Cross-Cultural Dialogue and Synthesis: Contemporary American Drama in China

Author: Wu Wenquan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-30
Features: This book analyzes the various responses triggered in China after the introduction of contemporary American drama, and studies the outcomes of the collision between two cultures with different backgrounds. The book cites extensive references and offers thorough analysis. To some extent, it helps fill the gaps in Chinese theater culture. One of the biggest strengths of the book is that the author has thoroughly researched the materials, allowing historical facts to speak for themselves. The book discusses numerous cases of American dramas being performed in China, often reminding me of the immense enthusiasm in China's cultural circles in the early 1980s for translating and introducing foreign dramas. Some of these performances themselves became sensational "cultural events." As participants and witnesses to these events, discussing these historical materials feels particularly intimate. Cross-Cultural Dialogue and Synthesis: Contemporary American Drama in China cites a large amount of primary materials and meticulously analyzes them, sorting out the trajectory and patterns of translation, performance, criticism, and the acceptance, adaptation, and integration of contemporary American drama in China over the past half-century. It also summarizes some rules of cultural exchange and highlights the issues the author wants to address. The book primarily adopts the theoretical framework of comparative literature, using vivid materials and analysis to elucidate and enrich the concepts of comparative literature, comparative drama, and cultural communication studies. It also helps readers understand the current status and development of contemporary American drama and contemporary Chinese drama.