(Benedikte Berntzen’s article is translated from Norwegian by May-Brit Akerholt—it appeared 11/16 on Ibsen.net.)
In China, Ibsen has been used to influence views about thinking and language, and particularly, his works have been read in connection with the progressive views of the New Culture Movement and the May 4th Movement about information for the whole people. It was the New Culture Movement which managed to establish that the spoken language ´baihua´ should be used in textbooks and literature. Ibsen’s position as a world dramatist was fully established with his so-called ´contemporary plays´, where his use of the vernacular became one of the most important features as well as criteria: "I place great importance on the language of a translation being as consistent as possible with the normal daily language", as he wrote in a letter.
via www.ibsen.net
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