Theatre as Business

Talks in Chinese Humanities

Shanxi merchants were one of the most powerful merchant groups that rose in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). In the Qing dynasty (1644-1912), the late Qing in particular, Shanxi merchants’ business reached its peak. They dominated the market in northern China and established the first banking industry in the country. Apart from their enormous fortune, Shanxi merchants were also famous for their passion for xiqu and for their generous support to Shanxi regional theatre, especially clapper opera or bangzi 梆子. Shanxi merchants established stages in their guildhalls and mansions, invited Shanxi local troupes to perform at bustling market towns during their meetings and social gatherings, and entertained social elites with theatrical performances from time to time.

China was historically an agricultural society where literati ranked at the top of the traditional Chinese social hierarchy, while merchants were placed at the bottom, according to Confucian and Legalist ethos. This presentation reveals that the underlying reason for Shanxi merchants’ theatre sponsorship was their pursuit of wealth, influence, fame and higher social status. Theatre sponsorship helped Shanxi merchants achieve business success, maintain a close relationship with the ruling class, and obtain and manifest their newly acquired higher status.

This presentation also shows a divergence of opinions on the primary intention of merchants’ consumption of cultural products and engagement in cultural activities, which was social emulation by nature. The once-popular idea ‘merchants as déclassé and scholars as exalted’ came to be held by the literati alone and was a futile defence that merchants did not care much about at the dusk of the imperial era.

About the speaker

Dr Yunjie Hu graduated from the Department of Chinese Studies at the University of Sydney last year. Her research interests include, but are not limited to theatre history, cultural history, and social history of China. Her recent publication is “Theatre as Business: A Study of Shanxi Merchants’ Sponsorship of Theatrical Performances in Qing China.” Asian Theatre Journal 39, no. 1 (2022): 89–109. https://doi.org/10.1353/atj.2022.0003.

"Talks in Chinese Humanities" is co-presented by the China Studies Centre, the Discipline of Chinese Studies and the Australian Society for Asian Humanities at the University of Sydney and the UNSW Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture's Judith Neilson Chair of Contemporary Art.

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