Mei Lanfang and the Twentieth-Century International Stage : Chinese Theatre Placed and Displaced

This is the first book-length study, in any language, of the influence of Mei Lanfang - the internationally known Chinese actor who specialized in female roles - on the twentieth-century international stage. Tian investigates the political, ideological, cultural as well as theatrical contexts of Lanfang's presence and the various interpretations and appropriations of his art by such key figures as Brecht, Meyerhold, Eisenstein, Tairov, and Eugenio Barba. Tian also delves into the Chinese support of and opposition to Lanfang's tours and the tours' transnational impact on Manfang's reception in China and on the Chinese theatrical interpretations of his work.

MIN TIAN Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Iowa, USA.