As The Mad Drummer (狂鼓史) demonstrates a close correlation between performance and spectatorship, it appears baffling that the storyteller Liu Jingting claims that he does not need an audience in Kong Shangren’s (孔尚任) The Peach Blossom Fan (桃花扇). In order to answer the question, this paper interprets The Peach Blossom Fan (桃花扇) as a dynamic realm with geographic and metaphorical places rather than a static literary text. Master of Ceremonies’ multiple identities extend the notion of metaphorical displacement to an ongoing movement of shifting in and out the role inside performances. His repeated passages in and out the acting role and the performative realm signal a linear and cyclical dynamism. In terms of genre, a comparison between Ma Zhiyuan’s (馬致遠) deliverance play “Yueh-yang Tower” (呂洞賓三醉岳陽樓) and the historical play The Peach Blossom Fan (桃花扇) further analyzes distinctive dynamisms in dreamscape and in theatricality. Moreover, an examination of Zhang Dai’s (張岱) “Mid-September on West Lake (西湖七月半) ” points out a concentric spectatorship and a paradox of spectatorship. Spectator’s simultaneous states of being the subject and the object of gazing result in endless circles of watching and a concentric spectatorship with hierarchies. The paradox of spectatorship echoes the dynamism of The Peach Blossom Fan (桃花扇) with notions of liminality and ongoing movement, but restricts the dynamism due to endless layers of concentric spectatorship. Thus, we can answer the question by stating that although Liu Jingting (柳敬亭) desires to escape audience’s gaze and has the ability to temporarily step out of theatricality, it is still impossible for him to completely escape the audience due to the paradox of spectatorship.
| Published in | International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications (Volume 11, Issue 3) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijaaa.20251103.14 |
| Page(s) | 131-139 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Dynamism (動態性), Spectatorship (觀眾), Theatricality (戲劇性), Dreamscape (夢境), Drama (戲劇)
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APA Style
Zhu, V. J. (2025). “Why Then Should I Require an Audience”: The Dynamism and a Paradox of Spectatorship in the Peach Blossom Fan. International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications, 11(3), 131-139. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaaa.20251103.14
ACS Style
Zhu, V. J. “Why Then Should I Require an Audience”: The Dynamism and a Paradox of Spectatorship in the Peach Blossom Fan. Int. J. Archit. Arts Appl. 2025, 11(3), 131-139. doi: 10.11648/j.ijaaa.20251103.14
AMA Style
Zhu VJ. “Why Then Should I Require an Audience”: The Dynamism and a Paradox of Spectatorship in the Peach Blossom Fan. Int J Archit Arts Appl. 2025;11(3):131-139. doi: 10.11648/j.ijaaa.20251103.14
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ijaaa.20251103.14,
author = {Vivien Jiaqian Zhu},
title = {“Why Then Should I Require an Audience”: The Dynamism and a Paradox of Spectatorship in the Peach Blossom Fan
},
journal = {International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications},
volume = {11},
number = {3},
pages = {131-139},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijaaa.20251103.14},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaaa.20251103.14},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijaaa.20251103.14},
abstract = {As The Mad Drummer (狂鼓史) demonstrates a close correlation between performance and spectatorship, it appears baffling that the storyteller Liu Jingting claims that he does not need an audience in Kong Shangren’s (孔尚任) The Peach Blossom Fan (桃花扇). In order to answer the question, this paper interprets The Peach Blossom Fan (桃花扇) as a dynamic realm with geographic and metaphorical places rather than a static literary text. Master of Ceremonies’ multiple identities extend the notion of metaphorical displacement to an ongoing movement of shifting in and out the role inside performances. His repeated passages in and out the acting role and the performative realm signal a linear and cyclical dynamism. In terms of genre, a comparison between Ma Zhiyuan’s (馬致遠) deliverance play “Yueh-yang Tower” (呂洞賓三醉岳陽樓) and the historical play The Peach Blossom Fan (桃花扇) further analyzes distinctive dynamisms in dreamscape and in theatricality. Moreover, an examination of Zhang Dai’s (張岱) “Mid-September on West Lake (西湖七月半) ” points out a concentric spectatorship and a paradox of spectatorship. Spectator’s simultaneous states of being the subject and the object of gazing result in endless circles of watching and a concentric spectatorship with hierarchies. The paradox of spectatorship echoes the dynamism of The Peach Blossom Fan (桃花扇) with notions of liminality and ongoing movement, but restricts the dynamism due to endless layers of concentric spectatorship. Thus, we can answer the question by stating that although Liu Jingting (柳敬亭) desires to escape audience’s gaze and has the ability to temporarily step out of theatricality, it is still impossible for him to completely escape the audience due to the paradox of spectatorship.},
year = {2025}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - “Why Then Should I Require an Audience”: The Dynamism and a Paradox of Spectatorship in the Peach Blossom Fan AU - Vivien Jiaqian Zhu Y1 - 2025/08/07 PY - 2025 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaaa.20251103.14 DO - 10.11648/j.ijaaa.20251103.14 T2 - International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications JF - International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications JO - International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications SP - 131 EP - 139 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2472-1131 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaaa.20251103.14 AB - As The Mad Drummer (狂鼓史) demonstrates a close correlation between performance and spectatorship, it appears baffling that the storyteller Liu Jingting claims that he does not need an audience in Kong Shangren’s (孔尚任) The Peach Blossom Fan (桃花扇). In order to answer the question, this paper interprets The Peach Blossom Fan (桃花扇) as a dynamic realm with geographic and metaphorical places rather than a static literary text. Master of Ceremonies’ multiple identities extend the notion of metaphorical displacement to an ongoing movement of shifting in and out the role inside performances. His repeated passages in and out the acting role and the performative realm signal a linear and cyclical dynamism. In terms of genre, a comparison between Ma Zhiyuan’s (馬致遠) deliverance play “Yueh-yang Tower” (呂洞賓三醉岳陽樓) and the historical play The Peach Blossom Fan (桃花扇) further analyzes distinctive dynamisms in dreamscape and in theatricality. Moreover, an examination of Zhang Dai’s (張岱) “Mid-September on West Lake (西湖七月半) ” points out a concentric spectatorship and a paradox of spectatorship. Spectator’s simultaneous states of being the subject and the object of gazing result in endless circles of watching and a concentric spectatorship with hierarchies. The paradox of spectatorship echoes the dynamism of The Peach Blossom Fan (桃花扇) with notions of liminality and ongoing movement, but restricts the dynamism due to endless layers of concentric spectatorship. Thus, we can answer the question by stating that although Liu Jingting (柳敬亭) desires to escape audience’s gaze and has the ability to temporarily step out of theatricality, it is still impossible for him to completely escape the audience due to the paradox of spectatorship. VL - 11 IS - 3 ER -
Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Centre of Japanese Studies, University of California, Berkeley, United States of America. Department of Vice Provost and Dean of Research, Stanford University, Stanford, United States of America. Homerton College, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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