"Gate of Heavenly Peace" Review Was in Error

Fabian Giraldo's review of "Gate of Heavenly Peace" (Arts, Jan. 17 1996) revealed the author to be an ignoramus.

For the record, Ang Lee is the Taiwan-born director of "Eat Drink Man Woman," "Sense and Sensibility," etc.

"Shanghai Triad" is the work of Zhang Yimou, a so-called "fifth-generation" mainland Chinese director.

Giraldo's analysis of "Gate of Heavenly Peace" itself is lacking, as is his spelling ("premeried"). He also fails to mention Hinton's Harvard connection.

Harvard offers at least two courses that could have given your reviewer a clue: Foreign Cultures 66 "Tiananmen Square"(Prof. Roderick MacFarquhar) and Literature and Arts C-49 "Cultural China in Contemporary Perspectives" (Prof. Leo Lee). Spare the author, and your paper, further embarrassment. --Matei Mihalca   Committee on History and East   Asian Languages