Scenes from Robert Lepage’s extraordinary play, The Blue Dragon
is one that simply fulfils their own forlorn desires. Te final character in this love triangle is that of Xiao, the young radical Chinese artist who very much represents the real China. Xiao uses her own personal life as the motivation for her work. One such moment is when she hears of her father’s sudden death. Tese moments then go on to form a kind of photographic emotional diary. Ironically, although Xiao’s work is ac-
claimed, she earns her living as a copyist of Western classical art, highlighting perhaps the dilemma that many young radical Chinese artists face today – that of trying to find new ways to express their creativ- ity only to find that what actually sells is simply a copy of what has already been done before in the West, a throwback to what Africans have suffered and still suffer. Xiao’s character though isn’t simply a
metaphor for the struggle for a Chinese identity. She also represents a generation which find itself very much pulled between the social conservatism of China and the more liberal morality of the West. When Xiao becomes pregnant with
Pierre’s baby, this hitherto free spirit starts to crumble, mainly due to the fact that she finally realises that in a country with a one-child-per-couple policy, her situation is virtually untenable since no Chinese man would now ever consent to marry her. Xiao’s character is a reflection perhaps of many young Chinese women who feel torn between two very different sets of social mores, those of the West and those of a still socially conservative China, where despite the current economic boom they are the ones that still very much hold sway. Often these young women find it almost impossible to reconcile both and ultimately are forced to choose which path to follow. In the conclusion of Te Blue Drag-
on, Lepage cleverly provides his audience with three possible endings. One in which Claire takes Xiao’s baby back to Canada and he remains behind with Xiao; one in which Pierre and Claire both take the child; and then one in which Xiao herself leaves for a new life, giving the baby to Pierre to look after. It is a clever ploy that allows the audience to make up their own mind.
New African | October 2011 | 95
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