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    A Study Guide for Lilian Lee's "Farewell My Concubine"
    A Study Guide for Lilian Lee's "Farewell My Concubine"
    A Study Guide for Lilian Lee's "Farewell My Concubine"
    Ebook45 pages33 minutes

    A Study Guide for Lilian Lee's "Farewell My Concubine"

    By Gale and Cengage

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    About this ebook

    A Study Guide for Lilian Lee's "Farewell My Concubine," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Novels for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Novels for Students for all of your research needs.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCengage Learning - Gale
    Release dateJun 15, 2016
    ISBN9781535823142
    A Study Guide for Lilian Lee's "Farewell My Concubine"

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      A Study Guide for Lilian Lee's "Farewell My Concubine" - Gale

      1

      Farewell My Concubine

      Lilian Lee

      1992

      Introduction

      Farewell My Concubine (1992, Hong Kong) has left an impressive mark in both the Eastern and Western worlds—at least, the film version of Lilian Lee's novel has done so. The novel itself has largely been overshadowed by the international success of the film adaptation. Although the book was first published in Chinese in 1992, the English translation did not reach the United States until 1993, the same year that the film—which is widely acknowledged as a revolutionary Chinese film—was released. Yet, even though the film dominates discussions about the story, the book stands on its own merits. Lee's novel takes readers deep inside the world of Peking opera during the twentieth century. The story, which centers on a love triangle involving two opera singers and a former prostitute, provides an emotionally charged lens through which to view the major historical events in China during the century, most notably the oppressive communist rule of Chairman Mao. Using the historical context of this time period to provide the novel's structure, Lee explores themes of survival, sex, and love. In the end Lee uses the transformation of Cheng Dieyi—a man who is effeminate as a boy and who, through specific opera training, is trained to think and act like a woman—to demonstrate the power and limitations of art in the real world. While Lee is a bestselling novelist in her native Hong Kong, Farewell My Concubine is the only major in-print English translation for which she is known.

      It should be noted that names in China are arranged in reverse order from Western styling. In other words, the first name listed is the family name, or surname, while the second name is the personal name, or first name as Western audiences understand it. In addition, many of the younger characters in the book are referred to by the term Xiao, which means small and is an indication of childhood status.

      Author Biography

      Very little is known about the personal and professional life of Lilian Lee—at least in the Western world—including her birthdate. The few sources available still list Lee as alive in 2003. One possible reason for the lack of biographical information is Lee's many names. Lilian Lee is the English pen name for this Chinese author; some sources spell her name Lillian Lee. Her actual Chinese name is Li Pi-Hua, although she is also known as Li Pik-Wah.

      Lee is a bestselling author in her native Hong Kong and has written more than thirty books. With the exception of Farewell My Concubine (1992) and The Last Princess of Manchuria (1992), Lee's books have not been translated into English, or at least are not widely available. Lee has co-written a number of screenplays, including one for the film version of Farewell My Concubine.

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