Ibsen and Ibsenism in China 1908-1997

Ibsen has been considered by many literary historians as the most important source, besides Goethe, of Western influence in modern Chinese literary thinking. While Goethe is recognized for his impact on the romantic trend in modern Chinese literature, particularly in the 1930s, Ibsen remains to be influential in both the modern Chinese theatre and the Chinese women's movement throughout the twentieth century. Most of Ibsen's major plays have been translated and staged in China, and scholars in the field of modern Chinese intellectual history fully acknowledge the contribution Ibsen made to the May 4th Movement that marked the beginning of modern Chinese culture. Apart from its value as a reference tool for the study of modern Chinese theatre and women's movement, this critical-annotated bibliography serves, more importantly, to chart an aspect of the path along which modern Chinese culture has developed.