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The Collector of Lives: Giorgio Vasari And The Invention Of Art
by Noah Charney Ingrid RowlandIn the tradition of The Swerve and How to Live, this vivid biography reveals how a Renaissance scholar reshaped the visual world. Giorgio Vasari (1511–1574) was a man of many talents—a sculptor, painter, architect, writer, and scholar—but he is best known for Lives of the Artists, the classic account that singlehandedly invented the genre of artistic biography and established the canon of Italian Renaissance art. Before Vasari’s extraordinary book, art was considered a technical skill rather than an intellectual pursuit, and artists were mere decorators and craftsmen. It was through Vasari’s visionary writings that artists like Raphael, Leonardo, and Michelangelo came to be regarded as great masters of life as well as art, their creative genius celebrated as a divine gift. Their enduring reputations testify to Vasari’s profound yet unspoken influence on western culture. An advisor to kings and pontiffs—and a confidant to Titian, Donatello, and more—Vasari enjoyed an exhilarating career amid the thrilling culture of Renaissance Italy. In The Collector of Lives, Ingrid Rowland and Noah Charney offer a lively and inviting introduction to this pivotal figure in art history, and immerse readers in the world of the Medici of Florence and the popes of Rome. A narrative of intrigue, scandal, and colorful artistic rivalry, this vivid biography shows the great works of western art taking shape under Vasari’s keen eye—and reveals how one Renaissance scholar completely redefined how we look at art.
The Collector: The Story of Sergei Shchukin and His Lost Masterpieces
by Natalya Semenova André-Marc Delocque-FourcaudA fascinating life of Sergei Shchukin, the great collector who changed the face of Russia’s art world Sergei Shchukin was a highly successful textiles merchant in the latter half of the nineteenth century, but he also had a great eye for beauty. He was one of the first to appreciate the qualities of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists and to acquire works by Cézanne, Matisse, and Picasso. A trailblazer in the Russian art world, Shchukin and his collection shocked, provoked, and inspired awe, ridicule, and derision among his contemporaries. This is the first English-language biography of Sergei Shchukin, written by art historian Natalya Semenova and adapted by Shchukin's grandson André Delocque. Featuring personal diary entries, correspondence, interviews, and archival research, it brings to light the life of a man who has hitherto remained in the shadows, and shows how despite his controversial reputation, he opened his collection to the public, inspiring a future generation of artists and changing the face of the Russian art world.
The Colonial Architecture of Salem (Dover Architecture Ser.)
by Frank Cousins Phil M. RileySalem, Massachusetts, has long been considered the center of New England's Colonial architecture, a storehouse of well-preserved American antiquities. This profusely illustrated study, first published in 1919, represents the first complete, chronological survey of Colonial architecture in Salem — from the town's settlement in 1626 to the end of its Colonial development in 1818.Focusing on such major styles as the gable and peaked-roof house, the lean-to house, the gambrel-roof house, and the square three-story house, this volume features detailed descriptions of over 100 buildings: the famous House of Seven Gables, the Governor Bradstreet Mansion, the Witch House, Nathaniel Hawthorne's Birthplace, Assembly Hall, the Old Courthouse, the Old South Church, the Salem Custom House, and numerous others. The text is enhanced by more than 250 rare illustrations of the building under discussion, as well as details of doorways and mantels, moldings, wainscoting, windows, stairways, and other features.Brimming with informative and well-illustrated descriptions of classic early New England architecture, this highly readable volume is an invaluable and inspirational sourcebook for architects and home builders. In addition, its colorful anecdotes concerning colonial Salem and its residents offer fascinating fare for historians and other readers.
The Colonial Craftsman
by Carl BridenbaughIn colonial America, craftsmen comprised the largest segment of the population, after farmers. They were cabinetmakers, silversmiths, pewterers, printers, painters, engravers, blacksmiths, brass button-makers, shipwrights, hatters, shoemakers, and other artisans, and they manufactured the tools, clothing, household goods, and other essential products needed to sustain life and trade in the New World. <p><p> In this superb study, a distinguished American historian examines the lives and work of American craftsmen in the years before the Revolution — the golden age of colonial craftsmanship — showing them at work, at play, at worship, at school, at home, competing in their trades, striving to get ahead, and playing a dynamic role as citizens in bringing about American independence.Natural resources, special crafts of the different colonies, and New World "marketing" of those crafts are closely studied. Students of American history, culture, and the arts and crafts will find this a richly rewarding study — authoritative, well-researched, and highly readable. It is further enhanced with carefully chosen illustrations from Diderot's Encyclopédie, the great 18th-century reference work on technology, whose detailed engravings accurately represent the crafts of the period.
