Wing Chung Ng's monograph on Cantonese opera tells the story of its rise (and fall) in South China, colonial Hong Kong, and North-American Chinatowns from the late-19th century to the eve of the Pacific War. This book is divided into three parts. Part one chronicles the rise of Cantonese opera as a distinctive form of local theatre from the late-Qing era (as peripheral itinerant troupes performing mainly in the countryside) to its heyday in the 1920s (as commercially successful city-based and “modernized” theatre), and finally to its “epic collapse” in the mid-1930s due to global economic downturn, natural disasters, political and social disorder, the popularity of movies, financial restraint, and a decline in artistry. However, Cantonese opera survived and rebounded, due to its ability to tap into “the underlying appeal of a plebian theatre and to make difficult adjustments in logistics and other long-held conventions” (p. 190). Part two examines a number of cultural, social and political issues related to Cantonese opera during the late Qing and especially during Republican times, including attempts at theatre reform promoted by progressive intellectuals and, increasingly, by an intrusive state which was eager to maintain public order and morality in theatre. Part three describes how Cantonese opera was exported from South China to North America between the mid-19th century and the 1930s. It examines how Chinatown theatres dedicated to Cantonese opera were formed and managed, how they arranged performances by troupes from Guangzhou and Hong Kong, and eventually formed international hubs and links which enabled troupes from China to perform in Chinatowns all over America and the Caribbean.

Ng's is undoubtedly one of the most readable monographs on the subject in English. He extends our attention beyond South China (particularly Hong Kong and/or Guangzhou), to the relatively unfamiliar territories of Cantonese opera in New York, San Francisco and Vancouver (and to a lesser extent British Singapore). Materials from the City of Vancouver Archives provide fascinating details on the operation of Chinatown's theatrical companies and the expansion of their trade, which contributed to the transformation of Cantonese opera into a transnational business. Another strength of Ng's book is its extensive use of extant sources (both Chinese and English). The bibliography, which reflects the author's mastery of the subject, is most useful for interested researchers and readers.

As an author myself of research articles and chapters about the history of Cantonese opera in Guangzhou and the Pearl River Delta, I learned less from the first two parts of this monograph, which chronicle its development in late-imperial and Republican Guangzhou and Hong Kong. The rise and fall of this local opera, and the details that provide illuminating evidence for this story, have been described by a number of Chinese opera historians in past decades. To readers who are familiar with extant Chinese scholarship, this section offers little excitement, for it is largely a selective compilation (and translation) of different Chinese-language source materials. Besides those details which are drawn from Hong Kong's Taiping Theatre Collection, there are few original findings regarding Cantonese opera in this period. Many old puzzles remain unsolved: Did Cantonese opera exist before the mid-Ming? Why was there no demand from the Cantonese populace for a theatre sung in a dialect which they could comprehend? To be fair to the author, however, the early history of Cantonese opera is a most difficult subject due to the shortage of sources. The part on the diaspora of Cantonese opera in North America, however, is something new to me, and the chapter about Vancouver is particularly interesting because of its use of archival materials which have only recently become available.

In my opinion, Ng's monograph needs a time frame for its title, so that readers won't be disappointed by the fact that this account stops, somewhat abruptly, at the eve of the Pacific War. The story of Cantonese opera in the post-war years up to the 1960s deserves a chapter or two. Also missing is an explanation of how the opera industry, known for its strong resilience and adaptability, survived the challenge of the Japanese invasion. What was theatrical business like in the occupied areas, and how did Cantonese opera players perceive and justify themselves as public entertainers under the “collaborative” regime in Canton and Hong Kong? How did the Nationalist government in the “free zones” mobilize opera troupes for the cause of resistance?

Some points need clarification too. First, the author believes the name (Mo Juzhi) of the chairperson of a local organization representing the acting circle in Vancouver, as it appeared in the Chinese Times, was an intentional act of resistance by that circle against Chinatown gangsters (pp. 170–71). That name, however, may be a typo, because the chairperson's real name, Mo Quanzhi, had been printed correctly on the same list when it first appeared in Chinese Times. If it was really an act of defiance, then why did his name appear right in the first place, and why weren't other office-bearers' names also altered? Moreover, could such a tiny act be enough to intimidate gangsters? In relation to this, although this monograph does mention the threat of gangsters to Chinatowns' theatres, it doesn't say much about whether these theatre companies and opera troupes liaised with any Chinatown gangs to protect their business against local thugs; after all, Chinatown secret society's patronage of Cantonese opera, as Frederic Masters described in 1895, was quite common (p. 176). Secondly, when describing the restrictive terms of employment for those actors who were recruited from China to perform in North America, the author states that actors were not allowed to enter a guild or form any fraternal organization (p. 159), and he supports his argument with the reprint of an actress's contract in 1916 (p. 157). On that contract, however, is written that “once arrived in the port (i.e. the city)”, the signee “must not, without approval, enter a guild [or] a gang” (figure 11, p. 157); in theory they were allowed to join, but only with prior approval of their company. Interestingly, the reprint of another contract (p. 156) does not contain similar restrictive stipulation.

In short, this is a respectable account of the rise of Cantonese opera in South China and North-America Chinatowns from the late-Qing period to the late 1930s.