Cao Yu
Cao Yu ( Chinese 曹禺 , Pinyin Cáo Yǔ , W.-G. Ts'ao Yü ; maiden name 萬家 寶 , Wàn Jiābăo , Wan Chia-băo ; born September 24, 1910 , † December 13, 1996 in Qianjiang , Hubei Province ) was a Chinese writer .
biography
Raised a half-orphan of a wealthy civil servant, he moved to Tianjin to continue his education at Nankai School and first came into contact with Western literature through the school's drama group . He continued his studies by enrolling in political economics at Nankai University , only to switch to the Tsinghua University in Beijing to study Western languages and literature a short time later . With his graduation under his belt in 1933, he became a teacher at a middle school in Baoding. During this period, the beginning of his literary career became apparent, with the publication of his first drama Thunderstorm, which was immediately crowned with success. In 1936 his work in the literary field brought him an award from one of the leading newspapers (Dagong). Shortly before the Japanese attack, he helped found the Chinese Drama Society. When the government was forced to relocate to Sichuan Province as a result, Cao Yu followed suit and was made a professorship at the National Drama School. Immediately after the end of the war, he was invited to a one-year lecture tour to the United States, where he met a like-minded person in Bertolt Brecht .
Despite his participation in the 1st Political Consultative Conference in the run-up to the founding of the People's Republic of China , at the invitation of the communists , Cao Yu ultimately decided not to participate in government work, but shortly afterwards became head of the Drama Institute, which was affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and held this position until 1956. He also took on leading positions at the Beijing People's Theater in 1953 and at the Beijing Institute for Art and Drama in 1956 . It was only then that he joined the Communist Party and became secretary of the Writers' Union. With the beginning of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, Cao Yu saw his conviction as a counterrevolutionary , but was rehabilitated in 1975, accepted into the National People's Congress in 1978 , again head of the Beijing People's Theater and chairman of the Dramatists' Association in 1979 , three years later deputy chairman of the Chinese PEN Center .
bibliography
Dramas
- Thunderstorm (雷雨 Léiyǔ), 1934
- Sunrise (日出 Rìchū), 1936
- Wilderness (原野 Yuányě), 1936
- Just think 1940
- The metamorphosis , 1940
- The Peking Man (北京人 Běijīngrén), 1940
- The Family , 1942 - Dramatization of Ba Jin's novel
- Heller Tag , 1948 - film script
- Sky without clouds (明朗 的 天 Mínglǎng de tiān), 1956
- Galle and Sword (膽 劍 篇 Dǎnjiànpiān), 1961
- Wang Zhaojun (王昭君 Wáng Zhāojūn), 1978
Translations
- Shakespeare : Romeo and Juliet , 1945
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Cao, Yu |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Chinese writer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 24, 1910 |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 13, 1996 |
| Place of death | Qianjiang |