The Possible Creation of a Far Eastern Asian Intercultural Theatrical Bloc: Joint Productions by China, Korea, and Japan

The Possible Creation of a Far Eastern Asian Intercultural Theatrical Bloc: Joint Productions by China, Korea, and Japan

Is a theatrical cultural bloc of the Far Eastern Asia possible to decenter the hegemony of Broadway musicals? This paper will examine the joint production of 《The Story of Chunhyang》, an old Korean love story, by China, Korea, and Japan in their own traditional theatrical forms and will also explore 《The Monkey King, Sun Wukong(孫悟空)》, the legendary magic monkey who guides the Priest of Xuanzang to get the Buddha"s Bible, as examples of this new trend of commercial interculturalism. Owing to interculturalism and post-colonialism since the 1970s, interests in theatres among China, Korea, and Japan has increased rapidly in recent years. Interculturalism or multiculturalism first arose in the relationship between the Oriental and the Occidental theatres, and the Oriental theatre seems to provide an alternative to experimental theatres of the West. After the 1990s, this intercultural interests began to rise among the neighboring countries, which has similar cultural backgrounds. Owing to the Post-colonial views, many post-colonial countries not only try to reevaluate their own traditions, but also to study theatre of their regions. Intentional theatrical exchanges among China, Korea and Japan began in the 1980s, which led scholars to study the common roots of their theatrical traditions. Scholar of three countries note the theatrical similarities based on the ancient tradition of Hundred Entertainments, that is, the uses of Song(唱), Speech(念), Dance-Acting(做), and Combat(打). 《The Story of Chunhyang》produced respectively in the form of Chinese Yue Opera, Japanese Kabugi, and Korean Changguek styles. In other words, this production was only the juxtaposition of the three styles, but created an interesting theatre production; the sectional difference was not an obstacle to the smooth flow of the story. This impressive production was possible when it made the best of its common conventions of Song, Dance-Acting, Speech and Combat. It suggested a theatrical cultrual block of the Far Eastern Asia. 《The Monkey King》was a joint performance of the three countries that showed the interest in cultural blocks in today"s commercial plays. The performance of The Monkey King stood out with traditional oriental physical language and music. These two performances showed the possiblity of the Far East Asian cultural block in contrast to Broadway musicals as a popular cultural block. It is an alternative to decenter the hegemony of Broadway musicals nowadays and to provide the diversity of world theatre. They could be an answer for pluralism as well as a valid expression of diversities in this postmodern world.

Is a theatrical cultural bloc of the Far Eastern Asia possible to decenter the hegemony of Broadway musicals? This paper will examine the joint production of 《The Story of Chunhyang》, an old Korean love story, by China, Korea, and Japan in their own traditional theatrical forms and will also explore 《The Monkey King, Sun Wukong(孫悟空)》, the legendary magic monkey who guides the Priest of Xuanzang to get the Buddha"s Bible, as examples of this new trend of commercial interculturalism. Owing to interculturalism and post-colonialism since the 1970s, interests in theatres among China, Korea, and Japan has increased rapidly in recent years. Interculturalism or multiculturalism first arose in the relationship between the Oriental and the Occidental theatres, and the Oriental theatre seems to provide an alternative to experimental theatres of the West. After the 1990s, this intercultural interests began to rise among the neighboring countries, which has similar cultural backgrounds. Owing to the Post-colonial views, many post-colonial countries not only try to reevaluate their own traditions, but also to study theatre of their regions. Intentional theatrical exchanges among China, Korea and Japan began in the 1980s, which led scholars to study the common roots of their theatrical traditions. Scholar of three countries note the theatrical similarities based on the ancient tradition of Hundred Entertainments, that is, the uses of Song(唱), Speech(念), Dance-Acting(做), and Combat(打). 《The Story of Chunhyang》produced respectively in the form of Chinese Yue Opera, Japanese Kabugi, and Korean Changguek styles. In other words, this production was only the juxtaposition of the three styles, but created an interesting theatre production; the sectional difference was not an obstacle to the smooth flow of the story. This impressive production was possible when it made the best of its common conventions of Song, Dance-Acting, Speech and Combat. It suggested a theatrical cultrual block of the Far Eastern Asia. 《The Monkey King》was a joint performance of the three countries that showed the interest in cultural blocks in today"s commercial plays. The performance of The Monkey King stood out with traditional oriental physical language and music. These two performances showed the possiblity of the Far East Asian cultural block in contrast to Broadway musicals as a popular cultural block. It is an alternative to decenter the hegemony of Broadway musicals nowadays and to provide the diversity of world theatre. They could be an answer for pluralism as well as a valid expression of diversities in this postmodern world.