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Shih-I Hsiung
A Glorious Showman
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2020
Summary
In 1933, Shih-I Hsiung (1902–1991), a student from China, met with Allardyce Nicoll, a Shakespearean scholar at the University of London, to discuss his PhD study in English drama. After learning about Hsiung’s interest and background, Nicoll suggested that he should consider studying Chinese drama for his dissertation and writing a play of a Chinese subject. Hsiung took the advice to heart and set out to write Lady Precious Stream, a play based on a classical Beijing opera. In six weeks, the writing was completed; six months later, the manuscript was accepted for publication by Methuen; and not long after, Little Theater in London agreed to produce the play, which ran for 900 successive shows. The phenomenal success turned Hsiung into stardom all at once: he became the first Chinese to write and direct a West End play in England; in 1936, the play had its Broadway premiere and subsequent performances in Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, and other U.S. cities; and it has been produced and staged in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia ever since. Following the success of Lady Precious Stream, Hsiung translated into English the Chinese classic The Romance of the Western Chamber; in addition, he wrote a number of plays, novels, and essays, in both English and Chinese, as well as the biography The Life of Chiang Kai-shek.Shih-I Hsiung: A Glorious Showman unfolds the transnational and transcultural life experience of an extraordinary showman: a literary master, a theater man, and a social actor bold and impassioned on socio-cultural stages. Hsiung introduced English and American literature to readers in China through his translation works in the 1920s and early 1930s. After his arrival in England, he began writing in English for audiences not familiar with the Chinese culture. His works were known for their originality, humor, and a deep sense of cultural and historical engagement. Later in his life when he was residing in Hong Kong, he was devoted to education and was also active in Chinese literary and theater circles.
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Bibliographic data
Copyright year
2020
ISBN-Print
978-1-68393-106-5
ISBN-Online
978-1-68393-107-2
Publisher
University Press Copublishing, Lanham
Language
English
Pages
327
Product type
Book Titles
Table of contents
ChapterPages
Contents No access
Foreword No access
Acknowledgments No access
Introduction No access
A Note on Romanization No access
1 The Gate of Entry for the Worthies No access
2 A Born Showman No access
3 Modern Education No access
4 Go Get Gilded No access
5 The Enchanter No access
6 A Chinese Magician No access
7 A Star on Broadway No access
8 A Delightful Dramatic Poem No access
9 Return of the Native No access
10 On the Political Stage No access
11 St. Albans No access
12 A Master Turned Ghostwriter No access
13 Oxford No access
14 Iffley Turn No access
15 Flowering Exile No access
16 Nanyang University No access
17 Love in Hong Kong No access
18 New Directions No access
19 Tsing Hua College No access
20 A Wandering Soul No access
Epilogue No access Pages 299 - 302
Glossary of Chinese Names No access Pages 303 - 306
Selected Bibliography No access Pages 307 - 310
Writings by Shih-I Hsiung No access Pages 311 - 316
