Chinese Opera

Online Bibliography: Chinese Opera

Compiled by Professor Marjorie K.M. Chan

This online bibliography supports my teaching of Chinese 5474 – Chinese Opera.

(* Opera scripts translated into English)

  1. Alley, Rewi. 1984. Peking Opera. [Text by Rewi Alley. Pictures by Eva Siao, Weng Naiqiang, Zhang Zudao, Di Xianghua, and Others]. Beijing: New World Press.
  2. Arlington, L. C. (Lewis Charles). 1930. The Chinese Drama from the Earliest Times Until Today. [A panoramic study of the art in China, tracing its origin and describing its actors (in both male and female roles), their costumes and make-up, superstitions and stage slang, the accompanying music and musical instruments, concluding with synopses of thirty Chinese plays, by L.C. Arlington, with a Pien (匾) by Mei Lan-fang and a foreword by H.A. Giles, Ll.d. (Aberdeen).] Shanghai: Kelly and Walsh. [Re-issued in 1966. Bronx, NY: Benjamin Blom, Inc.]
  3. * Arlington, L.C. (Lewis Charles) and Harold Acton (editors and translators). 1937. Famous Chinese Plays. [Illustrated] Peiping (Beijing): Henri Vetch.
  4. Bao-Cao_2002Bao, Chengjie and Juan Cao. 2002. Fascinating Stage Arts. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press.
  5. * Birch, Cyril (translator). 2002. The Peony Pavilion. Mudan Ting, Second Edition. Translated with a new preface by Cyril Birch. Introduction to the second edition by Catherine Swatek. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
  6. * Birch, Cyril (translator and editor). 2001. Mistress & Maid (Jiaohongji). By Meng Chengshun. New York: Columbia University Press. (The full title of the work, translated into English is: The Story of (Wang) Jiao(niang) and (Fei)hong and the Chastity and Integrity in the Mandarin-duck Tomb, or shortened to The Mandarin-duck Tomb, or simply, The Story of Jiao and Hong.)
  7. Bonds, Alexandra B. 2008. Beijing Opera Costumes: The Visual Communication of Character and Culture. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press.
  8. * Chang, Donald K. and John D. Mitchell (translators). 1985. The Fox Cat Substituted for the Crown Prince: A Peking Opera Set in the Song Dynasty. (Translated and adapted by Donald K. Chang and John D. Mitchell.) [Li mao huan tai zi. (Unif title) Libretto. English & Chinese] Midland, MI: Northwood Institute Press.
  9. * Chen, Chih-hsiang and Harold Acton (translators). 1976. The Peach Blossom Fan (T’ao-hua-shan). By K’ung Shang-jen (1648-1718). Translated by ChenShih-hsiang and Harold Acton, with the collaboration of Cyril Birch. Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London, UK: University of California Press. (Translation of Taohua Shan.)
  10. chen-2014-qinxianglian* Chen, Rong. 2014. Qin Xianglian: A Beijing Opera. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. [Part of the series, The Project for Disseminating Chinese Operatic Dramas Overseas (中国戏曲海外传播工程丛书) by Renmin University of China.] (Kindle edition)
  11. Chen, Xiaomei. 2002. Acting the Right Part: Political Theater and Popular Drama in Contemporary China. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press.
  12. * Dolby, William. 1978. Eight Chinese Plays from the Thirteenth Century to the Present. [Translated with an Introduction by William Dolby.] New York: Columbia University Press. [The volume contains: “Hegemon King Says Farewell to His Queen” (Ba-wang bie-ji / Bawang Bie Ji; a.k.a. ‘Farewell My Concubine’). Beijing opera version that was performed by Mei Lanfang (1894-1961), pages 111-137.]
  13. Du, Jianhua and Dingou Wang. 2015. Sichuan Opera in China. (Translated by Yan Li.) [Series: Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity]. Paramus, NJ: Homa & Sekey Books.
