East meets West:
Tang Xianzu meets Shakespeare
Bob
Content
● Why I Choose This Topic?
● Who Is Tang Xianzu?
● Comparison Between Tang Xainzu And Shakespeare
● Expectation Of China-UK Culture Exchange
Why I Choose This Topic?
● I am interested in drama，Eastern and Western.
Why I Choose This Topic?
● 2016, special year for Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu
Tang Xianzu
(1550-1616)
Shakespeare
(1564-1616)
Why I Choose This Topic?
● Introduce Chinese opera
Peking Opera (京剧）
评
剧
Kunqu Opera (昆曲）
京
剧
Henan Opera (豫剧）
Shaoxing Opera (越剧）
Sichuan Opera (川剧）
Guangdong Opera (粤剧）
川
剧
豫
剧
越
剧
粤
剧
Who Is Tang Xianzu ?
● The greatest dramatist in China.
Tang wrote four great dramas and hundreds of poems
，which have been adapted into various China
operas, and continuously performed until today.
Who Is Tang Xianzu ?
● The honest and upright official.
Tang became a official when he was 34. Because of his forthright
personality, he could not subject himself to the restraints of
power. He resigned and returned to his hometown when he was 49.
Live in the silt but not imbrued
Who Is Tang Xianzu ?
● The fighter against Feudalism .
Throughout his plays, Tang showed a clear tendency toward
democratic ideas and anti-feudalism，severely expose and
criticize the darkness of society. To do this must have
great courage like a fighter in Ming Dynasty.
Comparison Between Tang And Shakespeare
Similarities
·Lived in the same age
The mid-16th century ，old feudal Social and Economic order was
being destroyed and a new capitalist society was being born.
Middle Ming Dynasty
Elizabeth I
Comparison Between Tang And Shakespeare
Similarities
·Both are great playwrights
Shakespeare is honored as
“the father of Western opera”
Tang is praised as “the father
of Chinese drama”.
The brightest star
Comparison Between Tang And Shakespeare
Similarities
·The artistic expression
is similar
Shakespeare’s A Midsummer
Night's Dream
Tang’s Four Dreams Of
Linchuan
Comparison Between Tang And Shakespeare
Differences
·The scope of influence
Shakespeare’s Influence
Tang’s Influence
Comparison Between Tang And Shakespeare
Differences
·The social status
Tang’s first identity is a
politician
Shakespeare is mainly
a dramatis.
Comparison Between Tang And Shakespeare
Differences
·The drama ending’s
handling
Tang’s works pay attention to
a happy ending.
Shakespeare’s work has clear
definition and classification on
tragedy and comedy。
Expectation Of China-UK Culture Exchange
• Exchange activities in past 5 years
Kunqu Opera performs
Peking Opera performs
in London, 2011
in Edinburgh, 2013
British TNT Theatre
performs in Beijing, 2015
Expectation Of China-UK Culture Exchange
• 2016， China-UK Year of Cultural Exchange
This year, to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the death of
Shakespeare and Tang, China and UK will co-sponsored many cultural
activities. It will be a kind of luck for British and Chinese.
London
Shanghai
THANK YOU !
My e-mail: superstone5@163.com