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The Narrative Arts of Tianjin: Between Music and Language (review)

The Narrative Arts of Tianjin: Between Music and Language (review) THE NARRATIVE ARTS OF TIANJIN: BETWEEN MUSIC AND LANGUAGE. By Franesca R. Sborgi Lawson. Farnham, UK: Ashgate, 2011. 198 pp. Cloth £55 ($89.50). Starting from the early transformation texts (bianwen) of the Tang dynasty, narrative arts have blossomed into approximately one hundred forms. Enjoyed as performance forms in their own right, they were also a likely influence on the major theatrical genres, for instance the development of metered recitation (shuban) in jingju (Beijing opera). Yet, these narrative traditions remain relatively underresearched in both ethnomusicology and theatre studies. While there are a number of valuable articles on this subject, analysis tends to be restricted to specific forms in isolation rather than a comparison across practices. Lawson's book, based upon extensive fieldwork research undertaken in the 1980s and early 1990s, makes an important contribution to our understanding of narrative arts, despite weaknesses arising from dated research. The study is divided into two parts. The first part, "Background," outlines the analytical, historical, and social framework of narrative arts, especially in Tianjin. Chapters 1 and 2 stress importance upon the pre-1949 term for narrative forms, shuochang (lit. "speaking-singing"). Lawson reinterprets the word to mean "performature"--performance forms that draw upon both musical and http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Asian Theatre Journal University of Hawai'I Press

The Narrative Arts of Tianjin: Between Music and Language (review)

Thorpe, Ashley.
Asian Theatre Journal , Volume 29 (1) – Jul 11, 2012
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Publisher
University of Hawai'I Press
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 The University of Hawai'i Press.
ISSN
1527-2109
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Abstract

THE NARRATIVE ARTS OF TIANJIN: BETWEEN MUSIC AND LANGUAGE. By Franesca R. Sborgi Lawson. Farnham, UK: Ashgate, 2011. 198 pp. Cloth £55 ($89.50). Starting from the early transformation texts (bianwen) of the Tang dynasty, narrative arts have blossomed into approximately one hundred forms. Enjoyed as performance forms in their own right, they were also a likely influence on the major theatrical genres, for instance the development of metered recitation (shuban) in jingju (Beijing opera). Yet, these narrative traditions remain relatively underresearched in both ethnomusicology and theatre studies. While there are a number of valuable articles on this subject, analysis tends to be restricted to specific forms in isolation rather than a comparison across practices. Lawson's book, based upon extensive fieldwork research undertaken in the 1980s and early 1990s, makes an important contribution to our understanding of narrative arts, despite weaknesses arising from dated research. The study is divided into two parts. The first part, "Background," outlines the analytical, historical, and social framework of narrative arts, especially in Tianjin. Chapters 1 and 2 stress importance upon the pre-1949 term for narrative forms, shuochang (lit. "speaking-singing"). Lawson reinterprets the word to mean "performature"--performance forms that draw upon both musical and

Journal

Asian Theatre Journal – University of Hawai'I Press

Published: Jul 11, 2012

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