Différance Jingju : From Three Persons and Two Lamps to Smoke-locked Palace

Abstract: This article applies Jacques Derrida’s concept of “différance” to explore the relationship between the development of traditional Chinese theatre in Taiwan and China. I look into why Taiwan’s award-winning play, Three Persons and Two Lamps , failed while traveling across borders to China, due to political censorship and script deletions. I argue the failure of the adapted version demonstrates that Taiwanese jingju (Beijing opera), which had long been viewed as a derivative replica or even a forgery, has developed something special that cannot be contained within the original category of China. By discussing this failure, I reexamine the traditional construction process and emphasize the complexity and pluralism of jingju . 436