The Republican era (1920’s - 1930’s) was the heyday as well as the transformation period of Cantonese Opera. Not only were the numbers of opera troupes, artists, and playwrights at the greatest, the art form which we are familiar with today was also founded at that time. Though this phenomenon has been widely discussed, there has not been any attempt to situate this development in a historical context. This thesis tries to fill this intellectual gap. The first two chapters examine the changes in socio-cultural values vis-à-vis the form itself and the formation of a new aesthetic framework. These changes and the new configuration also display significant socio-cultural forces at work: the commercialization of the operation, the evolution of the professional guild, the modern theatrical...[ Read more ]

The Republican era (1920’s - 1930’s) was the heyday as well as the transformation period of Cantonese Opera. Not only were the numbers of opera troupes, artists, and playwrights at the greatest, the art form which we are familiar with today was also founded at that time. Though this phenomenon has been widely discussed, there has not been any attempt to situate this development in a historical context. This thesis tries to fill this intellectual gap. The first two chapters examine the changes in socio-cultural values vis-à-vis the form itself and the formation of a new aesthetic framework. These changes and the new configuration also display significant socio-cultural forces at work: the commercialization of the operation, the evolution of the professional guild, the modern theatrical concepts, and the policies of the Guangzhou government. These issues are analyzed in the next three chapters. The main argument is that the historical development of Cantonese Opera in the Republican era was overdetermined by the interactions of these socio-cultural forces, which gave Cantonese Opera a new social status and left a lasting impact.