ABSTRACT
In one sense a children’s spoken play is a form most antithetical to the Chinese tradition, because not only is the idea of the spoken play relatively new, but that of children’s literature is also so. This chapter considers in form children’s plays that stand at one extreme of the various types of theatre. Somewhat closer to tradition is the dance-drama with its Chinese classical dances. Yet although these forms differ in the extent of their modernity, in content and manner of presentation all are recognisably and totally Chinese. A spoken play may not have been initially a Chinese form – it is a foreign and ultimately Western import – but it has now become an indispensable part of the Chinese theatre scene. It is perfectly natural that twentieth-century China’s most distinguished playwright Cao Yu, disgraced during the Cultural Revolution but back in a leadership role since 1978, should write a play which deals with an ancient Chinese historical theme.
