| Zibuyu, "What the Master Would Not Discuss", According to Yuan Mei (1716 - 1798): A Collection of Supernatural Stories (2 Vols) Contributor(s): Santangelo (Author) |
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ISBN: 9004250328 ISBN-13: 9789004250321 Publisher: Brill OUR PRICE: $359.10 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: July 2013 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Asia - General - Literary Criticism | Asian - General - History | Middle East - General |
| Dewey: 895.134 |
| LCCN: 2013012200 |
| Series: Emotions and States of Mind in East Asia |
| Physical Information: 3.1" H x 6.5" W x 9.4" (4.93 lbs) |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Asian - Cultural Region - Middle East |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Although the preface says that the tales in this collection of supernatural stories should not be taken seriously and just aim to dispel boredom, Zibuyu is a work with different reading levels, which allows to uncover several deep trends, taboos and fantasies of late imperial intellectual circles. Disgust, surprise and laughter are constantly evoked, by continually attracting and repulsing the reader. Yuan Mei's approach guides the reader to an adventure in the dangerous recesses of the self. It is a sort of allegoric fantastic reflection on the relative and polyphonic essence of human beings, the multiplicity of selves from psychological perception, and a challenge to the traditional biographical and historical perspective for the unreliability of destiny. Dreams, madness, delusions and other extreme cognitive and affective conditions, abnormal events, gods and spirits, and the dark world of death lead to a reversal of perspective and destroy the Apollonian vision of the social-centered Confucian orthodoxy. With introduction, translation and comments. |