Skip to main content

Nien Cheng/Beijing Opera

 Item — Box: 18

Scope and Contents

From the Series:

This series features a collection of audio and video recordings from 1987 to 2008, showing professional engagements and personal reflections of Madame Nien Cheng. Included are cassette tapes, CDs, and VHS recordings of interviews, radio broadcasts, and other media appearances related to Cheng and her memoir, Life and Death in Shanghai. Highlights include her interviews with prominent broadcasters such as the BBC, NPR, and Larry King, and a video of her 60 Minutes interview with Morley Safer.

Also notable is an original piano sonata composed by Enrique Santos, inspired by Cheng’s memoir, and dedicated to her daughter, Meiping. A recording of Slippery Rock University's Academic Honors Convocation in 1987, where Cheng was honored with the Humanitarian Award, further emphasizes her impact. Additionally, the series contains materials documenting Cheng’s personal life, such as religious sermons, music, and recorded poems, offering a more intimate glimpse into her beliefs and passions.

Dates

  • 1955 - 2009
  • Majority of material found within 1986 - 2009

Conditions Governing Access

Many of the contents of this series were professionally created by other organizations and under copyright. Please reach out to Slippery Rock University Archives at rockarchives@sru.edu for more information on accessing the audiovisual material in this collection.

Extent

1 Cassettes

Language of Materials

From the Series: English

From the Series: Chinese

Materials Specific Details

A and B side. Interview with Nien Cheng on Siren Song based on Cheng's book. Quotes from the book are read aloud at times. Next, is an interview about a woman studying Chinese opera. Side reads "Nien Cheng: Beijing Opera on Radio Netherlands, Woman's ????, siren song, BBC Radio 4"

Repository Details

Part of the Slippery Rock University Archives and Special Collections Repository

Contact:
315 Bailey Library
Slippery Rock University
Slippery Rock PA 16057
724-738-4295