The Role of the Chou ("clown") in Traditional Chinese Drama

Comedy, Criticism, and Cosmology on the Chinese Stage

• Author(s): Ashley Thorpe,
• Publisher: Edwin Mellen Press
• Pages: 351
• ISBN_10: 0773453032
  ISBN_13: 9780773453036
  
• Language: en
• Categories: Music / Genres & Styles / Opera , Performing Arts / Circus , Performing Arts / Theater / History & Criticism ,

Description:... This is the first Western language book to examine the chou ("clown") role-type in traditional Chinese drama--a role-type credited with so much importance that some critics insist that "withouth the chou, there would not be drama." This assertion is evaluated through an analysis of historical documents and translated play texts, fieldwork research, and from the perspectives of ethnomusicology and anthropology.