Cover not available

Article In: Target: Online-First Articles

Exploring theatrical subtext translation

Case studies from classic Chinese operas

 | I-Shou University
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
Subtext remains a vital yet underexplored frontier in research on theatre translation. This study revisits debates on its universality — often constrained by Eurocentric evidence — through two canonical Chinese operas, 西廂記 Xixiang ji ‘The story of the western wing’ and 牡丹亭 Mudanting ‘The peony pavilion’, and two contemporary productions (The West Wing 2008; The Peony Pavilion — The Youth Version 2004). Integrating analysis of performance, libretti, and surtitles, it examines director-translators’ motives and creative strategies through a practice-oriented transcreation framework, showing how subtext operates beyond Anglo-European realist norms. Focusing on pivotal moments, the research demonstrates how ‘the unspoken’ is re-encoded through intermodal dynamics, where vocal, gestural, and textual cues converge with music and symbolic staging. The findings underscore multimodal synergy as central to conveying subtext across cultural and linguistic divides. The study clarifies how implicit meanings function in classical Chinese theatre, advancing theatre translation scholarship.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The two classic plays: Subtexts and contexts
  • 3.The theatre translators: Motives and approaches
  • 4.Sample subtext translation: The Peony Pavilion — The Youth Version
  • 5.Sample subtext translation: The West Wing
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Note
  • Author queries
  • References
References (61)
References
Bassnett, Susan. 1991. “Translating for the Theatre: The Case Against ‘Performability’.” TTR 4 (1): 99–113. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1998. “Still Trapped in the Labyrinth: Further Reflections on Translation and Theatre.” In Constructing Culture: Essays on Literary Translation, edited by Susan Bassnett and André Lefevere, 90–108. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (1980) 2002. Translation Studies. 3rd ed. London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2011. Reflection on Translation. Toronto: Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2014. Translation (The New Critical Idiom). London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2022. “Susan Bassnett on Translation: Bristol Translates 2022 Keynote Lecture.” YouTube video, uploaded by University of Bristol. [URL]
Baxter, Charles. 2007. The Art of Subtext. Minnesota: Graywolf Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Birch, Cyril, trans. (1980) 2002. The Peony Pavilion. 2nd ed. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Desblache, Lucile. 2004. “Low Fidelity: Opera in Translation.” Translating Today (1): 28–30.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2021. “Music to My Ears, But Words to My Eyes? Text, Opera and Their Audiences.” Linguistica Antverpiensia, New Series — Themes in Translation Studies 6: 155–170. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Díaz-Millón, Mar, and María Dolores Olvera-Lobo. 2023. “Towards a Definition of Transcreation: A Systematic Literature Review.” Perspectives 31 (2): 347–364. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Keys, Alicia. 2003. “If I Ain’t Got You.” On The Diary of Alicia Keys. J Records. YouTube audio, 3:48. Posted November 25, 2016. [URL]
He, Ting. 2022. “Music Practice in The Peony Pavilion (Youth Version): An Aesthetic Perspective.” Art and Design Review 10: 317–329. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hsiung, Ann-Marie. 2024. “The Three-in-One Role of Scholar-Retranslator-Director: Staging Classic Chinese Operas for English Theatre.” Perspectives 32 (1): 134–153. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Johnston, David. 2005. “Securing the Performability of the Play in Translation.” In Drama Translation and Theatre Practice, edited by Sabine Coelsch-Foisner and Holger Michael Klein, 25–38. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Katan, David. 2016. “Translation at the Cross-roads: Time for the Transcreational Turn?” Perspectives 24 (3): 365–381. