Chinese Theatre Troupes in Southeast Asia

Beiyu Zhang obtained her PhD from the History department at the National University of Singapore. She worked as Post-doctoral Fellow, funded by the Macau Talent Program at the University of Macau, from 2018 to 2020. Now she is affiliated with the Jinan University, Guangzhou. Her research interests include cultural history, Chinese diaspora, theatre and performances, and Cold War culture.

• IntroductionPart I Chinese theatre troupes on the Sino-Southeast Asian Corridor, 1900s–1930s1 Formation of Chinese theatrical spaces: temples, theatres and amusement parks in the Straits Settlements2 Travelling with Teochew immigrants: Chaozhou theatre troupes on the move3 Performative encounters: China’s Song and Dance Troupe and the Nanyang tour4 Saving the motherland: diasporic Nationalism and Mobilisation of Chinese in Malaya during WWIIPart II 'Dangerous' reaching out via performative linkages in the Cold War5 Old ties and new routes: socialist Chaozhou theatre in Hong Kong, 1950s–1960s6 Chaozhou opera film nexuses: Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok, 1960s7 Appropriating postcolonial Chineseness: Hong Kong leftwing troupes in Cold War Singapore and Malaya(sia)8 Conclusion and epilogue

"This exciting new book by Beiyu Zhang offers a vivid and deeply historicized account of Chinese performing arts in Southeast Asia...This is an outstanding study that is well informed by the secondary scholarship in both English and chinese and is strongly grounded in original research using historical newspapers, periodicals and unpublished documentary sources...Beiyu Zhang's book makes an enormous and very welcome contribution to the field of Chinese and Sinophone peformance studies. It is a must-read for all those interested in the Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia." - Emily Wilcox, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, William & Mary in SOJOURN the Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asai Vol 37 No.2 [2022]