The Colonial Public and the Parsi Stage: The Making of the Theatre of Empire (1853-1893) (Transnational Theatre Histories)
by Rashna Darius NicholsonThe Colonial Public and the Parsi Stage is the first comprehensive study of the Parsi theatre, colonial South and Southeast Asia’s most influential cultural phenomenon and the precursor of the Indian cinema industry. By providing extensive, unpublished information on its first actors, audiences, production methods, and plays, this book traces how the theatre—which was one of the first in the Indian subcontinent to adopt European stagecraft—transformed into a pan-Asian entertainment industry in the second half of the nineteenth century. Nicholson sheds light on the motivations that led to the development of the popular, commercial theatre movement in Asia through three areas of investigation: the vernacular public sphere, the emergence of competing visions of nationhood, and the narratological function that women served within a continually shifting socio-political order. The book will be of interest to scholars across several disciplines, including cultural history, gender studies, Victorian studies, the sociology of religion, colonialism, and theatre.
The Coloniality of Catastrophe in Caribbean Theater and Performance
by Camilla Stevens Jon D. RossiniThe Coloniality of Catastrophe in Caribbean Theater and Performance calls attention to theater&’s capacity to reveal the constructed roots of catastrophe and offer counter catastrophic strategies to live and imagine otherwise. Engaging anglophone, francophone, and hispanophone theater from across the Caribbean and its diaspora, the 12 essays and one interview foster a pan-Caribbean view of theater, identifying shared tropes and theatrical strategies. Essays address a range of 20th and 21st century works that center the relentless cycle of &“natural&” disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods as well as the catastrophic effects of continuing coloniality more broadly. In doing so, they unsettle the normalization of catastrophe. Exploring the power of theater&’s situatedness, its iterative quality, and its special arrangement of time, these works remind us of the impact of embodied co-presence in the political realities of everyday life.
The Color Management Handbook for Visual Effects Artists: Digital Color Principles, Color Management Fundamentals & ACES Workflows
by Victor PerezVictor Perez brings together the research and expertise of world-leading color scientists to create a comprehensive guide for visual effects (VFX) artists in color management. This book explores the latest standards of high dynamic range (HDR) and Academy Color Encoding System (ACES) workflows, in an easily digestible and widely applicable resource. Its purpose is to make artists confident and familiar with Color Management and its science, to improve the quality of visual effects worldwide. Without assuming any previous knowledge, this self-contained book builds the reader’s understanding from the ground up, exploring all the elements of the color workflow at a scientific level. It covers how to set up a consistent pipeline in relation to other departments, inside and outside visual effects, from camera to screen, so everybody is aligned to the same standards, preserving color qualities and consistency while maintaining the artistic intent end to end. It also delves into all the integral concepts for color management, ranging from color theory to digital image fundamentals, and much more. This book is an invaluable resource for VFX students and professionals who want to be well informed about the latest HDR and ACES pipelines, as well as those at every level of production wishing to gain a deeper understanding of managing color in visual effects projects.
The Color of Dance: A Celebration of Diversity and Inclusion in the World of Ballet
by TaKiyah Wallace-McMillianFrom the photographer behind the Instagram sensation Brown Girls Do Ballet, this stunning coffee-table book showcases breathtaking images of ballerinas of color of all ages and levels that reflect today&’s beautifully diverse world of dance. For decades the prominent image of a ballet dancer has been a white body with pale clothing. It took 75 years for American Ballet Theatre to have its first African American female principal dancer, Misty Copeland. When TaKiyah Wallace-McMillian went to enroll her three-year-old daughter into her first ballet class, she immediately saw this lack of diversity and representation—even on her local dance studio&’s website. Within weeks TaKiyah, a freelance photographer, began shooting a project she called Brown Girls Do Ballet, which eventually became an Instagram hit and a nonprofit organization that provides resources, mentorship, inspiration, and encouragement to young dancers of color worldwide. For her first book, The Color of Dance, TaKiyah traveled around the United States seeking out dancers of African, Asian, East Indian, Hispanic, and Native American ancestry. With these more than 190 breathtaking images of colorful ballerinas of all ages and levels, both amateur and professional, TaKiyah gives a voice to dancers who have been underrepresented for too long. With dozens of quotes throughout from ballerinas themselves, The Color of Dance redefines what this classically Eurocentric art form has looked like for centuries and will inspire dancers—and all of us—to pursue our dreams no matter what barriers are put in front of us.
