Writers › Writer / Poet
Wang Ken
Playwright and errenzhuan scholar who published the first book of historical materials on the Northeast duet form, co-wrote A History of Errenzhuan and wrote early plays for Jilin opera.
Also known as Pen name Wang Jinzhu
- Roles
- Writer / Poet
Wang Ken was born in Haicheng, Liaoning, in 1924 and grew up on the yangge and bengbeng duet shows of southern Liaoning. After studying at Northeastern University he taught at Northeast Normal University in Changchun. In 1951 he brought the veteran errenzhuan performer Cheng Xifa to teach in the university's music department, recorded his memoir Sixty Years of Errenzhuan, and compiled the first book of errenzhuan historical materials in the Northeast, published in 1962 under the pen name Wang Jinzhu. For the new Jilin opera he wrote Lord Bao Apologizes and Yan Qing Sells Thread and co-wrote Taoli Mei, and he transcribed traditional duets and comic patter. His other books include The Aesthetics of the Rustic and, with Wang Zhaoyi, A History of Errenzhuan. He died in November 2011.
Life and times
Dates 1924 CE–2011 CE