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.

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The Yorkist Pretender, with Jo Harkin

The Yorkist Pretender, with Jo Harkin

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Surekha Davies on the Making of Monsters

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Reimagining Judith Shakespeare with Grace Tiffany

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Julia Armfield Reimagines King Lear in a Drowning World

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Lauren Gunderson on the Women of Hamlet

Lauren Gunderson on the Women of Hamlet

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Shakespeare’s Narrative Poems

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How did early modern England understand race and how has that influenced our thinking? Race is often considered a recent construct, but Shakespeare’s works—both his plays and poetry—reveal a diverse ...

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Nisha Sharma on Adapting Shakespeare for Modern Romances

Nisha Sharma on Adapting Shakespeare for Modern Romances

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