《茶花兒》與《天神與貓》：張德彝《述奇》系列兩齣中國題材戲劇新探

Fleur-de-théand The Cat and the Cherub: A Survey on Two Chinese-subject Plays in Zhang Deyi's Shuqi Series

晚清外交官出使歐美各國的日記，是十九、二十世紀中西文化交流的重要史料。本文主要考據張德彝日記《再述奇》與《六述奇》所記載之《茶花兒》以及《天神與貓》兩劇。此兩劇的特殊之處，在於其並非今人熟知的西方經典劇目，也不是中國藝人在海外演出的中國戲曲，而是西方編導以中國為題材所創作的戲劇，由西方演員扮演中國角色而成。作為中西交流舞臺上的要角，張德彝在各種文化衝擊之間尋求自我定位；而作為觀眾的張德彝，看到西方人想像中的中國呈現在戲劇舞臺時，又如何去面對與解讀這樣的形象問題？《天神與貓》與《茶花兒》兩劇，在當時的歐美國家，又經歷過什麼樣的傳播與觀眾接受過程？本文將以張德彝的日記為出發點，參照同時期的歐美報刊資料，期能結合中西視野，對這兩齣中國觀眾親眼目睹的中國題材戲劇，進行詳細考證。

The travel writings and diaries of Chinese diplomats written during their stay in foreign countries have provided precious first-hand materials to researchers who are interested in cultural exchanges in the late Qing period. In this paper, I will focus on the theatre experiences of Zhang Deyi (1847-1918) in Europe. The plays to be examined are Fleur-de-thé and The Cat and the Cherub, performed respectively in Paris, in 1868-1869, and in London, in 1897. These two plays were neither taken from repertoire of Western classical drama nor performances given by Chinese traveling troupes. Instead, they were written by Western playwrights inspired from topics relating to China and Chinese people. As an actor on the international geopolitical stage, Zhang Deyi's opinions on these two “Chinese” plays appear to be interesting. How was the reception of these two plays among the Western audience, and why Zhang was attracted to these two theatrical hits? How was the Chinese image and imagination conceived in these two plays, and how did Zhang approached it? Through the eyes of a Chinese diplomat, how were the Chinese characters and customs recounted and interpreted in his writings, which were supposed to be read by Chinese people? With the help of Zhang's diaries and contemporary European journals, I will give a survey on the details regarding to these two plays (which were not been identified by precedent researchers), and analyze the Chinese image and imagination evoked by the performances and their reception.