Mistress & Maid, one of the greatest tragedies of Chinese drama, is here available for the first time in English. Acclaimed translator Cyril Birch presents the bittersweet tale of Bella, daughter of the Wang family, her maid Petal, and the young scholar Shen Chun. After her father reneges on her marital pact, Bella refuses to renounce her love for Shen, with whom she has vowed to share "in life one room, in death one tomb." The subversion of both conventional morality and the arranged marriage through vivid drama and witty comic scenes makes this seventeenth-century play particularly innovative. Chinese critics have hailed it as essentially revolutionary for its depiction of youthful resistance to latter-day Confucian values, but as Birch notes in the introduction, "the glory of Mistress & Maid is the tender delicacy of the lovers' interactions." This depth of feeling also distinguishes the play from others of the "talent-meets-beauty" genre so prevalent during the late-imperial age.
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One of our most acclaimed translators of Chinese drama and a specialist of Ming period literature translates one of the greatest Chinese tragedies of the first half of the seventeenth century, available for the first time in English.
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Introduction Signposts of Romance Cast of Characters Scene 1: Legend Scene 2: Leaving Home Scene 3: Meeting with Bella Scene 4: Evening Embroidery Scene 5: In Search of a Beauty Scene 6: Flower Poems Scene 7: Response in Rhyme Scene 8: Trouble from Tibet Scene 9: Sharing the Lampblack Scene 10: Hugging the Stove Scene 11: Frontier Defense Scene 12: Thwarted Rendezvous Scene 13: Dispatching the Summons Scene 14: Quiet Despair Scene 15: Parting Vows Scene 16: Defense of the City Scene 17: Seeking a Cure Scene 18: Secret Pact Scene 19: The Portraits Delivered Scene 20: Cutting the Sleeve Scene 21: Sending the Matchmaker Scene 22: The Match Opposed Scene 23: A Drink with Courtesans Scene 24: The Matchmaker Reports Scene 25: Exorcism Scene 26: Third Visit Scene 27: The Slippers Scene 28: Petal Scolded Scene 29: Interrogation Scene 30: Viewing the Portraits Scene 31: Solemn Pact Scene 32: Petal Tells Scene 33: Reluctant Parting Scene 34: Envoys Appointed Scene 35: The Keepsake Scene 36: The Road to the Examinations Scene 37: Celebration Scene 38: Return in Triumph Scene 39: Bewitched Scene 40: A Haunting Suspected Scene 41: The Ghost Exposed Scene 42: Master Shuai Proposes Scene 43: Parting in Life Scene 44: Wedding Rehearsal Scene 45: Weeping on the Boat Scene 46: Petal Questioned Scene 47: Maiden's Passing Scene 48: Joined in Death Scene 49: United in the Tomb Scene 50: Reunion with Immortals
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One of our most acclaimed translators of Chinese drama and a specialist of Ming period literature translates one of the greatest Chinese tragedies of the first half of the seventeenth century, available for the first time in English.
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780231121682
Publisert
2001-03-16
Utgiver
Columbia University Press; Columbia University Press
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
288

Oversetter

Om bidragsyterne

Cyril Birch is Agassiz Professor Emeritus in the Department of East Asian Languages at the University of California, Berkeley, and is the author, editor, or translator of numerous books, including Scenes for Mandarins (Columbia) and The Peony Pavilion.