Henrik Ibsen and Modern Chinese Drama

Book excerpt: Henrik Ibsen is one of the most influential foreign writers in 20th century China. In the century review of Chinese Ibsenism, He Chengzhou explores Chinese "Noraism" in the context of the Chinese reception of Ibsen as a realist, a romantic and a symbolist, and analyses this dramatic phenomenon from historical, cultural and literary perspectives. It also initiates the study of the Chinese relay translations of Ibsen by comparing them with the Norwegian original. No foreign writer contributed as much to the rise of modern Chinese drama as Ibsen did. In this book He Chengzhou demonstrates that Ibsen's influence on modern Chinese drama underwent three important stages: from Chinese "problem drama" to Tian Han's early realistic plays and to Cao Yu's great masterpieces. Based on close textual analysis, the author interprets and analyses both the influence and the inter-textual relationships between Ibsen's plays and modern Chinese plays. Among other things, the author offers an unprecedented comparative study of Hedda Gabler and Sunrise. With the establishment of realistic drama in China, Ibsen was integrated into the Chinese dramatic tradition. Ibsen's influence on contemporary Chinese dramatists has come both directly and indirectly via that heritage of Chinese modern drama.