华美协进社与中国戏曲的跨文化传播——再论梅兰芳访美之始末

China Institute in America and the Cross-Cultural Spread of Chinese Opera:On The Neglected Details of Mei Lanfang’s American Tour

由中美双方文化精英合力创办的纽约华美协进社是现代西方传播中国文化最有代表性的机构之一。它曾主办或参与了很多重要的中美教育和文化交流盛事。遗憾的是,当前关于中国文化跨语境传播的研究,几乎已经将它遗忘。比如梅兰芳访美,学界尽颂齐如山、张彭春之功,但极少论及华美协进社所起到的关键作用;众人皆知当年中国艺术在西方引起的轰动,却忽略了其中很多偶然性和复杂性。文章再以梅兰芳美国之行为核心,细述华美协进社在其中所扮演的角色。这或将有助于我们更深入地认识中国传统在西方传播与接受的历史契机、文化调适以及文化媒介所具有的价值。

China Institute in America,founded by many cultural elites of China and the United State,is one of the most representative organizations for promoting Chinese tradition in modern Western countries.It hosted or participated in many important educational and cultural exchange programs.Unfortunately,it has almost been forgotten in studies on the cross-context spread of Chinese culture.For example,Scholars praise the efforts of Chi Ju-Shan and Chang Peng-Chun during the Mei Lanfang’s American tour,but rarely talk about the key role played by China Institute in America.Everyone knows popularity of Chinese arts in Western world,but neglects a lot of contingencies and complexities in it.This article aims to elaborate on the role played by China Institute in America on Mei’s American tour.This research may help us further understand the historical opportunity and cultural adjustment of Chinese tradition in other countries,as well as rationally observe the value of cultural media between the different civilizations.