Strange Eventful Histories

Identity, Performance, and Xu Wei's Four Cries of a Gibbon

af Shiamin Kwa

In Four Cries of a Gibbon by the late-Ming dynasty playwright Xu Wei, characters move between life and death, and male and female, as they seek to articulate who they truly are. In this first critical study and annotated translation, Kwa considers how Wei's exploration of identity paved the way for further reflection in later fiction and drama.