Ding Xilin (Ting Hsi-lin) 1893-1974

Best remembered as the author of the most popular one-act plays of the 1920s and 30s, Ding studied physics and mathematics at the University of Birmingham from 1914 to 1918, at the same time reading Western drama and fiction. After returning to China in 1918, he began to write plays while working as professor of physics at Peking University. Ding is best known for his comedies, including his first play, 'Yi zhi mafeng' 一隻馬蜂 (A hornet, 1923), 'Yapo' 壓迫 (Oppression, 1926) and 'San kuai qian guobi' 三塊錢國幣 (Three dollars, 1939). Many of the ten plays in his opus continue to be performed in China and abroad.

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