Contributors
Please find a list of our contributors, with links to their work, below.
Olivia Bobak
Olivia Bobak is a 2024 graduate of the Ohio State University with a bachelor's degree in international relations and Chinese. She hopes to use her education to foster interest in Chinese-American cultural exchange and promote understanding.- Hongniang 红娘 (1976)
- "The Western Wing as Revolutionary Opera," a forthcoming module on the 1976 PRC Beijing opera film of The Western Wing.
Wenbo Chang
Wenbo Chang (PhD, Arizona State University) is a lecturer of Chinese in the Department of Comparative Literature and Intercultural Studies at the University of Georgia. Her primary research interest is premodern Chinese literature with a focus on drama and performance texts at the intersection of literary studies, social history, ritual, power, and women’s studies.- Rescuing One’s Sister in the Wind and Dust (2021)
- "Ghosts as an Intercultural Bridge," a module on the English-language spoken play adaptation of Saving a Courtesan.
Cruz (Wenhao) Guan
Cruz (Wenhao) Guan is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History at Ohio State University. His dissertation focuses on the transformation of China from an empire to a modern nation-state from 1800 to 1937 based on the influences of cartography, modern education system, print culture, and Shanghai’s publishing industry.- The Return of the Soul at the Peony Pavilion 牡丹亭還魂记 (2009)
- "The Expression of Qing in the Hybrid Medium of Yue Opera TV Drama," a module about a televisual adaptation of The Peony Pavilion by CCTV.
Julia Keblinska
Julia Keblinska is a visiting scholar at the Ohio State University and the content co-editor of CTC. She received her doctorate in Chinese, with a Designated Emphasis in the Department of Film and Media, from the University of California, Berkeley (2021).- The Western Wing 西厢 (~1920s)
- "Peeking into Miniature Worlds," a module on Republican period cigarette cards of The Western Wing.
- The Romance of the Western Chamber 西厢記 (1927)
- "Focusing the Gaze," a module on the 1927 silent film adaptation of The Western Wing.
- The Western Wing 西廂記 (1940)
- "Zhou Xuan’s Hongniang, the Intermedial Songstress," a module on the 1940 musical film adaptation of The Western Wing.
- The Western Wing 西厢记 (1958)
- "How to Make the Poetic Voice Audible in a Silent Medium", a module on the late 1950s lianhuanhua (narrative comic) of The Western Wing.
- Hongniang (a.k.a. Soubrette) 红娘 (1999)
- "Hongniang’s Melodramatic Homecoming," a module on the 1999 PRC narrative film adaptation of The Western Wing.
- New Year's Print of The Lute《琵琶记》年画连环画 (1958)
- "Reconciling Auspicious and Inauspicious Color Contrasts," a module on the 1958 lianhuanhua (narrative comic) New Year's print of The Lute.
- The Lute 琵琶记 (1985/1986)
- "Creating Emotional Atmospheres," a module on a lianhuanhua adaptation of The Lute.
- The Peony Pavilion 牡丹亭 (1986)
- "The Mise-en-Scène of Emotion," a module on a lianhuanhua (narrative comic) adaptation of The Peony Pavilion.
Ka Kei Lau
Ka Kei Lau is PhD candidate in East Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago. She received a Writing MFA from Columbia University and a BA in English from the University of Oxford.- Snow in June 六月雪 (1959)
- "Constructing Shared Repertoires with Sign Language and Chinese Opera," a module on the Cantonese opera film adaptation of The Injustice to Dou E.
Xuezhao Li
Xuezhao Li is a PhD candidate in Chinese Literature from the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures at Ohio State University, interested in Digital Humanities, modern Chinese genre fiction, literary translation in late Qing and early republican China, and the transcultural history of Chinese drama, etc.- Sacrifice 赵氏孤儿 (2010)
- "Father-Son Love" A module on a film adaptation of The Orphan of Zhao by director Chen Kaige 陈凯歌.
Francesco Papani
Francesco Papani (he/him) is a PhD candidate in East Asian Languages and Civilizations and a teaching assistant at Arizona State University. His research interests are traditional Chinese drama and its contemporary operatic adaptations as well as East Asian performance studies.- Yanyan 燕燕 (2016)
- "The Physicality of Emotions on the Opera Stage," a module on a recorded performance of a Sichuan opera adaptation of Clever Maid.
- Co-author of the general background to A Clever Maid Maneuvers Her Way into Romance (with Patricia Sieber).
Patricia Sieber
Patricia Sieber is professor of Chinese in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures at the Ohio State University. She is the founding editor and content co-editor of CTC.- The Orphan of Zhao 赵氏孤儿 (2003)
- "Dramaturgical Techniques to Turn A Commoner Into a Hero," a module on a live Beijing opera performance of Orphan of Zhao. (co-authored with Gillian Yanzhuang Zhang)
- Crimson 红娘 (1976)
- "Crimson’s Vocal Imitation of Other Characters," a module on the 1976 PRC Beijing opera film of The Western Wing. (co-authored with Gillian Yanzhuang Zhang)
- Author of general backgrounds to The Injustice to Dou E and Other Plays by Guan Hanqing, The Injustice to Dou E and Other Courtroom Dramas, The Story of the Western Wing, Top Graduate Zhang Xie, The Lute, The Female Mulan Joins the Army in Place of Her Father, and The Peony Pavilion.
