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The Circle of Chalk: A Play in Five Acts Adapted From the Chinese by Klabund
Paperback
ISBN13: 9781025558141
Publisher: Tradd Street Press
Published: Feb 14 2026
Pages: 136
Weight: 0.44
Height: 0.29 Width: 6.14 Depth: 9.21
Language: English
The Circle of Chalk is a renowned five-act play adapted from a 13th-century Chinese drama, offering a compelling blend of poetic narrative and social commentary. This version, adapted by the poet Klabund and translated into English, tells the story of Hai-tang, a young woman caught in a web of intrigue and injustice in ancient China. After the death of her husband, a wealthy official, Hai-tang is falsely accused of murder and faces the loss of her child to a scheming rival.
The play reaches its climax in a famous trial before a wise judge, who uses a circle of chalk to determine the child's rightful mother-a test that reveals the true nature of love and sacrifice. This work is a masterpiece of cross-cultural adaptation, bringing the traditions of the Yuan dynasty to the modern stage. It explores themes of corruption, virtue, and the eventual triumph of justice, making it a significant contribution to world drama. With its lyrical dialogue and dramatic tension, The Circle of Chalk remains an essential piece for readers and performers interested in the intersection of Eastern and Western literary traditions.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you may see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
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