  14. Duchesne, Isabelle (ed.). 2000. Red Boat on the Canal: Cantonese Opera in New York Chinatown. New York, NY: Museum of Chinese in the Americas.
  15. * Gao, Xiongya. 2014. Du Shiniang: A Beijing Opera. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. [Part of the series, The Project for Disseminating Chinese Operatic Dramas Overseas by Renmin University of China.] (Kindle edition)
  16. Goldman, Andrea S. 2012. Opera and the City. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
  17. Goldstein, Joshua. 2007. Drama Kings: Players and Publics in the Re-creation of Peking Opera, 1870-1937. Berkeley: University of California Press.
  18. Guy, Nancy. 2005. Peking Opera and Politics in Taiwan. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
  19. Halson, Elizabeth. 1966. Peking Opera: A Short Guide. Hong Kong and New York: Oxford University Press.
  20. * Hawkes, David (translator). 2003. Liu Yi and the Dragon Princess: A Thirteenth-Century Zaju Play by Shang Zhongxian. Translated and adapted by David Hawkes. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press. (This book introduces Peking opera, including stagecraft, costumes, music, etc., as well as synopses of 15 operas.)
  21. Ho, Virgil K.Y. 2005. Understanding Canton: Rethinking Popular Culture in the Republican Period. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. [Chapter 6. “Cantonese Opera as a Mirror of Society.”] [OhioLINK: web e-book]
  22. * Hsiung, S.I. 1936. Lady Precious Stream: An Old Chinese Play Done into English According to Its Traditional Style. Acting Edition. (This Chinese drama was adapted and published in 1934, the year in which it was first staged in London, England. This Acting Edition was first published in June 1938.) London: Methuen & Co. Ltd. [Chinese title of the play: Wang Bao Chuan (王寶釧), a.k.a. Hong Zong Lie Ma (紅鬃烈馬)]
  23. * Hsiung, S.I. (translator). 1936 [1968]. The Romance of the Western Chamber. Reissued in 1968 for the Columbia College Program of Translations from the Oriental Classics. New York and London: Columbia University Press. (Translation of Xixiang Ji.)
  24. Huang, Alexander C. Y. 2009. Chinese Shakespeares: Two Centuries of Cultural Exchange. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
  25. Huang, Shang. 1985. Tales from Peking Opera. [Illustrations: Ma De]. Beijing: New World Press. (Narratives of twenty stories from well-known Peking operas, including: “Beauty Defies Tyranny”, “The Pursuit of Han Xin”, “The Capture and Release of Cao Cao”, “The Ruse of the Empty City”, “The Drunken Beauty”, “The Fisherman’s Revenge”, “The Jade Bracelet”, “A Startling Dream of Wandering Through the Garden”, “The Four Successful Candidates”, “Sister Thirteen”, etc.)
  26. * Huang, Shaorong. 2014. The Romance of the Western Chamber: A Kunqu Opera. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. [Part of the series, The Project for Disseminating Chinese Operatic Dramas Overseas by Renmin University of China.] (Kindle edition)
  27. * Hung, Josephine Huang. 1971. Classical Chinese Plays. Second edition. Taipei: Mei Ya Publications. [Five plays: 1. “The Faithful Harlot” (Yü T’ang Ch’un / Yu Tang Chun); 2. “Two Men on a String” (Feng Yi T’ing / Feng Yi Ting); 3. “Twice a Bride” (Hung Luan Hsi / Hong Luan Xi; a.k.a. Chin Yu Nu / Jin Yu Nu); 4. “One Missing Head” (Chiu Keng T’ien / Jiu Geng Tian); 5. “The Price of Wine” (Mei Lung Chen / Meilong Zhen; a.k.a. Yu Lung Hsi Feng / You long Xi Feng)] (Note: The same five plays are in the first edition, entitled Children of the Pear Garden: Five Plays from the Chinese Opera, and published in 1961 in Taipei by Heritage Press.)
