1616: Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu's China

Tan, Tian Yuan

Abstract

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 Shakespeare’s 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.

Citation

Tan, T. Y. (2016). T. Y. Tan, P. Edmondson, & S.-P. Wang (Eds.). 1616: Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu's China. Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781472587206

• Book Type: Edited Book
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Feb 10, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 22, 2025
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• ISBN: 9781472583420
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5040/9781472587206
• Keywords: Tang Xianzu; Shakespeare; China; Theatre; Drama; Ming dynasty
• Publisher URL: http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/1616-shakespeare-and-tang-xianzus-china-9781472583413/
• Related Public URLs: http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/1616-shakespeare-and-tang-xianzus-china-9781472583413/
• Additional Information: Additional Information : Reviews: Sun Mei,COMPARATIVE LITERATURE IN CHINA, VOL.105. No.4 (2016) （评介《1616：莎士比亚和汤显祖的中国》）; Kwa, Shiamin, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol.80, Issue 1 (2017): 175-176 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0041977X17000313); Stephen Owen, Renaissance Quarterly Renaissance Quarterly 70, no. 2 (Summer 2017): 815-817 (https://doi.org/10.1086/693305)