In Shanghai in the early twentieth century, a hybrid theatrical form, wenmingxi, emerged that was based on Western spoken theatre, classical Chinese theatre, and a Japanese hybrid form known as shinpa. This book places it in the context of its hybridized literary and performance elements, giving it a definitive place in modern Chinese theatre.

Introduction: Modernity, Interculturalism, and Hybridity 1. Emergence of the National Theatrical Discourse 2. Hybrid Sources: Western, Japanese, and Chinese 3. Hybridization in Shanghai 4. Literary Hybridity: Scripts and Scenarios 5. Translative Hybridity: Acculturation and Foreignization 6. Performance Hybridity: The Search for Conventions

Siyuan Liu is an assistant professor in the Department of Theatre and Film at the University of British Columbia, Canada.