  28. Hung_1974* Hung, Josephine. 1974. The Jewel Bag: A Chinese Classical Play. [A Traditional Chinese Play Translated and Adapted with an Introduction and Stage Directions.] Taipei: Mei Ya Publications, Inc.
  29. * Hung, Josephine Huang. 1981. For Love and Justice: Chuan Chiao Chi Yuan. Translated, adapted and annotated by Josephine Huang Hung. Taipei: Mei Ya Publications, Inc. [Note: Scenes 3 and 4 (minus the mother) of this full-length Peking opera (雙姣奇緣 / 法門寺) is often performed as a short, stand-alone opera, “Picking Up the Jade Bracelet” (拾玉镯). See Scott (1975), “Picking Up the Jade Bracelet.”]
  30. * Hung, Josephine Huang. 1993. A Handful of Snow: A Traditional Chinese Play. Translated, adapted, and annotated, with an introduction, by Josephine Huang Hung. Taipei, Taiwan: Published by arrangement with Zhong Hwa Book Co.; Miami, Fla.: Meiya. [Yi p’ung hsueh (yi peng xue) 一捧雪, Li Yu 李玉.]
  31. Idema_2014* Idema, Wilt L. 2015. The Metamorphosis of Tian Xian Pei: Local Opera Under the Revolution (1949-1956). Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press.
  32. Idema, Wilt L. and Stephen H. West. 2014. The Orphan of Zhao and Other Yuan Plays: The Earliest Known Versions. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
  33. Idema, Wilt L. and Stephen H. West. 2013. The Generals of the Yang Family. Hackensack, NJ: World Scientific.
  34. Jiang, Jin. 2009. Women Playing Men: Yue Opera and Social Change in Twentieth-Century Shanghai. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press.
  35. Jin, Fu. 2012. Chinese Theatre. Translated from the original Chinese by Wenliang Wang, Huan Wang, and Lina Zhang. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. (Originally published by China Intercontinental Press as The Art of Chinese Theatre.)
  36. Johnson, Elizabeth Lominska. 1996. Cantonese opera in Jin_2012its Canadian context: The contemporary vitality of an old tradition. Theatre Research in Canada / Recherches Théâtrales au Canada 17.1.24-45.
  37. Johnson, Elizabeth Lominska. 1997. Cantonese opera costumes in Canada. Arts of Asia 27.1.112-125. [Note: In 1994-1995, a travelling exhibition, A Rare Flower: A Century of Cantonese Opera in Canada, which was organized by Dr. Elizabeth Johnson (Museum of Anthropology (MOA), University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, Canada), showcased a selection of costume pieces from MOA’s collection of Cantonese opera costumes and accessories. The collection, one of the largest and oldest in the world, comprises more than 500 pieces that were preserved by Vancouver’s Jin Wah Sing Musical Association. The collection — donated in large part by Jin Wah Sing, with additional pieces purchased by MOA — provides a rare glimpse into the history of Cantonese opera as an important performing art form among the Chinese in Canada from the 1880s until today.]
  38. Kuang, Rong. 1982. Fifteen Strings of Cash. [Adapted by Kuang Rong; drawings by Wang Hongli; Shi wu guan. English & Chinese (unif title)] Beijing: Foreign Languages Press.
  39. Joseph Lam - Kunqu book (2022)Lam, Joseph S. C. 2022. Kunqu: A Classical Opera of Twenty-First Century China. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. (Also distributed by University of Chicago Press for Hong Kong University Press.)
  40. Lee, Tong Soon. 2009. Chinese Street Opera in Singapore. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
  41. Lei, Daphne Pi-Wei. 2006. Operatic China: Staging Chinese Identity Across the Pacific. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
  42. Leung, George Kin. 1929. Mei Lan-fang, Foremost Actor of China. Shanghai: Commercial Press, Limited. [Includes information on stagecraft.]