The Color of Loss
by Dan BurkholderThe devastation of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina has been imprinted in our collective visual memory by thousands of images in the media and books of dramatic photographs by Robert Polidori, Larry Towell, Chris Jordan, Debbie Fleming Caffrey, and others. New Orleanians want the world to see and respond to the destruction of their city and the suffering of its people-and yet so many images of so much destruction threaten a visual and emotional overload that would tempt us to avert our eyes and become numb. In The Color of Loss, Dan Burkholder presents a powerful new way of seeing the ravaged homes, churches, schools, and businesses of New Orleans. Using an innovative digital photographic technology called high dynamic range (HDR) imaging, in which multiple exposures are artistically blended to bring out details in the shadows and highlights that would be hidden in conventional photographs, he creates images that are almost like paintings in their richness of color and profusion of detail. Far more intense and poetic than purely documentary photographs, Burkholder's images lure viewers to linger over the artifacts of people's lives-a child's red wagon abandoned in a mud-caked room, a molding picture of Jesus-to fully understand the havoc thrust upon the people of New Orleans. In the deserted, sinisterly beautiful rooms of The Color of Loss, we see how much of the splendor and texture of New Orleans washed away in the flood. This is the hidden truth of Katrina that Dan Burkholder has revealed.
The Color of Roses: A Curated Spectrum of 300 Blooms
by Danielle Dall'Armi Hahn&“The roses are glorious! The story of the rose farm, incredible. The photographs by Victoria Pearson, utterly extraordinary.&”—MARTHA STEWARTA unique photographic collection of 300 stunning roses that spans the full spectrum of the flower&’s shades and hues, creating a breathtaking rainbow that will amaze flower lovers of all kinds.Few flowers come in as many colors as the beloved rose. Curated by award-winning rosarian Danielle Dall&’Armi Hahn, who personally owns more than 40,000 roses, the flowers in The Color of Roses were selected not only for their glorious and subtle color combinations but also for optimal availability, repeat blooming, disease resistance, improved vase life, and fragrance.Organized by color, these 300 full-page photos take you on a journey through all the marvelous shades of white, yellow, pink, peach, purple, orange, red, caramel, and even green blossoms—not to mention striped and bicolor. This modern compilation of the world&’s 300 most beautiful roses includes the essential statistics for each one, including name, plant type and size, breeder, and more to help gardeners, rose lovers, and floral designers discover their new favorite.Roses have been treasured for centuries. They bloom from spring until frost, in virtually all but the most frigid zones and in a great range of varieties to suit every taste. The Color of Roses is the ultimate guide for selecting the perfect color rose for your garden, special event, or floral arrangement.
The Color of Time: Women In History: 1850-1960 (The Color of Time)
by Dan JonesBestselling historian Dan Jones and the brilliant artist Marina Amaral have combined their talents to create a illuminating visual history of women around the world.Dan Jones and Marina Amaral, the acclaimed team behind The Color of Time, combine their talents again to explore the many roles—domestic, social, cultural and professional—played by women across the world before second-wave feminism took hold. Using Marina Amaral's colorized images and Dan Jones's words, this survey features women both celebrated and ordinary, whether in the home or the science lab, protesting on the streets or performing on stage, fighting in the trenches or exploring the wild. This vivid and unique history brings to life and full color the female experience in a century of extraordinary change. Each chapter will be introduced by a woman who works in that field today and the book includes photographs of Queen Victoria, Edith Cavell, Josephine Baker, Mildred Burke, Eva Peron, Eleanor Roosevelt, Virginia Woolf, Clara Schumann, Martha Gellhorn, Simone de Beauvoir, Agatha Christie, Frida Kahlo, Emmeline Pankhurst, Harriet Tubman, Florence Nightingale, Hattie McDaniel and Gertrude Bell; as well as revolutionaries from China to Cuba, Geishas in Japan, protestors on the Salt March, teachers and pilots, nurses and soldiers. In combination of vivid pictures and stirring prose, The Color of Time: Women in History, brings history to life from the vantage point of women who lived it.
