ABSTRACT
The term chang 場 pervades Chinese performing arts discourse and practice, so much so that its precise meanings, although underpinning professional and lay conversations about performance, seem to have become deeply engrained and taken for granted. In this sense, it is no exaggeration to call chang part of the Chinese performance episteme or habitus. But because practitioners no longer question the casual uses of the term, it is bandied about in such careless ways that it risks opacity, ambiguity or perhaps even senselessness. The persistence of the idea of chang throughout the Chinese performing arts tradition into modern times warrants a close examination and interrogation of the term.