- Co-author of general backgrounds to A Clever Maid Maneuvers Her Way into Romance by Guan Hanqing (with Francesco Papani) and The Orphan of Zhao (with Gillian Yanzhuang Zhang).
Xiaoqiao Xu
Xiaoqiao Xu (PhD, University of Connecticut) is a lecturer at the University of British Columbia. She teaches Chinese literature and cinema courses and researches late imperial and modern Chinese literature and culture.- The Injustice to Dou E 窦娥冤 (1959)
- "Creating A Socialist Revolutionary Subject," a module on the Pu opera film adaptation of The Injustice to Dou’E.
Erxin Wang
Erxin Wang completed her Ph. D. at The Ohio State University in 2024, specializing in the literature, theater, and literati culture of late imperial China. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Chinese Studies at National University of Singapore.- The Story of the Western Wing 西廂記 (1965)
- "The Importance of Hongniang," a module on the 1965 Shaw Brothers Huangmei opera film of The Western Wing.
Hui Yao
Hui Yao is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures at The Ohio State University and a lecturer of Chinese at Duke Kunshan University. Her research interests include modern Chinese literature, cinema, theater, and literary translation.- The Peony Pavilion 遊園驚夢 (2001)
- "The Function of the Kunqu Performance Within the Film," a module on the Hong Kong feature film of The Peony Pavilion.
Kaixuan (Kai) Yao
Kaixuan (Kai) Yao is a PhD student at the department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.- The Crimson Palm 血手印 (1964)
- "From Love Story to Film Noir," a module on a Hong Kong Huangmei opera film adaptation of The Dream of the Crimson Robe.
Xuan Ye
Xuan Ye graduated from Ohio State University with a focus on Chinese linguistics and Chinese operas (Department of East Asian Languages and Literature). She is currently the academic coordinator for the Chinese Flagship Program at Indiana University.- The Story of the Western Wing 西厢记 (2011)
- "Striking a Balance Between Propriety and Playfulness," a module on a 2011 Shaoxing/Yue opera stage recording of The Western Wing.
Patricia J. Yu
Patricia J. Yu is assistant professor of art history at Kenyon College where she teaches broadly on the arts of Asia. Her research focuses on the afterlives of the Garden of Perfect Brightness, as well as broader questions of authenticity and reproduction, ruin and reconstruction, and art in cross-cultural translation.- The Story of the Western Wing 西廂記 (1640)
- "Beyond Text: Objects in Pictures and Pictures on Objects," a module on Min Qiji's 閔齊伋 1640 album of woodblock illustrations of The Western Wing.
- Mulan (1998)
- "Reflection and Identity," a module on the 1998 Disney version of Mulan.
Gillian Yanzhuang Zhang
Gillian Yanzhuang Zhang (PhD, Ohio State University) is a research associate at the Harvard FAS CAMLab. Her research examines painting and print in early modern China, with a focus on trans-mediality and transcultural interactions.- The Orphan of Zhao 赵氏孤儿 (2003)
- "Dramaturgical Techniques to Turn A Commoner Into a Hero," a module on a live Beijing opera performance of Orphan of Zhao. (co-authored with Patricia Sieber)
- Crimson 红娘 (1976)
- "Crimson’s Vocal Imitation of Other Characters," a module on the 1976 PRC Beijing opera film of The Western Wing. (co-authored with Patricia Sieber)
- The Lute 全本琵琶记 (2012)
- "Techniques for Creating Sadness and Comic Relief," a module on a live performance of The Lute by the Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe.
- Hua Mu Lan 木蘭從軍 (1939)
- "The Marking of Gender," a module on the 1939 live action film adaptation of Mulan.
- The Lady General Hua Mulan 花木蘭 (1964)
- "How to Assume a Male Martial Identity," a module on the 1964 Hong Kong huangmeidiao opera film of Mulan.
- Co-author of general background to The Orphan of Zhao (with Patricia Sieber).
Li Zhao
Li Zhao is a PhD student specializing in Chinese literature in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literature at the Ohio State University. Li is the editorial associate of CTC.- The Ink and Vermilion Edition of The Orphan of Zhao 墨本丹青版赵氏孤儿 (2011)
- "Stage as a Narrator," a module on a TV recording of the "Ink and Vermilion" edition adapted by Wang Peiyu 王珮瑜.
- Top Graduate Zhang Xie 张协状元 (2017)
- "Humorous Techniques," a module on a Yongjia Style Kunqu live stage adaptation of Top Graduate Zhang Xie.
- Hua Mulan 花木蘭 (1956)
- "Transforming Into a Man," a module on the 1956 PRC Yu opera film adaptation of the Mulan.
- The Peony Pavilion: The Youth Edition 青春版牡丹亭 (2007)
- "How to Express Love within the Theatrical Language of Kunqu," a module on a live performance "Youth Edition" of The Peony Pavilion.