King Lear and Mao’s China, with Nan Z. Da

King Lear and Mao’s China, with Nan Z. Da

Nan Z. Da, in her book The Chinese Tragedy of King Lear, finds unsettling parallels between Shakespeare’s play and 20th-century China under Mao Zedong. Da, a literature professor at Johns Hopkins University, weaves together personal history and literary analysis to reveal how King Lear reflects—and even anticipates—the emotional and political horrors of authoritarian regimes. From public punishments to desperate displays of flattery, from state paranoia to family betrayal, she shows how Shakespeare’s tragedy resonates with the lived experiences of generations shaped by Maoism. She joins us to discuss the story of her family in Mao’s China and why Lear may be Shakespeare’s most “Chinese” play. Nan Z. Da is an associate professor of English at Johns Hopkins University. Prior to that, she taught for nine years at the University of Notre Dame. She is the author of Intransitive Encounters: Sino-US Literatures and the Limits of Exchange and co-editor of the Thinking Literature series.

Jaksot(296)

Elizabethan Street Fighting

Elizabethan Street Fighting

"Blood hath been shed ere now, i' th' olden time, Ere humane statute purged the gentle weal; Ay, and since too, murders have been performed Too terrible for the ear." —MACBETH(3.4.91–94) From the due...

5 Touko 201530min

Myths About Shakespeare

Myths About Shakespeare

"It is not so. Thou hast misspoke, misheard. Be well advised; tell o'er thy tale again. It cannot be; thou dost but say 'tis so." —KING JOHN (3.1.5–7) Even if you’re not a Shakespeare scholar, there ...

22 Huhti 201525min

Recounting Shakespeare's Life

Recounting Shakespeare's Life

Her father loved me, oft invited me, Still questioned me the story of my life From year to year—the battles, sieges, fortunes That I have passed. —Othello (1.3.149–152) What do we know about Shake...

8 Huhti 201528min

Shakespeare in Black and White

Shakespeare in Black and White

"Our own voices with our own tongues" —CORIOLANUS (2.3.47) In one of two podcasts on Shakespeare and the African American experience, "Our Own Voices with Our Own Tongues" revisits the era when Jim C...

20 Maalis 201530min

The Rarely Performed Shakespeare Plays

The Rarely Performed Shakespeare Plays

"As jewels lose their glory if neglected, So princes their renowns if not respected." —PERICLES (2:2:12–13) Every year, theaters across the United States and the world treat us to Shakespeare—which u...

20 Maalis 201528min

A New First Folio Discovery

A New First Folio Discovery

"As truth's authentic author to be cited, 'As true as Troilus' shall crown up the verse" —TROILUS AND CRESSIDA (3.2.182–183) Not long ago, the world learned of a remarkable discovery: An old book in...

20 Maalis 201520min

Pronouncing English as Shakespeare Did

Pronouncing English as Shakespeare Did

"Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue." —HAMLET (3:2:1–2) When Shakespeare wrote his lines, and actors first spoke them, how did they say the words—and wh...

20 Maalis 201528min

Brave New Worlds: The Shakespearean Moons of Uranus

Brave New Worlds: The Shakespearean Moons of Uranus

Sometimes it seems you can hear or see traces of Shakespeare just about anywhere on Earth. But how about around the planet Uranus, which had not even been discovered in Shakespeare's time? In this ce...

20 Maalis 201540min

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