COMPTES RENDUS - AFEC

Comptes rendus
movement of factors such as absenteeism, the subdivision of polders,
urbanization, or the spread (or not) of prosperity to the countryside.
Thus, there is much to like in this book. I do wish to end with one
gênerai statement, however, about the overall conception of the book.
Judging from footnotes that refer to his dissertation, as well as from passim
statements in the book, it is clear that Marmé has done much more
quantitative modelling work than, I venture to guess, he was allowed to
publish in this book. For example, Marmé's short theoretical treatment of
how and why he created his sample of patrilines is quite interesting; but it
is clear that he has subjected that sample to a larger quantitative analysis
than we are provided with. The fréquent références to models discussed
and presented in his earlier Ph.D. thesis, and the inclusion at other spots of
overly simple, undergraduate-level introductory statements, make one
wonder whether Marmé met with one of those editors who no longer want
books "too specialized for a gênerai reader." Writers, and readers, will
hâve to suffer; I, for one, would hâve loved to see the detailed quantitative
models of Marmé's dissertation reproduced in this book.
Martin Heijdra
Princeton University
Shen Grant Guangren, Elite Théâtre in Ming China (1368-1644), London,
New York : Routledge, 2005. xv-187 pages
Ce travail, à maints égards singulier, semblerait devoir s'inscrire parmi
ceux - sur l'art et l'histoire de la mise en scène de l'opéra traditionnel
chinois - qui ont suivi la mémorable représentation du Pavillon aux pivoines
en 1999 dans diverses grandes métropoles. Il n'en est rien puisque
l'ouvrage est une mise à jour tirée de la seconde partie d'une thèse soutenue
en 1994, intitulée Théâtre Performance during the Ming Dynasty.
Chargé de cours d'histoire du théâtre à l'Université nationale de Singapour,
Études chinoises, vol. XXIV (2005)