UBC Press Blog

Siu Wang-Ngai with Peter Lovrick, 1997, Chapter 1, p. 3-5.

• Shortlisted, 1998 George Freedley Memorial Award, Theatre Library Association
• Shortlisted, 1997 Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize, Pacific Rim Voices Project

CACOPHONY! Cymbals, gongs, and drum demand attention. Their incessant beating fills up every corner of the theatre. Their rhythm and pace are urgent and exciting, as if to say, This is important! Something is about to happen! The musicians sitting on stage left in clear view of the audience are intensely focused on their leader, who furiously beats a small drum on a tripod with two sticks. The stage itself is fully lit but bare except for a carpet.

Suddenly a whirlwind of colour blows in from stage right, quickly followed by another. Fantastic beings, made larger than life by enormous shoes and padded shoulders, leap before the audience. They wear heavy, gloriously embroidered costumes and hold tasselled whips out at their sides, making them undulate. Four pennants rise from each of their backs and flutter as they move. But the most astonishing thing about them is their faces, painted in bold and calculated designs of many colours. Everything gives the impression that some mythical creatures have taken the stage. Then one of them begins to sing. A powerful and arresting voice resonates nasally. The delivery is aimed directly at the audience. Continue reading…

The American Association for Chinese Studies (AACS), founded in 1959, is the only academic society in America devoted exclusively to the general area of Chinese studies. The purposes of the Association are to:

1) Encourage the study of subjects related to China, especially in American educational institutions;
2) Advance such study and teaching through the exchange of information and scholarship across disciplinary lines;
3) Promote understanding and communication between Western and Eastern scholars involved in Chinese studies.