From Folk Entertainment to Revolutionary Stage: The Formal Transformation of the New Yangge Opera (1943–1945)
Abstract
Between 1943 and 1945, the New Yangge opera movement flourished in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region and various anti-Japanese base areas. Building on traditional northern Shaanxi Yangge, the New Yangge opera underwent a systematic transformation in six dimensions: thematic content, narrative structure, characterisation, performance form, performance space, and social function. Drawing on historical documents and archival materials, this study employs a comparative analysis to examine the formal differences between traditional Yangge and the New Yangge opera. The findings show that the thematic content shifted from folk entertainment to labour production and war propaganda; the narrative structure developed from improvised fragments into a complete dramatic framework; the characterisation eliminated clowning and flirtatious models, constructing ethical character relationships; the performance form evolved from a boisterous and improvisational song-dance style into an integrated square musical play combining singing, dancing and acting; the performance space expanded from temple fairs and village settings to public squares and simple theatres; and the social function transformed from folk entertainment to social education and ideological dissemination. This study reveals the specific pathways of formal transformation in the New Yangge opera and provides an analytical perspective for understanding the formal construction of literature and art in the revolutionary base areas during the War of Resistance against Japan.
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References
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