中国话剧始称新剧,清末民初曾盛极一时。著名戏剧家欧阳予倩把新剧的创始到衰落分成三个阶段:1907~1911年为创始时期;1912~1917年为发展兴盛时期;1917~1924年为日趋衰落时期。①第一阶段时连演出广告都极少,报刊评论也不多,更不要说专门的新剧刊物了。当新剧进入第二时期后,随 Chinese drama was first called a new play, and was very popular at the end of the Qing Dynasty. The famous dramatist Ouyang Yuqian divides the founding and declining of the new drama into three stages: the founding period from 1907 to 1911, the prosperous period from 1912 to 1917 and the declining period from 1917 to 1924. ① In the first stage, there were very few advertisements even in performances, and there were not many commentary in the press, not to mention the special new drama publications. When the new drama into the second period, with