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From Zheng Qiang to Jiang Shuiying: The Feminization of a Revolutionary Hero in Maoist Theatre's Song of the Dragon River

From Zheng Qiang to Jiang Shuiying: The Feminization of a Revolutionary Hero in Maoist Theatre's... Since the 1980s, analysis of the representation of women in Maoist theatre has argued that the heroines of the Cultural Revolution "model works" (yangbanxi) were "genderless revolutionaries" "erased" of anything feminine. This article challenges such a view through a case study of Song of the Dragon River in which the male hero of the 1964 spoken drama version was changed to a female in the 1972 yangbanxi adaptation. Evidence is presented that the characterization of the heroine in the latter work conforms closely not only with traditional beliefs in innate female characteristics but also with current Chinese beliefs in the characteristics of successful women in leadership. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Asian Theatre Journal University of Hawai'I Press

From Zheng Qiang to Jiang Shuiying: The Feminization of a Revolutionary Hero in Maoist Theatre's Song of the Dragon River

Roberts, Rosemary
Asian Theatre Journal , Volume 23 (2) – Aug 17, 2006
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28 pages

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Publisher
University of Hawai'I Press
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 The University of Hawai'i Press.
ISSN
1527-2109
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Abstract

Since the 1980s, analysis of the representation of women in Maoist theatre has argued that the heroines of the Cultural Revolution "model works" (yangbanxi) were "genderless revolutionaries" "erased" of anything feminine. This article challenges such a view through a case study of Song of the Dragon River in which the male hero of the 1964 spoken drama version was changed to a female in the 1972 yangbanxi adaptation. Evidence is presented that the characterization of the heroine in the latter work conforms closely not only with traditional beliefs in innate female characteristics but also with current Chinese beliefs in the characteristics of successful women in leadership.

Journal

Asian Theatre Journal – University of Hawai'I Press

Published: Aug 17, 2006

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