The Flower Princess: A Cantonese Opera by Tong Dik Sang

Acknowledgements

acknowledgements In the course of working on this project, from its inception ten years ago to its fruition today, I received help and support from many friends and colleagues, in Hong Kong and in the United States. First and foremost is my heartfelt gratitude to Ms. Pak Suet Sin, the pre-eminent performer of Cantonese Opera who created the title role of The Flower Princess over fifty years ago. Without her endorsement this project could never have been completed, and I am greatly humbled by the Foreword that she has written for this volume. I also owe an enormous debt to Mr.Yuen Siu Fai, the leading performer of today, whom I have known for thirty-five years, and by whom I am honored to be considered a close friend and colleague. Mr.Yuen is an incredible treasure trove of information, and he is always generous and gracious in answering my innumerable questions. Securing permissions to use various materials can be a complicated and time-consuming process. Fortunately I had the help of Ms. Lo Wai Luen, Ms. Cheung Man Wai, Dr. David Chan, Mr. Michael Lam, Dr. Sonia Ng, Prof.Yu Siu Wah,Yam Pak Collection at the University Library System of The Chinese University of Hong Kong,Yam Kim Fai and Pak Suet Sin Charitable Foundation Limited, and especially Ms. Pak; all permissions are in place. I want to extend special thanks to Mr. David Lau of the Crown Record Company, who gave me permission to publish the Chinese script and its English translation, and in the process became a friend. To my two collaborators in the early drafts of the translation, Dr. Sonia Ng and Prof. Katherine Carlitz, I want to say that it was a joy working together and a great learning experience for me.Your contributions were invaluable. I thank Prof. Catherine Swatek for cleaning up the final draft of the text considerably . Ms. Ciris Leung Lai-yue and Ms. Lin Da, a former student and a current student respectively, have provided assistance at various stages of the preparation of the manuscript. Illustrations reproduced in the book are from the original production in 1957, archived in the Yam Pak Collection at the University Library System at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. I would like to thank both the former director of The Chinese University Press, Dr. Steven Luk, and the current director, Ms. Gan Qi, for their support the flower princess.indb 15 2010/2/9 9:16:50 AM xvi acknowledgements of the project, and the two anonymous reviewers whose positive comments propelled the project along.The editorial staff of The Chinese University Press, in particular Ms. Flo Chan Lai-on, worked tirelessly and patiently as I made endless revisions of both the Chinese script and the English translation. The book is also in better shape because of Ms. Chan’s meticulous copy-editing. The project began with a grant from the Research Grants Council of the University Grant Committee (Hong Kong). It also benefited from a part-time Graduate Student Assistantship provided by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of the University of Pittsburgh. Finally, my life partner, Prof. Andrew Miller of the Classics Department at the University of Pittsburgh, provided sage words and practical advice at the last stage of the revision, as well as encouragement and quiet support throughout the whole long process. B.Y. the flower princess.indb 16 2010/2/9 9:16:50 AM ...