The "national drama" in China is a historical concept. Grown on longstanding Chinese culture and art, the traditional drama, mainly in the form of "opera", has been integrated with "drama" of an international background. From the perspective of modern "drama and opera", this book mainly studies the conditions and research of Chinese traditional drama in the 1920s and 1930s.Instead of analyzing from the viewpoint of literature appreciation or music theory, the author regards the drama as a comprehensive stage art. He attaches special importance to restoring historical scenes and therefore mainly introduces the drama journals and monographs published in that historical period, in order to help readers understand the original state of drama at that time through the records of the witnesses. In particular, this book delivers an insightful view about the evolution of the meaning of "national drama" and "drama".The book will help scholars and readers understand the meaning and the whole story of the "national drama" concept, and will certainly facilitate the construction of the discipline of Drama and Opera.


Zhang Yifan, a lecturer of the School of Liberal Arts, Renmin University of China, has mainly taught the major courses of Drama and Opera Study as well as General Knowledge of Traditional Art since 2009.