This study aimed to explore the pursuit of "popularization" and "nationalization" of Chinese modern drama in 1921 – 1945. By sorting out the complicated linkage among “people, nationalism and regimes” and examining the changes of intellectuals’ attitude towards “Chinese cultural heritage” in the cultural context of “new and old, Western and Chinese”, this study has slowly and carefully clarified the polysemy related to “popularization” and “nationalization” respectively. In the meantime, this study has explored the life story of dramatists such as Bo-shen Wong, Je-wu Yen and Gen Chang, in order to construct the dynamic historical images of “popularization” and “nationalization” pursued by Chinese dramas at that time.
Chapter 1 discusses problem awareness, literature review, research method and chapter planning.
Chapter 2 reviews the selection structure interweaved by the attitude of intellectuals and KMT-CPC regimes toward “people”, “nationalism” and “Chinese cultural heritage”, and then pointed out that the approach of “popularization” and “nationalization” had been substantially affected by this structure.
Chapter 3 starts with the establishment of Shanghai’s “People’s Drama Society” in 1921 and examines how “people’s drama” and “drama popularization” were differentiated in the first half of 20th century in China. Also, this charpter discusses how dramatists tried to turn drama into a part of common people’s daily life and shaped Chinese modern drama’s trait of “collectivity.”
Chapter 4 uses Je-wu Yen and Shandong Provincial Public Education Hall’s as examples. Public education halls with the financial support from the government, were able to carry out many tasks such as survey and improvement of educational dramas and folklore operas, thus served as a critical role for the “drama popularization” in a broad sense.
Chapter 5 uses Bo-shen Wong, President of Shandong Provincial Theater, as an example and discusses how hard dramatists tried to create Chinese “New Opera”. As an enthusiastic promoter of “New Opera” which aimed to “restore the old while creating the new”, Bo-shen Wong had a great impact on “Chinese Opera Reform” and the development of “National opera.”
Chapter 6 uses Gen Chang’s theatrical experience in the 1930s as the clues and explores the discusse of “national form of drama” in the period of resistance war against Japan, which enabled the Left Wing to combine the pursuit of "popularization" and "nationalization" of Chinese modern drama into their goal, setting forth the direction of “National drama.”
Chapter 7 compares the Left Wing’s “national form of drama” with Right Wing’s “nationalism drama”, pointing out the cooper-competition between “class” and “nation” in the fight over the discourse power of “national drama”, and then presents recommendations for the future research.