Creativity Multiplies in the Ever Magnifying Circle My original conception was simply to break the conventions of traditional Chinese theatre  and modernize the old art by utilizing certain elements and techniques of Western theatre.  But as I gained more confidence with international recognition of the Contemporary Legend Theatre,  it suddenly dawned on me that with its unique style of performance the Chinese Opera has  something significant to offer to the theatres around the globe.  After several years of groping, absorbing, digesting, and discarding, the original one-way street  (Chinese Opera as foundation and Western theatre as inspiration) has gradually turned into  a two-way traffic (both as foundation and inspiration). Thus, the path that lies before  the Contemporary Legend Theatre today  takes on the dual nature of both departure from  and return to tradition. Creativity takes a circular route, while civilization spreads along  the on-going circular motion of creativity. All artists take nourishment from the fruits of civilization,  and their achievements in turn nourish the roots.  WU  Hsing-kuo

The Contemporary Legend Theatre (C L T) was founded in 1986 by group of Chinese opera lovers and arts enthusiasts who wanted to present traditional singing, speaking, performing and acrobatics in the form of modern theatre.
The groups goal is to revitalize Chinese opera and field out o new path for traditional performing arts.
Three means have been decided on for reaching this goals :
- adapting western dramas and digesting the form, content of theory of western theatre
- searching material from mythology
- searching for creative inspiration in the everyday lives of modern people in modern surroundings.

Contemporary Legend Theatre staged its first play, "The Kingdom of Desire", at the Taipei Social Education Hall on December 10, 1986. The play, adapted by Lee, Huey-Ming from Shakespeare's "Macbeth", weaves Chinese ethic and Chinese historical perspective into a story from Western culture.

The production makes full use of the effects of traditional Chinese Opera as well as dances ant theatre. There are even some special effects, techniques borrowed from motion pictures. "Kingdom of Desire" is not anti tradition. Quite the contrary, it is meant to rejuvenate tradition and to expand the boundaries of Chinese theatre. We belong to both the past and the present. That is why we call ourselves the Contemporary Legend Theatre. The main asset of the CLT is not its funding, but the dedication of its members and supporters, enabling public performances under almost impossible financial constrains. Although "The Kingdom of Desire" won much applause, this doesn't mean our work is done. For the last three years, Contemporary Legend Theatre has never stopped moving towards higher ground. Artistically and administratively, we have never let up in our efforts to build a professional image for theatre workers in Taiwan. To uphold  our commitment to this objective, we revised another play by Shakespeare, "Hamlet", this time adapted and renamed by famed playwright Wang. An Chyi into "War and Eternity". The first five performances in March 1990, attracted on an attention of seven thousand, confirming once again the unique appeal of Oriental theatre.