1616: Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu's China
(Hardback)
Available Formats
Publishing Details
1616: Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu's China
By (Author) Tian Yuan Tan
Edited by Dr Paul Edmondson
Edited by Shih-pe Wang
Volume editor Dr Paul Edmondson
Volume editor Shih-pe Wang
Volume editor Tian Yuan Tan
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
The Arden Shakespeare
25th February 2016
United Kingdom
Classifications
Tertiary Education
Non Fiction
Literary studies: c 1600 to c 1800
Literary studies: general
822.33
Physical Properties
Hardback
352
Width 129mm, Height 198mm
476g
Description
The year is 1616. William Shakespeare has just died and the world of the London theatres is mourning his loss. 1616 also saw the death of the famous Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu. Four hundred years on and Shakespeare is now an important meeting place for Anglo-Chinese cultural dialogue in the field of drama studies. In June 2014 (the 450th anniversary of Shakespeares birth), SOAS, The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and the National Chung Cheng University of Taiwan gathered 20 scholars together to reflect on the theatrical practice of four hundred years ago and to ask: what does such an exploration mean culturally for us today This ground-breaking study offers fresh insights into the respective theatrical worlds of Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu and asks how the brave new theatres of 1616 may have a vital role to play in the intercultural dialogue of our own time.
Reviews
The sets of essays invite the reader to make connections on a common theme, including the relationship between the state and the theatre, the restaging of history in the playwrights work, and audiences contemporaneous reception of the plays. The dialogue created between the essays illuminates both Shakespeares and Tangs plays and their cultural contexts and offers a unique methodology that others might follow. 1616 contributes to the limited English-language scholarship on Tang and Ming Dynasty drama and approaches Shakespeare by looking at one particular turning point. * TDR: The Drama Review *
Author Bio
Tian Yuan Tan is Reader in Chinese Studies at SOAS, University of London, UK, and the Secretary-General of the European Association for Chinese Studies. Paul Edmondson is Head of Research at The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and Honorary Fellow of The Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham, UK. Shih-pe Wang is Associate Professor of Chinese Literature at National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan.