  43. Li, Nianpei. 1987. Old Tales of China: A Book to Better Understanding of China’s Stage, Cinema, Arts and Crafts. Illustrated by Pang Xiquan, Sun Yizeng and Li Binsheng. Singapore: Graham Brash Ptd Ltd. (1981 edition was published by China Travel and Tourism Press, and the 1982 edition by The Commercial Press.) (This book contains 40 synopses from Chinese opera, plus plots in Chinese opera that are based on scenes from A Dream of Red Mansions (Hong Lou Meng), and stories from The Romance of the Three Kingdoms (San Guo Yanyi), Water Margin (Shui Hu Zhuan), Pigrimage to the West (Xi You Ji), and The Yang Family of Generals (Yang Jia Jiang).)
  44. Li, Nianpei (translator and editor). 1988. The Beating of the Dragon Robe: A Repertoire of Beijing Opera Synopses of 100 Most Popular Pieces. Illustrated by Dong Chensheng. Co-published by Joint Publishing (H.K.) Co., Ltd., Hong Kong, and China Travel and Tourism Press, Beijing.
  45. Li, Ruru. 2010. The Soul of Beijing Opera: Theatrical Creativity and Continuity in the Changing World. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
  46. * Li, Shau Chwun. 1976. Wild Boar Forest. [Annotated and Edited by Donald Chang and John D. Mitchell.] Midland, MI: Northwood Institute. (This is an introduction to one of the best known Peking operas, and is intended for American learners of Chinese. The textbook uses Simplified Chinese characters and provides Yale romanization and English glosses in the vocabulary items placed as footnotes on the page for easy reference. The book also provides information on the opera (viz., brief introduction to Peking opera, synopsis of the opera, and the characters in the opera, the protagonist being Lin Chong, one of the heroes of beloved novel, The Water Margin (a.k.a. Outlaws of the Marsh and All Men are Brothers). An English translation of the opera is also available; see reference below to Mitchell (1973).)
  47. Li, Siu Leung [Edward Siu-leung]. 2003. Cross-Dressing in Chinese Opera. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
  48. Li_2005Li, Xiao (李晓). 2006. Chinese Kunqu Opera (中国昆曲). Translated into English by Li Li and Liping Zhang. South San Francisco: Long River Press; Shanghai: Shanghai Press and Pub. Dev. Co. (The original 2004 Chinese edition was published by Shanghai’s Baijia Chubanshe.) (History of kunqu opera from the early 14th century to the present, with numerous b/w and color photos.)
  49. Liu, April. 2019. Divine Threads: The Visual and Material Culture of Cantonese Opera. Vancouver, Canada: Museum of Anthropology at UBC.
  50. * Liu, Jung-en. 1972. Six Yüan Plays. London, England: Penguin Books Ltd. [Excerpts: “The Orphan of Chao” and “A Stratagem of Interlocking Rings”]
  51. * Liu, Toming Jun. 2011. Cao Cao and Yang Xiu: A Beijing Opera Based on the Classical Novel Romance of Three Kingdoms.Translation, Introduction and Annotations by Toming Jun Liu. Hefei, China: Time Publishing and Media Co., Ltd.
  52. Lowe, H. Y. 1942. Stories from Chinese Drama. With illustrations by the author. Peking (Beijing): Peking Chronicle Press. (This voluminous work (with close to a total of 500 pages, including introduction, index, etc.) narrates the plots of 202 of the most well-known Peking operas. Opera titles are given in Chinese characters and in English translation.)
    [Note: This book was re-published later in Taiwan under a different author, a slightly different title, and a different publisher, with no apparent acknowledgment of the true source of the work: Gee, Tom. 1978. Stories of Chinese Opera. Taipei: Liberal Arts Press.]
  53. * Lu, Lisa (translator). 1980. The Romance of the Jade Bracelet and Other Chinese Operas. Freely translated by Lisa Lu, with an Appreciation by Harold Acton and a Foreword by S.I. Hsiung. San Francisco: Chinese Materials Center, Inc.
