Weiwuying Master Talk— PAI Hsien-Yung on Forty Years of the Crystal Boys and Its Adaptations
The Crystal Boys is writer PAI Hsien-Yung's only full-length novel and one of the most iconic literary pieces in the Taiwanese gay canon. This year, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of this enduring piece of literature, we look back at its unforgettable adaptations for film, television, and stage.
The National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts has invited master writer PAI Hsien-Yung to give a master talk at Weiwuying on September 4, 2020, to discuss with attendees many of the gripping scenes in Crystal Boys and the impact of the novel on society. We have elicited opinions from the attendees in advance regarding their expectations for the master talk and gotten many responses. Some are curious about how the novel was adapted into a script for the stage play. One response from the parents of a gay child read, “We love our child, for love is gender-free. With same-sex marriage legalized in today's Taiwan, this discussion about Crystal Boys has a new symbolic significance to the general public.”
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Crystal Boys in 2020, the iconic stage play adaptation will return to the stage once again with its premiere at the Weiwuying Opera House in Kaohsiung. The play was written by PAI Hsien-Yung and SHIH Ju-Fang and is directed by TSAO Jui-Yuan with choreography by WU Su-Chun. We invite readers and audiences alike to look back on the many adaptations and interpretations of the Crystal Boys over the years.
◆Master speaker: PAI Hsien-Yung, Master Writer
◆Location: Weiwuying Opera House
◆Time and date: 19:00-20:30, Friday, September 4, 2020
◆Number of attendees: 300
◆Admission fee: NT$100
© HSU PEI-HUNG 許培鴻
PAI Hsien-Yung, Master Writer
Born in 1937 in Guilin, Guangxi, PAI Hsien-Yung graduated from National Taiwan University with a major in foreign languages and received his M.F.A. in creative writing from the Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa.
PAI is the son of BAI Chongxi (PAI Chung-Hsi), a famous Kuomintang general who fought in the Northern Expedition. PAI spent his childhood in Nanning and Guilin, and in 1944, fled to Chongqing with his family. After World War II, PAI and his family lived in many Chinese cities over the years including Nanjing, Shanghai, Hankou, and Guangzhou. PAI relocated to Hong Kong in 1949 and later moved to Taiwan to reunite with his parents in 1952. In 1963, he went to the U.S. to pursue academic studies and settled down there. After receiving his M.F.A. in 1965, PAI became a professor of Chinese literature at UC Santa Barbara's Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies and taught there for twenty-nine years until his retirement in 1994. In 1997, the UC Santa Barbara Library dedicated a room to the Pai Hsien-Yung Collection, which includes an assortment of translated publications, literary manuscripts, and other materials related to his life's work.
PAI is a writer with a diverse portfolio that tackles a wide range of issues. His bibliography includes the short story collections Lonely Seventeen, Taipei People, and New Yorkers; the full-length novel Crystal Boys; the essay collections Suddenly Turning Back, Cafe Astoria Confectionery, The Sixth Finger, Even Trees Wither, Eight Thousand Miles of Clouds and Moon; the script for the stage adaptation of Wandering in the Garden, Waking from a Dream; and the screenplays for the film adaptations of The Last Night of Taipan Chin, Jade Love, Love's Lone Flower, and The Last Aristocrats. Collections of PAI's works have been published in Taiwan and Mainland China.
After retiring from UC Santa Barbara, PAI participated in charity events devoted to the cause of HIV prevention and dedicated himself to the revitalization of the traditional art of Kunqu opera. His production of the Young Lovers' Edition of The Peony Pavilion was performed in Taiwan, Mainland China, the U.S., and Europe to critical acclaim, transforming PAI from a writer passing the torch of contemporary literature into an advocate for traditional Chinese opera.
In 2011, PAI began working on his father's biography, titled My Father and the Republic. It was published in 2012 to great acclaim and is greatly valued by the Chinese studies communities in Taiwan, Mainland China, Hong Kong, the U.S., and Europe. In 2014, PAI published another biography titled Healing the Wounds—General Bai Chongxi and the February 28 Incident; the book includes never-before-seen historical documents and interviews about his father's mission to Taiwan.
In 2014, PAI launched the general education course Lectures on Dream of the Red Chamber at National Taiwan University. The course was extremely popular among Taiwanese and Chinese students and was given for three semesters to impart the knowledge that PAI had gained over a lifetime of study of the classical novel to young students. He later published the book Interpreting the Dream of the Red Chamber and oversaw the editing of the In-Depth Commentary of the Dream of the Red Chamber.
