Since the publication of Lu Xun's novella The True Story of Ah Q,there have been at least 41 drama adaptations based on this world-renowned classic during the following one hundred years,most of which are traditional realistic works with only a few subversive post-modem plays created since the 1990s.Three adaptations,written by Xu Xingzhi,Tian Han,and Chen Baichen respectively with the same title,The True Story of Ah Q,are considered to be the most successful dramas of enduring influence in the realistic works.This paper analyzes and compares the three plays in terms of theme,conflicts,characters,and artistic techniques,verifying principles of realistic adaptation of literary masterpieces.
The True Story of Ah Qadaptation of masterpiecesrealistic dramacomparative study