Nora's Journey in China: The Cross-cultural Adaptation and Localization of A Doll's House

Since its introduction to China in the early 20th century, Ibsen's <italic>A Doll's House</italic> has been continuously adapted and reinterpreted, reflecting shifting Chinese understandings of gender, family, individual agency, and social roles. This study, grounded in the theoretical framework of the localization of world literature, examines three key Chinese adaptations: Wu Xue's 1956 version, the 1998 National Theatre production, and the 2019 <italic>Sheng Nü's House</italic>, recipient of the Ibsen Scholarship. It analyzes how these adaptations localize Western cultural symbols and translate cross-cultural themes. The findings reveal a progressive deepening of localization, with cultural metaphors evolving from critiques of social structure and identity anxiety to expressions of plural subjectivities. These adaptations exemplify the creative regeneration of foreign classics within Chinese contexts and highlight the role of intercultural theatre in sustaining the dynamism of world literature.