Vignettes from the late Ming : a hsiao-pʻin anthology /
This anthology presents seventy translated and annotated short essays, or hsiao-p'in, by fourteen well-known sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Chinese writers. Hsiao-p'in, characterized by spontaneity and brevity, were a relatively informal variation on the established classical prose sty...
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Access full-text online via JSTOR |
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| Imprint: |
Seattle :
University of Washington Press,
[1999]
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| Format: | Electronic |
| Language: | English Chinese |
| Summary: | This anthology presents seventy translated and annotated short essays, or hsiao-p'in, by fourteen well-known sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Chinese writers. Hsiao-p'in, characterized by spontaneity and brevity, were a relatively informal variation on the established classical prose style in which all scholars were trained. Written primarily to amuse and entertain the reader, hsiao-p'in reflect the rise of individualism in the late Ming period and collectively provide a panorama of the colorful life of the age. Critics condemned the genre as escapist because of its focus on life's sensual pleasures and triviality, and over the next two centuries many of these playful and often irreverent works were officially censored. Today, the essays provide valuable and rare accounts of the details over everyday life in Ming China as well as displays of wit and delightful turns of phrase. |
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| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (xxxvii, 152 pages) |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 136-143) and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780295802268 029580226X 9780295977331 0295977337 0295980680 9780295980683 |
| Language: | English. |
| Source of Description, Etc. Note: | Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed. |