The Colored Pencil Manual: Step-by-Step Instructions and Techniques (Dover Art Instruction Ser.)
by Veronica WintersExperienced artists looking to master a new medium will relish this comprehensive guide to using colored pencils by Veronica Winters, author of How to Color Like an Artist. Step-by-step projects with photos and directions illustrate the many details that bring a simple composition to brilliant life, offering readers a comprehensive overview of colored pencil techniques.A brief introduction covers necessary materials and explains the book's overall approach, and subsequent chapters address specific techniques. Each lesson features color swatches that match the colors of different pencil brands, as well as the type of drawing paper and other supplies that will work best for the artwork. Winters expertly covers such techniques as shading and blending and discusses a wealth of other topics, including the importance of light, composition, drawing solid objects in 3-D, color theory, how to draw textures and fabric, how to create symmetrical shapes, and many other aspects of colored pencil drawing.
The Colorwork Bible: Techniques and Projects for Colorful Knitting
by Jesie OstermillerMaster beginner and advanced colorwork knitting techniques in this comprehensive colorwork guideWith chapters outlining more than a half dozen colorwork knitting techniques, The Colorwork Bible is your updated exploration of both beginner- and advanced-level skills with a vibrant, modern palette and inspired projects. Join knitwear designer Jesie Ostermiller as you learn: • A variety of small-scale swatch lessons that help you master a technique before diving into a full size project. • Stripes, stranding, Fair Isle, brioche, slip-stitch, mosaic, intarsia, and more! Each technique is featured must-make projects you'll want to cast-on today. • Valuable tips and tricks, plus essential information on successfully combining colors for the best possible results. Dig deep into the most colorful techniques in knitting with The Colorwork Bible!
The Colossal P. T. Barnum Reader: Nothing Else Like It in the Universe
by Phineas T. Barnum James W. CookThe Colossal P. T. Barnum Reader reveals the trailblazing American showman as, by turns, a moral reformer, a habitual hoaxer, an insightful critic, a savvy "puffer," a master of images, a sparkling writer, a relentless provocateur, and an early advocate of "family" entertainments. Taken together, these selections paint a new and more complete portrait of this complex man than has ever been seen before.
The Colosseum (Wonders Of The World)
by Mary Beard Keith HopkinsByron and Hitler were equally entranced by Rome's most famous monument, the Colosseum. Mid-Victorians admired the hundreds of varieties of flowers in its crannies and occasionally shuddered at its reputation for contagion, danger, and sexual temptation. Today it is the highlight of a tour of Italy for more than three million visitors a year, a concert arena for the likes of Paul McCartney, and a national symbol of opposition to the death penalty. Its ancient history is chockfull of romantic but erroneous myths. There is no evidence that any gladiator ever said "Hail Caesar, those about to die..." and we know of not one single Christian martyr who met his finish here. <p><p> Yet the reality is much stranger than the legend as the authors, two prominent classical historians, explain in this absorbing account. We learn the details of how the arena was built and at what cost; we are introduced to the emperors who sometimes fought in gladiatorial games staged at the Colosseum; and we take measure of the audience who reveled in, or opposed, these games. The authors also trace the strange afterlife of the monument--as fortress, shrine of martyrs, church, and glue factory. Why are we so fascinated with this arena of death?
The Colossus of Roads
by Christina UssFrom the author of the acclaimed The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle comes a tale of traffic jams, secret plans, and one eleven-year-old boy's determination to save his family's livelihood.Rick Rusek's stomach has a lot to say. It's got opinions on tasty foods, not-so-tasty foods, and driving in traffic-jammed Los Angeles makes it roil, boil, gurgle, and howl. It's doing the best it can. It never meant to earn its owner the nickname Carsick Rick or make him change schools for fifth grade. And Rick's stomach isn't the only one dealing with terrible traffic. His family's catering service, Smotch, is teetering on the verge of ruin after a rash of late deliveries and missed appointments. Fortunately, Rick has the solution. Unfortunately, no one wants to listen to a kid. Absolutely certain that he could fix the constant, endless traffic snarls, Rick hatches a plan. But he'll need help from his unicorn-loving Girl Scout neighbor, a famous street artist, and the best driver in L.A. Together they'll take on the stream of stalled cars--and a secret conspiracy or two, too. It's going to be tough, but Rick won't give up. If he can successfully move the 330,000 slow-moving cars standing in the way of his family's future, maybe everyone will see that he's not Carsick Rick. He's one of the seven wonders of Los Angeles.He's the Colossus of Roads.
