Chinese Studies Commons^™

On Allegory, Metaphor, And Allegorical Interpretation, Longxi Zhang

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

In the 4th and 5th centuries B.C., the rise of philosophy challenged the authority of Homer and many philosophers, notably Plato, dismissed Homer and poetry in the quarrel between poetry and philosophy. Some other philosophers, however, particularly the Stoics, came to the defence of Homer by proposing the idea of allegory and arguing that the Homeric epics contained a spiritual meaning beyond the literal sense of the text. Similarly, the Song of Songs in the Bible was also questioned by both Jewish rabbis and Christian interpreters because of its sensual language and eroticism. It was again allegorical interpretation that came …

Overlapping Scriptworlds: Chinese Literature As A Global Assemblage, Wai-Chew Sim

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article “Overlappinig Scriptworlds: Chinese Literature as a Global Assemblage,” Wai-Chew Sim offers a globalist vision or understanding of Chinese literary studies/Sinophone studies. Deploying the notion of scriptworld (Damrosch), he examines how the Chinese, English, and Malay-language scriptworlds interact in the Southeast Asian context. He traces the rhizomatic connections between Joo Ming Chia’s Exile or Pursuit, a Singapore Sinophone text that explores multiple belongings, and two novels: M. L. Mohamed’s Confrontation (originally published as Batas Langit), and T.H. Kwee’s The Rose of Cikembang (originally published as Bunga Roos dari Cikembang). Tracing the sinophonicity of the latter …

"The Chinese Animation Industry: From The Mao Era To The Digital Age", Stephanie Jones

Master's Projects and Capstones

Since the 1950’s the Chinese Animation industry has been trying to create a unique national style for China. The national style of the 1950’s and early 1960’s was one of freedom, fantasy, and creativity. With the success of “Heroic Little Sisters of the Grassland”/草原英雄小姐妹(1965), the government administration, namely Jiang Qing of the “Gang of Four”, demanded that all animation should follow specific guidelines based on Social Realism guidelines. This in turn, ushered in a new national style of animation during the Cultural Revolution(1966-1976). During this ten-year period government policies imposed strict restrictions on animators and cause a drain of creative …

Introduction: Rethinking Critical Theory And Maoism, Kang Liu

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article, "Rethinking Critical Theory and Maoism," Kang Liu reviews the existing literature in English on the relationship of Critical Theory and Maoism and discusses the need to explore and reconstruct a genealogy of Critical Theory and Maoism within the global context of political, ideological, and intellectual currents and trends. The special issue will focus on three clusters of issues: first, the western invention of Maoism as a universal theory of revolution; second, the reception of Critical Theory in China and its relationship to Maoism; and third, the relevance of Maoism and Critical Theory today. Liu raises the question …

How To Be The Perfect Asian Wife!, Sophia Hill

Art and Art History Honors Projects

“How to be the Perfect Asian Wife” critiques exploitative power systems that assault female bodies of color in intersectional ways. This work explores strategies of healing and resistance through inserting one’s own narrative of flourishing rather than surviving, while reflecting violent realities. Three large drawings mimic pervasive advertisement language and presentation reflecting the oppressive strategies used to contain women of color. Created with charcoal, watercolor, and ink, these 'advertisements' contrast with an interactive rice bag filled with comics of my everyday experiences. These documentations compel viewers to reflect on their own participation in systems of power.

Remapping Emotion And Desire: Same-Sex Romance In Ah Cheng's "The King Of Chess", Yanjie Wang

Asian and Asian American Studies Faculty Works

This article examines the representation of emotion and desire in Ah Cheng's The King of Chess (Qi wang). The interpretation of The King of Chess has been oriented toward an allegorical reading that revolves around grand cultural concepts, such as aesthetics, Taoist tradition, cultural consciousness, and national identity. In this paradigm of reading, the literary text has largely become a footnote of the master narrative of China's cultural reconstruction of the 1980s. Following the recent interpretative turn of this story from cultural to existential and from allegorical to corporeal, the article extends to yet another domain, that of emotion, intimacy, …

Letters To Mei Lanfang, Alexandra Dare Norman

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

As a male actor of female Dan characters, Mei Lanfang (1894-1961) is known throughout the world as the most representative performer of Chinese opera – particularly for his performance of Concubine Yu in the Peking opera Farewell My Concubine. A feminist analysis of his work in this opera reveals a series of assumptions about the definition of “Woman” in both theatre and life. This project is solo performance piece formatted in a series of open letters to Mei Lanfang, interspersed with personal stories investigating what it truly means to be a Woman – as an actor, a Christian, a feminist, …

Friends Of Musselman Library Newsletter Fall 2016, Musselman Library

Friends of Musselman Library Newsletter

From the Dean (Robin Wagner)

Library Exhibits

GettDigital: Sports Reels

Research Reflections: The Gettysburg Superstar (Devin McKinney)

Remembering 9/12

Will Power: 400 Years After the Bard

Treasure Island (Robin Wagner)

Margin of Error

A Call to Activism in the Summer of '65 (Richard Hutch '67)

