ABSTRACT
Similar to →xu 虛 (abstractness) and →shi 實 (realism) or →shen 神 (spirit) and →xing 形 (form), xieyi 寫意 and xieshi 寫實 constitute yet another pair of aesthetic concepts contrasting the abstract and the concrete in performance that were originally developed in fine arts. However, as will become clear in the following pages, xieyi and xieshi are more closely related to the history of Chinese performing arts in the twentieth century, with xieyi as an especially generative concept of →xiqu 戲曲 (traditional Chinese performing arts) that huaju 話劇 (often translated as “spoken drama”) artists gradually recognized and embraced.
