Inscribing Jingju Peking Opera

Jingju (Peking opera) was the most influential mass medium in China before the internet.

Because its actors are commonly thought to have been illiterate, the importance of written and other kinds of inscripted versions of plays has been overlooked, but this book shows how increasing textualization and the resulting fixation of this performance tradition, which once privileged improvisation, changed the genre.

It traces, from Jingju's birth in the 19th century to the present, the textualization of this important performance genre and the accompanying changes in the concepts of authorship, copyright, and performance rights. The state's desire to police what was performed is shown to have been a major factor in these developments.

The scope and coverage of this book is already unprecedented in any language but in addition a large essay on how to help readers to become more competent readers of Jingju playscripts is added as supplementary material.