The Article Shakespeare is Our Contemporary by Prof．William Sun Published in Wenhui Daily 01/11/2008

The Article Shakespeare is Our Contemporary by Prof．William Sun of STA is published in Wenhui Daily of Nov．1，2008．

Starting with the differences between the works of Shakespeare and those of ancient Chinese playwrights，Prof．William Sun talks about how the works of Shakespeare demonstrate contemporary features．The works of Shakespeare embody many contemporary ideas and values．First， Prof．William Sun points out the core of humanism in Hamlet．Prince Hamlet has a respect for human lives, which shows his humanistic spirit．In the second section，Prof．William Sun tells the readers that many plots in Shakespeare＇s plays were borrowed in several contemporary Chinese plays．Besides，the Polish scholar Jan Kott explains King Lear using the philosophical idea of existentialism and finds the relation between the contemporary Waiting for Godot and King Lear of four hundred years ago．In the next part，Prof．William Sun asserts that the plays of Shakespeare actually show sympathy for the weak group．In Shakespeare＇s plays we see characters encountering religious，race，and gender discrimination．Lastly Shakespeare writes plays both noble and common people can watch while in ancient China common people never have the rights to watch plays with the queen．In conclusion，Prof．William Sun expresses the hope that ancient Chinese plays can also be performed in contemporary styles．

The background information of Prof．William Sun is also published below his article．