The ideal of the national theater Yu Shanyuan

The article examines the theory and practice of the Chinese national theater movement () of the 1920s, initiated by Yu Shanyun, Zhao Taimou, and their like-minded associates. It traces the formation of key aesthetic categories of the movement – the opposition of "xi y" (, expressive abstraction) and "xi sh" (, realistic representation) – in the context of the debate with the New Culture Movement and "Ibsenism" of the May Fourth period. The institutional efforts of the movement's participants and the publication of the weekly "Juyikan" are discussed. Special attention is given to the reasons for the practical failure of the movement and the subsequent reassessment of its theoretical legacy in the 21st century. The influence of the Irish cultural revival on the formation of the idea of "national theater" is analyzed, as well as the contemporary reinterpretation of the concept "Chinese represent Chinese content for a Chinese audience" in the context of global theatrical practices of the 21st century. The study relies on the historical-genetic method and textological analysis. The main source is Yu Shanyun’s anthology "The National Theater Movement" (1927). The aesthetic concepts of the movement are examined in comparison with the ideas of the Irish theatrical revival and European director's theater. The novelty of the work lies in the comprehensive reconstruction of the theoretical core of the national theatrical movement through the lens of institutional and practical aspects, rather than merely theoretical declarations. It is demonstrated that Yu Shanyun's concept of "national theater" is not a compromise between East and West, but a conscious synthesis in which the conditional-symbolic nature of the Chinese stage is preserved as a structuring principle, while elements of Western drama play a supportive role. It is established that the practical failure of the movement was caused not so much by its aesthetic conservatism, but by institutional immaturity and a mismatch with the dominant social agenda. The study's conclusions confirm that the ideas of the national theatrical movement, perceived as marginal in the 1920s, largely anticipated the mainstream explorations of Chinese theater a century later.