Toward an Inter-Asia Theatre in Sino-Japanese Encounter: Mei Lanfang and Sifan in Japan’s New Dance Movement, 1919–1921

In 1919, Mei Lanfang embarked on his first overseas tour to Japan, during which the reformed Chinese jingju gained international acclaim. In this early intercultural encounter, Japanese scholars not only resonated with Mei’s aesthetic performances but also drew inspiration from one play in particular: the kunqu (Kun opera) Sifan . Spurred by Mei’s execution, Japanese theatre practitioners pioneered a readaptation of Sifan , significantly boosting Japan’s New Dance Movement. This article argues that the discursive and aesthetic emphasis on Sifan was strategically deployed to address Japan’s quest for a national theatrical essence and, in doing so, to rediscover its cultural Self. Using the Sino-Japanese theatrical readaptation as a case study, the article aims to contribute to inter-Asia knowledge production and identity formation as an alternative framework to the West-dominated discourse of modernity.