THE CHINESE THEATER [Illustration] _Seven hundred and fifty copies of THE CHINESE THEATER have been printed from type and the type distributed. Of this Limited Edition, seven hundred and twenty copies are for sale, of which this is_ _Number 16_ [Illustration: A GENERAL Chinese Character Type] THE CHINESE THEATER BY A. E. ZUCKER _Professor of Comparative Literature, University of Maryland Formerly, Assistant Professor of English, Peking Union Medical College_ WITH ILLUSTRATIONS [Illustration] BOSTON LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY MCMXXV _Copyright, 1925_, BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY. _All rights reserved_ Published November, 1925 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA _To_ MY WIFE, LOIS MILES [Illustration] PREFACE The genial Reverend Arthur Smith in his “Village Life in China” says that the Chinese sometimes finds it hard to understand the Westerner. As an instance he cites the case of a tired traveler who stops at an inn for the night and is told that there will be theatricals in the evening. Instead of sharing the glee of the natives, he gathers his tired self together and hurries on to the next village that he may enjoy his sleep far away from sounding brass and clanging[1] cymbal. Possibly this explains why among all the books written on China comparatively few concern themselves with the theater. One might add too that the drama stands on a relatively lower level than some other Chinese arts, for example, landscape painting and lyric poetry. Yet though his dramas are poor the Chinese actor has at his command consummate skill to hold the mirror up to life; he is no less of an artist than his Occidental colleague.