Chapter One
CHENG ZHAOCAI, A CHINESE VILLAGE SHAKESPEARE
The Pingju Drama's Rural Origins
Cheng Zhaocai, Founding Father of Pingju
Tangshan Laozi
Cheng Zhaocai's Early Plays
Yangshan and Tianjin
The Move to the Northeast
Cheng Zhaocai, the Playwright
Chapter Two
THE RISE OF THE PRIMA DONNA
The First Pingju Actresses
Bai Yushuang
Other Outstanding Actresses of the 1930s and 1940s
Chapter Three
THEATRE LIFE BEFORE AND AFTER 1949
Pre-1949 Theatre Life
Eastern and Western Pingju
Pingju in the PRC
Chapter Four
PINGJU MUSIC AND MUSICIANS
Postscript
Appendix
TRANSLATIONS OF THREE OF CHENG ZHAOCAI'S PLAYS
Widow Ma's Inn
The Flower Matchmakers
Humped Dragon
