Access Restrictions
Publication Rights
Acquisition Information
Biographical Note
Preferred Citation
Scope and Content
Arrangement
General
Title: Pai Hsien-yung (Kenneth Pai) papers
Identifier/Call Number: UArch FacP 29
Contributing Institution:
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Research Collections
Language of Material:
Multiple languages
Physical Description:
5.5 linear feet
(11 boxes, 13 videos, and posters)
Creator:
Bai, Xianyong, 1937-
Date (inclusive): circa 1971-2016
Date (bulk): circa 1971-1997
Abstract: The collection encompasses an extensive assortment of printed works, literary manuscripts and other material relating to the
novels, plays, short stories, and films adapted from the work of UCSB Professor Emeritus Hsien-yung Pai (Kenneth Pai).
Physical Location: Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library
Language of Material: Materials are in Chinese and English.
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Research Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish
or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given
on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply
permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.
Acquisition Information
Donated by creator, 1997, 2014, 2016, and 2017.
Biographical Note
Pai Hsien-yung, (Kenneth Pai) is a UCSB Professor Emeritus and an internationally recognized Chinese author.
Born in 1937 in Guilin, China, Pai received his B.A. from National Taiwan University in 1961 and his M.F.A. from the International
Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa in 1965. From 1965 to 1993 he taught Chinese language and literature in the East
Asian Studies Program at UCSB.
Pai has written 34 short stories and one novel, plus numerous other articles and prose pieces. He is one of the founders and
the main caretaker of the most influential modern Chinese literary magazine,
Modern Literature (Xian dai wen xue). His works have been translated into English, French, Korean, Japanese, and German and other languages.
Son of a high-ranking general in the Chinese Nationalist government, Pai is best known for his keen insight into the lives
of the aristocrats who retreated with the Nationalist government to Taiwan in 1949, when Chinese Communists took over mainland
China. His depiction of characters, according to many critics, has attained a level of literary achievement attained only
by a handful of his contemporaries. Some of his best-known works are available in English, under the title
Wandering in the Garden, Waking from a Dream: Tales of Taipei Characters, published by Indiana University Press in 1982.
Pai is a very studious and careful writer. His language, enriched by a solid foundation in Chinese classic literature, is
poetic and precise. Few people, however, realize how much time and effort he puts into crafting his works. The novel
Crystal Boy, published by the Gay Sunshine Press of San Francisco in 1990, was the result of ten years of hard work. It was completely
revised more than five times. In each revision Pai rewrote the entire work by hand. This process is clearly reflected in the
manuscripts which he has donated.
Crystal Boy and
Wandering in the Garden, as well as several other works, have been made into movies and plays and a number of his other works are in the process
of being adapted for stage and film productions. Pai Hsien-yung currently lives in Taiwan and still maintains a residence
in Santa Barbara where he occasionally visits. He continues to write and do research on a number of literary topics, his current
work being centered on the promotion of
kunqu, a traditional form of Chinese opera.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of Item], Pai Hsien-yung (Kenneth Pai) papers, UArch FacP 29. Department of Special Research Collections,
UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Scope and Content
The Pai Hsien-yung (Kenneth Pai) papers were donated by the author to the UCSB Department of Special Collections in 1997.
It includes an extensive assortment of printed works, literary manuscripts, and other material relating to his novels and
short stories as well as plays and films adapted from his work. In addition, the collection includes an assortment of academic
works, dissertations, journal articles, and papers centered on his works.
The collection is organized into the following series: Writings by Pai, Materials about Pai, Audio/Visual Materials, Posters,
and Correspondence.
Arrangement
These papers have been arranged into 5 series: I. Writings by Pai, II. Materials about Pai, III. Audio/Visual Materials, IV.
Posters, V. Correspondence.
General
Printed material- novels, short stories, and essays by Pai, as well as contributions to anthologies- from the collection has
been cataloged separately in Special Research Collections holdings, which includes copies of
Xian dai wen xue, the literary magazine. These materials may be searched on the UCSB Library's online catalog.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Chinese literature -- 20th century
Drafts (documents)
Correspondence
Photographs
Posters
Slides (photographs)
Videotapes
Bai, Xianyong, 1937- -- Archives
University of California, Santa Barbara. Faculty