In Staging for the Emperors, Liana Chen examines two distinct and interlocking dimensions of the Qing court theatre—the vicissitudes of the palace troupe and the multifaceted functions of court-commissioned ceremonial dramas—to highlight the diverse array of views held by individual rulers as they used theatrical means to promote their personal and political agendas. Drawing on recently discovered materials from a variety of court administrative bureaus, memoirs, diaries, and play scripts written for court ceremonial occasions, this study places the history of Qing court theatre in the broader context of Qing cultural and political history. It demonstrates that theatre, like other forms of courtly art, served the individual rulers’ desire to embody virtue, to entertain at leisure, and to project aspirations. Below, read an excerpt from the book in which Prof. Chen discusses the ritual context of theatrical performances at the Qing court:

Attending theatrical performances at the Qing court was first and foremost an experience associated with the enactment of court rituals. Life in the Forbidden City cannot be separated from the performative aspects of rites and rituals. Far from static or stale, these rites and rituals were intimately connected to the display of power and processes of empowerment. The term li 禮 (rites) refers to ceremonial practices in honor of gods and ancestors. Scholars have generally defined rites as a form of cultural production that includes “all forms of artificially structured social behavior.” As Kai-wing Chow observed, the notion of rites is used to denote a broad range of court practices. It is associated with at least two types of stylized, institutionalized action: one in the religious context and another in socio political contexts such as the civil service examination. Qing ritual practices put imperial power on display through the precise maneuvering of movements and objects, and the influence of court rituals was felt on both the state and domestic levels. State rituals, such as the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, worship of imperial ancestors, and military and guest rites, established the conquest elite as the legitimate successor to tianming 天命 (the Mandate of Heaven) and affirmed the hierarchy in the secular domain. Domestic rituals, in contrast, connected members in the court society as a community and allowed space for rulers to exhibit feelings and sentiments as individuals.

Staging for the Emperors is part of the Cambria Sinophone World Series headed by Prof. Victor H. Mair (University of Pennsylvania) and is available in print and digital editions at the Cambria Press website.

Liana Chen is Assistant Professor of Chinese and International Affairs at The George Washington University. She holds a PhD in Chinese literature from Stanford University, and an MA in theatre and drama from National Taiwan University. Dr. Chen is the author of Literati and Actors at Work: The Transformations of “Peony Pavilion” On Page and On Stage in the Ming and Qing Dynasties (Taipei: National Taiwan University Press, 2013). She has published in several journals, including NAN NÜ: Men, Women and Gender in China and Asian Theatre Journal. Dr. Chen’s areas of teaching and research focus on late-imperial Chinese literature and culture, Chinese theatre and drama, and Taiwanese literature. Her research has been supported by the Foundation for Development of Chinese Culture (Taiwan), and the American Council of Learned Societies.