China and the West

Zhang, Qihong. Rang shang di jiang lin ren jian : zai Zhongguo Shashibiya yan jiu hui cheng li da hui shang de fa yan [ID D23968].
Shen Fan : Zhang said in her speech that her purpose was to invite Shakespeare, 'god' of England, to descend to the land of China and become friends with and accepted by the Chinese audience. She wanted to explore and display Shakespeare's 'profound critique of feudalism' and 'great realism, humanism, and moral power' in this play. She adapted the play, reducing its twenty-five scenes to twelve, and cut most of the lines referring to the conflict between the Jews and the Christians. She argued that : 1. A Chinese production need not emphasize religious and racial conflicts unfamiliar to the Chinese audience. 2. Shylock should appear basically as a usurer, not as a Jew, and the major scenes of the play should focus on the conflict between Shylock as a feudal usurer and Antonio as a representative of rising capitalism. 3. The play should extol generosity, honesty, friendship, and love, and condemn cruelty and evil.