| The Orphan of Zhao and Other Yuan Plays: The Earliest Known Versions Contributor(s): West, Stephen H. (Editor), Idema, Wilt (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0231168543 ISBN-13: 9780231168540 Publisher: Columbia University Press OUR PRICE: $74.25 Product Type: Hardcover Published: December 2014 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Performing Arts | Theater - History & Criticism - Literary Criticism | Asian - General - Literary Collections | Asian - Chinese |
| Dewey: 895.12 |
| LCCN: 2013048900 |
| Series: Translations from the Asian Classics |
| Physical Information: 1.2" H x 7.1" W x 10.2" (1.90 lbs) 408 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Asian |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: This is the first anthology of Yuan-dynasty zaju (miscellaneous comedies) to introduce the genre to English-speaking readers exclusively through translations of the plays' fourteenth-century editions. Almost all previous translations of Yuan-dynasty zaju are based on late-Ming regularized editions that were heavily adapted for performance at the Ming imperial court and then extensively revised in the seventeenth century for the reading pleasure of Jiangnan literati. These early editions are based on leading actor scripts and contain arias, prose dialogue, and cue lines. They encompass a fascinating range of subject matter, from high political intrigue to commoner life and religious conversion. Crackling with raw emotion, violent imagery, and colorful language and wit, the zaju in this volume explore the consequences of loyalty and betrayal, ambition and enlightenment, and piety and drunkenness. The collection features seven of the twenty-six available untranslated zaju published in the fourteenth century, with a substantial introduction preceding each play and extensive annotations throughout. The editors also include translations of the Ming versions of four of the included plays and an essay that synthesizes recent Chinese and Japanese scholarship on the subject. |
Contributor Bio(s): Idema, Wilt: - Wilt L. Idema is Professor emeritus at Harvard University in Chinese Literature and has published widely in both English and Dutch, especially on Chinese drama and fiction. Among his publications are A Guide to Chinese Literature (Michigan, 1997); The Red Brush: Writing Women in Imperial China (Harvard Asia Center, 2004); Meng Jiangnü Brings Down the Great Wall: Ten Versions of a Chinese Legend (Washington, 2008); The Resurrected Skeleton: From Zhuangzi to Lu Xun (Columbia, 2014); and The Orphan of Zhao and Other Yuan Plays (Columbia, 2014). |