established in the Chinese territory rather than the International Settlement in which the finest local theaters had long been in existence To comprehend this paradox, it is necessary to locate the theater within the political circumstances of Shanghai then that provided the final impetus to its birth As is well known, the continuous foreign invasions of China since the 1840s peaked at the turn of the twentieth century, as the imperial capital was seized by foreign troops in

1900 The national crises impelled Chinese elites to seek new avenues to rescue and revive the collapsing state Many intellectual elites attempted to promote sociopolitical progress by enlightening the masses through popular drama Meanwhile, given the decline of the imperial government, social elites initiated local autonomy movements Shanghai stood at the forefront of both trends

At the beginning of the twentieth century, China’s new-style intellectuals endowed popular drama with unprecedented power and significance It became widely believed that drama was the most efficient vehicle for social

enlightenment and political mobilization, for it was favored by and comprehensible to a larger number of people than other media Many intellectuals therefore strongly advocated the reform of drama for new social and political agendas, and some devoted themselves into the reform practice

as well.61 In 1907, Wang Zhongsheng 王钟声, an active reformer who is said

to have studied in Germany and travelled to Japan, founded in Shanghai a drama society, Chunyang She 春阳社 (Spring Sun Society), the members of which were amateur players from diverse backgrounds With the financial support from two local gentlemen, the society presented in Novemberits first

formal performance, Heinu yutian lu 黑奴吁天录 (The Black Slaves' Appeal

to Heaven), a play adapted from a Chinese translation of Harriet Beecher

Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.62 Depicting the resistant spirit of black slaves who suffered cruel oppression, the play was announced to be dedicated

to “awakening the countrymen.” Yet Wang chose the Lyceum Theater rather than a Chinese teahouse to stage the performance, probably due to the former’s advanced stage facilities.63 Mixing conventional Peking opera music and dialogue with Western costumes and sceneries, the performance was hardly successful Nevertheless, thanks to its wide publicity, a large number of locals patronized the Lyceum for the first time andexperienced its magnificent structure and elaborate facilities According to Xu Banmei 徐半梅, a member

of the Spring Sun Society, the performance made little direct contribution to the reform of drama, but it inspired some local theater entrepreneurs to initiate innovations, and one of them was to build new-style theaters.64 Xu’s statement seems credible, for it was in the winter of 1907 that the project of

61 For more discussion about the discourse and practice regarding drama reform at the beginning of the twentieth century, see Chapter 3

62 Shanghai Tushuguan ed., Zhongguo jinxiandai huaju tuzhi [A pictorial gazetteer of the

spoken drama in modern China] (Shanghai: Shanghai kexue jishu wenxian chubanshe, 2008),

pp 121-124

63 Eye-catching advertisements were published on the first page of Shen bao for three day

before the performance See “Chunyang She yanju zhuzhen guanggao” [Advertisement for the

disaster-relieving performance by the Spring Sun Society], Shen bao, November 1-3, 1907, 1

64 Xu Banmei, Huaju chuangshiqi huiyilu [A memoir of the founding period of spoken drama]

(Beijing: Zhongguo xiju chubanshe, 1957), p 20

the New Stage was initiated.65 About one year later, China’s first modern theater was established in Shanghai.66

Ironically, the New Stage was located not in the International Settlement but in the Chinese territory, which, to a great extent, should be attributed to local political situation As the foreign settlements surpassed the Chinese territory in population and economy in the late nineteenth century, their territories expanded constantly The year 1899 saw an unprecedented expansion through which the area of the International Settlement tripled.67That provoked reactions from nationalistic elites of the Chinese territory In

1905, thirty-eight leading gentry-merchants founded Shanghai Chengxiang Neiwai Zonggongchengju 上海城厢内外总工程局 (General Works Board of Shanghai and its Suburbs, hereafter GWB), a powerful autonomous organization This, as Christian Henriot suggests, was a response by local elites to the rapid expansion of territories and privileges of foreign settlements

in Shanghai.68 With full support of local officials, the GWB acted effectively

as the institution for municipal administration of the Chinese territory Imitating the neighboring International Settlement, it carried out and supported various projects to modernize and strengthen the Chinese territory, both materially and socially.69

The establishment of the New Stage was essentially one of these projects

It was initiated and dominated by Yao Boxin 姚伯欣, a member of the GWB

and also the editor of Xinwen bao.70 Due to the high cost, a joint stock

65 Jie, “Xin Wutai” [The New Stage], Tuhua ribao [Pictorial daily] 13 (1909): 7 (Shanghai:

Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1999 Reprint)

66 As the Lyceum Theater was built by and for Western residents and rarely staged Chinese drama, I do not consider it as the first “Chinese” modern theater

67 For the details of the expansion of foreign settlements in modern Shanghai, see Shi ed.,

Shanghai zujie zhi, pp 3-4

68 Christian Henriot, Shanghai, 1927-1937: Municipal Power, Locality, and Modernization,

translated by Noel Castelino (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993), pp 10-11

69 For detailed examinations of the organization and activities of the GWB, see Mark Elvin,

“The Administration of Shanghai, 1905-1914,” in The Chinese City between Two Worlds, eds Mark Elvin and G William Skinner (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1974), pp 239-262; Zhang Zhongli ed., Jindai Shanghai chengshi yanjiu [Urban studies on modern Shanghai]

(Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe, 1990), pp 629-632

70 Yao, Shanghai xianhua, p 13