Voices carry : behind bars and backstage during China's Revolution and reform / Ying Ruocheng and Claire Conceison.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ying, Ruocheng.

Contributor:

Conceison, Claire, 1965-

Bloomsbury (Firm), publisher.

Series:

Asian voices (Rowman and Littlefield, Inc.)

Asian voices

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ying, Ruocheng.

China. Wen hua bu--Officials and employees--Biography.

China. Wen hua bu.

China.

Motion picture actors and actresses--Biography.

Translators.

Theatrical producers and directors.

Motion picture actors and actresses.

Employees.

College teachers.

Actors--China--Biography.

Actors.

Theatrical producers and directors--China--Biography.

Translators--China--Biography.

College teachers--United States--Biography.

Motion picture actors and actresses--China--Biography.

Beijing (China)--Biography.

Beijing (China).

China--History--1912-1949--Biography.

China--History--1949---Biography.

China--History--Republic, 1912-1949--Biography.

United States.

China--Beijing.

Genre:

History.

Biographies.

Autobiographies.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (286 p.)

Distribution:

New York : Bloomsbury Publishing(US), 2009.

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Md. : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, c2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Voices Carry is the riveting autobiography of one of China's most prominent citizens of the twentieth century. Beginning with his imprisonment during the Cultural Revolution, Ying Ruocheng's narrative takes us through unexpectedly amusing adventures durin Voices Carry is the moving autobiography of the late Ying Ruocheng, beloved Chinese stage and screen actor, theatre director, translator, and high-ranking politician as vice minister of culture from 1986-1990. One of twentieth-century China's most prominent citizens, Ying was imprisoned during the Cultural Revolution and devised unique strategies for survival, including playing pranks on guards and keeping a clandestine notebook. Ying's memoir opens with his prison years, and then flashes back to his boyhood growing up in a prince's palace as a member of a progressive Manchu Catholic intellectual family. He also details his experiences as a university student during the heady days when the People's Republic was being founded, followed by his subsequent experiences on stage, in film, and in politics. A founding member of the Beijing People's Art Theatre, Ying Ruocheng helped open its doors to Sino-American exchange when he brought Arthur Miller to China to stage Death of a Salesman in 1983, playing the role of Willy Loman in his own translation of the play. Simultaneously a "spy" for his own government and a cultural ambassador for countless foreigners and fellow countrymen, Ying lived out his life as a bridge between China and the West, gaining a singular perspective on matters related to culture and politics. While suffering from cirrhosis of the liver during the final decade of his life, Ying Ruocheng reflected on his experiences, collaborating with coauthor Claire Conceison to tell his story. Together, they take the reader on an exhilarating journey from Manchu wrestling matches to missionary schools, from behind prison bars to behind the scenes at ground-breaking stage performances, and from public moments of international recognition to private moments of intimacy and despair.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Introduction Part 2 Part One: The Adventures of Prison Life Chapter 3 My First Year Behind Bars Chapter 4 The Prison at Jixian Part 5 Part Two: Family History and Early Education Chapter 6 The Ying Legacy Chapter 7 A Princely Childhood Part 8 Part Three: Professional Life in Arts and Politics Chapter 9 My Stage Career Chapter 10 Cultural Diplomacy Chapter 11 Epilogue

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 235-238) and index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN:

979-82-16-41115-4

1-282-49615-8

9786612496158

0-7425-5746-4

OCLC:

1298207435