Salomé

It has frequently been claimed that there is a lack of tragedy in the tradition of Chinese literature. The modern Chinese tragedy is very much the result of influence from the Western theatre. This essay examines Oscar Wilde's tragedy Salom as an example of the significant role that Western tragedy plays in the constructing of modern tragedy as an independent genre in China. Salom, regarded as a tragedy in the Greek manner, with its inheritance of the tradition and elements of classical Greek tragedy in terms of setting, plot, morality, ending, and style, has enabled modern Chinese dramatists to establish connections with the tradition of Western tragedy. At the same time, Wilde's rebellious protagonist has also given modern Chinese dramatists inspiration to retrieve femme fatales from traditional Chinese literature and transfigure them into the New Woman of the post-May Fourth era. With its iconoclastic spirit and aesthetic style, Salom has become a trope for Chinese modernity, which is linked closely with the anti-traditional consciousness and the drive to modernize Chinese theatre and literature for the building of a new China

Art · Drama · Literature · Philosophy, Ethics, and Existentialism

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