Hiu-man Keung

Thesis title: The Private Stage: A Study on Printed Drama by Modern Chinese Women Playwrights, 1922-1949.

Biography

Background

Hiu Man is originally from Hong Kong. She obtained a BA in Chinese Language and Literature and a BEd in Chinese Language Education, both with first class honours, from the New Asia College of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in 2012. She attended an advanced studies course at Beijing Normal University in summer 2010, and attained the qualification to teach in Mandarin. During the 4 years of undergraduate studies, she was included in both the Faculty’s and College’s Dean’s List for every year and had also been selected as the recipient of 15 reputable scholarships in recognition of her academic achievements, dedication to teaching profession and contribution to social services.

Being awarded a postgraduate studentship, she worked towards a MPhil degree and became a teaching assistant at CUHK in 2012. She completed her dissertation entitled ‘Love, Ethics and Revolution: A Re-examination of Bai Wei’s Drama’ under the supervision of Professor Wong Nim Yan and graduated in 2014. During her pursuit of this degree, she had also been awarded Dr. Ch'ien Mu Postgraduate Scholarships for two consecutive years.

Hiu Man began her academic endeavour at University of Edinburgh in September 2014. Her doctoral project on printed drama by modern Chinese women playwrights is supervised by Professor Natascha Gentz, and is fully funded by the University of Edinburgh Research Scholarship from 2014 to 2017. She has recently been awarded a grant to conduct data collection in Beijing, Hunan and Hong Kong for 10 weeks, as well as a funding in support of her conference presentation and research visit at St. Petersburg.

Responsibilities & affiliations

Alongside with her research, Hiu Man served as Development Officer and Executive Board Member at the Sir Edward Youde Scholars Association in 2013 and 2014. She was also a core member of the Preparatory Committee for “Youth Difference Makers Award Scheme” – a territory-wide scheme which aspired students in Hong Kong to make a difference in the lives of others and over 1000 projects were initiated in 2013-2014.

Membership in Professional Societies:

  • Student Member of the European Association for Chinese Studies (EACS) (2016 - present)
  • Full Member of the Sir Edward Youde Scholars Association (SEYSA) (2010 - present)
  • Member of The Hong Kong Federation of the Exceptionally Gifted (HKFEG) (2005 - present)

 

Research summary

The primary intention of Hiu Man’s doctoral research is to approach the often-marginalized genre of plays authored by modern Chinese women playwrights from a playreading perspective, and to reassess the social, political and cultural influences of these printed plays. She attempts to explore why these plays ended up mainly being read rather than staged and the implications of antouju in that context. Also, she seeks to demonstrate how publication of drama enabled the women playwrights to spread a complexity of concepts and emotions beyond the capacity of performance traditions. In particular, she will highlight their bilateral negotiations with the May Fourth pursuits, which have rarely been found either in mainstream drama or other types of literary writings of the women authors during the Republican period. By tracing the elements that constituted their unprecedented playwriting practices, her research is dedicated to questioning the long-held beliefs of carrying clear enlightenment messages and serving as political manifestation through public performances as essential qualifications of successful modern Chinese drama. 

Current research interests

Modern Chinese Literature; Modern Chinese Drama; Women's Literature; Literature Education.

Current project grants

University of Edinburgh Research Scholarship (2014-2017) for the PhD pursuit at Edinburgh.

Past project grants

Universities' China Committee in London (UCCL) Grant for Research Visits (April-June 2016) for a 10 weeks research visit at Beijing, Hunan and Hong Kong. University of Education Principal Go Aboard Fund 2016 (August 2016) for presenting at the EACS Conference and a research visit at St. Petersburg, Russia.

Organiser

 “Refracting Gender in Modern China: New Voices, New Perspectives” Workshop, The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, United Kingdom, 17-19 February 2017.

Papers delivered

  • “Drama in/as Print: Play-Reading Practices in Republican China”. Paper to be presented at The British Association for Chinese Studies Annual Conference, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom, 7-9 September 2017.
  • “’Private Script’ in Public Circulation: Bai Wei Stage-resisting Dramaturgy”. Paper presented at “Refracting Gender in Modern China: New Voices, New Perspectives” Workshop, The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, United Kingdom, 17-19 February 2017.
  • “‘Nora’ Missing Home: A Re-examination on the Ethical Restraints in Bai Wei’s Drama”. Paper presented at the 21st Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies (EACS 2016), St. Petersburg State University and the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, St. Petersburg, Russia, 23-28 August 2016.
  • “The Scottish Enlightenment: A Re-examination of Yuen Chang-ying’s Experiences at Edinburgh, 1918-1921”. Paper presented at The China Postgraduate Network Annual Conference 2015, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom, July 3-4, 2015.
  • 〈「娜拉」出走的倫理羈絆——白薇〈打出幽靈塔〉之悲劇再探〉 (Nora’s Ethical Restraints: A Re-examination of the Tragedy in Bai Wei’s Breaking Out of the Ghost Tower). Paper presented at The 9th Annual Conference of the Asian Studies Association of Hong Kong, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 14-15 March 2014.
  • 〈中國現代女劇作家留學意義初探——以袁昌英愛丁堡經驗為例〉(The Significance of Studying Abroad for Modern Chinese Female Playwrights: A Case Study on Yuen Chang-ying’s Experiences at Edinburgh). Paper presented at the 8th Annual Conference of the Asian Studies Association of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong, 8-9 March 2013.
This article was published on