The Colour Bible: The definitive guide to colour in art and design
by Laura PerrymanAn essential source for graphic designers, artists, interior designers, fashion designers, illustrators and creatives of any kind who work with colour.Colour is intrinsic to the human experience; it guides us with subconscious visual cues throughout our lives. Get it right in your design or art and you can enhance mood and atmosphere, and create a desired psychological or even physiological effect. The Colour Bible is a contemporary handbook for navigating this fascinating world of colour. It dives into 100 profiles of significant colours and tracks them through their genesis, historical usage in art and design, and contemporary connotations and uses. - A potted history of each colour- Key colour associations from around the world- Contemporary connotations and brand design- Practical advice on how to use and combine colours in your work
The Colour Bible: The definitive guide to colour in art and design
by Laura PerrymanAn essential source for graphic designers, artists, interior designers, fashion designers, illustrators and creatives of any kind who work with colour.Colour is intrinsic to the human experience; it guides us with subconscious visual cues throughout our lives. Get it right in your design or art and you can enhance mood and atmosphere, and create a desired psychological or even physiological effect. The Colour Bible is a contemporary handbook for navigating this fascinating world of colour. It dives into 100 profiles of significant colours and tracks them through their genesis, historical usage in art and design, and contemporary connotations and uses. - A potted history of each colour- Key colour associations from around the world- Contemporary connotations and brand design- Practical advice on how to use and combine colours in your work
The Colour Photography Field Guide: The Essential Guide To Colour For Striking Digital Images (Field Guide Ser.)
by Michael FreemanDigital cameras and powerful image-processing software applications provide today's photographer with all the tools needed to explore the world of colour. Renowned photographer and author Michael Freeman provides a thorough look at the essential ways of dealing with colour that will help photographers create striking colour digital photographs. Using helpful tips and exercises, he covers everything from capture and calibration to workflow management and output.
The Colour Photography Field Guide: The Essential Guide to Hue for Striking Digital Images (Field Guide Ser.)
by Michael FreemanUnderstand the role colour plays in your images, learn to appreciate its dynamic effects and find out how to capture and reproduce it as precisely as possible in your own images.The Colour Photography Field Guide provides a unique look at analysing and combining three important ways of dealing with colour. The first is the subjective and cultural response to individual colour: the perception. The second is how colours are found and appear in photography: the science. The third is the means by which they can be viewed and altered digitally: the expression.- A clear and technically precise look at how colour affects your digital images- Portable and lightweight, for on-the-spot information and inspiration- With a host of case studies examining difficult colour situations such as capturing flesh tones and unreal colours
The Colour of Black & White: Poems 1984–2003
by Liz LochheadThe celebrated Scottish poet presents a collection of poems from the intimate to the bawdy—paired with original linocut artwork by Willie Rodger. Liz Lochhead is one of Scotland&’s most beloved contemporary poets. In this wide-ranging collection, she offers poems of love, death and iconic figures; Jungian archetypes who often speak in their own voices. There are also poems set in her native Lanarkshire; poems dedicated to other poets; and a section of &“unrespectable&” poetry—rude verses, rhyming toasts, and music hall monologues. The collaboration with the printmaker Willie Rodger was also an essential part of the making of this book. Lochhead, long an admirer of Rodger&’s work, felt that he was a kindred spirit. His poetically pared down and essential linocuts accentuate the positive and the negative, the black and the white.
The Colour of Canada
by Roy Macgregor All Canada PhotosFrom Roy Macgregor and the archives of All Canada Photos, and celebrating our 150th anniversary, a full update of the classic book (over 1.5 million copies sold since 1967!) of magnificent photographs that portray the stirring beauty of our vast land.In its day, The Colour of Canada, with text by Hugh MacLennan, sold over a million-and-a-half copies to Canadians and non-Canadians alike, making it one of the most beloved books of its kind ever published in this country. Sadly, it went out of print for M&S many years ago after an astonishing run (orignal edition, 1967, and subsequent revised editions in 1972, 1978, 1982, 1992). Our forthcoming sesquicentennial in 2017 is the perfect time to make this gem new again. With all new photographs from the prestigious All Canada Photos archive, and text throughout from our very own Roy MacGregor, we plan, no less, to out-do the original with a breath-taking pictorial tour from Newfoundland to British Columbia to the Arctic. Reflecting his abiding love for this country, its history, its people -- and highlighting the extraoridnary changes since 1967 -- Roy MacGregor's text is the perfect complement to a collection of stunning, and rarely seen, photographs from many of the best photographers in Canada. The perfect gift for every Canadian of all ages and locations on our anniversary, as well as for the millions of tourists that come here every year to marvel at the sheer beauty of this land.
The Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Drama
by Xiaomei ChenThe first of its kind in English, this anthology translates twenty-two popular Chinese plays published between 1919 and 2000, accompanied by a critical introduction to the historical, cultural, and aesthetic evolution of twentieth-century Chinese spoken drama. Primarily comprising works from the People's Republic of China, though including representative plays from Hong Kong and Taiwan, this collection not only showcases the revolutionary rethinking of Chinese theater and performance that began in the late Qing dynasty. It also highlights the formation of Chinese national and gender identities during a period of tremendous social and political change, along with the genesis of contemporary attitudes toward the West. Early twentieth-century Chinese drama embodies the uncertainty and anxiety brought on by modernism, socialism, political conflict, and war. After 1949, PRC theater painted a complex portrait of the rise of communism in China, with the ideals of Chinese socialism juxtaposed against the sacrifices made for a new society. The Cultural Revolution promoted a "model theater" cultivated from the achievements of earlier, leftist spoken drama, even though this theater arose from the destruction of old culture. Post-Mao drama addresses the socialist legacy and the attempts of a wounded nation to reexamine its cultural roots. Taiwan's spoken drama synthesizes regional and foreign traditions, and Hong Kong's spoken drama sparkles as a hybrid of Chinese and Western influences. Immensely valuable for cross-disciplinary, comparative, and performance study, this anthology provides essential perspective on China's theatricality and representation of political life.
The Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Drama
by Xiaomei ChenThe first of its kind in English, this anthology presents translations of twenty-two popular plays published between 1919 and 2000, accompanied by an introduction to the historical, cultural, and aesthetic evolution of twentieth-century Chinese spoken drama. Primarily comprising works from the People's Republic of China, though including representative plays from Hong Kong and Taiwan, this collection showcases more than the revolutionary rethinking of Chinese theater and performance that began in the late Qing dynasty. It also reflects the formation of Chinese national and gender identities during a period of tremendous social and political change, as well as the genesis of contemporary attitudes toward the West.Early twentieth-century Chinese drama embodies the uncertainty and anxiety brought on by modernism, socialism, political conflict, and war. After 1949, the PRC theater paints a complex portrait of the rise of Communism in China, with the ideals of Chinese socialism juxtaposed against the sacrifices made for a new society. The Cultural Revolution promoted a "model theater" cultivated from the achievements of earlier, leftist spoken drama, despite the fact that this theater arose from the destruction of old culture. Post-Mao drama addresses the Chairman's legacy and the attempts of a wounded nation to reexamine its cultural roots. Taiwan's spoken drama uniquely synthesizes regional and foreign traditions, and Hong Kong's spoken drama sparkles as a hybrid of Chinese and Western influences. Immensely valuable for scholars of cross-disciplinary, comparative, and performance study, this anthology offers essential perspective on the theatricality and representation of political life.
The Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Drama: abridged edition (Weatherhead Books on Asia)
by Xiaomei ChenThis condensed anthology reproduces close to a dozen plays from Xiaomei Chen's well-received original collection, The Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Drama, along with her critical introduction to the historical, cultural, and aesthetic evolution of twentieth-century Chinese spoken drama. Comprising representative works from the Republican era to postsocialist China, the book encapsulates the revolutionary rethinking of Chinese theater and performance that began in the late Qing dynasty and vividly portrays the uncertainty and anxiety brought on by modernism, socialism, political conflict, and war. Chosen works from 1919 to 1990 also highlight the formation of national and gender identities during a period of tremendous social, cultural, and political change in China and the genesis of contemporary attitudes toward the West. PRC theater tracks the rise of communism, juxtaposing ideals of Chinese socialism against the sacrifices made for a new society. Post-Mao drama addresses the nation's socialist legacy, its attempt to reexamine its cultural roots, and postsocialist reflections on critical issues such as nation, class, gender, and collective memories. An essential, portable guide for easy reference and classroom use, this abridgment provides a concise yet well-rounded survey of China's theatricality and representation of political life. The original work not only established a canon of modern Chinese drama in the West but also made it available for the first time in English in a single volume.