Weiwuying Master Talk— PAI Hsien-Yung on Forty Years of the Crystal Boys and Its Adaptations
The Crystal Boys is writer PAI Hsien-Yung's only full-length novel and one of the most iconic literary pieces in the Taiwanese gay canon. This year, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of this enduring piece of literature, we look back at its unforgettable adaptations for film, television, and stage.
The National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts has invited master writer PAI Hsien-Yung to give a master talk at Weiwuying on September 4, 2020, to discuss with attendees many of the gripping scenes in Crystal Boys and the impact of the novel on society. We have elicited opinions from the attendees in advance regarding their expectations for the master talk and gotten many responses. Some are curious about how the novel was adapted into a script for the stage play. One response from the parents of a gay child read, “We love our child, for love is gender-free. With same-sex marriage legalized in today's Taiwan, this discussion about Crystal Boys has a new symbolic significance to the general public.”
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Crystal Boys in 2020, the iconic stage play adaptation will return to the stage once again with its premiere at the Weiwuying Opera House in Kaohsiung. The play was written by PAI Hsien-Yung and SHIH Ju-Fang and is directed by TSAO Jui-Yuan with choreography by WU Su-Chun. We invite readers and audiences alike to look back on the many adaptations and interpretations of the Crystal Boys over the years.
◆Master speaker: PAI Hsien-Yung, Master Writer
◆Location: Weiwuying Opera House
◆Time and date: 19:00-20:30, Friday, September 4, 2020
◆Number of attendees: 300
◆Admission fee: NT$100
© HSU PEI-HUNG 許培鴻
PAI Hsien-Yung, Master Writer
Born in 1937 in Guilin, Guangxi, PAI Hsien-Yung graduated from National Taiwan University with a major in foreign languages and received his M.F.A. in creative writing from the Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa.
PAI is the son of BAI Chongxi (PAI Chung-Hsi), a famous Kuomintang general who fought in the Northern Expedition. PAI spent his childhood in Nanning and Guilin, and in 1944, fled to Chongqing with his family. After World War II, PAI and his family lived in many Chinese cities over the years including Nanjing, Shanghai, Hankou, and Guangzhou. PAI relocated to Hong Kong in 1949 and later moved to Taiwan to reunite with his parents in 1952. In 1963, he went to the U.S. to pursue academic studies and settled down there. After receiving his M.F.A. in 1965, PAI became a professor of Chinese literature at UC Santa Barbara's Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies and taught there for twenty-nine years until his retirement in 1994. In 1997, the UC Santa Barbara Library dedicated a room to the Pai Hsien-Yung Collection, which includes an assortment of translated publications, literary manuscripts, and other materials related to his life's work.
PAI is a writer with a diverse portfolio that tackles a wide range of issues. His bibliography includes the short story collections Lonely Seventeen, Taipei People, and New Yorkers; the full-length novel Crystal Boys; the essay collections Suddenly Turning Back, Cafe Astoria Confectionery, The Sixth Finger, Even Trees Wither, Eight Thousand Miles of Clouds and Moon; the script for the stage adaptation of Wandering in the Garden, Waking from a Dream; and the screenplays for the film adaptations of The Last Night of Taipan Chin, Jade Love, Love's Lone Flower, and The Last Aristocrats. Collections of PAI's works have been published in Taiwan and Mainland China.
After retiring from UC Santa Barbara, PAI participated in charity events devoted to the cause of HIV prevention and dedicated himself to the revitalization of the traditional art of Kunqu opera. His production of the Young Lovers' Edition of The Peony Pavilion was performed in Taiwan, Mainland China, the U.S., and Europe to critical acclaim, transforming PAI from a writer passing the torch of contemporary literature into an advocate for traditional Chinese opera.
In 2011, PAI began working on his father's biography, titled My Father and the Republic. It was published in 2012 to great acclaim and is greatly valued by the Chinese studies communities in Taiwan, Mainland China, Hong Kong, the U.S., and Europe. In 2014, PAI published another biography titled Healing the Wounds—General Bai Chongxi and the February 28 Incident; the book includes never-before-seen historical documents and interviews about his father's mission to Taiwan.
In 2014, PAI launched the general education course Lectures on Dream of the Red Chamber at National Taiwan University. The course was extremely popular among Taiwanese and Chinese students and was given for three semesters to impart the knowledge that PAI had gained over a lifetime of study of the classical novel to young students. He later published the book Interpreting the Dream of the Red Chamber and oversaw the editing of the In-Depth Commentary of the Dream of the Red Chamber.