  54. Ma, Haili. 2012. Yueju — The Formation of a Legitimate Culture in Contemporary Shanghai. Culture Unbound213-227.
  55. * Ma, Qian (translator). 2005. Women in Traditional Chinese Theater: The Heroine’s Play. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. [Six plays including “Injustice to Dou E” (Dou E Yuan), “Mu Lan” (Ci Mulan) and “The Girl Who Marries a Princess” (Nü Fuma), the latter a huangmei opera.]
  56. Mackerras, Colin. 1975. The Chinese Theatre in Modern Times: From 1840 to the Present Day. London: Thames and Hudson, Ltd.
  57. Mackerras, Colin. 1990. Chinese Drama: A Historical Survey. Beijing: New World Press. [Excerpts: Chapter IV. “The Pihuang System and the Peking Opera, Eighteenth-Nineteenth Centuries” and Chapter V. “Society and Drama, Twelfth-Nineteenth Centuries.”] [OSU Libraries do not own a copy, but 2 other OhioLINK libraries have it.]
  58. Mackerras, Colin. 1997. Peking Opera. [Images of Asia series.] Hong Kong: Oxford University Press (China) Ltd. (This is a brief introduction to Peking opera and is intended for the general reader. It contains some historical color photos and includes a final chapter, “How is the Peking Opera Doing Nowadays,” updating information that is in his (1975) book.)
  59. Mei, Weidong and Wei Mei. 2013. Appreciating Traditional Chinese Opera. Translated by Rui Ma. Beijing: New Star Press. [Written by grandson and great-grandson of Mei Lanfang, the book chapters cover Kunqu, Beijing opera, Yue opera, Yu opera, Qinqiang, Sichuan opera, and Cantonese opera.]
  60. * Mitchell, John D. 1973. The Red Pear Garden: Three Great Dramas of Revolutionary China. Boston: David R. Godine. {Includes: “The White Snake” (Bai She Zhuan) and “The Wild Boar Forest” (Ye Zhu Lin)]
  61. Mou, Sherry J. 2009. A child for all ages: The Orphan of Zhao. Education About Asia 14.1.23-28.
  62. * Mulligan, Jean. 1980. The Lute. Kao Ming’s P’i-p’a chi. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. (Translation of Pipa Ji.)
  63.  Ng-2015Ng,Wing Chung. 2015. The Rise of Cantonese Opera. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press.
  64. Pan, Xiafeng. 1995. The Stagecraft of Peking Opera: From Its Origins to the Present Day. Beijing: New World Press.
  65. Rao, Nancy Yunhwa. 2017. Chinatown Opera Theater in North America. Urbana, IL: U. of Illinois Press.
  66. Regional Council, Hong Kong. 1988. Yue Ju Fu Shi [粵劇服飾]. (= Costumes of Cantonese Opera). Hong Kong: Regional Council, Hong Kong. (Exhibition catalogue with Chinese-English bilingual text; preface by the Curator, Regional Council Museums, Hong Kong.)
  67. * Schultz, Sunny Jiang. 2014. Zhong Kui: A Hebei Bangzi Opera. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. [Part of the series, The Project for Disseminating Chinese Operatic Dramas Overseas by Renmin University of China.] (Kindle edition)
  68. Scott, A. C. 1958. An Introduction to the Chinese Theatre. With drawings by the author. Singapore: Donald Moore. (Includes techniques and other stagecraft, and narratives of twenty plays.)
