Chinese Silent Shakespeare

Investigators: Dr. XU Xi and Dr. Jenny Sager

The principal objective of this project is to offer a radical reassessment of Chinese silent film adaptations of Shakespeare. The study will analyse the formalistic innovations in spectacle in two Chinese silent films: Qiu Yixiang’s 1927 film, The Woman Lawyer (Nü lüshi), sometimes referred to as The Bond of Flesh (Rouquan), which is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, and Bu Wancang’s 1931 film, A Spray of Plum Blossom (Yi jian mei), which is a reworking of The Two Gentlemen of Verona.