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kiernan, Pauline. 2006. Filthy Shakespeare: Shakespeare’s Most Outrageous Sexual Puns. New York: Penguin.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ko, Dorothy. 1994. Teachers of the Inner Chamber: Women and Culture in Seventeenth Century China. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lai, Shengchuan. 1986. 暗戀桃花源 [Secret love in peach blossom land]. Stage play.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lal, Purushottama. 1964. Great Sanskrit Plays in Modern Translation. New York: New Directions.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lam, Joseph S. C. 2022. “The Southern Story of the Western Wing (Nan Xixiang): Traditional Kunqu Composition, Interpretation, and Performance.” In How to Read Chinese Drama: A Guided Anthology, edited by Patricia Sieber and Regina Llamas, 191–211. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lam, Ling Hon. 2022. “The Peony Pavilion: Emotions, Dreams, and Spectatorship.” In How to Read Chinese Drama: A Guided Anthology, edited by Patricia Sieber and Regina Llamas, 212–234. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Li, Liang. 2008. “英文唱词，百老汇配乐：新版《西厢记》被指恶搞艺术 [English lyrics and Broadway-style music: New version of The West Wing accused of making a mockery of art].” 青年报电子版 [Youth daily online], May 29, 2008. [URL]
Li, Qingjun. 2005. “Dying for Love in The Peony Pavilion and Romeo and Juliet.” Southeast Review of Asian Studies 27: 173–187.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Li, Yuling. 2009. “白先勇 讓崑曲重綻姹紫嫣紅 [Pai Hsien-yung brings Kunqu back into full bloom].” PAR 表演藝術雜誌 [Performing arts redefined] 196: 48–51.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lloyd Webber, Andrew. 1981. Cats. Musical based on T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. Directed by Trevor Nunn. Premiered at the New London Theatre, London, May 11, 1981.
Lloyd Webber, Andrew, and Trevor Nunn. 2015. “Memory (Reprise) | Cats the Musical.” Based on poems by T. S. Eliot. Performed by Elaine Paige in the 1998 video production of Cats. Posted by Cats The Musical, October 29, 2015. YouTube video, 4:17. [URL]
Milton, John. (1671) 2003. Paradise Regained. Edited by Gordon Campbell. London: Penguin Books.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Moore, Sonia. 1984. The Stanislavski System. New York: Penguin.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ooi, Vicki. 1980. “Transcending Culture: A Cantonese Translation and Production of O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night.” In The Languages of Theatre: Problems in the Translation and Transposition of Drama, edited by Ortrun Zuber, 51–68. London: Pergamon Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Orero, Pilar, and Anna Matamala. 2007. “Accessible Opera: Overcoming Linguistic and Sensorial Barriers.” Perspectives 15 (4): 262–277. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pai, Hsien-Yung, chief producer. 2004. The Peony Pavilion — Youth Edition. Zhejiang: Zhejiang Audio & Video Publishing House.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2024. “Peony Blossoms Blooming for Twenty Years: The Youth Version of ‘The Peony Pavilion’ and the Revival of Kunqu Opera.” Lecture at National Cheng-kung University.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pavis, Patrice. 1992. Theatre at the Crossroads of Culture. London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ren, Richard. 2023. “文化融合的成功尝试：中国经典名作《西厢记》英文版音乐剧在圣地亚哥公演 [A successful experiment in cultural fusion: An English-language musical adaptation of Romance of the Western Chamber staged in San Diego].” LA Post, January 9, 2023. [URL]
Rizzo, Alessandra. 2017. “The Role of the Creative Industries: Translating Identities on Stages and Visuals.” Translation Today 11 (2): 1–34.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rosa, Alexandra Assis. 2016. “Review of Bassnett, Susan. 2014. Translation (The New Critical Idiom). London: Routledge.” Target: International Journal of Translation Sudies 28 (3): 474–479. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rubenstein, Howard, and Max Lee. 2012. Romance of the Western Chamber: A Musical. El Cajon, CA: Granite Hills.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sawoski, Perviz. n.d. “The Stanislavski System: Growth and Methodology.” [URL]
