China and the West

Ding, Jiasheng. Zhuang ji hou se si suo [ID D23973].
Er schreibt : "One of the important characteristics of Shakespeare's plays is that the portrayal of individuality is greatly emphasized, which would provide a vast field for using the actor's talent to play the role. We rarely see stereotyped characters in Shakespeare's plays. Every actor can have a different interpretation of Hamlet, Othello, and Shylock. ... By contrast, the fatal weakness of traditional Chinese drama is to neglect the portrayal of individuality. The actors lack the consciousness to "recreate" the roles they play. All they do on the stage is present the plot, not to represent the personality of the characters. They usually treat the roles with the same method, which inevitably leads to a stereotyped orientation. That is strikingly contrasted with the variety and richness of the portrayal of personality in Shakespeare's plays. So we have drawn a good lesson from the impact of Shakespeare upon traditional Chinese drama."