  69. * Scott, A. C. 1967. Traditional Chinese Plays. Volume 1. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. [Two plays: “Ssu Lang Visits his Mother” (Ssu Lang T’an Mu / Si Lang Tan Mu) and “The Butterfly Dream” (Hu Tieh Meng / Hudie Meng)]
  70. * Scott, A. C. 1969. Traditional Chinese Plays. Volume 2. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. [Two plays: “Longing for Worldly Pleasures” (Ssu Fan / Si Fan) and “Fifteen Strings of Cash” (Shih Wu Kuan / Shi Wu Guan)]
  71. * Scott, A. C. 1975. Traditional Chinese Plays. Volume 3. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. [Two plays: “Picking Up the Jade Bracelet” (Shih yü-cho / Shi Yuzhuo) and “A Girl Setting Out for Trial” (Nü ch’i-chieh / Nü Qijie).]
  72. Siu_1997Scott, A. C. 1983. The Performance of Classical Theater. In: Colin Mackerras (editor), Chinese Theater: From Its Origins to the Present Day. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. Pages 118-144. [OSU Libraries have 4 copies; 27 other OhioLINK libraries have copies. Three other OhioLINK libraries have a 1988 edition.]
  73. * Shi, Yili. 2014. Honorable Official Yu Chenglong: A Beijing Opera. (于成龙). Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. [Part of the series, The Project for Disseminating Chinese Operatic Dramas Overseas by Renmin University of China.] (Kindle edition)
  74. * Shi, Yili. 2014. The Legend of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai: A Yueju Opera. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. [Part of the series, The Project for Disseminating Chinese Operatic Dramas Overseas by Renmin University of China.] (Kindle edition)
  75. * Shih, Chung-wen. 1972. Injustice to Tou O (Tou O Yüan): A Study and Translation. By Hanqing Guan. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
  76. Siu, Wang-Ngai, with Peter Lovrick. 1997. Chinese Opera: Images and Stories. Vancouver, Canada: UBC Press; Seattle: U. of Washington Press. [Excerpt: Chapter 2. “Regional Opera Styles”.] [OSU Libraries and 10 other OhioLINK libraries have this book.]
  77. Siu-2014-coverSiu, Wang-Ngai, with Peter Lovrick. 2014. Chinese Opera: The Actor’s Craft. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
  78. Stock, Jonathan P.J. 2003. Huju: Traditional Opera in Modern Shanghai. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. (Published for The British Academy.)
  79. Sun, Jie. 2000. Peking Opera Painted Faces — With Notes on 200 Operas. [Text by Zhao Menglin and Yan Jiqing. Drawings by Zhao Menglin]. Fourth edition. Beijing: Morning Glory Publishers. [Illustrations of the painted faces and the notes on the operas are online at Peking Opera Masks]
  80. Tan Gudnason, Jessica and Li Gong. 2001. Chinese Opera. New York: Abbeville Press. (Photographs by Jessica Tan Gudnason; text by Li Gong (the actress in such well-known films as Farewell My Concubine and The Emperor and the Assassin). This is mainly a “coffee-table” book that consists of illustrations — mostly close-ups (for a detailed look at the make-up and headdress) and portraits of performers in their colorful and elaborate costumes; performers are from Peking and Cantonese opera troupes as well as all-female, Wu-dialect Yue opera troupes from Shanghai.)
  81. * TaPai Hsien-Yung (2014)ng, Xianzu. 2014. The Peony Pavilion: The Young Lovers’ Edition. Play script (Chinese text with English translation) 青春版《牡丹亭》劇本(中英對照版). by Tang Xianzu; as arranged and edited by Pai Hsien-Yung; with Hua Wei, Chang Shu-Hsiang and Hsin Yi-Yun; English translation by Lindy Li Mark ; scene titles translation by Susan Chan Egan; 白先勇, 華瑋, 張淑香, 辛意雲, 李林德, 陳毓賢, 湯顯祖Xianyong Bai, Wei. Hua, Shuxiang. Zhang, Yiyun. Xin, Linde. Li, Yuxian. Chen, Xianzu Tang.
  82. Thorpe, Ashley. 2007. The Role of the Chou (“Clown”) in Traditional Chinese Drama: Comedy, Criticism, and Cosmology on the Chinese Stage. Lewiston, NY and Queenston, Canada: Edwin Mellen Press.
