History of cross-dressing the Pelennor Fields outside the city Minas Tirith. In Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness series, the main character, Alanna, disguises herself as a boy for eight years in order to become a knight. William Shakespeare made substantial use of cross-dressing for female characters who took on masculine clothing to carry out actions difficult for women. In "The Merchant of Venice", Portia and her maid dress as men to plead in court on the merchant's behalf, and are quite successful in their ruse; in the same play, Shylock's daughter Jessica dresses as a man to elope with her Christian lover.
Reputation of William Shakespeare did not were rewarded, a barely veiled reference to the often capricious behavior of Mao, who punished his loyal followers for no apparent reason. Cordeilia's devotion and love for her father-despite his madness, cruelty and rejection of her-is seen in China as affirming traditional Confucian values where love of the family counts above all, and for this reason, "King Lear" is seen in China as being a very "Chinese" play that affirms the traditional values of filial piety. A 1981 production of "The Merchant of Venice" was a hit with Chinese audiences as the play was seen promoting the theme