Collecting the Self: Body and Identity in Strange Tale Collections of Late Imperial China Contributor(s): Chiang, Sing-Chen Lydia (Author) |
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ISBN: 9004142037 ISBN-13: 9789004142039 Publisher: Brill OUR PRICE: $187.15 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: November 2004 Annotation: Chinese strange tale collections contain short stories about ghosts and animal spirits, supra-human heroes and freaks, exotic lands and haunted homes, earthquake and floods, and other perceived "anomalies" to accepted cosmic and social norms. As such, this body of literature is a rich repository of Chinese myths, folklore, and unofficial "histories." These collections also reflect Chinese attitudes towards normalcy and strangeness, perceptions of civilization and barbarism, and fantasies about self and other.Inspired in part by Freud's theory of the uncanny, this book explores the emotive subtexts of late imperial strange tale collections to consider what these stories tell us about suppressed cultural anxieties, the construction of gender, and authorial self-identity. |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Architecture | Interior Design - General - Social Science | Ethnic Studies - General - Literary Criticism | Asian - General |
Dewey: 895.130 |
LCCN: 2005272401 |
Series: Sinica Leidensia |
Physical Information: 0.93" H x 6.48" W x 9.62" (1.47 lbs) 294 pages |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: Chinese strange tale collections contain short stories about ghosts and animal spirits, supra-human heroes and freaks, exotic lands and haunted homes, earthquake and floods, and other perceived "anomalies" to accepted cosmic and social norms. As such, this body of literature is a rich repository of Chinese myths, folklore, and unofficial "histories". These collections also reflect Chinese attitudes towards normalcy and strangeness, perceptions of civilization and barbarism, and fantasies about self and other. Inspired in part by Freud's theory of the uncanny, this book explores the emotive subtexts of late imperial strange tale collections to consider what these stories tell us about suppressed cultural anxieties, the construction of gender, and authorial self-identity. |