  83. * Wang, Ben. 2009. Laughter and Tears: Translation of Selected Kunqu Dramas. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. (Text in Chinese and English.) [Note: A request has been re-submitted to OSU Libraries to purchase this book.]
  84. * Wang, Elizabeth Te-Chen. 1971. Snow Elegant. A Chinese Classical Play. Translated and Adapted by Elizabeth Te-Chen Wang from the Opera “Feng Huan Ch’ao” (Feng Huan Chao) by Chi Yu-shan. Taipei: Mei Ya Publications, Inc.
  85. Wang, Kui. 2015. Cantonese Opera in China. (Translated into English by Shangzhen Chen.) [Series: Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity]. Paramus, NJ: Homa & Sekey Books.
  86. * West, Stephen H. and Wilt L. Idema (editors and translators). 1995. The Story of the Western Wing. By Wang Shifu. (A 100-page introduction by Stephen H. West and Wilt L. Idema.) Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London, UK: University of California Press. (Translation of Xixiang Ji.)
  87. * West, Stephen H. and Wilt L. Idema. 2010. Monks, Bandits, Lovers, and Immortals: Eleven Early Chinese Plays. Edited and translatted, with an introduction, by Stephen H. West and Wilt L. Idema. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
  88. Wichmann, Elizabeth. 1991. Listening to Theatre: The Aural Dimension of Beijing Opera. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
  89. Xu_2003Wu, Zuguang, Zuolin Huang, and Shaowu Mei. 1981. Peking Opera and Mei Lanfang: A Guide to China’s Traditional Theatre and the Art of its Great Master. Beijing: New World Press. (Includes an Appendix: Synopses of 25 Peking Operas.)
  90. Xu, Chengbei. 2003. Peking Opera. [Cultural China Series.] (Translated by Chen Gengtao; fully illustrated with historical photos and color photos.) San Francisco: Long River Press.
  91. Xu, Chengbei. 2005. An Afternoon Tea of Beijing Opera Tidbits. [Cultural China Series.] (Translated from the Chinese by Yawtsong Lee; fully illustrated with color photos.) San Francisco: Long River Press.
  92. * Yang, Gladys (translator). 1958. The Runaway Maid (A Cantonese Opera). [Revised by the Cantonese Opera Company of Kwangtung] Peking: Foreign Languages Press. (Translation of Sou Shuyuan (Searching the Academy).)
  93. Yang-Yang_1956* Yang, Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang (Translators). 1956. The Fisherman’s Revenge. A Peking Opera. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. [An English translation of this opera (打渔杀家) is also available in Arlington and Acton (1937)
  94. * Yang, Hsien-yi (= Yang, Xianyi) and Gladys Yang (translators). 1956. Love Under the Willows (A Szechuan Opera). (Unif Title: Liang Shan-po yü Chu Ying-t’ai) Peking: Foreign Languages Press.
  95. * Yang, Hsien-yi (= Yang, Xianyi) and Gladys Yang (translators). 1962. Third Sister Liu (An Opera in Eight Scenes). Peking: Foreign Languages Press. (This is a caidiao (color tune) opera from northern Guangxi based on a Zhuang minority folk legend. It was revised and made into a film in 1959. In addition, there is a 1978 film version that reflects the opera much more closely.)
  96. * Yang, Hsien-yi (= Yang, Xianyi) and Gladys Yang (translators). 1957. Fifteen Strings of Cash. A Kunchu Opera. Peking: Foreign Languages Press.
  97. * Yang, Hsien-yi (= Yang, Xianyi) and Gladys Yang (translators). 1957. The White Snake. A Peking Opera. Peking: Foreign Languages Press.
  98. * Yang, Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang (translators). 1958. The Forsaken Wife (A Pingju Opera). Peking: Foreign Languages Press. (Translation of Qin Xiang Lian.)