Digital Scholarship: The New Frontier (Julia Wall '19, Lauren White '18, Keira Koch '19)

Scrapbooks and Photo Albums: Snapshots of History (Clara A. Baker '30)

Soldiers' Scrapbooks (Laura Bergin '17)

A Book of Dreams (Alexa Schreier)

Who Do You Think You Are? (Timothy Shannon)

From Professor-Student to Collaborators (Jesse Siegel '16)

The Mysterious Easel Monument …

Absent Presence: Li Yu’S Drama Wanli Yuan And Early Qing Sartorial Politics, Guojun Wang

2013 New England Association for Asian Studies Conference

Li Yu’s 李玉 Wanli yuan 萬里圓 (Thousand-li Reunion) is one of the few dramas in the early Qing period that directly addresses the topic of the Ming-Qing transition. Although Wanli yuan was never published in its entirety during the Qing Dynasty, its popular scenes circulated widely on stage, resulting in a series of “performance editions.” Oriented toward stage performance, most of Li Yu’s plays include detailed costume instruction. By contrast, almost none of the extant editions of Wanli yuan includes any costume instruction. Despite this absence, the dialogues and stage directions of the extant performance editions show that different scenes …

Red Detachment Of Women And The Enterprise Of Making ‘Model’ Music During The Chinese Cultural Revolution, Clare Sher Ling Eng

Faculty Scholarship

Artworks produced with official sanction during periods marked by turmoil and human suffering are challenging subjects for scholars who would like to discuss them in a fair and responsible manner. If they aestheticize the works’ form and political affiliation, how would they be doing justice to these works whose creation and content are so meshed with the politics of their time? On the other hand, can an approach that takes ideology into account be developed that does not appear to ignore, condone or support the odious acts of violence associated with those periods? This article explores the latter question with …

高行健之戲劇 : 理論與實踐, Ching Law

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

高行健的戲劇作品與理論，兼備中西文化主題（motifs），東西方劇場的手法，最適合作比較文學的範例。本文全面分析高行健的劇作與理論，從主題與形式兩方面，審度劇作中重複出現追尋自我的主題。其劇作包括《絕對信號》、《車站》、《野人》、《彼岸》、《冥城》、《逃亡》、《山海經傳奇》、《生死界》、《對話與反詰》、《夜遊神》、《周末四重奏》、《八月雪》、《叩問死亡》；五個現代折子戲包括《模仿者》、《躲雨》、《行路難》、《喀巴拉山口》、《獨白》；一個舞劇《聲聲慢變奏》共計十八部戲劇。又整理探究理論文集《對一種戲劇的追求》、《沒有主義》、以及《文學的理由》。作者的主體意識扣緊不同時期的逃亡經驗，經一番外求與內尋的過程，不斷抗衡與否定不同的「他者」。這種抗衡，固然呈現人類本質的狀態，卻缺乏主體的自主性，也展示主題的矛盾。因為無論「他者」怎樣不斷置換為集體、強權、中國、性、慾望等對象，也不能抹殺其先於主體的實存性，反倒確立了主體的依附性。所以他的主體都一貫逃避中心、集體、缺乏實質的內涵，卻又內外交困，無法安頓。這種不斷反詰的精神，又反映在劇作的「間離」的形式上。高行健以敘事、三重角色與儀式（rituals），間離觀眾與角色。雖然他追求戲劇本質，嘗試回復中國儺戲與戲曲的傳統，也緊隨現當代劇作家如布萊希特（Bertolt Brecht）、惹奈（Jean Genet），但是難以調動觀眾的直覺感知經驗，達至娛人的目的。更有甚者，因為敘事手法的視點所限，宣揚個人主義的目的，昭然若揭。他的儀式意在增強戲劇的假定性，不在於回歸中國的佛道傳統，但效果不彰。他的「表演三重論」源於中國戲曲與布萊希特，貢獻止於為表演的監控意識命名，缺乏系統落實的方法，故難以與斯坦尼斯夫斯基（Konstantin Stanislavsky）、以及格羅多夫斯基（Jerzy Grotowski）的表演系統相提並論。本文試以高行健的劇作與理論，與現當代的國際劇作家、以及劇場理論家的成就互相發明，以鑑定其戲劇地位。

Perwatakan Wanita Dalam Drama Moden Lao She (1899-1966), Kee Ping Yong

Student Works (2000-2009)

Lao She (1899-1966) was one of the greatest realist writers in modem Chinese literature. His achievements had won him high acclaim in the literary world. Apart from his novels, poems, critiques and essays, he was also known for his many excellent dramas, where he showed his talent in character portrayal. Most notably, he succeeded in creating vivid male and female roles with unique individual traits. The focus of this research is the various female characters in Lao She's modem dramas.

Ua94/5/5 Scrapbook Ii, Rex Toothman

Student/Alumni Personal Papers

Scrapbook created by Rex Toothman from 1940 to 1946. Contains clippings, cards, correspondence, graduation programs, theatrical programs, church bulletins related to Bowling Green Business University, U.S. Navy and World War II.