New Women in Tiny-Waisted Gowns: Realistic Portrayals of Body and Symbolic Liberty in Republican-Era Chinese Theatre

This article interrogates the portrayal of the 'new woman' (xin nü xing 新女性) by both men playing female roles and women themselves in early 20th-century China. Drawing on archival material, including performance photographs, theatre memoirs, and reviews, the study focuses on the prevalent employment of the 'tiny-waisted gown' (xiao yao li fu 小腰礼服) to cast the silhouette of the female body. This iconic costume shaped the performance aesthetics of realism on the Chinese stage and highlighted the performative aspects of liberty associated with the new woman. Through analysing the roles of tiny-waisted gowns in three performances, the article underscores the agency of costume in revealing the intricate relationship between onstage representations of the new woman and the offstage realities of the female experience.