Prof. SHENG Yihui

Yihui Sheng is an assistant professor in classical Chinese literature. She received her doctoral degree in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Michigan in April 2023. Her research focuses on drama and theater in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century China. She is also interested in the fields of book culture, media studies, performance studies, and gender studies. She is working on a monograph titled tentatively Performing the Page: The Intermediality of Chuanqi Song-Drama in Late-Ming China (1550s–1644).

In addition to her research interest in classical Chinese theater, Yihui Sheng has been a long-time amateur singer of Kunqu (Kun Opera) in the role type of dan. Her pedagogical methodology integrates literary analysis of dramatic texts with hands-on experiences of Kunqu performance, helping students acquire a multimedia understanding of the classical theater.

Ming-Qing Drama and Fiction / Book Culture / Media Studies / Performance Studies / Gender Studies

• “Performative Readings of Printed Southern Arias in Late-Ming China,” CHINOPERL: Journal of Chinese Oral and Performing Literature: forthcoming in December (2024) issue.
• “The Performers’ Brush: A Case Study of Scene Twelve ‘Composing the Score’ (‘Zhipu’) in a Mid-Qing Stage Script of Palace of Everlasting Life (Changsheng dian).” Asian Theatre Journal 41, 2024 (2): 411–424.
• “Nichang yuyi wu zai Ming Qing xiqu zhong de ‘piaomiao xianti’ yu ‘fengliu roushen’”《霓裳羽衣舞》在明清戲曲中的「縹緲仙體」與「風流肉身」 (“The ‘Ethereal Celestial Body’ and the ‘Seductive Corporeal Body’ in ‘Dance to The Rainbow Skirt and Feather Coat’ in Ming-Qing Drama”). Beijing Wudao xueyuan xuebao 北京舞蹈學報 (Journal of Beijing Dance Academy), 2023 (12): 117–123.
• “The Queen of Kunqu—In Memory of Hua Wenyi.” CHINOPERL: Journal of Chinese Oral and Performing Literature 41, 2022 (02): 218–221.