中国古代戏曲传入英语世界,可以追溯到18世纪下半叶《赵氏孤儿》改编本的出现(whatchett,1741;A.Murphy,1779)。由于《赵氏孤儿》传播的影响,18世纪下半叶欧洲以中国为背景或撷取中国题材的戏剧风行一时。欧洲的“中国热”到了19世纪渐渐降 The introduction of ancient Chinese operas into the English-speaking world can be traced back to the appearance of an adapted version of Zhao’s orphans in the second half of the 18th century (whatchett, 1741; A. Murphy, 1779). Due to the spread of the “Orphan of Zhao”, the drama of Europe, which took China as the background or captured Chinese themes in the second half of the 18th century, became popular. Europe’s “hot China” gradually dropped in the 19th century