京劇視聽媒介的演進—物質文化與非物質文化相遇（ 以京劇為例之一）

The Evolution of Peking Opera’s Audio-Visual Media: The Encounter of Material Culture and Non-material Culture (A Peking Opera Perspective, Part 1)

京劇形成於十九世紀，並開始向外傳播，此一傳播風潮至二十世紀初臻於極盛。與此同時，新興的錄音科技也於十九世紀末抵達中國。本文所探討者，即為新興科技與新興表演藝術，彼此推助抵銷，其間交互錯雜的消長關係。隨著唱片產業的世界格局逐漸成形，京劇成為中國市場最重要的文化商品，唱片推動了京劇的流行，京劇也推動了唱片的流行，中國進而成為跨國公司在東亞最大的唱片製造基地。1950 年代以後，海峽兩岸分別取得唱片自製的能力，並在後續的視聽科技媒體製造業，如錄音帶、光碟，佔有一席之地。相反地，京劇在1950 年代以後持續衰退，京劇唱片市場隨之萎縮，縱使樣板戲風潮的「八億人民八個戲」，一度使京劇獨霸大陸地區的視聽媒體，但是仍然無法挽回頹勢，至2000 年京劇已從流行文化，變為驚呼「戲曲危機」的古典文化代表。透過一個世紀的紀錄，視聽媒介保留了一個戲曲劇種由流行而經典的過程。最後指出，對於戲曲研究而言，視聽媒介資料具備前所未有的意義，擁有書面文字所無法傳達的豐富內容，如京劇視聽媒介的演變、物質文明對京劇藝術的影響、視聽媒介對京劇典範建立的關鍵作用、視聽媒介跨越政治對京劇「新經典」傳播所起的效用等面向，亟宜分析探討，以加強吾人認識「科技與文化的關係」。

Peking Opera originated in the late eighteenth century, spread to a wider audience as part of a craze, and reached its peak by the early twentieth century. It was also in the late nineteenth century that modern recording technology arrived in China. This research explores the interactive relationship which developed between the technology and the art. As the recording industry began to take shape worldwide, Peking Opera recordings became the most important cultural product in China. Recordings boosted the popularity of Peking Opera and, in turn, the popularity of Peking Opera boosted the circulation of recordings. This made China the largest record-making center in East Asia for multi-national companies. In the 1950s, as Taiwan and mainland China began producing records of their own, both sides gradually gained a footing in the manufacture of audio-visual technology, producing products such as audio tapes and discs. However, Peking Opera lost its popularity after the 1950s, resulting in a shrinking market for these records. Even though the later fad of “model drama,” promoted as “eight dramas for eight hundred million people,” was successful in monopolizing China’s audio-visual media, Peking Opera still failed to make a comeback. By 2000, Peking Opera, once a part of pop culture, had become an icon for traditional art. Over the twentieth century, audio-visual media recorded the transformation of Peking Opera from pop culture to classic art form. For Chinese opera studies, audio-visual media provide abundant detail of this change that written language cannot possibly offer. They are especially helpful in understanding the development of media used for Peking Opera; the impact of material culture on Peking Opera; the role of audio-visual media in establishing Peking Opera paragons; and the effect of audio-visual media on promoting Peking Opera as a “new classic” that transcended political divisions. All of these as pects can enhance our understanding of the relation between technology and culture.