Writer-In-Residence 2012 YAN Lian Ke

1. 香港浸會大學知識轉移處 Knowledge Transfer Office Hong Kong Baptist University Writer-In-Residence 2012 YAN LianKe @ Public Literary Theatre

2. YAN LianKe Project Leader Project Summary Yan LianKe's works often describe the lives of people of the working classes and the social problems of the contemporary Chinese society.  His novel Dream of Ding Village depicts people and lives in the "plasma economy" of the 1990s.  It tells stories about the spreading of AIDS in China, and about the rapid growth of the Chinese economy.  In this project, the novel will be adapted for the stage, allowing the stage audience access to the Chinese society Yan has depicted in his novel.  A major target audience group is secondary school students.  They will be introduced to Yan's approaches and skills in writing about social problems.  In the second part of the project, the documentation of the performance will be edited into suitable form to be used as teaching material for secondary schools.  A teaching kit will be produced to be used together with the edited documentation.  This material aims at providing suitable materials for the Liberal Studies syllabus of the new Secondary School Curriculum. Prof. CHUNG Ling Faculty of Arts Dr. Jessica YEUNG WaiYee Faculty of Arts External Partners On and On Theatre Workshop Hong Kong Literary Museum Workshop

3. YAN LianKe • Expected Benefits for Academics • To establish collaborative relations between the International Writers Workshop (IWW), creative writers and theatre workers • To enhance the publicity of IWW, and finding new groups of participants for its activities • To help intern students to develop knowledge and skills of theatre production and event management • To encourage secondary students to learn about Chinese literature, and to cultivate their interest in reading and art literacy • To hold a special performance for senior secondary school students accommodating approximately 100 secondary students with their teachers • To edit documentation of the project in the form of teaching materials that are matching with the content of the Liberal Studies syllabus for the new senior secondary curriculum: distributed to be used in 30-50 secondary schools for approximately 900-1500 secondary students

4. Expected Benefits for Non-academic Partners • To work together with the Hong Kong Literary Museum Workshop and On and On Theatre Workshop in the promotion of literature and to broaden the audience base of the theatre • To enhance exchange between local and mainland writers • To preserve the artistic value of Dream of Ding Village in another art form • To allow performances of the script in future and to encourage other performing groups to use it • Expected Benefits for Community • To promote understanding of Yan's works to the public • To promote understanding of the contemporary Chinese society • To promote the awareness of the diverse range of literary works and ways of appreciation to the public • To hold a public performance for the general audience: approximately 100 members of the public, university teachers and students, theatre and literary workers YAN LianKe