"Alienation-Effect" for Whom? Brecht's (Mis)interpretation of the Classical Chinese Theatre

Few Western theatre artists have been as celebrated for their appreciation of Asian theatre aesthetics as has Bertolt Brecht, who, among other things, used his understanding of Mei Lanfang's acting as afoundation for his highly influential theory of the Alienation-effect. Tian looks closely at Brecht's comprehension of Chinese theatre and finds that the German playwright-director was considerably off base. Min Tian holds a doctorate from China's Central Academy of Drama, where he has been an associate professor since 1992. The author of many scholarly articles and the coauthor of a forthcoming book, Xian Dang Dai Ouzhou Xiju (Modern and Contemporary European Drama), he is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.