CHINOPERL’s Metamorphoses—Some Memories at her 50th Birthday

Abstract

I attended my first CHINOPERL meeting on March 24 and 25 1972, its fourth, held in Risley Hall on the Cornell University Campus. As it was during spring break, we were housed in an emptied-out student dormitory. The campus was almost completely deserted, which gave our gathering a magical feeling. In this enchanted environment of quiet, chilly, and exquisite landscape of hills, lakes, gorges, and bridges, parts of which were still covered with snow, I heard two days of reports and discussions on Chinese oral and performing literature. There were four reports, taking up the four slots of the mornings and afternoons of the two-day conference. First, Rulan Chao Pian (Harvard University) reported on “Word Treatment in Chinese Popular Entertainment,” citing as examples xiangsheng 相聲 (cross-talk), Shandong kuaishu 山東快書 (Shandong fast tales), Xihe dagu 西 河大鼓 (Xihe drumsinging), Jingyun dagu京韻大鼓 (Peking drumsinging), Fengdiao dagu 奉調大鼓 (Fengdiao drumsinging), Yueju 越劇 (Zhejiang ballad opera), and CHINOPERL: Journal of Chinese Oral and Performing Literature 38. 1 (July 2019): 3–9