  99. * Yang, Xianyi and Gladys Yang (translators). 1955/1980. The Palace of Eternal Youth. By Hong Sheng. First Edition: 1955; second edition: 1980. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. (Translation of Changsheng Dian.)
  100. * Yang, Xiao-ming. 2014. The Legend of a White Snake: A Beijing Opera. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. [Part of the series, The Project for Disseminating Chinese Operatic Dramas Overseas by Renmin University of China.] (Kindle edition)
  101. * Yang, Xiao-ming. 2014. Pan Jinlian: A Kunqu Opera. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. [Part of the series, The Project for Disseminating Chinese Operatic Dramas Overseas by Renmin University of China.] (Kindle edition)
  102. * Yang, Xiao-ming. 2014. Princess Wencheng: A Combined Drama of Beijing Opera and Tibetan Opera. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. [Part of the series, The Project for Disseminating Chinese Operatic Dramas Overseas by Renmin University of China.] (Kindle edition)
  103. Ye, Tan. 2008. Historical Dictionary of Chinese Theater. [Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts, No. 27] Landham, Maryland; Toronto; Plymouth, UK: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. [Note: This hardcover book has the same content as the paperback edition, published by Scarecrow Pressr and sporting a different title, The A to Z of Chinese Theater, and placed in a different series, The A to Z Guide Series, No. 182.]
  104. Yi-2005Yeh, Catherine Vance. 2004. Where is the Center of Cultural Production? The Rise of the Actor to National Stardom and the Beijing / Shanghai Challenge (1860s-1910s). Late Imperial China 25.2.74-118. [E-journal article]
  105. Yi, Bian (compiler). 2005. Peking Opera: The Cream of Chinese Culture. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press.
  106. Yim, Shui-yuen (editor). 1989. Yue Ju Bai Nian Tui Bian [粵劇百年蜕變] (= A Century of Cantonese Opera). Hong Kong: Regional Council, Hong Hong Kong. (Exhibition catalogue with Chinese-English bilingual text.)
  107. Yip, Siu Hing and Josh Stenberg (editors & translators). 2022. Kunqu Masters on Chinese Theatrical Performance. London and New York: Anthem Press.
  108. * Yu, Shiao-ling S. (Editor and translator). 1996. Chinese Drama after the Cultural Revolution, 1979-1989: An Anthology. Eited and translated, with an introduction by Shiao-Ling S. Yu. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen. (In addition to spoken drama, the book contains new versions of two traditional operas.) Yung_2010
  109. Yung, Bell. 1989. Cantonese Opera: Performance as Creative Process. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  110. * Yung, Bell. 2010. The Flower Princess, A Cantonese Opera by Tong Dik Sang. Translated, edited and introduced by Bell Yung. Assisted in translation by Sonia Ng and Katherine Carlitz. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press. [This is an English translation of Tang Disheng’s most well-known opera, Di Nü Hua (帝女花 ‘Princess Changping’).]
  111. Zheng, Lei (郑雷). 200- (no date). Zhongguo Kunqu (中國昆曲). China’s Traditional Kunqu Opera. (Chief editors: Li, Xin and Husheng Li; translated into English by RB Baron; fully illustrated with color photos.) Beijing: Ministry of Culture, People’s Republic of China. Zheng_200x[Note: Produced by CAV Television Production Co., Ltd.; “Not for sale.” Available from WorldCat.]
  112. Zung, Cecilia S. L. 1937. Secrets of the Chinese Drama: A Complete Explanatory Guide to Actions and Symbols as Seen in the Performance of Chinese Dramas. [With Synopses of Fifty Popular Chinese Plays and 240 Illustrations]. Shanghai: Kelly and Walsh. [Re-issued in 1964. New York: Benjamin Blom.]

 

Book covers were scanned by M. Chan and prepared for this web page.
Last update: 17 May 2023.