Shakespeare, William. n.d. Romeo and Juliet. Edited by Barbara Mowat, Paul Werstine, Michael Poston, and Rebecca Niles. Folger Shakespeare Library. [URL]
Shen, Grant. 2005. Elite Theatre in Ming China, 1368–1644. London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
, director. 2008. The West Wing: A Renaissance Production with Modern Music and Dance. Production programme. Singapore: National University of Singapore.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2012. “Chinese Chuanqi Opera in English: Directing the West Wing with Modern Music.” Asian Theatre Journal 29 (1): 183–205. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2013. “Libretto Translation and Musical Arrangement in Chinese Chuanqi Opera.” Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews 35: 177–207.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
SilentBlue. 2007. “[字幕版][青春版牡丹亭]. 百场纪念版. 2007. The Peony Pavilion. 花絮 [Youth version of The Peony Pavilion, 100th performance commemorative edition, 2007, The Peony Pavilion behind-the-scenes footage].” YouTube video. [URL]
Sun, Mei. 2023. “礼花与兰花——评说全本《牡丹亭》和青春版《牡丹亭》[Fireworks and orchids: A commentary on the full-version Peony Pavilion and its Youth Version].” 贵州大学学报（艺术版） [Journal of Guizhou University (Art Edition)] 37 (4): 81–84.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Swatek, Catherine. 2002a. “Introduction: Peony Pavilion on Stage and in the Study.” In The Peony Pavilion, translated by Cyril Birch, xv–xxx. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2002b. Peony Pavilion Onstage: Four Centuries in the Career of a Chinese Drama. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tang, Xianzu. (1598) 1965. 牡丹亭 [The peony pavilion]. Annotated by Xu Shuofang and Yang Xiaomei. Shanghai: Zhonghua Book Company.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
TIFA. 2024. “2024 TIFA The Peony Pavilion — The Youth Version by Pai Hsien-Yung.” [URL]
Walker, Steven F. 2019. Cryptic Subtexts in Literature and Film: Secret Messages and Buried Treasure. London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wang, Hugh. 2023. “The Story of the Musical Romance of the Western Chamber on Stage in San Diego.” We Chinese in America, September 2, 2023. [URL]
Wang, Shifu. (ca. 1300) 2001. 西厢记 [The story of the Western wing]. In 西厢记评注 [Annotated story of the Western wing], annotated by Zhou Xishan. Vol. 9 of 六十种曲评注 [Annotations on sixty plays], edited by Huang Zhusan and Huang Junjie. Jilin: Renmin Chubanshe.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wei, Ying. 2022. “Research into the Subtitling of Song of the Phoenix from the Perspective of Manipulation Theory.” Communication across Borders: Translation & Interpreting 2 (3): 21–28.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
West Wing. 2016a. Chuanqi Opera The West Wing B2. [URL]
. 2016b. Chuanqi Opera The West Wing B3. [URL]
West, Steven H., and Wilt L. Idema, trans. and eds. (1991) 1995. The Story of the Western Wing. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wu, Bian, and Ketong Liu. 2023. “Stan Lai’s Translation Thoughts of Performability from the Perspective of Translator’s Voice: A Case Study of Subtext Translation of Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land.” International Journal of Literature and Arts 11 (4): 176–185.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Xinhuanet. 2024. “青春版《牡丹亭》20周年庆演将启 白先勇赞‘两岸合作巨大成功的文化工程’ [20th anniversary performances of the Youth Version of The Peony Pavilion to launch: Pai Hsien-yung praises it as “a major cultural project and a great success of cross-strait collaboration”].” Haiwainet, January 23, 2024. [URL]
Xu, Shuofang, and Xiaomei Yang, eds. 1965. 牡丹亭 [The peony pavilion]. Shanghai: Zhonghua Book Company.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zhu, Meihong. 2008. “英语版《西厢记》成音乐剧 洋张生唱 ‘Memory’ [English version of The West Wing becomes a musical: A foreign Zhang Sheng sings ‘Memory’].” 新闻晨报 [Morning post], May 30, 2008. [URL]
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold-dark jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold-light jbe-platform.quadraat-sans-bold prag Twitter_Logo_Blue