Wikipedia:Today's featured article/April 26, 2025
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Black Slave's Cry to Heaven (traditional Chinese: 黑奴籲天錄; simplified Chinese: 黑奴吁天录; pinyin: Hēinú Yūtiān Lù) was a 1907 stage play performed by the Spring Willow Society, a Chinese student troupe, in Tokyo, Japan. Adapted by Zeng Xiaogu from a translation of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, the play focused on the experiences and eventual escape of two slaves, Eliza and George, after killing several of their pursuers. Modified to allegorically call attention to the experiences of Chinese migrants in the United States, Black Slave's Cry to Heaven was innovative in its use of spoken dialogue and realistic set designs. Performed twice at the Hongō-za Theatre, the show was well received by critics and audiences. Although its script has been lost, the play has inspired subsequent works. Due to its technical innovations and nationalist themes, Black Slave's Cry to Heaven has been canonized as the first modern, Western-style Chinese drama. (Full article...)